2015 - Rainforest Revisit -Part Six - Back to San Jose

August 12th Returning to San Jose
In the morning, it was raining fairly hard. and the route from our cabin to the eating area/cafeteria includes an area by the pool that is not covered. We went to breakfast and I had an omelet and cinnamon bread. Their cinnamon bread is really good. After breakfast, I put on the wet clothes from yesterday morning (which were still kind of damp) and packed. We got ourselves out to the reception area by 9. Anna Maria took our key, but they asked Bob to go back and tried to charge him for a second tour. Bob explained that I went by myself. I was on the scooter and draped my raincoat over my shoulders and somehow the cord to tie the bottom caught on and wrapped around the scooter wheel and pulled the raincoat apart. It was ripped right up the back. I threw it out. Bob claims he could have fixed it but I think not. So I need another one of those too. We loaded the luggage into the boats and we got on also and we ran down the canals mostly in the rain

Passing the village on the way back to San Jose

Passing by

Colorful

Buildings over the water

Tour boat at the park as we leave for San Jose

to where the bus was to meet us. The landing was just as muddy as before except that now we couldn't just slide down - now we had to go uphill. My pants were a little long and were dragging in the mud and of course I could not use the scooter. One of the guys from the boat helped me and together we struggled up to the restaurant where we were to wait. I tipped him $5.00. He was a big help. I persuaded Bob that he had to get help from the guy with the wheelbarrow to get the luggage from the boat up to the restaurant.

La Pavona restaurant in the rain

He couldn't even wheel the scooter in the mud. I sat on the stool and waited. Bob found me and left his bag and went back to get my bag (the handle on it broke so that makes three things) and the scooter. I made my way over there (a guy from England carried Bob's bag over. We sat and waited for our bus - the English guy said it was green and I said it was orange. (It was orange, but the seats inside were green). We loaded onto the bus but Anna Maria was two people short. She said that the agency said there was a family of six, but there was only a family of four. This caused a delay. The driver said we would be at the restaurant for lunch by 12:30 even if he had to get 25 tickets. And we were. No tickets, but I noticed that he did not slow down at all for the school zones

Rain through the bus window

I took photos on the drive, as is my habit, to show interesting parts of Costa Rican life

Bus stop - Guápiles

Restaurant sign - Guápiles

When we got to the restaurant for lunch,

Lunch dishes - two salad plates and chicken rice

Sweet fruit dessert

most people got off the bus. Apparently this restaurant is also a transfer point where there are rental car people and also buses transfer passengers from one tour to another.

Luggage at transfer point

our guide Anna Maria in the white shirt

but a couple of us went back to San Jose.

Signs on poles - A Soda is family-run restaurant like a diner in the USA

Anna Maria took our luggage in to the hotel (now that we were the only ones on the bus, she wanted her tip), and the hotel clerk remembered us. It was only about 2:45, but our room was ready and they got our luggage out of storage and brought it up too. The elevators are too small for me on the scooter and the luggage cart too so we went up on two separate elevators. This time we had a room on the 8th floor.

elevator area on the 8th floor

shower head

grab bars

bathroom mirrors

View from the 8th floor

I decided I wanted to go to the Jade Museum, but the website said they closed at 3:30 (I found out later that it was wrong - they didn't close until 5). So I tried to call Mario who brought us in from the airport but neither of his phones worked. So I emailed him and he called me right back. He is to pick us up at 8:30.

Bob asked me what I wanted to do for dinner and I said he should walk to Burger King again, and he didn't hear me. So after it got dark, he asked again, and I said Room Service and he said they wouldn't have anything. They do, but it is a little expensive. So I told him what I wanted and handed him the menu, and he decided to go to Burger King after all. They are getting to know him because he wants one Whopper with cheese (for me) and one without (for him) and they have to get the one boy who speaks English to take his order..

dinner