We are officially MAN & WIFE! I must say, being married is amazing! Especially when it is to your best friend, soul mate, and the one you can't live without! Today is our 45th day of being married and it is so wonderful to call Mac my HUSBAND!
It's crazy to think that we did all of this planning last year and in one day, it's over! BUT, it's also just the beginning...
We took our honeymoon in the beautiful country of COSTA RICA!! We stayed at the most amazing resort there and we are planning on going back for one of our anniversaries. The Paradisus Playa Conchal! It was definitely chaotic just to GET to the country... Our flight was to leave BWI at 5:50am... so we got to the airport at 4am. Around 5am, the desk opened in the terminal and low and behold... our plane was going to be delayed due to "mechanical issues"... and he also mentioned that the pilots weren't there yet either... so to us that meant Continental KNEW there was going to be a delay but they didn't tell us until just before we were to board. So I hopped in line and tried to get a different flight out of there so we wouldn't miss our connecting flight... BUT there weren't ANY flights that we could get on... Long story short... Continental said they would cover our ground transportation for us when we landed in Liberia since we would be missing our shuttle service, and we FINALLY left BWI around 8:30... and spend a good 7 hours in the Huston Airport trying to find some sort of dark and comfortable area. We landed in Liberia, Costa Rica around 9:30... Let me tell you, this airport which is an INTERNATIONAL airport looked like it was just a big warehouse with no walls... all open to the elements! After we got through customs, we went to pick up our luggage (well it was 95% of all of my belongings!)... IT WAS MISSING!!! They left it behind in Houston! So then we went on to get our taxi to the hotel... and guess what... Continental said that there wasn't anything in their system stating that they were going to cover our transportation. After waiting about an hour, the manager said that we should just pay for the taxi out of our pocket and keep the receipt. Once we got back to the US, we could take care of it then. So about an hour later we finally get to our resort!!!
It was really dark out so we couldn't really see it all too well on the ride up, but we did notice that the security guards at the front gate were packing heat, so we knew we were in a safe place! haha.
As we were trying to check in to the resort, Mac forgot that he booked the "Royal Service" for us. So they came up in this cart with a driver all dressed up in a butler uniform saying, "Mr. & Mrs. McCormack, I will take you down to the Royal Service Lounge where you can check in there." Once we got down to the RS, we were EXHAUSTED. The lady behind the desk was trying to explain to us what all of the amenities were at the resort, but it was so hard to focus after all that travel... we just wanted to CRASH! And that's exactly what we did once we got to our room!!! PASSED OUT!!
Day 1 (which should have been day 2) was spent relaxing at the pool and beach... drinking a few beverages that had little umbrella's in them! This resort was FANTASTIC! All-inclusive, adults only section, ROYAL SERVICE!! After eating an INCREDIBLE breakfast from one of the 5 different restaurants on the resort, we went down to the RS lounge and scheduled a few things to do. One of which was a full day excursion which included zip lining through the rain forest (crucial element of our trip that I HAD to do!!!). That night, we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant! Pretty good, but not as good as El Serrano!
ROYAL SERVICE INCLUDES...
- Enjoy the discreet and efficient assistance of private Butlers throughout your stay
- Access to an elegant Royal Service Lounge for private check-in/out, complimentary high-speed Internet access, daily continental breakfast buffet, coffee and beverages, international newspapers, evening cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
- Preferential reservations for specialty restaurants, spa, activities and excursions
- Á la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner at the exclusive Gabi Club restaurant
- Access to a private pool with Bali beds, pool concierge and bar service (shown opposite)
- A personalized in-room pillow menu
- Special in-room aromas menu ($)
Day 2 was spent relaxing again, and we had also scheduled a sunset kayak tour of our little cove area. The kayak tour was a pretty intense workout since there was no back support and we were in the ocean battling waves! Hip flexors were SCREAMING!!! We were about 100 yards out from the beach and probably another 100 yards over from where we originally started. Mac and I were in a 2 person kayak and we also had a tour guide in a 1 person kayak. As we were wrapping up our tour, we were turning around and all of the sudden, our kayak flipped and we were tossed into the ocean! After 3 attempts of getting back in the kayak, our guide said, "Oh, um, yeah, Mac, you'll have to take my kayak back in. It seems that your kayak has a hole in it!" The whole back of the kayak was filled with water! Needless to say, we made it back in safe and sound, but what an adventure! After showering, we got ready and ate at the Italian restaurant... MMMM so good!!!
Day 3 was probably the best day we had on our trip! We got on the shuttle with 4 other honeymooners at 7am and drove about 2 hours away in to the mountains. Along the way, our guide was telling us about Costa Rica... over 120 volcanoes! One of them, we were going to see!! After signing our life away, we drove up to the barn where we had our harnesses put on and saddled up on our horses. Mac's horse was probably the slowest and oldest horse they owned! But, that's alright for someone going horseback riding for the first time. We rode for about 40 minutes, all the way up to the first platform for zip lining. WOW! We were BLOWN away at how high up we were! It looked like the 1st line was about 100 feet ABOVE the canopy. There was a huge waterfall off to the left (and slightly below us) that was simply breathtaking! Then we went 1 at a time across the line. I think the way they had this set up was probably the first type of zip lines they ever invented. We all had on work gloves that had a thick piece of leather across the palm of the hand that was to be used for your "brake". The guides said that this was the highest, but one of the slowest and was more or less a "practice run", but once you cross over, there's not going back! About 1/2 way across, my nerves started to settle and I was just taking in all of the beautiful scenery! On the 8th line, we were informed that this was the longest and fastest line there was in all of Costa Rica. They warned us that once we got to the white flag we HAD to start braking, or else you would end up face to face with the trunk of the tree!!! On the 10th and last run, we had the choice to go upside down and hands free if we wanted, and I think all but one person did that! It was so much fun! Once we were done with the zip lining, we headed over to have some lunch. We thought that it was going to be just a small PB&J or something like that, but it was a full 3 course meal! After lunch, we walked down and changed into our bathing suits and got ready for the volcanic hot springs and mud baths. We then went to the "sauna room" which was a wooden building that sat on top of a BOILING hot spring. You could literally hear the water boiling under the floor boards! (I was so disappointed because my camera battery had died as soon as we went in to the sauna). And MAN did that smell like sulfur! 10 minutes later after our pores were opened up, we walked down to these vats that were filled with EXTREMELY HOT Mud that you could see bubbling up from the ground (we read a sign that said "DO NOT TOUCH. Mud can reach temperatures of 150-290 degrees). In the mornings, they scoop up the mud from the ground and fill these vats so tourists like us could rub the hot mud all over us, head to toe! We then had to let the mud dry, so we walked around the walkways they had built, and just enjoyed the scenery. Mac said he felt like we should be walking around with hand made spears! Once the mud dried, we had to wash off with cold water, so our pores would close and soak up the elements in the mud. We then moved over to the HOT hot spring to re-open our pores... then move to the medium hot spring... and then move to the COLD spring... which was basically an ice bath (about 55 degrees). And the benefits they say are priceless... you will look about 10 years younger! Guess we really do need to go back there in a few years! hahaha. We wrapped up our day 3 adventure with dinner at the Asian restaurant!
Day 4 was another pretty relaxing day. We spent the day just walking around the resort, spending some time at the beach and pool, and enjoying our time together. Mac and I had also booked a wine tasting session through the resort that afternoon. We learned how to use all 5 senses when drinking wine... 4 glasses later... we decided to go over to the coffee shop on the resort where Mac was definitely feeling it... I guess I should note that the guy teaching the class said that someone needed to finish the rest of the one bottle, and Mac so kindly offered to help him out! hahaha.
Day 5 we decided to go to the town of Tamarindo which was about 20 minutes away from our resort. The town is known for being a huge surfing town and a bit more touristy. So we figured we could do a little shopping while we were there. It was also raining that day... and we came to find out after we got home that there was a hurricane in Nicaragua, so we were getting the very tail end of it. Tamarindo was a really cute town, but it was like any beach/surf town... lots of little shops! We walked along the beach a little and then went SHOPPING!! When we got back, there wasn't too much to do because of the rain... so we pretty much just hung out in our room, trying to find any station on TV that was in English.
Day 6 was our last day and it was BEAUTIFUL out! We decided to spend the day at the beach and just enjoy every second of our last day! We found our spot on the beach and then went for a long walk down to the other end of the cove. Later that day, we went to the pool and ran in to the couples that we had met on our zip lining excursion. As the sun started to set, we decided to go over to the beach to catch a glimpse of the sunset and end our trip with just that! It was perfect! Just... perfect!
Our trip back to the states was another adventure all together! We woke up at 3am to catch a taxi with the couple from Toronto and got on our flight (upgraded to 1st class because of the debacle at BWI). We landed in Houston... sigh... again... and were informed that we needed to get through customs and get our luggage and then we could board our next flight... Only problem.... our next flight was in 40 minutes! We SPRINTED to get to customs, collect our luggage, get the luggage checked again, and then SPRINT through the Houston airport ... and that is NOT a small airport... Pretty sure we were in a full sprint for about a mile! By the time we got to our gate, the girls behind the desk said, "Well, you guys really didn't need to run here..." We got on the plane, both of us dripping with sweat... trying to cool our selves down... only to hear on the loud speaker that we were delayed due to weather. After sitting on the plane for another 45 minutes, the pilot said that we should all get off and go back in to the terminal until we were ready to take off. Another 90 minutes goes by and we are FINALLY off to BWI. I was calling my dad giving him updates... so once we figured out what time we were going to land, which was dinner time... he suggested that we stop in Little Italy in Baltimore for dinner! We were both GAME! And might I add... both so glad to finally be back on the ground! While we were waiting for our luggage, I saw a familiar face walk in the door... My MOM surprised us and came down with my dad!!! So we spend the evening getting dinner in Little Italy and having fresh homemade gelato for desert.
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