Costa Rica - 40th Wedding Anniversary Trip

Teri and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in early January, and had planned our sixth trip to Costa Rica to celebrate. We booked everything through Costa Rica Focus, the company that we'd used for the first time back in July 2021. 

As is our tradition, we stayed the night before our flight at the La Quinta Airport Hotel in San Antonio. We arrived at the airport at 4:00 a.m. for our 5:30 flight and got checked in. So far, so good.  

At some point our departure time was pushed to 6:00 and then 6:30.  We got word of a nationwide failure of the FAA NOTAM (Notice to Airman) system that had grounded all US flights. We finally got a new 8:00 departure time which became 8:30 with delays. 

Just before takeoff we got word on the American Airlines app that our Miami to Costa Rica flight had been cancelled, that American had nothing available, and that we needed to make other plans. We debated even getting on the plane, but decided to go to Miami and figure it out. 

After landing, but while still taxiing I turned my phone on and started looking for alternative flights. It appeared that American had nothing, nor did any other US carrier. It looked like best case we’d spend the night in Miami and then fly out the next day on Copa Airlines, arriving at around 7:30 pm,  completely wrecking the first couple of days of our trip.

I was in contact with Costa Rica Focus who were also trying to find us something, but we were ending up with solutions like flying to Panama City, and then getting a flight the next day to Costa Rica, or flying to Bogota and then connecting back. It was looking like a real disaster.

We were also trying to figure out what was happening with our luggage and how to get it back from American so that we could book on another airline. We returned to the gate where we’d landed to ask, but found that the adjacent gate was boarding a flight to Costa Rica!!  We’d assumed that nothing was available since American told us that, but we waited at the counter and realized that the gate agent was madly booking people onto a standby list!  They were starting to call standbys and directed folks needing to get on standby to the area of the counter where we happened to be standing. We were taken next, given two separate seats in economy, and told to immediately board the plane. I don’t know why we were jumped to the front, but we didn't quibble!

So we went from thinking we’d not get there at all to arriving only four hours late!  Our luggage even make the flight!!  So hats off to American for pulling it all together at the last minute!  They could have done better with the initial cancellation but all is forgiven. What a disaster of a day it was for many folks, thanks to the incompetence of the FAA. 

Our guide for the trip, Johan was patiently waiting for us, and we were on our way in no time. We arrived to Hotel Cerro Lodge at around 6:00 pm, driving the last 30 minutes in the dark. We saw several Common Paraques on the final dirt road into the lodge, so that was a treat. 

Common Paraque - taken through the windshield at night

We got checked in, went out owling for about an hour and saw an immature Spectacled Owl and more Pauraques, and then had dinner. 

Spectacled Owl

The lodge restaurant specializes in wood-fired pizza, and Teri and I split a “personal” vegetarian pizza that was all we could eat together. Strangely, we were brought a large pair of office scissors to cut the pizza and they worked surprisingly well. 

Our large three-bed room had an A/C which was wonderful as this is a warm, humid area. 

It also featured an outdoor bathroom which was interesting. It was surrounded by vegetation and shade cloth, but at night with the light on very easy to see into!  

So we showered with the lights off, which was fine as there was enough stray light from the hotels walkway lighting. We had a decent nights rest, if not sleep. It had been a very long first day!