Costa Rica... Finally

As of the last post, we were in Lima without yellow cards, unable to enter Costa Rica. As of right now we have entered the country and are ready for some awesome days here. It's shayna. I will tell you about Costa Rica and my dad will fill you in on how we got here. We landed at the airport and were welcomed by someone from the tour company. She gave us stickers with the name of the travel company. The. Another man came and helped us with our baggage. He then dropped off our luggage and we were handed off to another English speaking man. He told us to have our cameras ready during the three hour drive to the hotel. He then dropped us off at the car and the driver took us to our hotel. Wow. A lot of people just to get us from baggage claim to the car. We got into a giant van for only the four of us. As we started driving, I got a little bit nauseous so my mom asked the driver if we could stop somewhere for water. After about five minutes, he pulled over at a Costa Rican version of Costco. They sold everything from bikes to groceries. We got back in the car and kept on going. I don't really remember much else of the car drive because I pretty much felt like I was going to throw up the entire time. If any of you have been to Yosemite, there is that really windy part in the mountains right before you arrive. We had that for three hours. I also forgot to mention that the drivers are crazy. The driver was going so fast through the curves that I jolted every time we went around one. I couldn't wait to get to the spa and resort hotel. As you may imagine, we were pretty much in the middle of the rainforest. There wasn't much around other than hotels and zip lines. When we got to the hotel it was pretty amazing. They welcomed us with free drinks and then led us to our room. Okay it wasn't a room it was an apartment. With every step I took I could not believe it. The master bedroom has a giant king bed, a living room and a tv. Mine and Rebecca's room is like a regular hotel room except it has memory foam mattresses! Awesome! The bathroom: giant jacuzzi bathtub, rain shower from the ceiling, two sinks, and a separate room for the toilet. We were so grateful that we could get the yellow cards. After hanging out in the apartment for a little bit, we decided to do some exploring. There is a spa and hot spring about 10 minutes walking up the hill. We decided we would walk it but a van was waiting to take us so we hopped on. The hot springs were incredible! The main one had a wet and dry bar and a small water slide. As you keep walking up the hill, there are more and more, each one getting hotter and hotter. One of them even has a waterfall that you can stand under. Next, my parents went to the spa to book massages. When we walked outside it was raining a little. Then it rained harder and harder and harder. Before we knew it, it was out pouring rain and there was lightning and thunder. It was really scary. We stood under an overhang and waited for the storm to pass. It didn't so we just went for it. We tried to find an exit but were unsuccessful. We stood under anther overhang and then had an escort with an umbrella take us to the van. We were very happy to be in the van and heading back tot he hotel. We had a very nice dinner and then decided against swimming that night. I was very tired so we went back to the room and I went almost immediately to sleep. Today we are going to spend the whole day at the hot springs and spa