Jeff here....
Well, we have settled into the pulse/beat/schedule of the Riu Guanacaste. We have both felt the stress and strain of what led up to our departure melt away - this can be seen by my B.P. dropping 20 points.
It seems like this resort centers upon 2 main points - 1.) Eating and 2.) Drinking and more drinking. It's kind of funny to see some of our younger fellow vacationers take advantage of the 7 bars on site. It's the proverbial kid in a candy store. Some very drunk, sun burned folks can be observed stumbling along the many pathways and byways - all leading to the next pub featuring the drink of the day - today was lemon drop shots - tart but does the job. Kat has done her part. Every day is a new liquor. Monday was rum, tuesday was tequila and Wednesday was vodka. But she never overdoes it, not like the majority.
Breakfast is from 7:30 - 10, Lunch from 12 - 2:30 and dinner from 5:30 - 9:00. The buffet is open to all and contains 10 different islands, each covering it's own specialty - salad - dessert with everything in between. Food is plentiful but missing a few basic ingredients like spice and taste. It's OK, and we are in no danger of fading to nothing. We have broken up the string of buffet eating by having dinner at one of the 4 other restaurants on site.
The weather is mostly sunny and humid, but yesterday it was cloudy most
of the day and we were woken from our nap by a huge booming
thunderstorm. After that the humidity was less.
The grounds around and throughout the resort is manicured beyond belief. Each day, an Army of workers can be observed mowing, trimming, pruning, weeding and any other -ing you could imagine. The upshot is the beautiful exotic flowers, expansive lawns and statuary we pass on our way to anywhere. Very nice - my only question is how all these workers wearing long sleeve shirts maintain an upright posture. We get winded walking through the grounds on our way to the beach - it's 95 degrees with 98% humidity!
We quickly discovered that the pool, though huge - about an acre, acre and a half, was nice but at 3:30 daily (you can set your watches), the entertainment crew tries to engage one and all into games - this consists of screaming into a microphone set at 11 on a ten scale and playing music (?) that can only be compared to running your fingernails down a chalk board - God, I'm sounding like my Dad! The beach is where we choose to plant ourselves on a daily basis. Less rush and fuss, just plain more mellow. The ocean is silky smooth, warm and inviting. I can float on my back for 40 minutes and expend a calorie or two of energy. We then go back to our chaise lounges and read, listen to music and people watch. We are continually amazed at the choices of swimsuits some people choose for themselves. I cannot believe that that 250+ pound woman from New Jersey looked at herself in a mirror before donning that skimpy pink bikini with the thong bottom - no, not a pretty sight. At one point Kathy had to grab a stick from my hands when I threatened to poke my eyes out to stop, "the horror, the horror!" On the other hand, there are some very fit people in very little clothing that are a pleasure to observe!
We have enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, New York, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Missouri, Cleveland and all points between. Lot's of stories and insights. We learned from one couple that taking the water taxi to Playa Coco was a great way to spend a day.
We took their advise and they were right - it was a wonderful way to wile away the day. For $30.00, we caught the boat and got a chance to see the coast, lined with condo's, caverns, interesting flora and fauna and boats moored bobbing on the tide. With some more info, we got to Coco and grabbed a taxi that took us to Playa Ocatol - a very secluded beach where we had to share it with 8 other folk. After sunning, napping and bobbing on the waves like a discarded cork, we walked 75 yards up the beach where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at "Father Rooster". Great atmosphere with a decided Jamaican flavor.
My strength, though not perfect continues to improve on a daily basis. Kat is not bugging me to do more as her attitude is, "relax......I'm happy just vegging." And more vegging is what we plan to do!
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| Our stroll down to the ocean |
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| The tree in front of our lounge chairs |
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| Jeff chooses his spot |
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| Our wet bar in the room.......they must want us to be drunk all the time! |
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| Various lovely flora |
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| The outside of the Riu |
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| Uphill to the buffet |
More pictures in the next post.
