Boom, Toasted!

I (Austin) am burned to a crisp. Wow. Currently I am debating whether a cold shower would be good for me or too painful. I was able to buy some aloe vera lotion and that has helped some.

So, last night, the 27th (Saturday) Sauer and I just relaxed at our "cabina" at Las Avellanas for our last night in that location. We reheated buttered pasta for dinner and had some toasted bread along with coca-cola. A pretty good meal. We enjoyed pineapple all afternoon (we cut it ourselves) and this morning for breakfast. During dinner we watched an episode of The Office and did some reading. We've been reading a lot of the Bible, on this trip I have now read all of John, Nehemiah, Joshua, Song of Solomon, and Hosea. It's been a great trip for free time to read.

There was a thunderstorm last night that had some pretty loud thunder. Sauer was crying because of the loud noises and bright flashes... (not really)

This morning Sauer woke up naturally at about 6:30 AM and me at 7:45 AM. We enjoyed a little more time on the hammock, Sauer took a rain shower (showering with shower water while the rain comes through the screen-only shower ceiling), and we made scrambled eggs and buttered toast along with grape juice and pinapple.

We packed up for the 1,645th time to move to the "cabinas" next store at Mauna Loa Surf Resort where we again have our own cabins. Also, as we were moving out, I bumped our candle off the coffee table and, being glass, it broke. Cya $4. As we moved out, we knocked on our owner's cabin, Isabel, at 11:30 AM. She shouted out, "I am bathing, just leave the keys on the picnic table." Will do, Isabel.

Here is where we have stayed during this vacation:
May 16: Savat household
May 17: Tim Quinn's apartment
May 18: Hotel in Fort Lauderdale
May 19-21: Sleepers Sleep Cheaper Hostel in La Fortuna
May 22-23: Sleepers Sleep Cheaper Hostel in Monteverde
May 24-25: Hotel Guanacaste in Liberia
May 26-27: Las Avellanas in Playa Avellana (by Tamarindo)
May 28: Mauna Loa Surf Resort in Playa Avellana (by Tamarindo)
May 29: San Jose Airport / On the Plane to Fort Lauderdale
May 30: Savat Household

As you can see, it's been a lot of moving around. We are ready to be in our own beds in the air condition with friends and family :)

Speaking of air conditioning, our new room at Mauna Loa has it! The resort is bigger than Las Avellanas with about 10 "cabinas" (so Sauer and I have our own cabin), wireless, A/C, an outdoor pool, a rec area, and a restaurant. Also, comfy hammocks and chairs hang everywhere! Although we still would have liked to stay at Las Avellanas the third night as planned (Isabel overbooked and had us moved), we are okay with the new set-up.

Sauer just returned from the local store. We have been testing the Tican (slang for Costa Rican) beers. We've had Imperial, Bavaria, and Pilsen.

So we just reserved our full plans for tomorrow. We are getting picked up at 7:15 am by the owners friend (he charges less than taxis and is reliable) to take us to Tamarindo for $20. Then, we are taking a semi-private shuttle from Tamarindo to San Jose for $40/person. We were considering taking a more expensive taxi to Santa Cruz and then a public bus from Santa Cruz to San Jose, but it was too risky for only saving $20 each. So, for convenience, an air-conditioned ride, peace of mind, and safety, we elected to spend a tad more. So, we are leaving Tamarindo at about 8:15 AM for San Jose International Airport and should arrive by about 12:30 PM. We will then have about 12 hours to wait until our 1 AM flight to Fort Lauderdale. Do we have to go through customs in Fort Lauderdale? We then have 61 minutes to catch our flight to Chicago. We should arrive in Chicago at 7 AM. Then, we need to get to downtown Chicago to take a 3 PM Megabus to Minneapolis, which will arrive at about 11:30 PM on Monday, May 30th. WOW.

We'll keep you posted on our travels!!

Aust & Matt