Goodbye Costa Rica & Good Morning Mexico (19+20.02.2022)

Well nourished for the start of the day, we leave our favorite hotel of the Costa Rica trip, the AWA Beach Hotel, on Saturday morning around 11:00 am (including the last "Baba" to the sloths). Ahead of us are about 230 km to Alajuela, the fourth largest city in the country, location of the international airport and directly adjacent to San Jose, the capital. One last time, we step on the pedals of Kim Lee, our rental car, and go through the country with the crazy Ticos.

The drive went smoothly with two short stops and was relatively entertaining with podcasts and a tropical house playlist. Only spontaneous heavy rain in the mountain range in front of San Jose (near Braulo Carillo National Park) caused some tension, as narrow roads and uphill combined with rain are not much fun. In the end, we were able to successfully return our dear Kim Lee at the car rental station, a big thank you for 1,688 km without any breakdowns. The car may not have been the prettiest or easiest to drive, but reliability in a country with crazy potholes and slopes is worth a lot.

After being transported by the car rental company to the Hilton Hampton Inn right next to the airport, we were already a bit exhausted from the day and driving. Therefore, reluctantly but out of necessity, we chose the adjacent restaurant, in this case "Denny's" - a US-American dinner franchise chain (all US travelers know the "charm" ;-)). Definitely good to satisfy your hunger, but nothing more. But anyway, all hopes now lie in Mexico when it comes to food ;-).

Sunday morning started at 7:10 am with breakfast and then we went directly to the airport. Baggage and check-in, as well as security checks, went surprisingly fast, so we had almost 2 hours at the airport before we were supposed to take off to Cancun, Mexico at 11:00 am with the airline Volaris. A big thumbs up for the condition of the international airport, very nice shops with great souvenirs (especially chocolate and coffee ..) and cool gastronomy. Rarely have I had such a good espresso in the country as here at the airport. So it's a good last impression of the country Costa Rica.

Volaris, allegedly the Ryanair of Central and South America, surprised us a bit with punctuality, friendly staff, and efficient processes. Only the departure from San Jose was a bit steep, literally, as the plane tried to gain altitude quite violently (probably due to strong winds). Some of the approximately 180 passengers didn't find it so great, as was reflected in the noise level on the plane. But okay, "it went well, nothing happened" says the Viennese and in the end, we landed in Cancun on time at around 2:15 pm local time.

Immigration and baggage, which had been quite a torture in Costa Rica, went really smoothly on that day. We probably got lucky or simply lucked out (as later turned out for Kathi and Georg). New country, new luck also with the rental car, where a brand new VW Tiguan was waiting for us. I couldn't believe my eyes at the Alamo car rental counter and Kathi was also as happy as a little girl. So, let's welcome Paul-Uve into the family. Automatic transmission, good engine power, and sufficient space for 4 people with luggage, this is how it can continue in the country. After organizing cash this time as well, this was done as quickly as the prepaid SIM card (a much simpler process than in Costa Rica).

Off to Playa del Carmen, about 50 minutes away from Cancun, and stop for one night where we will meet Kathi and Georg and spend the next few days as the "Bobo gang" exploring the country. Upon arrival, after a very easy drive (straight ahead along the coast), we quickly realized that we have arrived in a real lifestyle town here. Chic boutique hotel, cool restaurants along pedestrian zones, it looks like a fun first night. Tequila, where are you, is the first thought while strolling around. We will report on the evening tomorrow, but it looks promising ;-)...

The (two) daily twos:

Insight: Costa Rica was a great country to travel with its diversity of possibilities, and we tried to capture it in some additional blog posts to contribute with some recommendations. Links can be found here:

https://vakantio.de/the-bl/top-5-aktivitaten-in-costa-rica-unsere-auswahl

https://vakantio.de/the-bl/10-dinge-die-du-fur-den-reisealltag-in-costa-rica-wissen-solltest

https://vakantio.de/the-bl/unsere-10-best-of-tipps-fur-costa-rica

Happy moment: Arrival at the hotel in Playa del Carmen after intense hours with the realization that everything worked out from the flight to the baggage and rental car. So the next milestone of the trip can start with Mexico. Vamos muchachos :-)