The day started out awful! I realized I had left my day pack somewhere. This pack had all of my money and personal items, ID, wallet, passport, everything! Oh no! Bad luck round two! But where had I left it? How stupid of me! We were so tired! Was it at the restaurant? Grocery store? Poolside? Washed out by the rain? Immediate panic set in. I had paid for the groceries so it was with us when we left...thats it, it had to have been by the pool! I had taken it off with my shoes to stick my feet in the water and relax. We go out to look and its not there! We ask reception if anyone has turned it in, but of course not. I was doomed. We retraced our steps. Went back to the grocery store in case. Searched the yard, asked the other guests. It was gone. $500 in US cash and my passport. What a careless mistake for me to have made! Someone had to have picked it up. We were the last one's awake. The owner's wife was the first awake, at 6am to prepare breakfast by the pool. The owner immediately suggested that wild animals such as the stray dogs came and snagged it. But why? There was no food in it? Why would he be so quick to assume so? He told us to accept the loss and that we need to file a report with the tourism-police. We did learn a couple had checked out earlier then expected and had skipped breakfast. Did they take it? Hmm..He offered us a ride to the police station. In the back of our minds we were still hoping a guest had found it but were still and asleep and would turn it in once they awoke. At the station they had me fill out the report and told me I will need to go to the Embassy in San Jose. That was 4 hours the opposite direction! We would have to rearrange the entire trip- actually miss all of it. We even went back to the grocery and watched the security tapes on the way back- I definitely left with my bag. Being that it was Sunday we had to wait until the next day to go to the Embassy. I cried for hours in the hotel. Hours! Months of planning wasted! The whole trip ruined! Hours went by. Everytime the owner's wife passed the room she looked in our door, which was half open from Jeff going in and out searching. Crying Crying Crying. It started to rain. A few minutes after the rain had started the owner's wife alerted her husband that she had discovered a bag... She was throwing out bread crumbs for the animals along the edges of the property and spotted it over the fence in the neighbors yard. He asks, "is that it? Is that your bag there?" All the money was there. Passport inside. Soaking wet of course. We were so grateful. But how could this have happened? Our theory.. the bag was found, kept quiet. That was a lot of cash.. blame it on the animals?? Then after all of our hysteria.. the guilt.. then the rain, plant it somewhere! "Find" it! Guilt begone! One way or another we got it back, and that was all that mattered. If it had been taken they still chose to do the right thing. We offered a $100 reward, which was declined lightly then accepted greatly. I would have to make sure to keep extra care of the bag the rest of the trip...
After an exhausting morning and messing up our itinerary for the day it was time to salvage our plans- but first eat! We walked back into town.
I needed a drink!
It was delicious!
This restaurant/ hotel had a pretty pool
with nice landscaping
"Love scenes are not allowed"
Okay! Now we decided to go to the waterfall. We originally planned the Cerro Chato hike but much of the day had been wasted. So off to the falls we go.
It was about a 30-40 minute walk from our hostel lodge to the entry of the falls. We opted to walk...
It was nice walk, a lot of up hill though..
We had a lot to look at on the way
The pictures do not do any justice! Any! It was stunning and oh so green. After we walked back to our hostel we continued our itinerary and it was time to soak in some good ol' man made hot springs. There are natural free ones but we were exhausted and at last there was a restaurant near, so off to Baldi. It was so worth it. Not as crowded as I thought it would be. A lot of big spacious pools. Super relaxing.
Jeff's new lady friend at Baldi's
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