An American Goes Costa Rican Part One - The Road to Dominical

Every few years, my little family takes a big vacation. Usually, we take road trips. The United States is a VERY big place, and going to Texas can seem like a foreign country. The people, clothing, agriculture, buildings, environment, everything can look so different from place to place even though you never leave the U.S. This year, however, we have close friends who vacation in Costa Rica, and they invited us along. Our family road trip was soon tossed by the roadside. My teens jumped at the chance, and boy oh boy, am I ever glad we made the decision. Rain forest, here we come!

Much like the U.S., Costa Rica is different depending on the places you visit. My family traveled from the airport in San Jose to the sweet beach town of Dominical. This is where we stayed for much of our trip. As you will see in the pictures that follow, it was beautiful, bountiful, and breathtaking.

On our way to Dominical, I'm hungry. Fast food? Nope. Ain't no Mickey D's to be found. Hey, honey? How about we simply pull over on the side of the road and get a super fresh delicious lunch at an outdoor market and cafe? YES! These gems were scattered among the highway on our way from San Jose to Dominical. They had fresh produce, bags of these plantain chips which I loved, and these little deep fried pockets of heaven called empanadas are to die for. Don't forget the beans and rice, which is a Costa Rican staple side.

See, you order from this dude at the counter. English? Aw, hell no. But super nice and helpful? Absolutely. It is amazing what high school Spanish and a ton of gestures can do. He also makes fresh coffee from a Chorreador, and it, too, is to die for.

On our way back to the car, walk through the market area to get fresh jams, bread, more plantains, and don't think the fruit hasn't been picked that week from the tree out back! Some of the freshest produce you'll ever taste. We saw many of these roadside stands throughout our trip, and they are definitely the way to go when you're hungry on the road. Who needs fast food!? This was my first stop from the airport in Costa Rica ... I'm loving it so far.

Here's where the spoiled American comes into play. Costa Rica is a third world country, and the poor far outnumber the middle class and rich. So this middle class lady was a little taken aback by the condition of the roads, stores and homes when we reached Dominical. In some areas of the world, and especially in my area, poverty equals crime. I'm ashamed to admit, I was scared at first. Where I'm from, you go walking through a neighborhood like this at night, your purse is gone.

WAIT! NIGHT! This was the WORST PART of Costa Rica: There is 12 hours of darkness! Yes, fellow Steemians, here is more of my complete ignorance coming through, but I've never been so close to the equator before. At 6:00 in the evening, it is dark! Summer in the midwest gives you sun until 9:00 at night in June and July. Here...six...sun...gone. So when we arrived in Dominical, it was totally dark, dirt roads, I couldn't see, I was tired...okay. I don't feel so bad. And I'm pretty open-minded, so after the culture-shock, I began to see the simple charm and beauty.

Here's one of the local stores. There's clothing places with touristy stuff, little markets, and some very good dive bars. And look! There's some teenagers just like my own that are totally addicted to phones. Yup, it didn't take long to love it. Just a little daylight and mingling to become educated!

There were also many sit down restaurants with local flair and ice cold Coke or Imperial. There were also more expensive dining experiences, and very nice restaurants tucked into this charming little town. The fish and ceviche are amazing.

Here's some of the homes...

When I look at this last one, I remember thinking of poverty and being sad. Now, that I know better, I see the little kid that came in before dark and didn't put his boogie board away before having dinner. I also see those thick curtains and know it's because the sun is up and HOT for 12 hours, too. Lastly, the mattress on the porch? Well, take away your air conditioning big baby, and your ass will most certainly be on the porch catching z's under the moon and stars. There's also a lot of recliners and couches on porches as well, duh. Again, it's just a minimal, simple, wonderful living.

This was our favorite house! It's a little more flashy than the rest. A few of them were painted with designs and bright colors. Everyone was on the porch that morning, playing cards and watching the world go by.

Lastly, let us not forget the town is right off the coast of the Pacific Ocean!

There is fishing

And the surfing is abundant!

Even the lifeguards have recliners!

Thank you for perusing my little tour of the road to Dominical in Costa Rica. I hope you enjoyed the photos. Next stop: Doing all the touristy stuff that Americans love!