Costa Rica Day Two

I am skipping Day Two, as we spent the entire day in the Avianca VIP lounge at San Salvadore International Airport. We caught a connecting flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, about 10:50 pm and staggered into our hotel room in San Jose after midnight.

Cost Rica Day Three

A rental car was supposed to arrive at our hotel this morning, but it didn’t. We were planning to drive to La Fortuna today. It was unclear what is going to happen at this point. We asked the front desk for help and were soon on the road with a taxi. The driver, Enrique, was a wealth of the obvious as we moved through the suburban, then pastoral countryside. He explained to us that Jersey cows give the best milk. He explained that sugar was made from sugar cane. He explained that farmers had to go to town to buy things they need. And so forth, but all very pleasant. The 45-mile trip cost about $8, which was kind of astonishing. Costa Rica is not a cheap visit, by and large.

Our hotel in La Fortuna, the Royal Corin, is situated at the base of Volcàn Arénal, a perfectly conical volcano that towers over the surrounding forest. The hotel has many thermal hot pools, fed by the volcano, with or without Jacuzzi, two warm pools, one with a pool bar, and one cool water pool. I doubt that it is cold, but I haven’t ventured into it yet. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, and the room looks out directly over the grounds at the impressive volcano. It’s the kind of volcano that is prone to pyroclastic explosions, like Mt. St. Helens, but apparently has never done so. I would not like to be here if it ever does.

We tried out the hot pools, then went to dinner, which was excellent. We both had salmon, perfectly prepared. Tom had some sort of chocolate amazement for dessert, which I had a delicious spoonful of. Then we watched a couple of favorite shows on Tom’s laptop and went to bed.

I really need to mention an amazing device my chiropractor sold me. If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, you may have experienced electrical stimulation of your muscles to loosen things up before the chiropractor gets to work. My chiro recommended a mini muscle stimulator in a neat little lightweight kit. It operates on an 8V battery and has four electrodes.

I might not have survived the ordeal getting here without this device. I have severe arthritis in my spine, and sitting for hours on end doesn’t help this at all, especially since my back went into spasm only a few days before our departure. My back HURT. I used the device whenever possible. Once I attached the electrodes while in the women’s bathroom at the San Salvador airport, and sat in the lounge for an hour with no one the wiser, treating myself. The pain relief is astounding—it worked so well that I almost didn’t need any of the Vicodin that I brought with me.

By the time we reached La Fortuna, my back was feeling good, but my rotator cuff and deltoid attachment in my left arm were really pissed off by all the luggage wrangling, so I put the device on my shoulder and upper arm. Blessed relief! All for only $75. Totally, totally worth it, especially if you consider what opioids can do to you.

This is a Tens 7000 from Compass Health. It is my new best friend.