INFO FOR THE WEARY TRAVELER

Some of the things we've found since our arrival:
We flew Amerian Airlines from Miami and Jo said she used the head en route and it was filthy! It's only a 2 1/2 hour flight so use the Miami airport.
Don't change your US/Can. money at the C.R. airport! They encouraged us to change more than we'd planned to get a better rate. For $500 we got a rate of 459 colones per 1.00 which made us look like millionaires. Our B&B was offering just over 500 colones for any amount so we got ripped off. If you need some colones just get $20 worth at the San Jose airport.
Use the chicken busses! They're as good as our greyhounds. No banyo on them so go first. The next level of busses I suspect has all the options. Our price for a 4 hour ride was under $10 for both of us. Our 1/2 hour cab ride to here was $25. Car's are very pricey to rent. Anywhere from $450 to $900 a week incl. insurance (and you sure as hell need that.) Even w/ insurance they want your credit card deposit for $1,000.
The water. It's perfectly ok here but we'll watch it when we go inland. We started using it in ice cubes for rum & coke but have had no regularity problems. If you have any doubts wait until you've got lodging for a period of time so you can stay close to a bathroom.
Laundry go light and don't bring a pile of socks or underwear. You can wash them out at night and they'll be dry by morning. Hint tie them to the overhead fan and watch your head. So far I think one pair of socks on the way down would have been sufficient. After that it's sandals.
A few things I thought of today while my mind was at work.
The hardest thing I've done down here so far is to have a shower and hold a drink of rum and coke at the same time without getting any water in it.
The 2nd most brilliant thing I've thought of is "the less hair you have the faster it dries." Now take those gems to the bank.
Bring zip lock bags. We've lightened our load and discarded socks, underwear, long sleeves, and so far no toilet paper problem after two weeks. 2 of everything is plenty.
Bugs (so far) have not been a factor (except for Jo who has sweet blood).
A good camera like I have will replace the need for a video camera and bring at least one extra camera battery and a 4 gig memory card. I'm loving this camera and it's attached at the hip (as is Jo)