Apartel Christina

Good Morning!
  We are staying at the Apartel Cristina, a hotel that is owned by the family of one of our friends down here. It is located right up the street from Parque Sabana, ( San Jose's Central Park). We don't usually stay in the city. Normally we hit the ground and make a bee line for the mountains, but since our friend is expecting to deliver her baby any day now, she is staying in the city near the hospital. We wanted to see her before the baby came so we made an overnight to have a visit.

  It is a lovely hotel, full of angles and nooks, contemporary, but not chrome and glass. Tropical plants soften the edges of the stucco walls and the crisp blue sky makes a perfect backdrop for Cristina's profile. We had breakfast out near the pool and enjoyed the early morning's cool breezes. It was a nice way to start our day.
  Later, one of our Tico friends, Rachin, will come to pick us up and take us toTilaran. He will be accompanied by his wife Vanessa,  his three daughters, (ages 7,5, and 4) and his 2 year old son. The ride back to Tilaran will be like riding with a bus load of gregarious Howler Monkeys for 4 hours.We love this family and will try to remember that while we careen up and down the mountainous curvy roads with all the little angels chattering away at top speed in Spanish.... it will be a fun but lo-ong trip home... 

  It is time to repack the totes and talk to the cell phone company about renting a cell for for our stay. It costs about $1.20 a day plus 6 cents a minute to rent the phone. Which I think is pretty reasonable! It is important to be able to stay in contact with home base, (friends in Tilaran), while traveling, in case car trouble or other issues arise. We will be in some pretty remote locations, but 3G phones work everywhere in Costa Rica, so even when we are deep in the rain forest we can stay in contact.  Until next time I will leave you with a few quick shots of  Apartel Christina, and a promise of many more photos and stories as we go along!

Tropical plants are nestled in every available niche.

A view from the walkway to our room.