Costa Rica: Liberia to La Fortuna

Brandon and I are running wild in Costa Rica for the next two weeks. Our adventure began at the Atlanta airport where we had an overnight layover. No choice but to build a fort and camp out in the E Concourse.

The Liberia International Airport is more of a open air wharehouse with nightclub style security. That's Brandon on the left looking like a bearded terrorist.

We took a taxi to La Fortuna. The drive around Lake Arenal was beautiful. 

After checking into our hostel we went straight to dinner. Our first real meal of the day. This is a typical Costa Rican plate: Meat, rice, beans, slaw, mashed potatoes, and fried plantains.

La Fortuna sits at the base of Arenal Volcano, shrouded in clouds below. 

Local flora

Tokyo, Japan

Here are a few excerpts from my journal:

"Made my way to the International terminal after landing, going through security for a second time. Politely volunteered at the gate to be seated in an exit row, whereupon my boarding pass was ripped in half, replaced by a fresh, roomy new one. If there's one insider's tip I can't emphasize enough, it’s having the foresight to request an exit row seat at the gate, regardless of your previously assigned seat. Most of the time these seats aren't assigned until right before the flight leaves, or on the actual plane.

Devoured the lunch they served, my first meal all day, at about 2:30 Utah time. They came later and apologized profusely for forgetting to deliver me the kosher meal. I told them it wasn’t a problem, but they promised not to forget at dinner time. That's another insider tip when buying tickets online—order the Kosher meal. It's always better than whatever else they are serving and usually served before the other meals. Besides, I'm Jewish on my mother's side, so I don't feel too bad."

Bathrooms are futuristic wonderlands in Japan, or at least the one at the airport was.


Luckily, I didn't have to go No. 2, or I may have accidentally given myself an enema.


On the long bus ride to Derek's house, I secretly snapped a photo of these shoes. How can these Wizard of Oz meets Pimp Daddy monstrosities be in style anywhere in the world?