This was what we woke up to our first full day in Costa Rica - for being the middle of the rainy season, it sure was a beautiful day!
It apparently gets light around 5 am, and it gets bright so quickly that it really is tough to sleep much past 5:30 or 6 am unless you have done a good job of sealing the light out of the room!
After eating breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we had to catch a flight on the local airline from San Jose to Palmar Sur (near the property we were going to visit in southern Costa Rica).
We were told to be at the SANSA offices by 9:00 am for a 9:30 am flight, which seemed a little tight, so we got there by 8:45 am. Turns out that 9:00 am is fine because it only takes about 2 minutes to get your boarding pass and two minutes to go through "security" when your flight is called. Oh - and the flight often doesn't leave until 10:00 or later.
I have been on small planes in the states, but this was by far the smallest "passenger plane" I have ever been on. That is Rebecca and me in the picture with the only other person on our flight in the background. (He apparently is a Costa Rican - a "tico" as they proudly call themselves - and he tried to bring his new chainsaw on the plane with him. I was glad that they did not allow him to carry it on (or even check it), and I had more confidence in the air safety of Costa Rica after that.)It is also significant to note that with a full flight, they may enforce a maximum baggage weight of 26 lb per passenger. We would have been in trouble if that was the case, but fortunately, we were less than 1/2 full. (I think it should really be weight of passenger and bag together, personally.)
We arrived uneventfully in Palmar Sur and was picked up by our guide for the next 2 days - Don. It was about a 25-minute car ride back to where we stayed - mostly on the coastal "highway" (the highest speed limit we saw was 80 km/h or 50 mph - largely because of the pedestrian, bicycle, and other miscellaneous traffic, I suspect). The last 5+ minutes was mostly uphill it seemed on dirt roads that 4-wheel drive was very helpful on - though we saw a lot of people getting around OK in 2-wheel drive cars.
We stayed at the property developer's guest house - next door to their house - about 900 ft above sea level (though it was only about 10 minutes to the beach, even on bad roads). Their older developments were in that general area, while the newer developments where lots are now for sale are about 15 minutes closer to Palmar Sur and where the new international airport will be going in.We had a wonderful lunch - chefs on staff get produce from the local markets in order to prepare meals for the day - in this case a cheeseburger (ironic, isn't it - but Nate said the fresh one was much better than the one in the restaurant) with fresh vegetables, french fries, etc.
In the afternoon, we went to look at properties in the nearby development with houses in various stages of construction. We got a feel for things we liked (open space, integrated into the environment) and things we didn't (closed buildings that don't take advantage of the beautiful environment).
Besides construction details, we also got a feel for lot sizes and shapes and views. There were some lots that were about 1/8 acre (because they were developed just after 9/11 when people wanted to be close again), and it was amazing what could be done with relatively little land.
Many of the lots were also on hillsides for views, which made it convenient to design with several stories (some lots are limited to 1-story construction on the front side in order to preserve views for others). It was cloudy much of the afternoon, but the rain held off for our construction tour, which we were very thankful for.
A wonderful dinner (fresh prawns, vegetables, and cooked sweetened pineapple in chocolate ice cream for dessert - as well as something else I can't remember) and talking into the night finished off day 1.
Rebecca and I also spent some time determining which available lots we would be interested in seeing based upon views, price, size, and location relative to others. But like Don said, the 2-dimensional maps almost go out the window when you actually see the properties.
Things We Learned About Costa Rica
We learned that because Costa Rica is close to the equator, you get right around 12 hours of daylight year round. Because there is no "daylight savings time" it gets dark around 6 pm. For most people, by 7 or 8 pm it seems really late and you have to fight the urge to go to bed (if you choose to...).
We also learned that bugs are not much of an issue once you get up in elevation a little bit. I guess mosquitoes and other biting insects become a problem around twilight down at the beach, but we never noticed ANY up in the mountains. We did see a number of bugs (and the geckos were on patrol for food), but they just don't bite so they really aren't a problem.
Overall, a wonderful first full day in Costa Rica. Tomorrow we get to look at available lots and try to pick the one we want to buy! No pressure - we have all of about 4 hours to look at scores of lots and pick the one we want...
