Costa Rica - First Lodgings

I've decided that I really like the mixture of this vacation so far. It's a good mix of local culture (we are in another country), but with many modern conveniences like safe drinking water and cable internet, while at the same time not crawling with tourists. I don't think I'll need a vacation after this vacation, if you know what I mean. There are good places to eat, but it's not crowded with overly round tourists and their overly-tired kids.

I know I mentioned this before, but the people here are generally very warm.  Seems like everyone smiles at the kids (they are cute though) and/or wants to engage with them. Based on my reading, that's probably because this is their version of the "sticks". Over 25% of the population lives in the capital. Out here there isn't much else other than what was built for the tourism industry, and even that isn't on a big scale yet.

So here are some pictures of where we're staying. It's a great setup - basically an apartment with everything you'd need from an in unit laundry and full kitchen, to air conditioning and cable television and internet. I'm watching NCAA basketball as I type this blog.  They have a decent pool that has an awesome view.  The place also has a resident iguana and we've seen several lizards (look like newts) and we've seen a monkey already (didn't get a picture though).  Also, here is our piece, er, rental car. It works great for what we need, but it sure has seen its fair share of dirt roads. The main roads are all paved, but a lot of the roads by the beach and even up the steep hills to our rental are pot-holed dirt roads.