After 4 1/2 months in the relatively familiar surroundings of Ambergris Caye, Belize it is time to get on with the greater adventure of exploring new countries and what they have to offer a couple of retired civil servants.
With passports in hand we hauled our luggage via the water taxi to Belize City and headed for the airport. Our flights took us from Belize City to San Salvador, El Salvador on Taca Airlines (50 minutes), then from there to San Jose, Costa Rica on Avianca Airlines (80 minutes). I have mentioned this before, but North American airlines could learn something from their Central and South American cousins. The service and organization we experienced was first rate. The free drink on each flight was appreciated as well.
One of the things about this leg of the trip was that we were scheduled to arrive in San Jose after dark. We had read some information that San Jose was a very scary place and we should be very careful there. This may be true in some areas, but I have to say that our experience at the airport was excellent. The organization in the airport was great. As we exited the terminal there were plenty of legitimate taxis waiting. At no time did I feel any unease or nervousness. We ended up with an excellent driver, Alex, who didn’t even blink when we rolled up with 300lbs of luggage. Driving off into the dark in a strange city in a country where you do not speak the language and the reputation of the area is less than desirable provides an interesting mind set. Alex proved to be an outstanding driver and after several phone calls for directions to our soon to be landlady Debbie we arrived safety.
Our new home is situated on a old farm lot in the Central Valley of Costa Rica about 7km from Heredia. After spending a couple of days walking around the neighbourhood we decided to venture forth on bus to Heredia. The bus service is reasonably frequent and very inexpensive. It cost us approximately .70 cents to get to town.
The buses filled fairly quickly but everyone was very respectful of the other passengers. Seats were given up for the ladies and people moved out of the way when others were trying to get to the exits.
Other than getting on the wrong bus when we were coming home the day went very well. The extra 3km walk to get home was a pleasant way to wind up the day.
so cool!!