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A Visit with Dad

Happy Dad: Rain, Avocados, Sodas & Casadas

My dad came for a short visit and delivered a suitcase full of boat parts.  We were thrilled to host him in Costa Rica even though we were not staying on the boat.

We decided to rent a car to pick him up at the San Jose airport (3 hours away) and to do some recognizance shopping.  At some point before we “splash” we will need to provision the boat and stock up on staples so we wanted to find good “box stores”.  In addition, we were looking for hardware stores (Ferraterias), car stores (PepBoys type places), and big box stores (Wallmart).  We set a few pin marks on our trusty Maps.me app and drove the 3 hours to San Jose.

We managed to find several stores, scoped out a few places to return to and made a few small purchases before my dad’s flight landed.

On our way to Quepos, we stopped by crocodile bridge over Rio Tarcoles.  The theory is when the tide is out (like the image) they can sunbathe on shore and as the tide comes in it is flooded with fish to feed upon.  However, many locals are worried for the safety of crocodile viewers and the crocs themselves.  The bridge is ridiculously narrow and has heavy traffic making it dangerous for tourist.  How many do you count in this photo?  (Answer at bottom of blog)

https://news.co.cr/costa-rican-mayor-taken-task-dangerous-crocodile-viewing-bridge/62990/

https://news.co.cr/costa-rican-mayor-taken-task-dangerous-crocodile-viewing-bridge/62990/

Next, we did a drive by in Herradura to show him where Sugar Shack was anchored when she was struck by lightning.

We caught a beautiful sunset at Jaco beach and stopped in for dinner at Ridiculous Burgers.  My dad had an “all american burger” and Matt and I split a Mahi burger.  Sound healthy?  Well they did serve this ridiculous 6 patty burger shown below to a group of 4 people.

Dinner in Jaco with my Dad

Dinner in Jaco with my Dad

We finally arrived back at the apartment around 2000 and started to unpack.  My dad brought a suitcase full of boat parts, a gray backpack full of important stuff (money, passports), and a Swiss Gear new black backpack for all of his clothes.

He opened the Swiss Gear backpack and realized it was not his.  He thought it was ours which we quickly denied.  Unfortunately, he had swapped backpacks with someone else.  Yikes.  See image below for photo of both backpacks.

Inside this backpack was a Dell Computer with an “Asset tag” which identified the company.  There was several resumes, a hard drive, thumb drives, glasses, medicine and miscellaneous items.  We found her boarding pass, looked her up on LinkedIn and Facebook and sent messages through both social channels.  There was no other contact information.

My dad called Alaska Airlines and the local airport and filled out a lost baggage form.  Then we waited…

Day 1

No response from the backpack owner, so we called her company and left a message on her work voicemail.  Next, I called the SJO Alaska airlines office and to our surprise, our mystery woman had already called and was returning my dad’s bag that same day.  Yeah.  When she arrived, they got her phone number and had her call us.  We made arrangements to bring her bag back and retrieve my father’s bag on Friday (when he flies back to the U.S.)

In the meantime, we need to get him some clothes.  He borrowed a few shirts and flip flops from Matt and off we go into “town.”

We scored some new outfits, met Matt for lunch, walked to the marina and then walked back to the apartment.  My dad is not a big walker and he was shocked to realize he had put in 3.2 miles of walking.  Yeah dad!

Runway Grill For Cold Drinks

Runway Grill For Cold Drinks

Day 2

Dad wanted to check out a local fishing village and fishing processing plant.  Barrio el Cocal is “the” place to go to see the local fisherman.  We swung by a plant that let us look around, watch them cut and clean their fish, and put the heads in storage – all really gross, but dad loved it.

Love the “Pura Vida” lifestyle in Costa Rica…

Pura Vida with Dad

Pura Vida with Dad

Came across a local avocado seller and dad was surprised at the size of the local avocados – these are not your average California avocados.

Dad with local avocados

Dad with local avocados

We stopped  at Bahia Azul for a cold drink and Tiquicia for lunch before heading back to the pad.

After thoroughly exhausting him, we headed back to the apartment for a little R&R before going out for dinner.

Much to our surprise, it has not rained in the first 3 days of my dad’s visit.  Super strange, as it it normally rains every day for many hours a day.  But we finally received some rain in the afternoon for a couple of hours.

Being from California, he had not seen rain in a very long time.  In fact, now he is mostly seeing smoke and ash in the sky from the horrible California wildfires – so rain is a pleasant surprise.

We hopped on the public bus and headed to Manuel Antonio for happy hour.  We were treated to an awesome lightning show (it is only awesome because we were on shore and not on our boat).  Cold drinks overlooking the Pacific at Bar Code 506.

Matt, Dad, and I at Barba Rosa

Matt, Dad, and I at Bar Code 506

Day 3

Time to show dad the boat.  We swung by the marina a few days ago, but we were not able to show him the interior of the boat because we had workers all over the place.

First, we took him to see RumpleTeazer, our friend Keith’s boat which is a 43′ Catana.  I wanted him to see what a “livable” boat looked like before we took him to see our boat which is all torn apart.

Keith was super kind and let us poke all around.  We then walked over to the yard to show him Sugar Shack and to his surprise he really could tell the difference between a 43′ and a 47′ catamaran.  Even though it is only 4′ shorter and maybe 2-3′ skinnier, the spaces feel bigger.  I didn’t get the idea he was very impressed with our boat but who could blame him as it was a total disaster.

We had another casada at Soda Sanchez, our go to spot for spectacular food.  As you might recall, a “Soda” is not a drink but a local eatery.  Sometimes they appear as businesses, sometimes they are on the front porch of someone’s house.  A “casada” is a typical local meal that comes with a salad, veggie, beans, plantain and your choice of either meat, chicken, fish, or pork.  All for the low price of 2,500 colones or $5.00.  Tasty and cheap!

And, to my dad’s surprise, he walked another 3.3 miles today!  I will get him walking and drinking water if it kills me!

It was hard to send him off after such a short visit, but hopefully we have convinced him to come back once the boat is back in the water.

We got a little Capuchin love on dad’s last night at the apartment.

Monkey Love

Monkey Love

The boys contemplating life…

Dad and Matt chatting

Dad and Matt chatting

Short and sweet.  We rented a car to return dad back to San Jose and pick up Wayne.

Costa Rica Airport

Costa Rica Airport

We went straight to Alaska Airlines to swap bags.  It doesn’t look like they are 100% similar because the lighting was different, but they both were black.  Not sure who grabbed whose bag first, but at least they are both back with the rightful owners.

Bag Swap

Bag Swap

Giant sloth at the airport posing for photos

Giant sloth at airport

Giant sloth at airport

Poor Matt had to walk to the marina to get his wallet with his driver’s license (which needed to rent the car).  On the way, he walked past a man spraying bug spray trying to kill the bad bugs.  Unfortunately, one of them ran from the bug spray right into Matt and stung him on his ankle.  All he saw was a big black something and then the pain and swelling started…

Matt's fat cankle

Matt’s fat cankle

Answer: 11 crocodiles spotted in photo

Deborah & I in Manuel Antonio Parka

Mayhem in Quepos with Deborah & Greg

Greg and Deborah were our first friends to visit us in Costa Rica. It might not have been true mayhem, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. We had a fabulous time showing them around Quepos, taking them out to eat to all of our favorite haunts and had a full day at Manuel Antonio National Park.

Day 1

We met Greg and Deborah at Runway Grill at the marina since we were working in the boat yard.  After a tasty lunch, we walked around town, did a little shopping, and got wet in the rain.  A quick happy hour stop at Le Gran Escape, then we headed to the apartment.  We enjoyed mouthwatering tacos, huge 1 liter bottles of beer, live music, and a hot game of fuse ball at Hostel Plinio later that night.

Day 2

Our plan was to get up early to get to the Manuel Antonio National park before it got too hot and crowded.  However, the festivities from the night before prevented an early escape.  To spice things up, we hopped on the local bus instead of taking the car.  That’s just how we roll.

We decided to do the small loop in the park to ensure we had time to walk around the town before heading back.  We got lucky with a gorgeous day, no rain, little cloud cover, and lots of animals.

It’s super cool to be able to show them the huge diversity of landscape at the park.  There are tons of gorgeous beaches, mangroves, and a forest all within a few miles of the entrance.

Manuel Antonio Park with Deborah and Greg

Manuel Antonio Park with Deborah and Greg

We saw a raccoon wandering the beach, a baby crocodile, an agouti, crabs, sloths, capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys. The Cauchin monkeys caused mayhem stealing bags, taking fruit, and hopping all over the rails.  Everyone came out to meet our California friends.

Capuhin Monkeys at Manuel Antonio Park

Capuhin Monkeys at Manuel Antonio Park

After a quick lunch at Marlins Restaurant we took the bus back to the apartment.  Deborah spoiled me by taking me to Rain Drop Spa for a totally amazing massage, mini-facial, and body scrub.  We were as soft as a baby’s butt!  It was a truly spectacular experience – thank you Deborah!

Day 3

Deborah and Greg headed to the Monkey Mangrove Tour and met us for lunch at Agua Azul where we dined over looking the beautiful bay.  Since they had a car, we swung by the market to pick up beer and diet coke for the apartment.  Then we had to send them on their merry way back to San Jose.

Deborah & Greg in Quepos

Deborah & Greg in Quepos

It was a fast and furious couple of days as we packed a lot in a short amount of time.  Thank you so much for everything Greg and Deborah – we loved having you visit.

Uncle Sam at Quepos, Costa Rica

Uncle Sam Lost in Costa Rica

Marina Pez Vela hosted a lovely 4th of July celebration, complete with Uncle Sam.  You might think, why would a marina, in a small town in Costa Rica celebrate America’s birthday?  Well, there happen to be a lot of Americans in the yard and marina and Ticos (locals) love a good party.

The GM of the marina showed up as Uncle Sam, and of course I had to have a photo.

Uncle Sam at Quepos, Costa Rica

Uncle Sam at Quepos, Costa Rica

The GM also owns this pretty tasty gelato place called Gelateria Amorosi which is a frequent stop for us.

So, what goes on during America’s birthday celebration in Costa Rica?  A good band was playing for most the night, trying to encourage people to dance.  unfortunately, the constant drizzle kept people away from the “dance floor.”

Band at Marina Pez Vela Celebrations

Band at Marina Pez Vela Celebrations

The stage was covered in American flag decor along with a really cool American Flag light decor.

Lit up American Flag

Lit up American Flag

They had an entire cupcake display which made up the American Flag

American Flag made of cupcakes

American Flag made of cupcakes

Of course lots of U.S. Flags flying all over the marina, including around town.

American Flag proudly displayed all over Quepos

American Flag proudly displayed all over Quepos

Lots of cool spots to hang out and meet the locals.

Beachu hang out area at Marina Pez Vela Upper Deck

Beachu hang out area at Marina Pez Vela Upper Deck

I wish I got a photo of the voting area that was set up with a cardboard cut out of the statue of liberty. I have seen this in a few other countries, but not many.  They were offering absentee voting for U.S. citizens abroad.  Pretty impressive.

In addition they had at the Uncle Sam Celebrations:

  • Face painting for the kids
  • Jumpy houses
  • Games for all ages
  • Hot dogs, chili, and snacks
  • and of course fireworks
Fireworks

Fireworks