From the frustration and anxiety of travelling Continental United States Airlines to the reassuring reminder of the insignificance of first world problems, a short trip to Costa Rica in order to reset your ESTA is not only a viable solution, it’s imperative.
The trip started much as it always does, inside my head as a thought. I knew that I needed to leave the US as any Australian non-resident needs to once the 90-day curfew approaches. I even got a lovely e-mail from Customs and Immigration reminding me of our ‘required’ date of separation. So, from reading a blog or two, it was evident that simply crossing over to Canada or to Mexico was not going to cut the mustard in order to reset the 90 days on my ESTA. I even read that outlying islands such as the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and anything else in the Caribbean was additionally unacceptable. So, from the map I looked at where a few countries would be skipped, and my finger stopped at the Central American nation of Costa Rica. Okay. Now the thought had entered my mind. The romanticized concept of a few days away with Ash on a tropical beach began to blossom. I tried to call forth from my random-access memory, any negative connotations associated with Costa Rica that I had inadvertently stumbled across and possibly remembered. There were none. It really is a warmish complete feeling when you know that a solid plan begins to look feasible and unfold. The next step was to check access to the Country. Costa Rican immigration websites mentioned that visas were not required for Australians, or US Permanent Residents, being a category of which Ash falls lithely into. Reading further, there appeared to be no requirement for a negative Covid Test as long as we were both fully vaccinated. Check. Taking a quick look at Booking.Com, I could see that multiple US cities hosted direct flights into San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. All the boxes were quickly becoming ticked. It seemed that United Airlines was the main player taking sun-seekers southward, it just became a matter of where from and what date. Instead of going through Booking.Com, I took a look at the United Airlines website directly, and found the ticketing system very easy and options seemed to be slightly broader, albeit cheaper than the former. The choice was very easy, I could book us a flight from Louisville to Washington DC (Dulles Airport), with a connecting flight direct to Juan Santamaria Airport (San Jose). The return flights would be from San Jose, back to the Liberty Airport in Newark (actually New York – which I believe had become a play on the American euphonism over time?). A connecting flight would then take us back home to Louisville (Muhammed Ali Airport, just to maintain the naming convention consistency).
Now, I am writing this post trip of course. I am actually sitting in the emergency exit seating of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on my way to Seoul, from Atlanta. The inflight map shows me that the plane is skirting the coastline of British Columbia, almost back in US airspace over Alaska. I am also feeling itchy across my back, being a condition brought about through ignorant exposure to the unforgiving solar rays of Central America. But to adjust this digression, this flight has so far been a positive experience (as every flight with Korean Air has been for me). The airliner is spacious, the service is second to none (Koreans are eager to serve, to please and to ensure that you are comfortable using their near robotic methodology), and the flight times are almost always accurate. The reason for this description is that I wanted to use it as a comparison to the experience we received from United Airlines.
It came to my attention that the layover at Dulles Airport (after flying out of Louisville), was only 51 minutes. Hmmm, first little crack appeared. I immediately called United Airlines of which I was on hold for 30 minutes before I elected to receive a call-back. To their credit, I did get a phone call 2 hours later, where a non-native English-speaking woman told me that the layover was a little tight, but should be fine. Hmmmm. Not entirely accepting this prognosis of ‘all things being right in the world’, I decided to drive to the Louisville Airport and speak with somebody at United. I couldn’t bear to talk to somebody again over the phone. So, after driving to the airport for the first time and finding a parking space in the labyrinth called the ‘garage’ (I don’t understand why there are so many cars parked at the airport), I tracked down the check-in counter of United Airlines. Wouldn’t you know it, ‘all things were right in the world’ according to the lady I spoke to. She said we just needed to make a little haste once we landed. Okay. I guess we could do that. I couldn’t think of any other solution at the time, as there were no other flight options that would get us to San Jose directly, plus I was afraid of incurring rebooking fees. My beautiful plan had to stay intact. Now one thing that I do give United Airlines credit for, is their application and website interface. The technology does seem to be well built, and it does seem to channel information quite well. This being said, of course the day before we were scheduled to fly out of Louisville at 8am, a message was pushed to my phone stating that our flight had been delayed for technical reasons until 10am. Craaaaaack! The beautiful plan was unstitching. I called United Airlines again, on hold……call-back….phone rang 2 hours later. After deliberating with the agent on the phone for quite some time, and because we were going to miss our connection in Washington DC, we reluctantly settled (only because options were now non-existent) for a connecting flight from Washington DC back to Los Angeles (5 hour flight), and then to San Jose overnight. We were going to miss our private shuttle service that I had arranged from San Jose, and the first night of our accommodation in El Castillo that I had booked and prepaid. Nothing could be done, so this was our new plan. I cancelled the shuttle service, which I had luckily opted to pay cash for rather than pre-pay, and then commenced a mental preparation process for a little more flying.
The next day we made it to our flight and after another delay, the aircraft finally took off. It was only a couple of hours later and we descended into Washington DC (an event in itself – yet another state of the US visited – Virginia!). We took a little time to familiarize ourselves with our next departure gate and then had a spot of lunch. It was amazing to see how quickly the bars filled up with people. The airport itself was not huge, but it was nice. It wasn’t until we were preparing ourselves for boarding time when we received yet another push notification – you guessed it, a delay. It was at this time that the realization of how much time we had in Los Angeles dawned upon us. We had yet another brief layover before we were supposed to be speeding down towards Costa Rica. Again, this theory becoming a reality seemed like a gamble. There were a couple of more connecting flights that people were catching, and I asked at the customer service desk whether anybody would be available at Los Angeles to assist us to get on the next flight. All I received was ‘ahhh, yes all is right with the world’. At this stage, it was becoming transparent that customer service agents deal with this broken system all day long, and the normalization of paying customers being treated poorly is just the way it has become. Finally we boarded the flight, and the purser mentioned to me when I passed him that the flight will be shortened as a result of the delay as there was extra fuel to burn. Hmmm – a sliver of hope. So we traversed the entire country from East to West in 5 hours, landing at the monolith that is the Los Angeles International Airport, aka – LAX. We landed 15 minutes after the connecting flight to Costa Rica departed. Of course, that flight was on time. They didn’t keep the plane waiting for us. Wow. So it was about 11pm, we were tired and now standing again in front of a customer service agent. This agent seemed to try and help us, but we got the distinct impression that she followed a certain protocol and recommended only a few dishes for us, and not the whole menu. After another hour of deliberation and the offer of staying at a hotel, we declined and settled for an outbound flight at 5am the next day to Houston, Texas, connecting with another flight to Panama City, then yet another connection to San Jose. Yep. The airport area that we were in was deserted but for a few people that had the same idea as us, some security and cleaning staff. We commandeered a pillow and blanket each from customer service, found a deserted patch of carpet and tried to get a bit of sleep. The loudspeaker in the airport had a high-pitched whining sound, which actually seemed like a deterrent for people to make camp in the airport. This played on our minds and thoughts of a greater conspiracy were born. 2 hours later, we decided that we would get up and wander around a bit. Trying to sleep on the floor became a foregone conclusion. Before we knew it, the flight to Houston was boarding. After swallowing a sandwich each courtesy of United Airlines, we got on the plane and were soon airborne en route to the George Bush International Airport in Houston, leaving the LAX-ative (something that gives you the shits), far behind. So, we went from Kentucky, to Virginia, to California to Texas. A full 12 hours of flying and still in the US. The major problem we also had was that I was supposed to leave the country the day before as my ESTA had expired. The Customer Service agent did give me a letter upon my request that stated I could not leave due to a delayed flight. It was my hope that this would play well when we tried to get back across the border. Once we landed in Houston, we disembarked from the aircraft and walked past the departure’s information board in search for details on our connection to Panama. It was then that I saw there was a flight to San Jose literally boarding at that moment. We almost ran to the gate. Getting to the desk, they were in the early stages of boarding, and I quickly explained our situation to the staff behind the desk. Luckily a supervisor was in the area and he agreed that we could board the flight if we could get our international documents re-done in time. To enter Costa Rica, we needed to enter our information online into a health questionnaire which included details on the flight. I did this as quickly as I could, and moments later we were boarding the plane. Finally, a little ray of sunshine glimpsed through the clouds. Goodbye USA, hello Costa Rica.
The first thing that entertains your senses in Costa Rica is the thick forestation atop mountainous terrain that you fly over to land at the airport. And when disembarking, waves of welcoming heat wash over your face, ensuring that the desire to wear any more than one layer upon arrival manifests instant regret. Moving through the throngs of people, we lined up to present to immigration officials and not long after, we were across the border and officially arrived at our destination. Travelling with only carry on luggage adds so much value to airline travel. We did decide to change some USD into the local currency (Costa Rican Colone) at a booth stationed just before the exit to the airport. A word of warning, please don’t do that. That’s exactly where you will get scammed. We lost quite a bit of money in that transaction. Just as we were approaching the exit and the welcoming atmosphere outside, a lady approached us directly asking if we needed transport. Well, we certainly needed it, but we just didn’t know where we were headed. Her English was advanced and needed no prompting or slow repeats initially, however later on I think my Australian accent gave her some trouble, as Ash had to translate most of what I was saying to her. After a short negotiation on a price to take us to Manuel Antonio Beach (upon her recommendation), we were outside and quickly into her Diesel Toyota Corolla taxi. Her name is Ileana. She remained constantly bubbly and soon gave us the impression that she is a happy soul. Which leads me to believe that most people in Costa Rica do not have much to worry about. A little digging showed that Costa Rica ranked 111th in the world for its suicide rate. I’m not sure whether this is a good gauge or not, but I put it in here anyway. We asked her a lot of questions about the economy, the government and main industry, of which she happily engaged in conversation. The government it seems is admired by the people, particularly in relation to their environment sustainability policy. What struck me was the absence of any rubbish and how clean it felt. Costa Rica is basically one giant forest that is bordered by beautiful coast lines. The name Costa Rica is actually Spanish for “Rich Coast”, coined by Christopher Columbus himself all those years ago. She mentioned a little about points of corruption within the government, but astonishingly it didn’t remain a main point of the discussion about those in power. Much unlike other nations that we have been to, albeit lived in. I initially asked her to take us to Jaco, which is the place that I read about that detailed descriptions of beautiful beaches, but she steered us away from that thought by saying that it is very popular, very populated and without saying so, ‘over-rated’. She instantly recommended Manual Antonio Beach, which we were happy to oblige her native knowledge. After 20 minutes or so, I had a room booking at the Espadilla Gardens Hotel, and we were on our way.
During the car trip, Ileana obliged us by stopping at a couple of places to give us a little bit of Costa Rican flavour. The first stop was a mini market where she obviously likes to stop for her clients so that they can sample some of the native fruit. By god, the fruit was amazing. Some of the likes I have never laid eyes on before. There was mango and the larger manga, some red pear looking thing that tasted euphoric, pineapple, watermelon, yellow looking large passionfruit and a blue fruit that actually looked like it had cream inside its flesh. Just amazing. Along with the fruit we purchased some coconut cookies that were quite satisfying and yet not too sweet, as well as fresh coconut milk sucked through a straw directly from the coconut. From the market, we cruised down the main highway, which seemed to be in good condition, albeit only one lane on either side and definitely quite the roller coaster ride – especially for those people who are susceptible to motion sickness. Traversing hills and then mountain sides were the mission in order to reach the coastline. Ileana stopped at a bridge where we were able to see crocodiles idly hanging out on the riverbanks, seeming to have endless patience for the next great tasting tourist to get too close. We got a few photos here while being offered cocaine by a local. Needless to say we didn’t hang around there for too long. We then stopped at a great place to take a photo of the sunset (just outside of Jaco). The view was simply breathtaking. No wonder the people are happy. We backtracked slightly to a restaurant that Ileana was excited about us experiencing. There was a variety of dishes available all smacking of traditional cuisine, which ultimately was quite delicious. So, after packing a take-away container with our left-overs and jumping back into the taxi, we were speeding through the sunset afterglow towards Quepos and our ultimate destination, the Espadilla Gardens Hotel.
The hotel was everything that we needed. I wouldn’t say it was lavish or flamboyant, but it was simple in its beauty, very clean and well manicured gardens and pool area combined elegantly with the surrounding forestation and nearby stalls/restaurants. The area was quiet and busy at the same time. The beach was less than 100 metres away. Just perfect. Life on the beach was slightly commercial, with people approaching you at frequent opportunities to enquire about your interest in covered banana lounges, pina coladas, coconut milk, hats, shirts and food. All at a premium to what you would pay if you just got off your butt and walked to the store yourself, but it wasn’t in your face. It was actually not annoying at all, but polite enquiries that you could pleasantly say no to or engage in the transaction. Offence to a rejection wasn’t really taken on board in any form from what I could see. Another thing that we noticed was that there were quite a few dogs all around our travels so far that didn’t seem to belong to anyone person. But they were not shunned either. Where some communities around the world actively detest dogs and their homeless states, here it seemed that they were quite welcome, and people were unafraid of interacting with them.
The beach was breathtaking. The sun was intense. The weather was amazing and the atmosphere was everything you wanted in a tropical getaway. When we found the Manuel Antonio Beach after walking through the local national park, it oozed postcard perfectionism. We could really see why Columbus coined the country’s name. Every day we went for multiple swims and really soaked as much in as we could. I’m still itching where my skin was roasted as a result, but totes worth it. The local ale made by the Pilsen company is definitely the beer to drink in Costa Rica. Central American nations make amazing brewskies. The second night, we had dinner at a restaurant on the esplanade which was really nice accompanied by some live music thrashed out by local talent.
The phrase “Pura Vida” translates to “Pure Life” or “Simple Life” and has become such an institutionalized term in Costa Rica, that locals actually use it as a greeting.
We made a pilgrimage through the nearby National Park (Manuel Antonio) and loved every second of it. The only regret was that we didn’t see a Sloth, but we did see just about every other creature on offer. Halfway through the Park, the boardwalk opens up at a secluded beach that does nothing except take your breath away. Seeing something that you would normally associate with a tourism brochure or a postcard just makes the whole trip worth while. After slurping down a coconut ice cream and another coconut water, we made our way back to the hotel and started making plans for Ileana to collect us the next day. Unfortunately our first Costa Rican adventure was coming to a conclusion.
The next day Ileana took us back to San Jose, which in contrast to the coast line, is vast, busy and full of character. We bought some coffee (which I will admit is the best tasting coffee that I’ve tasted) and a few trinkets to take back with us.
“Pura Vida” indeed. Costa Rica, we will be back.
