New Years at El Establo

We kind of took the easy way out on this trip and used a company called Pacific Trade Winds to help us plan our trip.  They had a nice service, and Amy, our person on the ground in Costa Rica, was very helpful.  At any rate, we kind of just accepted the lodging and transport that they arranged.  So far, it has been very good.  Our first two nights in Monte Verde we spent at El Establo, which turned out to be the biggest resort here, and also the highest.

We were a bit suspicious when they said we’d see the Pacific Ocean from our room in the morning.  We crashed quickly the first night, waking up on New Year’s Eve morning with a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean.

Sure enough, we were looking down at the Gulf of Nicoya.  It opens to the Pacific to the left.

After returning from Selvatur, we spent much of the rest of the day taking hot baths/showers, and trying to recover from the cold wet morning.  We heard the was a happy hour at the pool, so we headed down at around 5:00.  The roads were so steep, we finally hailed a shuttle.

This turned out to be auspicious, as we met a young couple on the shuttle, as yet unaware of said happy hour.  They joined us, and we got to know Tom and Rachael, from Nashville, a delightful pair of newlyweds.

Various people came by while we were there.  The pool also had an exercise area.  We couldn’t help but question the people slavishly working out on New Year’s Eve, but to each there own.

 

There was also a lovely sunset, and everyone knows how much we like them.

Eventually we wended our way down to dinner, where we had a passable meal with an excellent bottle of red wine.  Ellen invited a single person sitting next to us to join us.  After several attempts, she finally relented, and we met Maria from Sydney, Australia.  it sounds like she runs the prosecutor’s office down there, and is exceptionally well-traveled.  She was also quite political, and we had a great evening of conversation.

Not wanting to break with tradition, we were in bed before 10:00, and woken only by fireworks booming outside of our windows.

The next morning was a beautiful sunny day.

The room was simple, and nice.

This little guy came to say goodbye as we waited for the shuttle.