IMG_3782The day before our departure to Liberia, Costa Rica from Charlotte, NC, we realized that our connestion in Houston was rather a short one. 51 minutes to be exact, which left us about 15 minutes to get to the absolute other side of IAH. Unluckily for us the strongest hurricane in recorded history had spread its wings over most of Mexico and some of Texas. Particularly most of the greater Houston metro area. This delayed our arrival by almost half an hour. We were doing some nail biting at this point and pushed and shoved our way out of the IMG_3800plane, strongly suggesting to people in front of us on the gangway that we’d like them to get out of the way. Literally at a dead run through the airport, we did make it to our gate right as they started boarding. Luckily for us the hurricane had also delayed our connecting flight, and we had just enough time. Once on the plane we could officially start our vacation. We had been offered an upgrade to first class for IMG_3826only $90 per ticket at the time of purchase. So, we said “heck yeah!” to that. Sliding into a big cushy first class seat after the stress of morning felt really good.

We had, probably (relatively) the best business class flight ever. Aside from the big fancy trans-oceanic first class pods and cabins, we had it pretty good. We had flawless service the entire time from our flight attendant, who looked like Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, with free flowing Bloody Marys and mimosas. The breakfast served was memorable on it’s own as a meal, much less an airplane meal. Quiche, omelet, fresh fruit and a croissant, all objectively really tasty and good quality. Well worth the cost of the upgrade! Props to United.

A comfortable flight, lovely breakfast, and finally a chance to breathe. We had a smooth landing in Liberia Costa Rica, which has a surprisingly modern and large airport. It is, however, one of two major airports in the country. Impressive nonetheless. Although they like to let you know just where you’ve arrived as soon as you get to baggage claim, which is not air conditioned. After we claimed our bags, we breezed through customs 4 times more easily than getting through the line at Starbucks and walked straight out to our friend waiting with the car. Randall had driven the 45 minutes or so from the Potrero Bay area on the west coast to pick us up. He and Tim are the new owners of Tourist Information Flamingo and live full time in the neighborhood of Surfside, Potrero.

On the way back we were able to get a taste of the country side, the feel of the little towns along the way, the views of jungle and mountains and the quality of the roads or lack thereof. Although it was a few days later that we took the monkey trail, which is one of those “lack thereof” roads. Check out the gallery below to see some of the scenery, and stay tuned for more stories from our trip!