Saturday January 11, 2014..
We usually start out early the first day of our journey and today was no exception. The trip started at 6:20 am, the roads were slushy from the Island to Espanola then clear the rest of the way but visibility was very poor as dense fog was a constant companion all the way to Toronto. Interesting how fog at the break of day creates optical illusions and miscalculations as to where you are along the way.
This vacation is taking us to Costa Rica and a week at the Riu Palace in Guanacaste were we will be attending the destination wedding of Lindsay Welton and her fiancé Michael Olotu. On a day after the wedding we plan to rent a car and travel to meet Manitoulin friends, Sharon and Ernie Kormendi who are spending the winter in Costa Rica. We are looking forward to our first time in Costa Rica and catching up with friends.
We left Lady (our dog) in good hands, Debbie is looking after her and holding down the fort until our return. Lady likes Debbie and the treats she gets during their time together.
At 9:12 a.m. we were delayed in traffic south of Estaire by the Killarney turn off. The radio told us there had been a car accident - 6 vehicles involved. At 9:30 traffic was moving again. Lucky us, there was no long wait.
We left Barrie after a delicious lunch at the Mandarin and a little shopping. The radio told us the Pearson airport was having a major computer glitch. The airlines were having to book check-in passengers manually. This announcement caused us to wonder if they would manage to have some of these problems straightened out before our flight on Monday morning.
Around 4 in the afternoon we arrived at our hotel "The Best Western" on Dixie Road, the fog was beginning to lift and the weather was beginning to look promising for the next day. Once settled we drove to the "Lone Star - Texas Grill" on Dixon Road where we had a nice dish of nachos, a light snack after eating at the Mardarin in Barry.
Sunday January 12, 2014
We were up early, had breakfast at the hotel the left for the Ripley's Aquarium which is located at the base of the CN Tower.
http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/?Grp=wWUlFArYri4=&Name=zJn+b31+6zoOwzotkNDg8g==&PPC&s_kwcid=TC|1029224|ripley's%20aquarium%20toronto||S|e|32406634752&gclid=CJaQ2Y-EorwCFWJlMgod4zEA6Q.
http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/?Grp=wWUlFArYri4=&Name=zJn+b31+6zoOwzotkNDg8g==&PPC&s_kwcid=TC|1029224|ripley's%20aquarium%20toronto||S|e|32406634752&gclid=CJaQ2Y-EorwCFWJlMgod4zEA6Q.
If you haven't been to the aquarium then you must put it on a must do list - kids can even hold sleepovers - can you imagine sleeping with the sharks?
Allan and I were certainly impressed with the amount of aquariums and the different species of fish. We were there about 2 hours and could have stayed longer but is was so crowded one had to keep moving.
This section explains to the adults and children the operation of the locks in the Great Lakes system.
Then we moved on the CNE grounds for the boat show.
Notice the amount of snow in Toronto - not much compared to back home.
To end the day we went to "The Keg" on Dixon for a wonderful dinner. We used a gift card we were given for Christmas. A big 'THANK YOU" to the gift giver - we really enjoyed it!
Our 5 hour flight left Toronto for Costa Rica at about 7 a.m. Monday morning (Jan 13th). The night before we asked for a wake-up call at 2:30 a.m. so we could get ready and down to the lobby to catch the airport shuttle at 3:20. Mmmmm... well, it didn't come. Allan happened to wake up at 5 minutes to 3!!! What a rush, (and I don't mean that in a good way!). We made it, thank goodness everything was packed and clothes were ready to jump into because that is exactly what we had to do.
When we booked for the trip with the group Lindsay decided we would be the mystery couple and didn't tell anyone who that couple was going to be. Apparently there were lots of names guessed by all but she held the secret until we arrived.
We found Vic at the gate waiting with the rest of the group travelling on our flight - he was certainly surprised to see us. The balance of the time before take-off was spent catching up a little with Vic and meeting his wife Jayne, his sister Chris and her husband Andre. The last time we visited with Vic was about 1992 maybe? Wow - over 20 years!
The buildings in this area of Costa Rica "Guanacaste" are very similar to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico.
The dry season in Costa Rica is between December and April, so guess what? The resort is advertising no rain guaranteed! And there was no rain!
This is the ocean side of our resort, "The Riu Palace"
Because of the heat from the sun the patio and beach sand is too hot to
walk on without sandals or shoes. Unbelievable!
I had a difficult time getting comfortable in our room for the first few days because I felt like I was always in the bathroom. Been a long time since I curled up by the toilet bowl and went to sleep. Oh the memories "Barff".
The resort was great, I would go back again.
The buildings in the background with the red roves are the Riu Guanacaste. The guests from the Palace can go to the Guanacaste and take part in their meals and activities but the Guanacaste guests can not come over to do the same at the Palace.????
The friendly staff at the Palace are constantly cleaning and painting.
The place is spotless and in very good repair.
Nightly entertainment was always very entertaining. The performers work from daylight to beyond dark. They are poolside all day taking photos, serving drinks to sunbathers, getting people involved in pool activities then provide entertainment during the evening in the Theatre.
During our stay at the resort the full moon brought the "Leather Back Turtles" in to lay their eggs. Volunteers stay with the mother turtle while she lays her eggs to count the eggs as they are being laid and to mark the nest when she leaves. Information on the laying is posted with the marker giving date, time, number of eggs laid and expected date(s) of the hatch.
This is one little one who just hatched is hurriedly making his way to the ocean.
Volunteers watch as Momma digs out her nest,
and lays her many eggs. Some lay as many as 100 and more!
This lady was late leaving the shore, usually after they lay their eggs they leave before daylight.
Here are the tracks of one that have not yet been covered up by the early morning activity of water and vacationers.
One would never know there was a nest here if it were not marked by volunteers.
This is our happy Bride "Lindsay" with here Mom and Dad.
This is the little flower girl, about 2 years old. She carried her flowers down the walkway then planted them and played in the sand. She is just the sweetest!
The happy Bride and Groom
Mr. and Mrs. Olotu "Congratulations"
Laney and his Step Mom Jayne
The beautiful bride - one can never get enough pics of her!
Laney and his Mom "Grace"
Allan and I have not seen Grace in oh, about - 10 years. We met her and the rest of the wedding party/guests at the resort when they flew in from Montreal later in the day. What a great reunion it was - Grace and I hugged and cried - silly us! Then we did it again when our week was over and we headed back home. For those of you who remember Grace, she is now also remarried. Matt is a very nice fellow and has a lovely daughter who also attended the wedding.
The day after the wedding we travelled to meet Sharon and Ernie.
The roads are extremely narrow and often oncoming traffic is unyielding
to oncoming traffic.
These creatures in Costa Rica are called "White Nosed Coati". They are similar to our Racoon.
This is a must come back to see for Allan and I because Sharon and Ernie are so in love with this spot, it is the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The weather did not cooperate, the fog and mist settled in for the day causing us to be unable to see the volcano and observatory grounds in its true splendor. This scenic lookout is in the rainforest so they do get rain often, unlike the coastal desert area at this time of year.
A spot where they put out food so you can see many of their colourful birds.
Thanks Sharon and Ernie for giving us a great day!
We enjoyed it even though I fell ill to motion sickness.
Here are Howler Monkeys on the wires.
An interesting tree trunk. The name of this tree is unknown at this time.
A family of Coati
This gives you a better idea of how narrow the roads are. On our side the mountain goes straight up, on the other side it goes straight down!
Cheers to another beautiful day in Costa Rica with "Mimosa"
We took a shuttle into Playas Del Coco which is about a 30 minute ride from the hotel.
This is Sunday, therefore it is "family day"
We didn't seriously look at places to stay but the internet
has some interesting locations if one is interested.
All along this section of beach, including our resort just around the point on the left in this photo, the sand is what they call black sand. It is dark in colour and draws the heat during the day, so hot you don't want to walk without shoes because it will burn your feet to the point of blisters.
We took a short walk about the town.
Hey Allan, there is a place for Charity - let's set her up in a bar! I would drink to that.
This is the medical centre
The trees and plants are so different from what we have at home.
Another view of the land side of our resort. This section contains the gym, wellness centre, Doctor's office casino and shops. The prices in the shops are very reasonable. A great place to shop for souvenirs if you don't go off the resort grounds.
This photo was taken at the Steak House on our last night. Grace and Matt are on my left. The balance of those at the table are their friends and Matt's daughter on my far right, with Lanny standing behind her.
Now some say if you are taking pictures of your food you definitely have an addiction to food or an eating disorder, so I take a picture of someone else's food does that still count?
When we came back to Canada we stopped to spend a few days with Bob and Edith in Tara before heading home. Their cat "Toby" was happy to see Allan, he kept getting up behind him and licking his hair. I think he just wanted more wine.
What a contrast! It is difficult to believe these two scenes
can exist in the world at the same time!
The consensus is that we would definitely go back to Costa Rica again. If we do I think we will consider spending some time up in the mountains where it is a little cooler first then moving to the coast. The extreme brightness of the sun and its heat are nice but take some getting used to. A week just isn't long enough.
