Charles and Helen's Photo Albums

Charles' February 2012 Trip to Costa Rica

WOW! What an absolutely INCREDIBLE trip this was! I had a bit of a rollercoaster trying to get tickets. When I first checked, the pricing was reasonable, but I was at a JEDEC meeting and couldn't purchase them immediately. By the time I got home, the price had spiked by $350! I initially decided to cancel the trip. However, just a week before Dee Dee and Jeff were heading down, I checked again and discovered I could use my frequent flyer miles! The website threw an error, but after a quick call to a fantastic United agent, she worked her magic, booked my flight, and I was all set to go! YES!

The flight down was perfectly smooth! I flew on Continental (just weeks before their final merger with United) to Houston, and then on to Liberia, Costa Rica. I was even upgraded to first class for the final leg! It had been many years since I qualified for an upgrade, and it was a wildly enjoyable treat to kick off the vacation!

Liberia's brand new, state-of-the-art terminal! It had just opened a week or two before we arrived.

The terminal is completely fully enclosed and incredibly modern, a huge upgrade from the old open-air terminal!

Villa Costa Mar – Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste

Upon arriving in Costa Rica, I was greeted by Noel, the amazing manager of Villa Costa Mar. The drive from the airport took about 25 minutes, and as we approached the villa, we spotted a wild troop of monkeys taking a siesta in the trees! Noel explained that these monkeys were vegetarians and completely ignored the villa's fruit trees—even the bananas!

We actually arrived a day before our timeshare in Coco was available. We knew Herb, the owner of the company where Jeff and Dee Dee's daughter works, spends a lot of time in Costa Rica. He graciously offered us his "villa" for the first night. Little did we know, his "villa" is actually a spectacular, full-blown private resort!

The villa has three phenomenal permanent staff members who made us feel like absolute royalty: Noel (house manager, driver, and tour guide), Ruth (the incredible cook and head housekeeper), and Noel's older brother Olman (the concierge, bartender, and server). They tended to our every single need!

The property is absolutely more like a private resort than a home.

There is a beautiful bocce ball court...

...and two immaculate putting greens with special 'rough' areas to practice on!

There is even a small casita on the property that adds an extra bedroom to the villa!

The panoramic view from the yard is absolutely GORGEOUS! The bocce ball court and putting greens sit just below the edge of the grass, dropping off about 20 feet!

The sweeping views from this villa are simply outstanding!

The stunning infinity pool looks like it drops right off the edge! In reality, there is a safe 4-foot-wide walkway just out of sight below.

Dee Dee soaking up the warm sun and cool water. This was an unbelievably relaxing day!

Jeff and I don't enjoy the water quite as much as Dee Dee, so we relaxed at the edge. The best part? A continuous flow of cold drinks delivered right to us by Olman!

Jeff fully relaxing, occasionally looking up from his book to take in the scenery (or take a sip of his drink!).

When not by the pool, Jeff was playing bocce ball or teaching Noel and Olman the secrets of golf! He has a killer eye for bocce, and both Noel and Olman were thrilled to learn his golfing tips!

Ruth is a master at towel art! The bedrooms were all decorated with various animals. Two walls of the master bedroom were pure glass, offering magnificent views!

Even the bathrooms sported top-tier interior design. Dee Dee was absolutely thrilled with 'her' bathroom!

Sitting around the kitchen counter, eagerly listening to Olman give us local hints on what to see during the week!

Ruth is a FANTASTIC cook! We thoroughly enjoyed every single meal she prepared for us.

Enjoying an outdoor breakfast. Incredible food paired with an incredible view!

Lunch was also enjoyed outdoors! It is so wonderful that the Costa Rican weather allows for constant outdoor dining.

Lunch at Villa del Mar was exquisitely prepared! Thank you, Ruth!

Playas de las Palmas – Coco, Guanacaste

On Thursday afternoon, Noel drove us to the timeshare where we would stay for the rest of the week. Needless to say, it was a massive reality check! Going from the sheer luxury of Herb's villa to this condo felt like moving from first class to economy. We probably judged it much more harshly after living in the lap of luxury for a day!

The condo did have some epic issues—most notably, a very weak stream of water for the first three days, which completely stopped on Sunday! After some lengthy negotiations, they finally moved us to another building with plenty of water. It also lacked basic amenities like internet access, paper towels, and coffee filters. However, the physical building was nice, the air conditioner worked perfectly, the beds were comfy, and we were so busy adventuring that we really only used the condo for sleeping anyway!

The entrance to the bustling square where the condo office was located. It was packed with numerous shops and a cafe!

The local Italian restaurant had tables set up right in the square.

There was a beautiful fountain in the square...

...and even more tables for the restaurant!

I spent many hours sitting right in these chairs! It was the ONLY place with free Internet access, provided by the local travel agency. It was slow and unreliable, but it got the job done!

The pool for our building was actually very nice! Dee Dee enjoyed laying by it, even though she only had time for two quick sessions.

The sliding glass door was the only entrance to our unit.

Stepping inside gave you an immediate view of the dining area and kitchen.

Looking out from the kitchen across the dining and living rooms.

The unit had a master bedroom with a bath, and this guest bedroom which I occupied!

Epic Zip Line Tour!

Costa Rica is world-famous for its exhilarating zip line tours! This was my very first time on a zip line, and it was an absolute blast (and surprisingly quite a physical workout!). The thrilling course consisted of 11 different lines and took about an hour from start to finish.

Our group of seven had two fantastic guides. One would zip to the other end to safely catch anyone coming in too fast, while the other made sure we were securely hooked up and the line was clear before releasing us! The lines all went downhill—some were a hundred feet, while others were as long as a football field! Because we were constantly dropping in elevation, we had to hike up a few hills between sets.

Left to right: Dee Dee, Jeff, and Charles (me)! We are standing on one of the suspension bridges between zip lines.

Me coming in hot for a landing on the platform!

Jeff flying through the middle of a massive zip line run!

Our awesome group! We traversed the entire course together and had a blast.

A Beautiful Beach

After the adrenaline rush of the zip lines, we wandered over to a stunning, isolated beach recommended by Noel. There was only one resort in sight! We enjoyed a magnificent lunch sitting at a table perfectly placed just beyond the high tide mark under the shade of the trees. We spent a wonderfully relaxing two or three hours soaking it all in.