February 16, 2015

Hotel Liberia in downtown Liberia, Costa Rica

Well that is a question that we continue to ask ourselves after having had our rental car broken into and all of our STUFF vanished in the blink of an eye. I keep telling myself that I knew better. I have spent enough time in Central America, that you do not leave a rental car on the street of a major city with bags left exposed. Especially ones that say “North Face” in big letters. I reasoned that we would only be a few minutes and it was a busy street with a lot of people walking around. Wrong I was!

Photographing the evidence

Dusting for fingerprints. Really!

Kim was insistent that we file a police report, but I wasn't so sure. Still we went through the motions and 3 hours later we were back out in the fresh air. Now we just had to find a place to stay.

We wanted to find a safe hotel close to downtown from which to, number one rest, and then to do our shopping from. The only nice one we could find was called the Hotel Liberia. The nice young lady told us that they were all booked up except for a dorm room. The thought of 2 other youngsters in our room was just too much to think of, so I said I would rent all 4 beds. Kim had begun weeping silently sitting and waiting for me to make the negotiations. The lady said she would check if there might be a cancellation. I think she actually forced a bump in someone for a late arrival.

We sat in our unairconditioned room and stared mesmerized at the oscillating fan. After what seemed like hours, Kim spoke up and said, “So, you want to go for ice cream?”

February, 17, 2015
Hotel Wilson, Liberia, Costa Rica

After a reasonable nights sleep, considering that Kim's sleep medications were also stolen, we got up, made coffee, and sat around in our hot stuffy room. It had windows that opened directly onto the street, but we didn't care. You'd have thought we were at the Hinton. We then had a nice breakfast right in our hotel. We were hoping that we could spend one more night, but it was not to be. When we went to pay for our bill we were told that all the rooms were full, and we would have to move. Perfect! I thought. Once again the desk clerk came to our aid and found us a nice hotel just four blocks from where we were. It was quick getting ready, as we each only had one small daypack to pack.

By 10 am we were safely tucked in our third story walk up room. This time we had AC which we immediately turned on. However, after a few minutes Kim suggested that we hit the already hot streets for a shopping spree. Which is just what we did. two or three shirts for me, a couple for for Kim, some replacement medications for her, and we we back in the AC by 2:30pm. Just in time for a nap. Pura Vida.

Oh, to be back in the country!

Instead we are at staying at the Hotel Wilson