CLASSIC TRIP: Leaving Liberia

On arrival to Daniel Ober airport on Thanksgiving, after the melodious tones of the flight attendants noting that we have many options that they appreciate us for flying Alaska Airlines, a more jarring , male and official voice comes on over the plane's PA system with a local accent.

"Be advised that before leaving Costa Rica, there is a mandatory twenty eight dollar exit fee that you must pay before checking in, therefore it is necessary that you arrive at the airport no later than three hours before your flight time to allow time to pay this fee."

Wonderful.

It's been a week of adventure, ripoffs, exploring, meeting people, and enjoying the unspoiled beauty of Costa Rica. Now we have to leave early to get to the airport. Also, because we had such a hassle at the rental counter when we arrived, I'm allowing two hours to allow for any necessary arguing or fighting at the rental agency when we return the car.

I'm kind of dreading that part the most.

We also notice that we haven't bought anything in the way of souvenirs.  Not that we really want too much from here, Tim and I already have our t-shirts from the zip lining park, but we would like to take home some of that great Costa Rican coffee.

Driving around our hotel, we've noticed signs for Sun Burst Coffee with tours and store in the "doit" center. We decide to stop there on the way back to buy some.  Following the signs, we come to realize the the "doit" center is actually the Do It Hardware store center and the tour is just a slide show and some exhibits on the counter there.

There is a roaster and many coffees available for sampling and sale. I particularly like the dark roast but they don't have any in stock and are unloading the raw beans from a truck as I'm there so I settle on some French roast to take home.

It's good but not as good as the Trader Joe's French roast I have back home as a later taste comparison test will reveal.

At the Alamo rental agency, the turn in of the car goes smoothly. I find the agent that I dealt with at the beginning and he comped the GPS unit rental in the car, which came within eight dollars of negating the $120 of insurance I was forced to buy and had no need for, so I'm letting that issue drop.

Now, it's four hours til flight time, we're at the airport, and we're told that Alaska Airlines won't open their counter for at least another hour and a half. It takes all of two minutes to pay the exit fee and now were stuck in the non-airconditioned ticketing hall until the Alaska crew shows up.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Bernal Saborio under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Eventually they do and two of them even recognize us from our arrival last week and make sure everything goes swimmingly from there.  We make it through the easier-than-TSA security, have a nice lunch in the air-conditioned gate area, buy some duty-free Nicaraguan rum (better than the Costa Rican stuff, in my opinion), and take an easy flight home.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP: More Fun Than a Barrel Full of Monkeys: The Capuchins of Costa Rica

One more item on the agenda for our Costa Rican adventure. We want to see some monkeys.

Down the beach from our hotel, the Riu Palace, there's a little jungle bar called the Monkey Bar.  The local monkeys come down from the trees at sunset to beg from the tourists gathered there.

We tried to get down the beach to it but, at a certain point, the sand just gets too deep and soft for the wheelchair.

Letty talks to a security guard at the hotel and he tells her not to bother...just go to the trees along the south side of the hotel and you can see monkeys there too. It's also hard-packed enough that we can get Tim and his wheelchair to.

Watch the Video!

Armed with a couple of bananas from the buffet, we head over in the late afternoon to see what we can find.

Beyond the entrepreneurial massage tables, trinket stands, and enterprising banana salesmen that congregate right on the other side of the Riu property line, it's a short walk into the trees and jungle. We notice that the 100 feet or so from the beach into the forest also means a temperature spike of another 20 degrees.

It's hot in here.

A few people have come before us so we join them in admiring and tempting the little capuchins that scamper among the branches.

Some are timid, some are a little more brave and will guardedly snatch a banana out of your hand, and one was downright mean.  He took the banana offered but growled at me and slapped my hand as hard as he could when taking the free food.

And there we have it, we've completed our goals of coming to Costa Rica...lazing in the pool and on the beach, wandering out into the countryside to experience regular Tican life, adventure touring (zip lining on a volcano), and now interacting with the local wildlife.

It's been a grand time, we'll spend the rest of our time with the drunk Canadians ("we was hammered, eh!") we've made friends with in the pool before heading out to the airport in the morning. 

We'll update you on that in our final post.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

THE COCKTAIL HOUR: Lounge 24, Riu's Do-It-Yourself Bar in Costa Rica

I think I count six bars at the Riu Palace in Costa Rica. There may be a couple more but there's definitely not any less. Plus, guests of the Palace also have full bar privileges at the Riu Guanacaste next door. 

You don't have to walk far to get your buzz on, that's for sure.

Watch the Video!

One of the unique bars is Lounge 24, at the back of the lobby behind the coffee and pastry bar.  It gets its name by being open and available to guests 24 hours a day. Feel like a nacho and beer craving at 3 in the morning? This is your place.

A fairly good selection of quality snacks and bar food line the back wall. It's definitely a step up from the all-night offerings of the last Riu we stayed at in the Dominican Republic. For drinks though? You're on your own.

That's not a bad thing, it's just what makes Lounge 24 unique...all the liquor and fixings are there for you to make whatever you want.

Think the lobby bartender is making your mai tai too weak? Make it as strong as you want here.  It's a nice break and even makes a good arts 'n crafts activity for those who want to play with a little mixology.

Watch in the video above as Tim and I demonstrate how to make a mai tai in this little DIY bar off the lobby of the Riu Palace in Costa Rica.  As an aside, after we finished, the other people in the bar watching us film the video, had me make mai tais for the whole group.  For the rest of the week, wherever we went in the resort, when one of those guests would see me, I'd get a greeting "hey, Mai Tai Man!"

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP: Tim of the Jungle...Watch Out For That Tree! (Accessible Zip Lining in Costa Rica)

Our hotel is on the beach. This is a beach vacation. All our activities were supposed to take place on or near the ocean.

This was the task at hand when planning our trip and I was researching things we could do on the water.

Watch the Video!

While looking in vain for a boat that could take us on the ocean,  and maybe even go snorkeling, I came across a video on Youtube of a guy in a wheelchair zip lining in Costa Rica.

I knew my timid son would never go for that but, just for kicks, I went over to the living room.

"Hey Tim, guess what?"

"What?

"I found a video on Youtube that shows a guy in a wheelchair zip lining."

Before I could say anything more, the reply came back immediately "Sign me up!"

A few e-mails back and forth to Erick Zalaya, owner of Volcano Lake Adventures in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, and we'd set a date.

Twenty years ago, the three of us went to Maui and drove the road to Hana. Today, this three hour drive over mountains covered with thick jungles reminds of of that trip with its narrow roads and dozens of one-lane bridges.

Finally, we break through to see Lake Arenal.  Once across the dam, it's just a few more miles to the busy but little town of La Fortuna.

Volcano Lake Adventures is located off the lobby of the Hotel Central Lofts in the middle of town. The parking lot is being repaved today so I park around the corner and leave Letty and Tim in the car while I go check in.

I meet Erick and he tells me he'll call the zip line park. At first, it's 1:30 then it's a no-go. 

"They're booked."

"I though you booked us when I e-mailed you six weeks ago and confirmed it last week?"

"Let me call another place that does it, is there anything else you'd like to do if you can't go zip lining?"

"No, I emailed you six weeks ago before we flew the 3,000 miles here and drove the three hours this morning to get here. I thought we had an iron-clad reservation to go zip lining. That was the only thing it seemed we could do."

Luckily, his plan B came through and, with voucher in hand, we drove over to Ecoglide Adventure Park just outside of town.

We arrive at the office about a half hour before our new appointed time of 12:30. The guy in the office tells us it's 3:00. I tell him what Mr. Zalaya said.  

"My guys are out to lunch, you'll have to wait until they're through."

No problem, we brought a lunch and the gardens at Ecoglide are a pleasant place to have a picnic.

1:00, the tour guides show up. There's Armando, Eduardo, Alfredo and Warren. We make introductions and they proceed to gear-up my wife and I with all the safety equipment we would need. It is cinched up very tight all around, let's just say it's a good thing my child producing years are behind me or this would put a big crimp in that plan.

In a nearby clearing, there's a zip line strung up between two poles where we learn the ropes...no pun intended...of zip lining.  We're shown how to regulate our speed with the thick, padded glove on one hand and how to hold on to the ropes on the other hand.  Once that's done, we take a test glide on the training line in the clearing.

Next, they put Tim into the front seat of a large, four wheel drive truck while the rest of us ride in the bed. We're driven up a rough, jungle road up to 2500 feet on the Arenal Volacano and hike the last couple of hundred feet up to the first platform.

And Tim? How does he get up here? Well, notice I said "handicapped accessible" not wheelchair accessible. One of the crew, Warren, is called "la mula" by his mates.  He's a big, strong man and carries Tim on his back, piggy back style, to the first platform. A plastic patio chair is brought along to set Tim on between platforms to give him and Warren a little break.

It's quite a bit of hooking up, clipping onto lines, and making sure we're ready. Warren is not only Tim's mule but his zip lining companion, too, and helps Tim fly through the trees with the greatest of ease.

Soon, him and Warren are a couple of lines ahead of us on this 12 line, approximately 2 miles course down the volcano.

Letty and I follow behind, on our own with no companions, and it's a glorious sight, skimming the treetops through the jungle, with miles of views across the Arenal valley.

About halfway through, we take a break and are given an opportunity to take a ride on the Tarzan Swing, which is kind of like a bungie jump but is instead a giant rope swing where you jump off a cliff and trust the the rope will hold and swing you high into the trees safely.

Of course I'm doing it. Scared the crap out of me, too.

Letty passes and, since he'd have to go on unaided, I advise that Tim take a pass on it too. Wisely and with rarity, he takes my advice.

The last few lines take us to a platform very high into a ceiba tree and on to another line that's half a kilometer long.

Finally, a rather tame last line takes us back to the visitor's center.

It's a blast and Tim has said this was his biggest highlight of the trip. It's a fantastic day that, unfortunately, does not leave us any time to do any other adventures while we're in the area.

It's a long, windy road back so we stop to get a couple of strong cups of Costa Rican coffee for the ride home.

Click on the links, above, if you'd like to take advantage of this very unique opportunity while you're in Costa Rica. You'll thank me later.

Links:
Ecoglide  - http://arenalecoglide.com/en/
Volcano Lake Adventures - http://volcanolakeadventures.com/en/home/

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick - Copyriht 2016
All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP: Costa Rica Touring - Liberia, Guanacaste

Even though we were ripped off a bit and had quite a row at the rental agency, we still ended up with a car so let’s get in and go for a drive. The big city here in Guanacaste is Liberia, where we flew into, so we head in that direction.

Watch the Video!

Driving in this country is quite an adventure as we find out. A good portion of the drivers will pass you at any moment and in any traffic condition. Another large portion will drive exceedingly slow and will never, ever pull over. You soon learn that passing is a very necessary part of driving here in Costa Rica and passing lanes are pretty much nonexistent.

Add to that all the pedestrians, bicyclists, and animals that can be in the middle of the road at any given time, and you have your work cut out for you. In cities and towns, all the above turns into a free-for-all.

We make it into Liberia and find a place to park near the town’s plaza. The local church presides over it all…an ugly one, according to my wife…and it’s fiesta weekend.

Not much too festive in the daytime though. A few booths are open selling chicken and rice or dessert. We opt for dessert with some fritters covered in caramel and condensed milk and some churros.

It’s hot, quiet, and a few kids hit us up to buy a t-shirt or just to beg for money.

Walking around the perimeter of the park, I notice about 1 out of every 5 taxis are wheelchair accessible. One driver lets me take a picture of his for posterity.

We also notice that every public transit bus we see has a wheelchair lift and a spot to tie down a wheelchair making this the most accessible Latin American country we’ve seen for transportation.

The town’s a bit down in the mouth and sleepy in this humid heat so we move on.  We program the GPS unit in our rental car to take us to the nearby Rincon Vieja volcano but soon the pavement runs out and we’re on a very bumpy dirt road. When the Garmin says “drive 22 kilometers on this road,” we give up and look for a new plan.

On the map, it says there’s a zoo in nearby Salto. We head that direction.

In Liberia, we switch to Ruta 1, which turns out to be a modern freeway except it’s not quite finished. Instead, only one side is open and it’s on the honor system to be one lane in each direction. Again, we run into the problem of 25 kilometer per hour drivers on a 90 kph road.  One truck had over 50 vehicles behind him but, despite an abundance of space to pull over, he obliviously soldiered on.

We find the zoo, called the Adventure Park, and pull into the empty parking lot. A lady greets us at the entrance, offers us a cool drink, and wants to explain their “packages,” the cheapest being a basic zoo entrance fee of $100 per person.

That explains the empty parking lot which is empty once more as we hightail it out of there.

For today, we figure we’ll have more fun back at the Riu pool on the beach and spend the rest of the afternoon there.

Dinner will be at Papagayo, the steakhouse on the beach where Tim has this great looking burger…

…and Letty and I have steak, hers with the surf ‘n turf option.

It’s fine and delicious but down on the beach, the mosquitos know where dinner is also. Luckily, we put repellent on before dinner. Not many of our fellow diners were such forward thinkers, unfortunately.

Tomorrow, we have grander plans but until then, it’s chill in the room while listening to the floor show below and resting up for a very long drive and a big adventure.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

THE COCKTAIL HOUR: The Matapalo

Coming to you from lovely Guanacaste, Costa Rica, it's Tim and Darryl with another new cocktail for you.

As you may know, when we travel, we like to create cocktails out of our room's minibar or local drinks. Today, with a free minibar and unlimited liquor courtesy of the Riu Palace Hotel, it's another new cocktail named after the beach we're residing on. This time it's Playa Matapalo.

Watch the Video!

So, here we go...take a tall glass and fill completely with ice. Dump in a shot of dark rum, another of brandy and top off with Fanta and soda water.

The matapalo which, as you'll see in the video above, tastes remarkably like a picon punch of Basque fame.

Cheers from Costa Rica!

Darryl

CLASSIC TRIP: Letting the Jet Lag and Stress Float Away in Costa Rica

With the rental car shenanigans behind us, it was a dark and lonely road to the Riu Palace Hotel on Playa Matapalo. Around one dark corner, a lone horse stood in the road. I almost put him down. Now and again, speedbumps would appear in front of a school.  Narrow one lane bridges popped up with some regularity. Pedestrians and bicyclists  would materialize out of the dark, moving slowly in the traffic lane.

Watch the Video!

It was a bit harrowing that first evening then coming down the steep hill into the little bay we’d call home for the next week.  My wife urged me to slow down while I informed her my foot was already pressing on the brake pedal.

Three massive speed bumps really slowed us down and then we were at the gate to the Riu.

There are two hotels here, the Riu Guanacaste...the nice but more budget friendly of the two…and the Riu Palace, the top level brand of the Riu chain.

Unloading the car, we step up to the checkin counter and I immediately remember why I love the Riu.

As a server hands us each a welcoming cocktail (especially nice after the fight at the rental car agency and the dark drive) checkin goes efficiently and effortlessly.

“Remember, we are here to serve you. You only have to dial 9 on your room’s phone and we will get anything you want.”

And, as we’ve found out at the Riu before, that is not an empty promise.

Our room is just what we booked. Oceanview, though not quite beachfront, over the pools, with a nice terrace and three beds set up just for us. The bellman shows us the ropes, with the in-room liquor dispensers, the minibar, TV, and more.

There’s also a spa tub between the beds and the bathroom that’s really more in the way than useful but I can see where some people might like it. For us, the large, walk-in shower is more of a luxury making it easy for Tim to have a bath.

It’s not an official accessible room (although they do have some available) but we find the regular rooms here work just fine for us and we get better views and locations than the wheelchair rooms offer.

After tipping the bellman, we hit the buffet for dinner before retiring back to our room for a deep, night’s sleep to catch up on all we missed the day before and to shed our travel frustrations.

The morning dawns bright and sunny.  A hot sun. The breakfast buffet is very good and extensive. Great protein in the fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and more. Costa Rican food is represented by their banana –leave wrapped tamales, gallo pinto, and several varieties of rice and sausage.

A couple of shady lounge chairs invite us to stake out a place by the pool. A ramp makes it easier to get Tim in the water. We wade in and roll the chair as far as we can, put Tim’s feet through the hole of an inner tube, stand him up, let him fall through the hole till his arms hook onto the tube…holding him up…and away he goes to float for a few hours in the Riu’s pool.

Nicole, our pool server, keeps us supplied with Mai Tais, chocolate martinis, beer, and water. The three of us float around like this, soak up the sun, and meditate on what activities we’ll be doing this week.

After swimming, soaking, and meeting new friends at the pool, it’s off to L’Anfora off of the lobby. This is the Riu’s Italian restaurant and the only one besides the buffet that does not require a reservation.

I have a local version of ossobuco while Tim has lasagna and ravioli. Letty has a nice seafood pasta.

Our room is right over the floor show area, so after dinner, we can watch from our terrace. The music can be loud, so you might want to ask for a room away from it if it bothers you. Since they have a curfew of 11pm that is strictly enforced, we can live with it.

After a day of cocktails, sun, and water, our minimal jet lag is diminished and we retire to rest up for the next part of our adventure where we head off property and go exploring the Central American countryside.

Darryl

Copyright 2016 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick

Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP: The Rental Car Con - Welcome to Costa Rica

Signs say the new LAX is coming but, today, it’s still the same old worn out Terminal 6 only with more construction.  The old bones of the terminal are clearly visible…the circular gate area, the old tiled columns, and the stained acoustic tiles…while new shop and construction barriers sit in the middle.

It’s not ready for prime time, yet, and there are only three places to buy hot food. All with long lines. Instead, we opt to get some sandwiches from Hudson News to take on the plane with us

Alaska Airlines doesn’t serve free food to us in steerage and no First Class upgrades were available this Thanksgiving morning.

The plane does leave on time and the crew is bright and cheery.  This is because, as one told me, they get a 48 hour layover at our destination, Liberia, Costa Rica.

While the crew enjoys their two day adventure on the company dime, we’ll be at the Riu Palace over on the Pacific Coast for the next week but first, we must procure transportation.

The flight was flawless but the rental counter was a nightmare.

We’d booked a full-size SUV through Alamo’s web site for a little over $300 a week. Once at the airport, we found the Alamo rep who got us on a shuttle to the off-airport lot a few kilometers away.

I waited while the three parties in front of me argued endlessly with the two rental agents over their costs and cars. I was thinking “quit whining and get your car” so I could get mine and be on our way.

Finally…it’s my turn at the counter. I hand the agent my reservation. Thinks are moving along swimmingly. Then, he pulls out a notepad, “let’s talk about insurance.”

“I bought a policy from CTA that covers $75,000 in damage,” I tell him. “I just need your cheapest liability.”

“Senor, that insurance is no good here in Costa Rica. You have to buy the mandatory insurance.”

“No, it’s a special policy I got for this trip.”

“It’s no good. You must buy our insurance. It’s an extra $681 dollars.”

“Let me use your phone.”

I call CTA…”our offices are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please call back tomorrow.”

Damn.

I argue for two hours. I have a copy of the entire policy. He won’t budge. I finally make a deal for a smaller car with a smaller insurance policy and only get ripped off to the tune of $120 instead of over $680.

Welcome to Costa Rica. Now I get to feel my way through a dark, narrow, mountainous road to our hotel instead of getting there at sundown like I planned.

Let’s see how the rest of this trip goes.

Darryl

Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick

Copyright 2015 - All Rights Reserved

Jungle Fever: Our Tropical Destinations Rated

Over the past few years, we've been focusing on tropical destinations in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and more.  For now, we're turning the chapter on that particular kind of trip but have come to some conclusions as to our favorites among the destinations we experienced.

Here is our list of tropical beach destinations, from our least favorite to the best.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS - Run down, very little wheelchair accessibility, about the only thing we could do is visit the bars. As the late, great Merle Haggard said, "I think I'll just sit here and drink.

JAMAICA - Yes, it's beautiful and has some amazing beaches.  The nightlife is wonderful as can be the food.  Wheelchair access at the hotel was extensive but away from it, hardly existed.

Over a quarter century ago, my wife and I went and had a grand time but that was also before we became so wheelchair aware.  This time, it stood out in relief as we went to attractions that promised to be accessible but were not when we arrived.

Add to this the incredible knot of trying to navigate immigration and customs upon arrival and the hotel not giving us near what we paid for of what was promised turns us off of the Island of Irie.

Twice was nice but a third time is not in the cards for us.

MAUI - On the other hand, I am willing to go to Hawaii again it's just not high on our list right now. Since it's in the U.S., access is good (not great). Scenery is wonderful as are the many beaches.

What keeps it placing higher is the exreme high prices you have to pay for basics when you get there and a 'barely tolerated' attitude towards visitors when you're there.  It's a beautiful place but I can't really call it too friendly.  Several trips have re-inforced that feeling though there are a few friendly faces here and there, enough to make me not strike it off the revisit list completely.

COSTA RICA - I want to like this verdant Central American destination better but something's just keeping it from rating higher. 

It has wonderful access (better that Hawaii in some cases), enough that wheelchair users can actually take part in some of the eco adventures like zip lining and canopy tours.  Public buses and many taxis are also wheelchair friendly and accessible rooms are not hard to find.

On the down side, the beaches on the Pacific side are not at all what you'd expect from a tropical beach paradise...the water's muddy and the sand more like wet dirt. While the vast majority of the people are friendly, helpful, and honest, there's a pretty big slice of people who live to rip you off from car rental counters, zoos, and dishonest tour operators.

The buyer really has to be aware in Costa Rica. 

Would I go back? I wouldn't rule it out but instead of a beach vacation, I'd rather go there for the volcanoes and rain forest experiences.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO - Ah, Puerto Vallarta! Lovely city, great beaches, miles of jungle, wonderful food, a great variety of nightlife, incredible hotels...what's not to like?

Nothing, actually. It's a perfect destination...if you can walk.  If you're in a wheelchair, obstacles abound.

We came here almost every year when Tim was young and it was not as big a deal to lift him over the obstacles but he's grown bigger and heavier, and I'm older and more decrepit.  It's just not possible anymore.

I hear PV is getting more accessible but from what I can see, it's just not quite where it needs to be to get us to come back, yet.  I would really love to go back.  It is almost perfect, otherwise.

PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - This one could be technically a tie between the next entry. Wonderful place, extremely friendly people, gorgeous beaches, excellent service, great food, drink, and nightlife. Accessible where it needs to be.

The only downside is that Punta Cana is rather far from any other parts of the Dominican. Would love to be able to visit the historic sites and go to a few baseball games without having to spend hundreds on a taxi to get there.

ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - My personal favorite on this list. What's not to like? Friendly people, outstanding accomodations (especially the Buccaneer Hotel), good (but not great) access...it is part of the USA, after all, and the ADA applies...great food and drink, spectacular beaches, and fun, accessible attractions.

While access could be a bit better...we could not find a boat that could accomodate us no matter how much we and the concierge tried and the old Cruzan distillery couldn't be done in a wheelchair...we did find more than at other destinations as far as attractions go.  Cruzan couldn't be done but Captain Morgan allowed full access at their facility. The waterfront in Christiansted...the main town...is fully accessible and even the jungle bar with the beer-drinking pigs had an access ramp.  The accessible room at the Buccaneer was nothing short of fabulous.

There's still a way to go, transit is very spotty and there are very few accessible taxis, but from the incredibly warm people, outstanding service and stunning beauty make this a great destination.

And with that, we close out our latest tropical chapter here at The World on Wheels.  We're going to point our spotlight at other destinations for awhile but I'm sure we'll be back to a couple of spots on this list at least.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

2016 Highlights and Lowlights

As the sun sets on 2016, we look back.

Not our busiest travel year but we still managed to hit the travel trail a bit last year, including to major international destinations. Gotta get our money's worth for those passports, you know...

HOTELS - One of the best hotels we've ever had the pleasure of staying in...and we've stayed in many...was the absolutely wonderful Hilton Prague. From the moment we stepped in the door, to the duty manager showing us a selection of rooms we could choose from, accessible bathing equipment we could choose from, very comfortable beds, quiet room with good view, great location, top-notch service from beginning to end, this was the best hotel we stayed in last year. (NOTE: This is not to be confused with the Hilton Old Town Prague a few blocks away)

Another nod to the great RIU Palace Hotel in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The RIU's comfort, service, and amenities are top-notch. Stay in one if you ever get a chance.

We didn't stay in any really bad hotels this year but the Oxford Suites in Redding did not live up to expecations, especially as we've stayed in some very nice examples of the chain in Chico and Pismo Beach, California.  The Novotel Schwabing in Munich, Germany was also not as nice as we'd hoped it to be.

AIRLINES - Two this year, Alaska Airlines to Costa Rica provided outstanding service, comfort, on-time service, and...best of all...price.  American (with a leg by British Airways) provided us with very good service over some very long hauls across the Atlantic. Again, no bad flight hassles due to airlines, which can be pretty rare.  On the other hand...

AIRPORTS - Munich and Liberia, Costa Rica airports let us down this year.  From waiting hours with no seating and no air conditioning tropical Daniel Odubor Quiros Airport to the lack of amenities in the older part of Franz Josef Strauss Airport (especially compared to the really excellent new terminal) was a huge letdown. Berlin's Tegel Airport wasn't much better.

RENTAL CAR - A huge raspberry for Alamo Rent-A-Car in Costa Rica for blatantly trying to rip off every customer to the tune of an extra $600 for insurance and making the check-in process as miserable and long as can be. Even when you showed written proof of extensive car insurance, valid in Costa Rica, that could cover everything imaginable, you are called a liar to your face and told no American insurance is valid there (which we found is not true). On top of that, you're stuck at their depot in the middle of nowhere with a two-mile walk back to the airport...unless you want to pay $35 per person to take their shuttle bus back. A true den of vipers there, taxis are much more honest, affordable, and even wheelchair accessible there. Skip the rental car in Costa Rica, it will truly ruin your trip.

On the other hand, Hertz in Berlin and Munich were very professional, friendly, and efficient in the handling of our vehicle there.

FOOD - We had some outstanding meals this year starting with a very memorable meal of pork knuckle and pirogies at Zajasd Lesny, a 24-hour truck stop diner in the southwest corner of Poland.

The Alte Heide biergarten had the best food in Munich with its pork Cordon Bleu, German meatloaf, and steak.

Again, Taste in the Motherlode town of Plymouth in California produced a wonderful dinner.

DESTINATIONS - We've cast our shadows on the beaches and jungles of Costa Rica; the remains of the Berlin Wall; the cobblestones of Prague; the truck stops of Poland; the biergartens of Munich; the waters and trees of Redding, California, along with the state's Motherlode country.

Costa Rica is much more accessible than I thought it would be and there are some great adventures to be had. Still, the beaches left something to be desired and I really felt I had to keep a good grip on my wallet for the next rip-off that could be around the next corner.  It was nice but not as nice as I'd imagined it would be.

Redding, and the area around it, is beautiful but a little on the quiet side.

Prague was too crowded and full of tourists to be really enjoyable but the residents of that old city are very friendly and accomodating to visitors like us.

Munich has been, and will always be, one of our favorite cities in the world to visit. Wouldn't even mind living there.

But this year's most enjoyable destination was the slightly grungy, sometimes dangerous feeling, always lively, at times drop-dead-gorgeous, and extremely drenched with history, Berlin. I cannot wait to come here again.

Darryl Musick
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