January 7, 2004
through
January 15, 2004
The flight itself was shorter than expected, but it took a long time to taxi to the gate. From there we had to take a train to Amsterdam.
Once we got to Amsterdam we went in search of a place to stay that we had found in a book. When we found it, it was more than we wanted to pay. The owner recommended another one that was cheaper. It was right down the street. It was called My Home. It was acceptable for one night.
We really didn't feel like sightseeing since we had done that before. So instead we checked out the movies. We found a couple of theaters with English movies. We decided to see SWAT with Samuel Jackson. This movie cost the most since traveling and it was a matinee.
The movie was good. It wouldn't have been one I would have gone to the movies for though. I have been to the movies more times while traveling than I have in 8 years, at least.
Laurie and I walked around. We were trying to find the Red Light District. Prostitution is legal here. The women are able to show their goods in the windows. If anyone is interested, the girls just open the door like window and negotiate the deal. It was quite interesting.
I also think drugs, well at least, I think, marijuana is, legal. Some hostels even stated that it was permissable. There was someone smoking in the sitting area at our hostel.
We later got food to eat and then went back to the room.
January 8, 2004
We left the hostel at 8:00. We were hoping to get breakfast before we left, but they weren't open for breakfast at the hostel. It was included in the price. We hadn't paid for our room so we just put the money in the baggy with the key and slipped it under the door. I hope the right people see it. I wouldn't want them to think that we skipped out.
We caught the train going to the airport. The only thing was we missed our stop and we didn't realize it until two stops afterwards. I had asked a woman on the train. She said we passed it about 20 minutes ago. She was getting off the next stop so she showed us the platform for the train back to the airport. Luckily it came in 5 minutes. The boarding was suppose to be at 9:20 and depart at 10:20. We were 30 minutes away and it was 9:20. We ran once we got there and asked an attendent for help getting through. Luckily we didn't have luggage to check.
We had our carry ons to go through the scanner and we were off running to our gate. When we got there we saw that people were still in line for the plane. We were there two minutes and Laurie asked where my fanny pack was. HOLY SH--!!! I left it at the scanner. It had my money, credit cards, and camera. The rest I didn't care about. I had to run all the way back. I was out of breath by the time I got to the scanners. They had it--Thank Goodness. Then I had to run all the way back. The line was still there. What a start for the day.
The flight was uneventful. We are flying Martin Air, partners with KLM-Royal Dutch. They charge for head phones and our monitor was broken. At least the food was good. It was a 9 1/2 hour flight to Miami. We had to get out and go through customs. We were back on US soil after more than ten months, but not for long. Our flight to Costa Rica was in an hour and a half. Laurie and I sat watching CNN. We haven't heard US news in so long.
Well, I am on the second flight. It is sunny out there, but my body thinks it is 11:00 at night. I think I will be going to bed early, well probably not as early as I would like. After getting luggage and taking a bus to San Jose, checking out information and getting to our place. It will be quite late.
The second flight wasn't bad. We got in at 6:00 Costa Rica time, which is one hour behind Eastern Standard time. We had to go through immigrations and customs which took awhile. The longest thing was trying to get money. We had the hardest time with the ATM machine. We couldn't understnd what buttons to push and how much money. One US dollar equals about 418 colones. Then they asked to put in the multiples of 1000. The symbol for colones is our cent sign.
We were lucky that there was a very nice and patient man behind us. His name Alonso. He waited for us and then he took us to the bus station and got off with us to get a taxi to the place where Laurie had made reservations. He gave us his number incase we needed help with anything
