2026 OneThing #9 - Blog about Costa Rica

We went to Costa Rica with Brad and Amy Gustafson in April 2023. It was fabulous! I kept a journal while we were there, but I also had a little pile of maps, wrappers, and miscellaneous stuff that I kept intending to deal with. So even though it certainly isn't time-sensitive, I decided to set it as my OneThing and finally do it! We had Brad and Amy over yesterday (Saturday, March 7) but it wasn't completely done then for me to share with them. Here I am, on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, ready to wrap this up and move on.

 

My only "regret" from the trip is that I didn't go on a coffee plantation tour. None of the others were interested, so it will remain on a "Someday" list for me. I did thoroughly enjoy the coffee, though! Every single day. I have finally thrown away the bag from the beans we brought home. (Since then, Brad has given us another bag of Costa Rican coffee beans!)

 

I have pictures of all four sides of this bag in my Vacation / Costa Rica file. I have hundreds of pictures in there!

 

 

Only one part of a story from my journal (I'm so glad I wrote each day!):

Monday, 4/24/2023

 

We were trying to figure out where to go to get a boat tour. Our map isn't very detailed. Thankfully, Amy knows more Spanish than the rest of us and we were on our way. As we drove, a guy on a motorcycle pulled out in front of us! Later, he pulled off (to see a horse, I thought), and we passed him. Later, he passed us and waved us to follow. There was a big building with lots of tour buses and vans, but the guy kept driving and we kept following. I was confident we could have gotten boat tour tickets there, but I wasn't in charge. (Thankfully!)

We were laughing so hard at the notion we were following a complete stranger into a National Reserve . . . but then we saw the parking area, bathrooms, and pier into the river with boats!

Oh! We were at Villas Sol Resort in Guanacaste, and we did two days of the "all inclusive" option. If you tell me I can eat and drink as much as I like . . . oh my goodness! Did I ever indulge.

 

 

From my notes:

Fly in to Liberia

Resort is Villas Sol in Guanacaste

An overnight in Monteverde (pic at left)

Jenifer stayed at Dreams Las Mareas earlier in April 2023! (further north on the west coast from us)

We flew down from MSP to Houston (IAH) on flight #UA2345, then IAH to Liberia (LIR) on #UA1737.

Our return trip was #UA1516 from LIR to IAH and #UA1491 from IAH to MSP.

Brad booked the flights for all of us!

 

Videos:

Shuttle Bus Trip Top to Bottom (7:03)

Shuttle Bus Trip to Restaurant, Beach, and Front Desk (5:48)

Shuttle Bus Trip from Front Desk to Our Villa (2:00)

Random Monkey Video (:17)

 

I'm realizing that there is so much more I could include here (stories, photos, memories, etc.) But this is enough. I have my file folder with maps, a postcard I sent to myself, a Costa Rica wildlife guide, etc. And I have my journal, filled with stories and memories. One more photo here (because I do love photos) and then I'm calling this done.