2018/02 Costa Rica - Return by charter |
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Even after an eight hour trip, it was still only 2.30 pm when we got back to a welcome coffee. Later, Sandie repacked our cases to comply with Sansa Air’s carry-on and checked baggage limitations.
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Hotel view (1.06) |
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At dinner though, the inn’s manager had a call from our agent to warn us that there was a problem with our flight. It was delayed and Sansa Air couldn’t guarantee to get us to San José in time for our connection. We could take the chance or charter our own flight. Somehow the cost of the charter came down from $800, which is low for a 120 mile trip anyway, to $160, so that’s what I chose. Missing our other flights would be a lot more expensive. At least we’d have no silly weight restrictions,
Thursday March 1st
We were up well before dawn. We had an early breakfast, settled up with the inn, and said goodbye to our fellow travelers. The boat took us back upriver to Sierpe, with no stops for wildlife or mangroves this time, though Sandie did spot a “large pig with a long nose”. Our cameras were packed away but our book says it was a Baird’s tapir, a Costa Rican species a little different from the Malaysian tapirs we used to see at the zoo.
We’d been told to ask for Chino and, sure enough, he was there at Sierpe and he drove us to Palmar Sud airstrip. Soon we saw a small plane taxiing down the strip towards us, an Aerobell Charter’s Cessna 206, an elderly single prop 4-seater, with plenty of room for luggage. . Surprisingly we had two pilots, with one appearing to be under evaluation. Perhaps we got a cheaper rate because our pilot had L-plates?
We flew along the coast; on our right were jagged hills cloaked with green and backed with high mountains, Costa Rica’s spine. It was a calm clear perfect day, hard to be leaving. It was a little bumpy as we crossed the hills into San José. We landed on the main runway just after an airline jet took off but we turned away from the main terminal and parked near the cargo area. A van appeared and took us to Departures. We had plenty of time for our connection.
Tee-shirts and souvenirs seemed expensive, but this was the first time we had been in a Costa Rican shop, so we didn’t know if the cost was normal or the usual airport mark-up. The quality wasn’t high so we spent little.
We flew to Mexico City and went through the same immigration hassle except that the lines were longer. We arrived in Vancouver early but then that time was squandered by the baggage handlers’ secretly sending all the baggage to the wrong carousel.
It was dry and above freezing so not a bad night to arrive. Sandie managed to stay awake for the two hour drive home and we rolled into Hope at 1 am PST, just 22 hours after getting up. Next morning Sandie found a tick on her arm, smaller than a wood tick but larger than a deer tick. It came off easily enough but the bite was inflamed. It’s since gone down and the doctor says it’s a case of wait and see.
It had been a great trip; we’ll be back.