Costa Rica Day One: Back On The Road And Up In The Sky Again

It’s 5 a.m. as I begin writing this blog 0n Friday January 5 . I am back on the road again, at the Wilkes Barre-Scranton International  Airport in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  It is a lot less stressful  flying out of this airport. It is a 40 mile drive from my home in the Green Ridge section of Hazle Township in Luzerne County. There was almost  no traffic on I81 on my ride to the airport .  It was a nice and reflective drive. This is so different from  the 2 hour drive in bumper to bumper traffic on I 80 to get to the Newark Airport.

 I will be boarding soon and it will be a short 40 minute flight to the Newark Airport from here. I will have a very short  53 minute layover and then a direct 5 1/2 flight to my next destination, San Jose,  Costa Rica. Then I will take  a 3 hour drive to my lodging for the week at the Arenal Observatory Lodge near the recently active Arenal Volcano. I have not been close to a volcano so I will cross another item off of my long bucket list. Over  500  species of birds were sighted here as well as snakes, monkeys and other critters , more reasons for my visit. And the snow storm that is predicted for Northeastern Pennsylvania  could be another. 

We boarded our flight on time, and, after a short delay to de-ice the plane we were off to Newark.  It was a short 1/2 flight and we approached Newark as the horizon turned red in anticipation of the sunrise.

There was also some red below us as we landed, the flames of a raging fire near the airport. A plume of smoke rose from the fire.

We arrived at gate 101 in the C terminal  on time and I had only about 20 minutes to get to Gate 26 in the A terminal. No time to sit and people watch as I love to do in airports. And no time to take photos from my rush through the crowded airport. So this next photo was from the seat of my plane after boarding. I was excited to be traveling to a rain forest again and my thoughts of the exotic flora and fauna I will see, photograph, and share, ran through my head.

The fire I had seen earlier continued to burn in the distance as we taxied  through the airport. .

Thankfully , we took off on time. I have experienced many long  delays at the Newark airport. We were soon flying over Newark, and ,

then along the New Jersey shore. I had my window seat and enjoyed the view of the shore. My thoughts wondered, as they always do, when I am in a plane. This time I thought of the first time I saw the ocean when I was nine years old. It was at Atlantic City on the only family vacation I took. It was a wonderful experience forever etched in my memory. The next time I would see the ocean would be when I was 19 years old and in college on a road trip to Florida. The plane flew down the coast and soon  I saw  Cape May in the distance.

It was a pleasant flight, and I stared out the window until some cloud cover appeared off the coast of North Carolina. I actually dozed off a bit which is unusual for me .

When I looked out the window again we were just flying over the Florida Keys.  I just missed the Overseas highway below. I love the Everglades and the Keys and have been exploring them every Winter now for the past few years. You can tell we had changed out latitude since moisture laden tropical clouds now floats above the waters of the ocean below.

I am intrigued by the changing landscape seen from an airplane. My childlike curiosity has so many questions racing through my mind. We soon approached Cuba and wondered if the folks along the coast were fishermen. How did the celebrate Christmas ? . What do they eat? What do they do for work, pleasure? I love airplanes. I always have.

We soon left the southern coast of Cuba and I recalled my visit to this beautiful country.

We continued our flight over the Caribbean Sea,

and next approached the coast of  Nicaragua. we flew along it’s coast,

before crossing it’s jungles and mountains  with tropical cumulus clouds forming in the  late morning heat.

We next flew into into Costa Rica. and we descended into it’s Capitol city San Jose.

The first thing I noticed reminded me of my hometown, large  warehouses. The surrounded the city and they do most cities in the United States. Sad sights they are to me.

We landed at the small airport and were quickly off the plane.

I walked to the “duty free” shop found in every airport on our planet. where first time travelers are enticed to depart with their money. I walked to immigration where there was a short line. I was asked a few questions  by the immigration officer and soon on my way out of the airport. I did have to have my luggage scanned but that was the only delay. I left the airport and walked past the line of driver and tour operators looking for their client. I soon saw my name, met Luis my driver and was soon on the last leg of this journey., more to be told in my next blog post.   I hope to share many more adventure on this trip and I hope you join me as I do . . Here is a link to a gallery on my  blog website with some more photos  from my travel to the airport in San Jose. Costa Rica Day One Airplane January 5 2024.

“At 30,000 feet up
The mind has plenty of space to wander:”
― Eugene Redmond