Tom slathered this entire warm Italian loaf with garlic butter, savoring every last bite. |
The round trip airfare with Avianca for both of us was US $308.12 and we paid only a little over US $199 (CRC 113,285) for both nights using our accumulated credits with Hotels.com on our site. The usual rate for this hotel is US $200 (CRC 113,854) a night. Thus, we saved about US $200 (CRC 113,854).
We were served two of these meat filled pockets as a complimentary item for our dinner. In a puff pastry, Tom ate both of them. |
It was still a somewhat pricey weekend but a lot less than we'd have spent staying in Fort Lauderdale Florida for the remaining 23 nights or in paying for an actual visa extension which is costly and time-consuming.
Here are the total expenses for the two nights including all costs:
Expense | US Dollar | Costa Rica Colones | |
Hotel - 2 nights | $ 199.84 |
113,763
|
|
Flight - Round trip | $ 308.12 |
175,404
|
|
Taxi | $ 50.00 |
28,464
|
|
Dining in Restaurants | $ 105.00 |
59,774
|
|
Miscellaneous | $ 22.00 |
12,524
|
|
Tips | $ 25.00 |
14,232
|
|
Total | $ 709.96 |
404,160
|
|
Avg Daily Cost | $ 354.88 |
202,023
|
|
|
The meat filling inside the beef pocket. |
Once we arrive and get settled in South Africa, we'll be able to begin to replenish the coffers. While there, we'll be able to save for the big adventures we're planning while living on the African continent.
Tom's rib eye steak was done to perfection, tender and delicious. |
In 55 days, we'll be spending a month in Buenos Aires Argentina living in a hotel and dining out for dinner each night (breakfast is included at the hotel we've already booked). There again, budgetary concerns prevail.
I should have taken the photo after I cut into this ultra rare tenderloin. It was the most rare steak I'd ever eaten. |
Speaking of tastes...Saturday night's dinner at the hotel's highly rated restaurant Factory Steak and Lobster was good but not great. The language barrier made ordering my special items cumbersome. Luckily, I've learned enough Spanish to be able to get the basics handled.
My grilled vegetables included aubergine (eggplant) zucchini and tomato. |
As a result, I probably ate 60% of it. It was tender and tasty but not quite right. There was no point in taking a "doggy bag." Not only was there no doggy but with the complimentary buffet breakfast the next morning, it made no sense. I don't snack during the day. Still full in the morning, I had a smallish breakfast of veggies, cheese and smoked salmon.
Saturday night, Tom ordered a rib-eye which was cooked properly and was tender and juicy with a good flavor. He ate an entire loaf of bread as shown in the photo. He hadn't had a bite of bread in many months. I kept my mouth shut as he enjoyed the bread along with his mashed potatoes and gravy.
On Saturday night, after dinner we wandered through the pool area. |
After dinner we lounged in our room watching a TV show we haven't had available since 2015 when we lived on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji...Nat Geo Wild. Watching those series leaves us reeling with excitement over "where we've been and what we've seen" and, "what is yet to come." Astounding!
Dessert options after dinner. We didn't partake. But "food voyeur" that I am, it was fun just looking at them. |
Tomorrow we'll be back with more photos from our short weekend away, excited to share our enthusiasm on the actual date of our five-year anniversary of traveling the world. We'll be posting past celebratory events as we observed each passing year. Please stop by and celebrate with us!
_________________________________________
Photo from one year ago today, October 30, 2016:
Seeing that the ship had arrived at the port in Sydney was always exciting for us. One year ago today it was October 30th in the USA and our 4th travel anniversary. However it was October 31st in Australia due to the International Dateline. This was our 15th and 16th cruises, back-to-back, considered to be two separate cruises. For more photos please click here. |
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