After making it into the park, we hiked through the rain forest (spotting a sloth or two along the way) to the infamous Manuel Antonio “monkey beach” where we reunited with Joe. This beach is known not just for its beauty, but also for a horde of mischievous capuchin monkeys bent on stealing whatever they can. Seeing no monkeys, Joe and I stashed our bags near a tree and snorkeled out into the surf. Later, as we returned, I saw two monkeys picking their way down the beach. Unable to remember exactly where our bags were, I picked up the pace and exited the water right as the lead monkey discovered Joe’s backpack and started working out how to open the drawstring closure. I ran towards our bags, yelling and waving and they both moved on to an easier target - stealing a bag of cough drops from the lady next to us. When I told Joe I rescued his bag he said, “You should have gotten a picture before scaring him off!”
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Peaceful monkey beach |
After dropping Haley off at the airport (and getting her to sing her song, “Where are my phone, my keys, and my wallet…” to the tune of “My Favorite Things”) we ate lunch at a Central American chicken chain called Rostipollos (get the cheese bites). As we were leaving, we had our fourth and final run in with an automated parking system. As we discovered, some places (even if they issue you a ticket on entrance) are free to park, while others require you pay for parking inside before leaving (which seems like a dumb design). This usually results in us pulling up to the gate, then reversing out of the chute while someone runs inside to pay. This time, though, we encountered a couple of nice parking lot security guards, one of which said, “I will help you,” and opened the gate for us manually. Tanner said, “Those are the greatest words to hear. ‘I will help you.’”
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Central Park, San Jose, Costa Rica |
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The streets of San Jose |
Then, the real adventure began…
Our first inkling of trouble was when we joined the customs line immediately after getting off the plane and then didn’t move. For over an hour. Eventually, it was explained to us that five international flights had arrived simultaneously (four of which were Spirit’s and two of those being delayed). Long story short, we were in customs for over two and half hours. What was originally a layover with plenty of time to spare turned into a mad dash for the gate. Joe managed to make it through customs before the rest of us and made it on. I was right behind him, but the plane was pushing back from the jetway as I arrived.
Because they technically got us to the airport with more than ninety minutes to make our connection, Spirit wasn’t very helpful with rebooking. The best they could do was get us on the same flight out the next day (not even guaranteeing that there would be four available seats). After some discussion and working out quite a few different scenarios, we decided to bite the bullet. We took the partial refund for the remaining leg and rented a car to begin the 17 hour drive (not including stops) from Fort Lauderdale, Florida back to Blacksburg, Virginia via Richmond. You know, there’s nothing quite like an impromptu cross-country road trip.
For those of you unfamiliar with Florida geography, Fort Lauderdale is about as far south as you can go. Bottom of the state. Any further and you’re bumping into the Keys. Steven made the astute observation that, “We drove six hours just to get out of Florida!” Thankfully, the trip to Richmond was fairly uneventful (I might even call the last couple of hours after midnight enjoyable) and we arrived at the RIC airport around 3:00 AM. I picked up my Jeep and proceeded to the rental car office to pick up the rest of the group. However, while scanning the road for any reverse tire spikes, I entirely missed the small curb in the center median. My front wheel hit, and I was afraid we were going to have a problem. Sure enough, I parked, came around the side, and stood with Tanner, watching the last bit of air leak out of my tire. He said, “Well” and that’s about all there was to say. Without a word, I opened the lift gate, handed him the lug wrench, Steven the jack, and began dropping the spare.
At that point, there was just a level of insanity to the previous two days that made the whole thing seem surreal. Also, because we were so delusional by that point, there was a bit of hilarity in it as well. After quickly changing the tire (in probably under ten minutes, as Kasey observed) we drove the remaining several hours back to Blacksburg - arriving just in time for Northstar (our church’s) load in and sound check. Doing the math, at that point we had been up for a contiguous 48 hours, sleeping only fitfully on the plane or in the car. Later, I apologized to Joe that he missed out on the great American road trip, but, for some reason, he seemed unfazed by it.
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Exhausted, but victorious |
Hi Ezra! Tim and I visited your site to see where you’ve been lately. So happy you’re getting to see the world! We are well as is both sides of our family. Praying for you and the whole family! Love you
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