Affordable Costa Rica Day 1
Affordable Costa Rica
DAY 1 - March 14, 2005
Fly to San José, Costa Rica
One of the nice things about flying north to south is the lack of time zone crossing. Flying to Costa Rica is one such adventure. As we leave Colorado, we are one hour earlier than San Jose, Costa Rica, our destination. We had been scheduled to fly American but OAT informed us just last month that everyone going to Costa Rica would now fly America West, connecting in Phoenix to San Jose. Due to the late switch, on one flight Gennie and my seats are separated.
As we woke up, it was a shovel the driveway morning. We had just a couple of inches but enough that we had to clean. I was able to have my coffee, read the Denver Post and take care of emails that needed tending. At 9:45 we were off for Denver and DIA. The street out of Colorado Estates had been plowed but was snow packed. Monument Hill was wet, traffic was light and by the time we got to Castle Rock the road was dry. We made it to DIA and the Pikes Peak remote parking in less than one hour - that is really good. We waited for the shuttle about 20 minutes and then had a quick ride to the East Terminal. The electronic check-in was interesting as the touch screen was not sensitive and the software was not people friendly. It took us a little over 10 minutes, much longer than other airlines and attendant assisted.
Gennie and I walked over to Terminal A and had some lunch at Panda Express - much more than we needed! We took the train to Terminal C and walked to the far west wing to await our flight at 1:16. I found an electrical outlet and was able to start this Journal.
We boarded the AirBus and once the doors were closed we had three seats for the two of us. How nice. The flight was uneventful until we got within view of Phoenix and then we entered some pretty severe turbulence. It was sunny in Phoenix and people working on the tarmac were wearing shorts.
We walked to the other end of the Barry Goldwater Terminal to gate A2, had our ticked stamped showing that we had all the proper paper work to enter Costa Rica. It was a very short layover and within an hour we boarded the aircraft. We were again very fortunate to have only Gennie and I and three seats. We were a little late taking off due to some congestion but the pilot came on and told us that he would try to make up some of the 20 minutes with some "shortcuts". The five hour flight was uneventful with several turbulent sections. America West does not serve meals to the passengers. Like many airlines today, they offer to sell sandwiches. Our previous flight to San Jose on American they did not serve or offer meals also. Gennie and I had planned ahead and made ourselves some sandwiches, olives, cheese and celery sticks. It was great - better than most meals I have had on long distance flights.
On the flight I had a chance to see Finding Neverland with Depp and Winslet about the creator of Peter Pan. Quite good! Just a little after 10:30 we arrived in San Jose with one of the softest landings I have had in some time. We disembarked and went through the procedure of going through immigration and customs. Very easy! As we exited the secure area we were greeted by our Overseas Adventure Travel representative Jose with his clipboard with the large yellow OAT logo. He put us in a van taxi and we were off to meet our tour guide at the Marriott Courtyard.
After a 15 minute ride we arrived and were greeted by Eddie, our tour guide. He gave us a welcome drink, non alcoholic, and explained to Gennie and I the procedures at the registration desk and then gave us some forms to fill out and tomorrow morning's schedule. The hotel people told me that the high speed connection in the room was free and we were ready to go. We went to the top floor, Room 417, and it is spacious with a night view of the mountains. Our luggage followed and we found out that both our suitcases had been opened and checked by TSA. They left a little note. Gennie's clothes were all over but mine were fine.
As it is after 12:30 AM, it is time to call it a day and send this off.
Accommodations: Marriott Courtyard
If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.
To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062
Comments
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
