Boat Highway

 Our return to get our car was very different that our solo ride down the river two days before. We left Tortuguero and sailed up the big river and then turned off to the smaller one when I noticed we were being followed. Each time I looked back it seemed like there was another boat behind us. By the time we got to the parking area, there were at least eight boats behind us!and a few already "docked".

It was a much bigger area than we ever expected.

Unloading luggage

We got into our car and headed back to San Jose going through the only tunnel in the country. 

I loved seeing the school children, always dressed in a uniform and traveling quite a distance to their schools either on foot or bikes. It is winter there so they are in school.

This is a school, very open air.

Next we had to find Hotel Hojarascas in Heredia. Heredia is known as the City of Flowers but it felt like a busy small city to us. It took quite a while to find our hotel and when we did it was a bit scary. It looked like a storefront on a side street in the middle of the city. 

We had such a pleasant surprise when we got inside. The city noises were gone and it was bright and modern. It is a very long narrow building that has been turned into a great hotel. It is family owned and we got to meet three brothers of the family. WONDERFUL people - again. 

They greeted us warmly and with lots of conversation. After we rested they sent us on our way to a delicious dinner about a kilometer away. It was OK for us to walk there but our waiter didn't want us to walk back after dark so he got us a cab.

I'm sorry I can't remember the brother's names but the "biker brother" said he had a special surprise for us for breakfast and it was WONDERFUL. Something like a tamale but it was wrapped in a banana leaf. It was so light and delicately flavored I wanted a dozen. The filling was chicken, carrots and chickpeas. Traditionally they are only served for Christmas. I'd live from Christmas to Christmas!

Each of the big windows on the left was a guest room

 We were then off for a bit more exploring before we picked up Teague, Meagan and Alice.