On Sunday, Jody and I spent the day in San Isidro with our new friend, Diego, and his fiancée, Veronica.
We had lunch at Diego’s father’s restaurant (Frank’s Place), took a dip in the hot springs near Diego’s home and stopped for a unique snack on the way back from the hot springs. It was a fun day and a once in a lifetime type of experience that I will not soon forget. But, the thing I will remember the most about the day was the absolute bliss I observed between Diego and Veronica. It was obvious in the way they looked at each other, the way they held hands and the way they talked to each other. It was touching to hear them talk about their future plans and the babies they will have…..and the names the babies will have…… It’s been quite awhile since I have seen a couple so obviously in love. They were radiant with joy!
Their story also melted our hearts. They met when they were teenagers, set up a date and started out to get some pizza. On the way, Veronica, who was a little shy, told Diego that she didn’t want to go after all. He was heartbroken. Years later, he married someone else and had a son with her. There were problems, and it didn’t work out. Years later, Veronica found Diego on Facebook. They started connecting on a regular basis and actually did go out for that pizza. The rest is history!
Jody and I were so taken by their story that we are still talking about it 3 days later. A true love story!
You might recall from an earlier post that Diego was our tour guide on the “Segway” tour that we took earlier in the trip. We had such a good time talking together and spending the day, that he invited us to visit he and his family on his day off. We took him up on his offer, and on Sunday morning, hired a taxi to take us to San Isidro where he lives.
The drive there was spectacular, and the terrain was very different from what we have seen here at the beach. We went up the mountain on a narrow, winding road to get there…..it was kind of hairy from time to time when there was traffic coming our way. But, we made it to San Isidro. Whew!
Diego picked us up at the bus station where we had been dropped off.
After a quick tour of the city, we were on our way to his father’s restaurant. The restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday, but Frank, Diego’s father, opened just so he could make lunch for us…….and, his mother was our waitress. When does this happen?!
Diego’s mother makes the decorative bottles that you see above. Of course, we each bought one! I see a new suitcase in my future! Otherwise, my bottle is staying here!
What a fabulous meal! We had an interesting drink with something called “soursop”, an appetizer of eggplant parmesan, a salad and a very fancy chicken roll with marsala sauce that was just great! Frank is a self-taught cook and, as Diego puts it, he “cooks from the heart”. I would have to agree.
We met the whole family to include Diego’s 2 brothers and his uncle. His little brother, pictured here is a budding guitarist. He wants to go to the Ellen DeGeneres show. We’re trying to figure out how to get him there! Let me know if you have any ideas!
After lunch, Diego and Veronica took us to the hot springs……
…..and then to a fun restaurant (not that we needed any more to eat…YIKES!) where everything is made from corn. We had a sweet corn beer (he likened it to moonshine) and a sweet corn tortilla type of thing with sour cream. It was yummy!
What a great day! The only glitch was at the end. Diego suggested that we go back to Quepos in the taxi of his friend, which we were happy to do. We drove for over an hour, which we expected. As we approached Quepos, we began to see things that we recognized. But, the driver didn’t make the turn where we thought we should. HMMMMM………..
We went a few more kilometers, and I said to him in my best Spanish, “We are going to Quepos”. What I got back was the deer in the headlights stare and a shoulder shrug. He didn’t know where Quepos was, and he didn’t speak English….and, didn’t understand my Spanish! Really?! Uh oh!
Jody got on her phone to call Diego and the concierge here where we are staying to see if either could help the driver. I turned on my cell phone roaming (which I never do while traveling in a foreign country….very expensive…) got my trusty iTranslator open and tried to find the words we needed in order to give him directions. The only one he could understand was “recto”, which I think means straight (but, honestly, I’m still not sure)! There was a lot of banter (and laughter) in the back seat of the Taxi as we tried to solve this slight dilemma. But, 3 phone calls with the concierge later and 2 stops to ask for directions, we finally made it back……exhausted!
You know what?! It was worth it! I can’t say that I have had a more enjoyable or a more unusual day. I feel such joy as I continue to think about this experience and the people we met!
I have said it before in my blog posts, but I will say it again. Sometimes it pays to take a chance. This is one that paid off!
Travel With Betsy 
Leave a comment