Costa Rica

Our last stop (aside from docking back in the US) was on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. We first docked pretty much in the middle of nowhere – I’m not sure why or how they chose the spot – and then the plan was to meet back up with the ship three days later in Puntarenas. Robb had suggested that we rent a house near the beach, and we agreed to it if Robb could find an affordable place.

Costa Rica; we're getting closer to home!

Even when Robb showed us pictures of the cheap house he booked in a place called Jaco I was still skeptical, thinking we might find out about other charges or get ripped off somehow. It was not tied to Costa Rica in any way, just that Robb kind of had a knack for coming up with ideas that seemed good but had a catch. Like when we went bowling in Kobe – it sounded like a fun plan and Robb claimed it was only $13 a lane. We had a good time, although Robb thought he had already paid at the front desk and then we found out soon after we left – as the cops chased us down to inform us we owed over $80 – that we in fact hadn’t paid and it cost us a lot more than we expected.

But this time things worked out. We got two transport vans to take 9 of us to the house in Jaco, which turned out to be an awesome set up. We had a pool complete with a bar, a main building with two rooms and a kitchen, and two attachments with additional beds. The house was a short walk from the beach, which we later learned was hosting a surfing competition. We made a stop at an ATM and a local grocery store to pick up supplies, then wasted no time getting back to the house to crack open a few beers and enjoy the warm December weather.

beachfront of Jaco

The two nights we spent in Jaco were not too eventful from a sightseeing standpoint; we basically relaxed by the pool, walked to the beach and around the town, and went to the bars at night. Several other groups of SAS kids also rented places in Jaco, and being that it was a small town and there were only a few places to go out, we ended up seeing each other both nights.

Drink of Costa Rica
On the last day of our stay we cleaned up the house, packed our things, and got taxis to Puntarenas, a larger town about 45 minutes north of Jaco where the ship was docked.

 We had an hour or so when we reached the docks before we had to get back on the ship, so we sat at a local restaurant to have our last drink in Costa Rica. There were dozens of SAS students hanging out at the restaurant and the area by the docks, all of us wanting to stay longer. We knew that once we got back on the MV our next stop would be Miami – the end of our trip.

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