At this point we still did not know what was going on. In my mind I kept thinking, "We should have left at 1…) but that news was enough to get the boys moving. As we pulled into Mesquite we stopped at a gas station to get drinks and I kept overhearing people talking about how they were stuck for 3 hrs and that there was like a riot going on and that NO ONE was getting thru now. This protest was literally a mile or 2 down the road from where we stopped. Um… remember we have a flight to catch… So the cashier told us to take a back road to the next exit down and maybe we will bypass the mess. So thats what we did. What we did not know is that the protest moved right were we had to drive thru. As we turned the bend to cross the river we could see tons cowboys driving cattle on horseback down the river. and the protesters were out!! I have never seen soo many random freedom fighters, militia personnel and little ladies carrying ginormous rifles and automatic weapons! It was nuts! We were able to get thru. I guess by the time we got there the Feds backdown so the protestors were in a sense "celebrating".. It was definitely interesting to see.
In our minds we were thinking, SWEET! We dodged a bullet, we are about 45 min away from Vegas and we had 2 hrs to get there. Well, we hit road construction combined with protest traffic. No Bueno! At this point we now have an hour to get to the airport and on the plane. I kept thinking, we just need to get to Denver by 11:30pm to catch our flight to Costa Rica, because at this rate we were never going to make it! Once we got out of traffic and hit Vegas we have 30 min.. Sweating yet? When we got to the airport we now had 20 min to park the car, get tickets, go thru security and run to our gate. The boys dropped us off at the curb and we ran inside. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. There was not a soul around! I have never seen an airport this quiet. I was the only one in line for security and out gate was right around the corner. When I got to the gate I ran to the attendant and said I have 3 more in our party (I lost one to the checked baggage counter..) and that they are right behind me. All she said was they have 14 min to get here. The plane waits for no one. (Thanks Frontier) I jumped on hoping they'd be right behind me.. I sat there for 10 minutes! Finally at the very last minute they walked onto the plane. Heart attacked avoided.
Now lets fast forward to getting to Costa Rica! We landed and met everyone in Customs. Six couples ready for a great week in the sun! We got thru,got our rental cars and we were off. We had a 2 hr drive to a little "beach town" outside of Jaco. The house was awesome! we all had our own rooms with bathrooms, a pool on the roof and tons of room to play. We had a sweet view of the ocean and the beach was a 5 min walk from the house. We also had a guide that would come to the house everyday to see what activities we wanted to do. He'd set them up for us. Love that Javier! The town was crazy, there were little make shift houses every where. People rode bikes everywhere. And boy did they know how to give a "pump" They could fit 5 people on 1 bike! There was a little market around the corner and a few open air restaurants. Just simple.
The first day we hung around the house and recovered from our travels. The next day we went to the beach and played in ocean. The boogie boarding was phenomenal!
That night we went and ate to one of the restaurants which was delicious but boy were we in for a "treat". The next day i woke up with a stomach ache and the runs (sorry but its part of the experience..) I just figured it was a little food poisoning but Id be fine. I had to be, we were going to the zip lines that day. At breakfast no one else felt sick, just me. I am glad to report that the zip line was a success and that I did not have any bathroom emergencies while up in the trees for 3 hrs.. whew!
Major success! This was my first time on a zip line and it was worth every penny! But, the sickness was spreading.. Now 2 more people were beginning to feel queazy followed by the runs.. Uh oh! Thats 3 of the 12. As the day went on people in our group were dropping like flies. By the end of the night all but 3 people were experiencing the runs. And this was not your typical diarrhea (we only wished it was) we are talking, eat something and 5 min later it was pure liquid.. 2 people we up all night with chills, runs and aches. Me being one of them. I thought I was going to die!! But I also thought I was on the mend and that the worst had passed. Like food poisoning does. At any moment during the day you would see people run off to the nearest bathroom. Mid conversation. It was hilarious and awful at the same time.
At this point we had been stuck in the house for obvious reasons and were ready to venture out. We went in to Jaco to shop and find "american food" because at this point nothing "native" sounded good. Period. It was fun to see how people there function. My husband speaks fluent spanish so it was fun to hear him translate and talk to the people. As people were on the mend (we thought) we decided to venture a little farther away and go on a waterfall hike. It was awesome! You hike up to this place with 3 waterfalls that had pools you could jump into. It was definitely refreshing and we all needed it after shedding 5 pounds from the runs…
It was soo fun! I think Javier got a kick out or group. I swear he thought the boys were a group of teenage boys..They were so funny to watch! We got to experience a thunder storm one night that was insane!! I had no clue it could ran soo hard and thunder soo loud! It was nuts! and boy when it rains, all kinds of creatures come out…We were sweeping crabs, frogs and ginourmous bugs out of our entry way! My kids would have been in heaven.
The rest of the trip was filled with fun, the beach and playing games! And yes,at this point we all had the runs.. Violent runs! It was such a fun group to travel with and I am pretty sure was all had a blast, minus the being attached to a toilet thing.. But we are forever bonded by Montezuma's Revenge. It is VERY real people. and its frightening!!! My doctor laughed, gave me a antibiotic and said, "good luck!" This experience has forever changed my opinion about international travel.. and NO we did not drink the water… I am happy to report I am almost back to normal almost a week later… as the for others…well, some have not been soo lucky…especially the ones who had no sympathy for us early on. lol! He are some picks of the trip!
Thanks for the "Ulitmate Cleanse" Costa Rica, you shall not be forgotten…
On another note, I am back working like mad to get slipcovers finished before my next rip up, which will be over Mother's Day weekend. Hit me up if you want to get on my fitting schedule. I have 1-2 spots open. You must have fabric washed and ready to go!
