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As the bus pulled into Quepos, we could see the hustle-bustle of the costal town. There were street vendors selling everything from necklaces to cans of soda. People were in shorts and t-shirts and looked very tanned. Miguel asked the bus driver if he would drop us at the hotel. He pulled the bus off the road just beside El Avion. As we stepped out of the bus and admired the old army airplane sitting on the side of a cliff, with a restaurant built around it, we noticed our abode for the next few days a short way down the hill, the Banana Tree Hotel. Although, I am giving the hotel a link, I would not recommend that my worst enemy stay there. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was not the nicest place to stay. I’ll give a few hints why…mold, smell, damp, basic, dirty. We’ll leave it at that If you want a great place to stay in Quepos and Manuel Antontio, I would suggest the Hotel Si Como No.

We checked into the shit-hole and decided to head back up to the airplane restaurant for a bite to eat and an ice-cold beer after the long, hot bus trip. This, after we confirmed that there were no other vacancies in Manuel Antonio. As we stepped into the open-air restaurant we were given our choice of seats. We had no idea that the views were going to be so spectacular. The restaurant was built into the side of a cliff and overlooked a couple of small islands in the Pacific below…the sun was just about to set. We took photos, which for some reason, did not come out. Anyway, we enjoyed our meal, numerous beers and a pleasant chat.

After dinner, we went to Bar Tutu just across the road from El Avion. To get to the bar one has to walk up three filghts of outdoor stairs, past a beautiful swimming pool and up to the bar. The bar is so high so that it can take advantage of the beautiful scenery by being higher than El Avion across the road. The bar itself was pretty chill…loungy music, cold beers, and a variety of people…mostly tourists. Conversation was good. Miguel met a guy who worked as a flight attendant. After a brief discussion, the man gave him a valume (?) to help ease his nerves on the return flight…more about that later.

The next morning, we woke early to the sound of screaming monkeys….no, really monkeys. So, we got up and headed down towards the beach (which we had not seen yet.) On the way down we saw a family of monkeys (what the hell do you call a group of monkeys…a gaggle?) Any we got some photos with them and kept on our way. The walk down was probably about 2km and the views were stunning. I think I’ll name my first child Manuel Antonio, just because of the beauty of this place. By the time we reached sea level, my white ass thought I was going to pass out. The heat was intense, I felt dehydrated and panicked because I had not applied sun screen yet. Before heading down the beach, we stopped for breakfast. The restaurant was awesome, but I can’t remember the name of it off the top of my head. Having grown fond of rice and beans for breakfast, that’s what I had.

We walked down the beach and found out spot, just under a banana tree…I could get shade and Miguel could get sun. The weather could not have been better and thankfully, there were people selling cold drinks and empanadas. The morning and afternoon drifted away with numerous swims in the bath-like pacific and a little sun to warm the soul.

That night we went to one of the restaurants, Rico Tico Bar’n Grill at the Hotel Si Como No. Wow! The food was amazing, the atmosphere was even better, and the views out of this world. It was a really nice meal and once again, if you go to Quepos Manuel Antonio, I would suggest the Si Como No as the place to stay. Built into the side of the same cliff everything else is built into, they feature two swimming pools, swim up bars, two restaurants and beautifully landscaped grounds. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the rooms, but were told that they were more than comfortable. On the way out of the restaurant we ran into “Sister Mary Dyke” from the plane and her “lover.” We had a nice chat with them and oohed and aahed about how coincidental it was that we ran into her again. Anyway, nice lady and nice butchy lover, I mean friend. After dinner it was off to Tutu Bar for drinks. At Bar Tutu there was a group of four ladies…mid 60’s, who took a liking to us. Actually, they were very cool and Miguel even danced with one of them.

The last day was more of the same…horrible views, terrible weather, yucky food, and disgusting beaches…joking…it was awesome!

For our return to San Jose, I convinced Miguel to go on a little puddle jumper plane. The trip was only 25 minutes, as opposed to four hours on the bus, so he agreed, reluctantly. Well, Miguel never opened his eyes and I thought the whole way we were going to die. The views were awesome, but the plane was bouncing around so much as it we went over the numerous mountain ranges, that I actually thought I was going to be sick. At one point there was a mountain off to the right that was actually higher than we were. That said, I would do it again simply because the travel time is so much less. From the airport in San Jose, I went to my second appointment. Again, these “appointments” will be blogged about separately.

Our last night in Costa Rica involved a lovely dinner at the restaurant in ApartHotel Christina, La’Olive. Then we headed out to the club…met a few cool people, had a great night and headed out to the airport in the morning.

So…we have just arrived back from an awesome week in Costa Rica. We landed in San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday, February 3rd at about 10:30pm. The flight lasted about 5 hours and 20 minutes and was fairly uneventful. Staying true to ourselves and our hatred of flying, Miguel and drank enough to keep us fully fueled for the duration of the flight. Although, it did not seem to make much of a difference for Miguel, I was in wonderland with an iPod and some fantastic airplane food. The flight attendant kept the drinks coming, free of charge. Apparently he had opened a bottle of red in first class and the passenger did not like it…I had no problem polishing it off. I think the flight attendant had a crush on one of us, to be honest. We sat beside a woman, who, I was convinced was a nun. It turned out she was married and going to see her “friend” in Costa Rica for the week. I then became convinced that she was having a lesbian affair with this so-called “friend,” and her husband knew nothing about it. She just had “that look” about her. She will come up again. Stepping off the plane, we could feel the Central American warmth. That was a great feeling, as the harsh New England winters are getting very old, very quickly. We made our way to baggage claim and eventually to immigration. The Costa Rican Tourist Board in full force, even in the airport. They had canopy lines set up, with a dummy hanging from them. We were greeted with a friendly smile, and a “Welcome to Costa Rica. May I see your passports, please.” Trust me, you don’t get that coming into the US. After clearing immigration, without incident, we headed out of the airport to be greeted by our driver holding a sign saying “Kevin Gleeson.” I’ll explain in another post how we came to have our own driver. By this point, Miguel was feeling nauseous and needed to eat. So, the driver took us to a very busy outdoor restaurant. Miguel and the driver ordered food, and I ordered a beer…”No beer tonight,” I was told (in Spanish.) Apparently, it was Election Day in Costa Rica and there would be no alcohol sales for the duration of the weekend. Initially, it seemed asinine to me, but I’ll tell you why it is a great idea a little bit later on. After we finished our snack, our driver, Carlos took us to our hotel, ApartHotel Christina.

We had no idea what to expect for a mere $50 (US Dollars) per night. We were pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Our digs had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a sitting room. I could not believe it. It was exceptionally clean and had all the amenities one could expect, including free high-speed Internet access in each room. Here is a picture of the sitting room. The staff was very friendly and always greeted us in the morning with a “Buenos Dias.” They were extremely helpful with organizing tours and offering suggestions for places to eat and things to do. The complex had a beautiful swimming pool and the typical Costa Rican breakfast of Gallo Pinto was delicious. Who would have thought of rice and beans first thing in the morning…none-the-less, it was yummy.

The hotel was located beside the Sabana Park. This is the largest park in San Jose and looked quite nice. The locals obviously took full advantage as there were always people playing soccer and having BBQ’s. The next day involved a self-guided tour through San Jose. The weather was nice, with scattered clouds and a temperature that felt about 75 degrees F, or 23 degrees C. To be completely honest, I was not overly impressed with the city. During the day it is fine, with tons of street vendors and people everywhere. It is nighttime that shows a different side of the city center. Every single building has metal shutters on it. So, after dark all the shutters are pulled and the streets become very unattractive. There is a fair amount of litter about the place that would make a world of difference if picked up. Just like any other city, San Jose has its share of junkies. I’m not too sure what sort of drugs are a problem there, but it was definitely some sort of “downer”…Heroin perhaps. The junkies were exceptionally passive in begging and never became a nuisance. We wondered through the streets for hours, stopping for photo-ops, and snacking on different Costa Rican treats along the way. After a nice dinner (can’t remember what I had) we decided to head back to the hotel…after all, there were no bars open and restaurants were not serving drinks. At the reception desk in the hotel, were greeted with a friendly smile and asked, “What have you done today.” After a nice chat with the guy at reception and he learning that we are a Puerto Rican and an Irish, he said “Oh, Irish…you must want beer?!?!” He went behind the counter and came back with a six-pack of Imperial. He explained that we could not drink it in public, but within the hotel grounds was not a problem. With big smiles we headed back to the apartment and fell asleep halfway through our first beer

The next day, we woke early. A tour bus, which we had arranged the night before, collected us at the hotel. Already onboard the bus were and Argentina couple, a couple from Finland, two girl friends (one from Luxemburg and the other Mexican) and ourselves, of course. Everyone on the bus introduced themselves and as the bus got underway, each group continued their own conversation. We traveled for about 2 hours. First, through the city, past the airport and up into the hills. The scenery and views were absolutely amazing. Passing through small villages, the streets were packed with people promoting one man, or another to be their new president. They would wave as we passed and holler out their favorite name. Eventually, the van stopped at a lovely coffee shop/bakery. We had 15 minutes to get a snack and take some photos of the beautiful scenery. Back on the road again, we continued our chat and were told by the tour guide when were passing through the continental divide. He also pointed out the Volcanoes, which were surrounded by clouds and made them worthless to go and see. The mountains were spectacular. After about another hour, we came to a park that had a beautiful Butterfly Garden, Humming Bird Garden, and tons of other wildlife sanctuaries. The best part of the park was the hike to see the waterfalls. The hike lasted about 2 hours and we saw about 10 magnificent waterfalls. We climbed up mountains and back down mountains…it was truly spectacular and unfortunately, the photos don’t do much justice. At the end of the trail the bus driver picked us up again and we started the long drive back to San Jose. That night we had a really nice dinner in a restaurant up the road from the hotel. After dinner it was back to ApartHotel Christina for a few beers, poolside, and off to bed.

Monday I had an appointment, which lasted all day…, I’ll write about that in a different post. Miguel went to the museum and the shopping mall, while he waited for me. Carlos’ dad was his personal driver for the day Tuesday morning we found ourselves at the Coca-Cola bus station in downtown San Jose. We were ready to board a bus for Quepos - Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast.

The bus trip was about 4 hours long. The distance traveled was not very far (125 km, I think,) but there are no freeways, so lengthy travel time was mostly due to the need to climb mountains and maneuver the coach bus over tiny bridges, and around hair-pin turns. As expected, there was no air conditioning on the coach bus, but the windows were all wide open with the curtains blowing. There was not an empty seat on the bus. The views along the journey were spectacular. The driver was obviously an experienced driver and used to the roads. One tiny mistake and the entire coach bus would have been tumbling down the side of a mountain, as the roads did not have barricades on the sides. I can’t actually believe that we made it over some of the bridges. Most of them were constructed of two metal planks…one for each wheel of the bus. Precision was obviously the key to making it across. From one bridge we managed to see an alligator below…he looked fairly hungry too, so it is a good thing we made it across the bridge. In the same river as the alligator, there were turtles sunning themselves. Shortly after crossing the last wobbly bridge, we arrived in Quepos - Manuel Antonio, where Pura Vida ensued. All about Manuel Antonio, the beaches, national parks, monkeys, sloths, restaurants, bars and clubs coming soon…

Photos can be found here

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Arriving in San Jose

Most people who go to Costa Rica will fly in to the capital city of San Jose. The airport in San Jose is called Santamaria International Airport. It is not actually located in San Jose, rather a neighboring town called Alajuela. The airport itself is not too big, and is easy to navigate. Immigration is not too complicated and the officers are generally friendly. From Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, you can get many connections to other destination sin Costa Rica, or many other countries in Central America.

24 Hour Airport Information: + (506) 437-2626

Upon exiting the airport in San Jose, tourists can expect a crowded arrivals hall at most hours of the day. Outside there are a number of ground transportation services available. I would strongly recommend taking either a red, marked taxi, or a bus with other tourists traveling to a similar destination. Travel time is about 20 minutes and the fare should amount to about $10 (us) to Downtown San Jose. You could also take a bus to downtown San Jose, however, these busses can make numerous local stops along the way. And, after a long flight, who wants to be stuck on a bus. If you are on a budget, the bus may be the only way to go. It is very inexpensive, and will leave you at the main bus terminal in Downtown San Jose, known as the “Coca-Cola Bus Station.” From the bus station you can catch busses to many other destinations in Costa Rica. It is often advised that you purchase bus tickets prior to your departure time as the busses fill up quickly. A bus schedule can be found here.

Arriving in Liberia

A second Airport called Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, located in the North West of Costa Rica is a smaller, but often used airport for international flights. The benefit to flying into Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia is that it is close to the Pacific beach destinations. San Jose, on the other hand, is located in the central valley and is quite a distance from the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica.

In addition to the two international airports in Costa Rica, there are a number of regional airports throughout the country. These are great for taking small “Puddle Jumpers” from place to place. There are two national airlines:

• Sansa Email: info@flysansa.com Phone: (506) 221-9414
• Nature Air Email: Info@natureair.com Phone: (506) 299-6000

Entry requirements

Most travelers will not need a visa to enter Costa Rica for a Vacation. Generally, tourists can stay for either 30 of 90 days without a visa. It is best to check, prior to arrival, what the requirements are for your country. You can check the Costa Rican visa requirements for your country here.

Still to Come… (While you wait, you can read about San Jose here, and Manuel Antonio here.)

San Jose

• Where to Stay in San Jose
• Tours from San Jose
• Where to eat in San Jose
• Where to go out in San Jose
• What to see in San Jose
• Where to travel to from San Jose

Manuel Antonio - Quepos

• How to get to Manuel Antonio & Quepos
• Where to Stay in Manuel Antonio - Quepos
• Tours in Manuel Antonio
• The Beaches of Manuel Antonio
• Where to eat in Quepos & Manuel Antonio
• Nightlife in Manuel Antonio & Quepos
• Manuel Antonio National Park

I recently traveled to San Jose Costa Rica to have some work done on my teeth. After years of being unhappy with my crooked teeth and a constant feeling of insecurity everytime I wanted to smile, I started doing some research into getting my teeth straightened without the use of braces. Initially, I was not completely opposed to getting braces, but after being quoted a few prices & being told that I may have to wear them for up to two years, I decided to begin researching alternatives. So, first stop was the internet. I found out that Invisalign was an option, but the cost was astronomical, and I heard through the grape-vine, that they are not quite as invisible as they would like you to believe. Next option was cosmetic dentistry.

What exactly is cosmetic dentistry one might ask. Well, it encompasses a plethora of procedure that are intended to make your smile look better. The great thing about cosmetic dentistry is that you can often walk away with a great smile in a few short dentist visits. Procedures can range form complete mouth restoration, to simple teeth whitening. My personal case involved a few root canals and porcelain vaneers.

After visiting a couple of dentists in the U.S. and being quoted $15,000 dollars by both, I started fantasizing about some magic bank that would give me the money to do it and not require that I pay them back…fat chance, you might say. Well, you’re right. I began thinking there must be a way to get this work done without all the expense. This is where the dentist in San Jose, Costa Rica came in.

I can’t remember exactly how I found out about “medical tourism,” but I’m sure it was after hours of browsing on the internet. I started encountering articles about people traveling to far off lands to have plastic surgery. I thought, ‘if they are doing it for plastic surgery, they must be doing it for dental work.’ Well, I was right. Sure enough, I ran into articles of peoples experiences traveling to foreign countries to have their teeth straightened, replaced, whitened, capped, bonded, filled, extracted, and anything else you can imagine that a dentist does. I had a really hard time finding anything…thats when I found my cosmetic dentist Dr. Telma Rubinstein and Dr. Josef Cordero Pinczanski of Prisma Dental San Jose Costa Rica

After detailed research about cosmetic dentist’s in Costa Rica, my choice ended up being Dr. Telma Rubinstein and her husband, Dr. Josef Cordero. My initial contact with their dental office was by email, and a good few years before I actually took the plunge and made an appointment. My first email to Prisma Dental explained what I wanted to have done with my teeth. I immediately got a response with pricing based on my request. Prisma Dental’s reply email was in perfect English and explained that they could not accurately prescribe a procedure without x-rays and photographs of my teeth. The best part was that the email they sent me was from Dr. Telma Rubinstein herself, not an office assistant. Our correspondence went back and forth for a couple of weeks…me explaining that I did not have X-Rays, as I had not been to a dentist in many, many years. During our correspondence, I learned of their dental qualifications. It has been a while, but I understand that they started their dental education in San Jose, Costa Rica, and furthered their cosmetic dentistry education in Florida. I also voiced my reservations about traveling to a foreign country to have dental procedures preformed. Their reply sounded like I was not alone in my concern. So, they provided me with a long list of email addreesses of people from the U.S. who had traveled to their dental offices in San Jose, Costa Rica to have dental work done. 99% of those people replied to me email with only positive things to say about Dr. Telma Rubenstain and Dr. Josef Cordero and their cosmetic dental procedures. As time past, and money was still an issue (even at their unheard of low prices) having my teeth ‘hooked up’ seemed more and more like it would never happen. Nonetheless, I continued my research.

In my research, I came across an article by Jeff Schult called “A new Smile for Half the Price.” The article was featured in The Hartford Courant’s weekend magazine called Northeast. What better reference could I have, I thought. Not only was this article about Jeff’s experience featured in a U.S. newspaper, but it was one of the biggest papers in my home state of CT. Mr. Schult’s article is absolutely fantastic and goes into great detail about his cosmetic dental procedure in Costa Rica, and his experience with Dr. Telma Rubenstain and Dr. Josef Cordero. In addition to Mr. Schult’s article, I stumbled upon and article written by Jon Herring. Jon’s article also told of a great experience of traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica to have cosmetic dental work preformed.

So, what does it boil down to? After reading these articles I was convinced that my dental work would be preformed at Prisma Dental by Dr. Rubinstain and Dr. Cordero.

It was sort of by surprise that I found myself booking a flight to San Jose, Costa Rica with the intent of having cosmetic dental work preformed. Initially I was supposed to go to Puerto Rico for a week in February. Being the procrastinator that I am, I put off booking the flight until the last minute. When I finally got around to visiting travelocity.com, the prices had gone sky high. I decided to check out other places for a winter get-away. San Jose came to be an option and my mind started racing about the possibilities. Sure enough, flights to Costa Rica were affordable. I immediately emailed Dr. Telma Rubinstein to see if they would be able to preform the work I wanted done on my teeth in a one week period. Later that day I got a call from Tiffany from Prisma Dental’s office. Unfortunately, I missed her call, but she left a message. I emailed her directly and she assured me that there would be no problem preforming the dental work within a week. So, with the help of Tiffany, I made appointments at Prisma Dental, and booked my flights. After all of this, Tiffany (an American woman living in Costa Rica) was very helpful in making arrangements for accommodation in San Jose, pick-up and drop off from the airport, and anything else that I needed. It was such a reassuring and pleaseant experience hashing out the details with Tiffany.

Upon arrival in San Jose’s international airport, Prisma Dental’s own driver was there to meet us as promised by Tiffany. A sign that read “Kevin Gleeson - Prisma Dental” was held high above the crowd so that I could not miss it. The dental clinics driver, whos name escapes me, was an extremely pleasant man, who took us for something to eat before dropping us off at our hotel, Aparthotel Christina. We arrived late on Friday night, so I had to wait until Monday morning for my first appointment with the Prisma Dental crew. There was plenty to do in San Jose and the lovely people at Aparthotel Christina were more than happy to help us arrange day tours to volcanoes, the jungle, and the likes.

When Monday morning arrived, The driver was at the hotel on time and ready to take me to Prisma Dental, which was only about a five minute drive. I went into the modern building and up the elevator to the Dental offices. When the doors of the elevator opened, I was in shock. The places was absolutely beautiful. To the right was what looked like the lab. Straight ahead was an inviting waiting room with a huge glass partition. Behind the glass was a young woman who immediately greeted me with “you must be Kevin.” She introduced herself as Tiffany, and made small talk for a few minutes; asking about my flight and what I had done for the last few days. I waited only a few minutes before I was brought to an examination room. Tiffany took some digital pictures of my teeth and then invited me into Dr. Rubinstein’s office. Just as I was sitting down, Dr. Rubinstein came in with a friendly smile to greet me. She seemed like she was busy and said “So, Kevin let me see.” I opened wide and she looked in deep thought for a few minutes. She looked a bit worried, so I asked her what was the matter. She told me that the pictures I had sent were not very reflective of my situation. She said they would be able to perform the work, but that time was an issue. She said we must begin right away if we want to get finished. Dr. Rubinstein could see that I was nervous and asked would I like something for my anxiety…I gladly accepted. My nerves were on edge because I was just told I would need four root canals, and six crowns…I agreed to the dental procedure and was immediately whisked into the chair and the work began…a brand new smile was on the way, thanks to the advancements in cosmetic dentistry and a team of fantastic cosmetic dentists.

The road to a new smile bean with a “good cleaning.” The girls who did the cleaning were very gentle and careful. I think they may have been dental students, as they looked young and seemed reluctant to speak English. I felt no need for them to talk to me during the procedure as their mere presence was calming and comforting. After cleaning, I went into another exam room, to have the root canals performed. I was very nervous about this. I had heard horror stories about root canals, but t was actually one of the easiest parts of the whole procedure. The doctor who performed the root canals was also very pleasant. He had no problem chatting away for the entire time…More to come, I’m tired…LOL