On our way home from the Rain Forest Aerial Tram, Rodrigo took a 'shortcut' just outside San Jose. These 'streets look like Beirut with bomb craters in the streets and I stated so. Even though they don't understand much English, this brought hearty laughter! I asked if they would take me to a grocery so we went to a store-front shopping mall not far from their house, very similar in design to many of ours.  There were eight or ten stores and it was anchored on one side by a nice big grocery store - Mas x Menos (More for Less). 

Dean took Jonathan to a nearby Burger King (Jonathan is 'starving') while Rodrigo and Vilma accompanied me to the grocery. I have a difficult time in the store trying to communicate with them. They think if they speak slowly and distinctly, I can understand, but my comprehension of Spanish is not that good. I am more determined than ever to master this language! Not knowing enough common, everyday words greatly hinders my ability to get to know these kind people and from just being able to 'be human' with them. Rodrigo shows me many kinds of fruit and vegetables I've never seen before and I'm fairly sure he is trying to tell me how to eat and/or cook them as well as their names. This is a large supermarket with it's own bakery (la panaderia). I found some nice bread and doughnuts and bought some fruit for breakfast and snacks.

We go back to their house to see their son Otto and meet his wife and two small children. Their grandson is in kindergarten, and the grand-daughter is a little older. Jonathan fits right in again. The language barrier doesn't seem to matter to them.  

When they take us home, I ask to stop by a hotel not far away (we are on the east side of San Jose), the Hotel Villa Tournon.  It looks quite nice from the outside and isn't far from downtown San Jose (but far enough).  Inside it has a nice looking dining room, but when I ask to see the pool am told it isn't in working order.  It looks like a businessman's place. The rooms were also around $89 and up. Then we stop to check out the Hotel Irazu  which is located west of town on the main highway toward the coast. Jonathan and I went in to check it out.  It is a large hotel with two separate buildings.  There are many tours that leave from here and all are listed on a big board. The lobby looks very nice and they have a huge swimming pool. We decide to move here tomorrow for the last night in town before we get our rental car. Rodrigo promises to pick us up again Tuesday to take us somewhere.

March 25 - Tuesday. I'm really glad to be leaving Casa Maria. I haven't been able to relaxed much here. But it has been very nice for Jonathan. Safe for him to go out and around with Paco, because it is all enclosed and they keep the gate locked except when the 'soda' is open evenings. That almost makes up for the inconvenience. Prices here were $3 for breakfast and $9 for dinner. $77 for a 65$ room, (extra $12 for Jonathan). I had read that many places, children stay and eat free and breakfast is included but not here. I did get a good recommendation from a couple we met later on from Michigan who also stayed in Escazu, but at the Villa Escazu B&B.

Rodrigo and Vilma arrived promptly at 9:30 and took us on a short sightseeing trip through Escazu and through Santa Ana. This is a lovely town on the southwestern slope west from San Jose.  Because of the slight differences in altitude in these towns the temperature can vary by 10 or 20 degrees.  It was warm but pleasant, not hot or muggy.  We stopped at this 'soda' for a snack.  It backed up against a school soccer field which was filled with kids in uniforms, Rodrigo treated us to something very special, though I don't know what it was called or how it was to be eaten. (I found out later it is a 'Granizera'.) It was made in a plastic cup in layers.  At first I thought it to be something like a snow cone, but one layer was powdered milk or cream and another was cornmeal.  It was topped with some cherry-flavored ice.  I assumed it was to be eaten like a sundae, but when I got a mouthful or powered milk, I was sure it wasn't.  Dean stirred his up which also didn't appear to be the proper way also.  I hope we didn't offend Rodrigo, but it was a very strange to our taste.  Jonathan discovered that you could buy lots of 'penny candy' for a few coins. The countryside out this way is very open, nice and cool.  We couldn't help notice the top shape of the main road running all the way from the airport to the area where the ambassadors live--after that it's back to the typical potholes.

We decided to check in to the Irazu and get rid of our luggage. It looks really flashy in the lobby but the room is Motel 6. A little warn, but comfortable. There is a new building on the right if looking at the pool with nice new looking furnishings and mattresses. We talked about going to the Lankester Orchid Gardens in Cartago, but decided just to relax and go for a swim. We had the luncheon buffet here at the hotel. It wasn't too bad, but I don't rate it very high. The three of us had the full buffet while Rodrigo and Vilma just had the salad.  Cost was about $35 for all. 

After lunch, we thanked them again for their hospitality and that we hoped to see them on our return to San Jose. After we napped, and Jonathan watched a few cartoons it was late afternoon. By the time we head to the pool, it was 5 pm and in the shade and the air is chilly. An hour is plenty. The pool is huge, but only shallow around the edges. Jonathan couldn't go but about 3 feet out before it was chin deep. This pool also had very cold water. But we had fun anyway. Dean brought hamburgers from the bar and milkshakes. They were awful. We are headed out tomorrow morning and not any too soon. I feel like I'm not much of a traveler. I'd rather have a place where I can cook.

March 26 - Wednesday. One of the nicest services here is that most car rentals will deliver the car to you.  So a driver from Adobe brought a Diahatsu 4x4 to our hotel. We  thoroughly examine it and mark every nick and chip on a 'map' of the vehicle so that WE won't get dinged for them. With a government-imposed $750 deposit -  deductible it's an important step in the process.  Jonathan climbed up to look at the roof and noticed a pretty good sized dent, probably from a falling coconut.

With our vehicle procured, we walked next door to a small mall for breakfast. It was in a 2-story wooden structure with a basement and contained some specialty shops, a small grocery and a nice restaurant with a strange name-something about La Casa de mi Abuela, but with an accompanying cartoon that looked as if an elderly lady were being robbed of her freshly purchased bread and didn't make sense to me. It is owned by a Canadian man and you can pretty much just tell him what you want and he'll cook it. Dean asked him about a place to stay in Liberia and he called ahead to get us a reservation at a motel that he says is not fancy, but clean and moderate in price. After breakfast and a quick trip through the grocery/variety store for a paring knife and another stop at the penny candy stand, we head back to pack up our luggage.  Finally about 11 am, we head out on the Pan American highway. We are on the road at last!!

On to Liberia