Day 61: Petropolis, Brazil

We needed to do a spot of shopping today but all the stores are still closed from Carnival. Most places close down for about a week during the celebration and some don´t open again til March 1st or so. We did some errands and did some web work before taking a late lunch. In Brazil, a buffet restaurant is called a “self-service“ and they usually sell food by weight. It´s typically 100 grams of food for $1.50 or $2 in smaller areas but can be more expensive in places like Rio. Ours tend to come out to about $3-4/person with drinks too! Self-service places are always a great deal but it´s a good idea to have a look at the buffet before you start loading up your plate to make sure the food looks decent and there aren´t any (or many) flies.

We couldn´t help ourselves and had to go see another movie (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this time!). Of course, we had to make an ice cream stop at Toni`s, but only to kill some time before the movie…

Deliciously Glamourous Banana Split

Day 52: La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Feeling like kings after we stepped out of the shuttle van and onto resort premises, we walked into Baldi unsure of what we might find. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 50: La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Happy Valentine`s Day! (photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/27784972@N07)

As a Valentine`s Day gift, we booked a couple of insanely cheap massages ($25/hour, expensive for budget rtw travelers but we don`t do this, well, ever!) for early afternoon. We lazed about most of the morning and did a bit of website work at that little cafe with the most delicious coffees and milkshakes until time for our massages. We signed in and were directed to a room with two tables by a woman who only spoke Spanish. After deliberating several minutes on how much to undress and if there might be any cultural differences for massage etiquette, we decided to just go for it. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 45: San Isidro, Costa Rica

After a night of fearful awakenings to see if that huge, extraterrestrial cockroach (seriously it was like 4 inches long) was back, we caught a 6:45am bus to San Isidro, a small city about an hour and a half inland from Dominical. Not having any idea what kind of place it would be, we wandered around for almost an hour before discovering that San Isidro has no hostels. We ended up checking a few hotels and found a really clean private room and bath for $10/person! It even had TV and a balcony and towels! Whoa! Oh, and it also had a rare find–a hot shower! Read the rest of this entry »