Costa Rica Here I Come!

My top 3 next travel destinations on my list are Costa Rica, Africa (anywhere...just need to set foot on that continent) and Thailand.  Well...as of tomorrow, I'll be able to tick Costa Rica off my list.  Yay!

This trip has completely snuck up on me and like always, i'll be doing my last minute packing.  I always seem to work better under pressure no matter what I do.  So today I pack, get a pre-vacation pedicure (my fave) and pick up any last minute things that I won't remember until I'm almost finished packing and realize, "oh crap! I've fogotten ____!"  My cat, Buster, is already getting suspicious of all the bags and crap all over my floor.  I keep trying to reassure him that I won't be gone for very long (this time).  I did leave him last year for about 8 months when I was traveling around Australia so I do get his uncertainty of me packing up my things, yet again. 

I'll be traveling around Costa Rica for about 12 days which I think is a perfect stretch of time away.  I always find 7 days a little too short so 12 days should be just about right.  I'm actually taking an organized tour through Intrepid Travel so it will be a new kind of traveling experience.  I have done organized tours but not for 9 days straight so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

I'll be flying into San Jose and getting there a couple of days before the tour actually starts.  I have nothing planned as of yet for those first days but I'm sure (at least the first day) I'll be doing some wandering around and exploring the city.  Who knows what I'll do on the day before the tour but I'm sure I'll find something interesting.  That's what I love about travel.  I turn into the fly by the seat of my pants girl rather than the I need to plan every second of my life girl that I am at home.  Being able to completely let go and relax is what I really enjoy about traveling. 

So...while on the tour, I'll be spending a couple of days in La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano, a couple of days in Monteverde, another couple of days in Manuel Antonio National Park and then finish the trip off again in San Jose.  I'm going to be traveling on my own (I loooove traveling on my own) but hope to meet some nice, fun and interesting people.  Traveling solo definietly pushes you out of your comfort zone and really forces you to get out there and meet people, which is always fun.

I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow since my flight leaves at 6 am (yuck).  Last time I had a flight that early I slept in and got up just as my plane was about to take off (oops!) so I'm going to try and not do a repeat of that.  Alarms will be properly set this time round and I'll order a taxi to ensure that if I'm not up, I'll at least have a call from the taxi asking if I'm still needing the taxi that is waiting outside for me.

So in 24 hrs I'll be shedding my snow gear and basking in the warm sunshine!

KK

If my passport could talk...
                                           "Get me on that plane already!"