I taught yoga each week Tuesday through Thursday, but certainly made use of my time on the weekends (Friday through Monday) to see the rest of the country. Tuesday-Thursday during my down time, I mostly stayed in Escazu, got lots of walking in... but on several occasions I ventured to Downtown San Jose-- first time was to the Zoo (not really worth your time) and to have lunch at a Soda (can't recall the name... but it was great! Be sure you get a recommendation, don't just walk into a random one, especially in or near Central Market); second trip was to peruse the shops on Central Avenue; third trip was again to Central Avenue, with a full view of the Market... if you're scared of smells and meat, don't venture there!).

Enter Marina Villatoro, center stage... without her assistance, suggestions, and great finds, I undoubtedly would not have had as much fun on the weekends. I thought I'd arrive in Costa Rica, decide what I wanted to do, and just use my internet savvy to go about making my own plans/ arrangements... not so simple! Marina made everything a breeze, even with countless changes of the "plan" on my part and "snafus" with PayPal, etc. She kept her cool and worked with us to make every trip a success. Not to mention she simplified our lives by making all the hotel and tour arrangements... all we had to do was pay the invoice once she worked it out, based on our email and phone correspondence of where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do/ see, etc. I'm still amazed at the super quick turnaround/ prompt service she provided, sometimes even at the last minute to make everything a "go"! She's truly the super woman of travel planning! Thanks, Marina... for making my trip amazingly enjoyable and truly memorable!

Final days spent in Cariari at Adventure Inn, another super great find of Marina's. Final tour was a super day trip from San Jose to Doka Coffee Plantation, Poas Volcano, & La Paz Waterfall Garden. The tour was super... I didn't think it would be at first when I saw the bus and met the guide-- she (Carla) doesn't seem to be much of an early morning person and the bus looked like it would struggle to get up the mountain... which it did [at least from an auditory perspective, LOL]. Unfortunately we were amidst a large group of Europeans from a school... they knew each other and stuck together. Nonetheless, as the tour progressed, it didn't matter because the sites were amazing! The Doka plantation is a superb place... and I fell in love with their chocolate-covered coffee beans even more than Britt. Poas was clear for the first 15 minutes we got there, luckily... but it soon got covered, so we were very lucky to see it. We went up to see the Lagoon, which was also amazing! La Paz is a not-to-be-missed site, truly... very glad I decided to go along with the tour and not try the route Leah did because it's a bit rushed to get it all in when you have to catch a bus no later than 2:30pm back to San Jose.