Adventure: An exciting and very unusual experience. I have always told myself, be careful what you ask for because the universe always provides. Now my definition might be a zip line or extreme bungee jumping, not the kind we got. However it all turned out.
Here is my story: We were going to the Hotel Aranjuez
http://www.hotelaranjuez.com/ to shower and relax before we were to fly out at 6:00 a.m the next morning. I was planning to go visit Emilia Fung's Gallery: Galeria 11-12 Arte
http://www.galeria11-12.com/ (she specializes in purely Costa Rican art past to present). That was not to be. After my shower I realized that I had left my backpack on the taxi, computer, cellphones, cameras, passports and money etc.! Fortunately, because my friend Martha Sanchez had called the cab for us, we had the name of the taxi company and the cab number. Panic and disbelief set in, the cab company began to give us the run-around so we went to the Organismo di Investigation Judicial (cop shop) that night and they said no crime had been committed. No Satisfaction.
Judy Vars and Martha E Sanchez
The next morning our friend Martha
http://marthaesanchez.blogspot.com/ showed up to help us out, because we were scared and frustrated there was some loud arguments and bruised feelings. Thank you my dear friend and Sebastian for everything! your warm home for three nights, your good cooking, yogi, showing us San Jose, introducing us to your friends and having a party, showing us a Hopi ceremony and most important, keeping with us even when things got difficult and crazy! Friendship is stronger than fighting. I love you!
We all went to the police, it was like an old episode of Hill Street Blues, the cops made some calls and put some pressure on the taxi company, next we all got into the squad car and drove to the taxi company. The driver checked the taxi, no backpack. Then the police detectives took us to the American Embassy to get our new passports. They gave us VIP treatment according to Martha.
That night, the night of the second day something unbelievable happened: The woman who had gotten into the taxi next noticed my backpack and decided to keep it instead of telling the cab driver, she looked inside and found my name and got onto Facebook. From there she contacted my friends in Alaska, Kimberly Bustillos
http://artdebustillos.com/ she contacted my other friend Sharen AK Harris
http://sharenakharris.com/about.html who called my son Porter and he called my daughter Nicole who reached me that night at the hotel. She said; Someone found your backpack and gave me Edith's name and phone number.
Edith Campos also contacted Martha and Sebastian Sanchez
http://marthaesanchez.blogspot.com/ in Costa Rica. Martha and I jumped in the taxi and went to an older barrio and got the pack back. Everything was still there, computer, cameras, cell phones, money, passports!!! Edith Campos is my Facebook Angel. Facebook should give her an award.
Edith Campos, Judy and her MoM
Later that night Martha and I went to an Internet Cafe to try and change our airline reservations but I got nowhere with the airlines or Price Line (Alaska Airlines are shits) they told me that we needed to pay an additional $4,366 just to get home. The next day after we walked all over downtown San Jose, CR trying to make international phone calls, in defeat we returned to the American Embassy. HELP we cried! The phones at the embassy worked no problemo, they spoke English, and renegotiated the airline ticket. In a couple of hours we had our tickets home thanks to another angel Charmaine my daughter.
That is not the end of my story: We had only been eating the complimentary breakfast at the Hotel Aranjuez to save money. After things were sorted out and we knew we were going to be leaving the next morning we went to a soda (restaurant) called Isabel’s to enjoy our last meal in Costa Rica.
The next day in the Houston Airport aka George Bush International, after the first leg of our journey home. I was sitting by the internet port charging my computer when an older woman asked me for help, she asked me to send an e-mail informing her party in Boston she had missed her flight. I e-mailed her party the time and flight number of her arrival. I noticed her name was Isabel, so I said funny, we ate at a place called Isabel’s last night in San Jose, Costa Rica. She said; so did I, in San Jose by the hospital? I said: Yes, we must have missed each other by just 30 minutes .We both said; What are the odds of that? I ask; Are you Costa Rican? She said; Yes. I ask; Where do you live? She said: Golfito. I ask; Do you know Reymundo, our friend who owns DolphinQuest
http://www.dolphinquestcostarica.com/Dolphin_Quest_Costa_Rica/About.html She said; Yes! and has known him since Raymar his oldest son was born in the ocean about 19 years ago. Everyone we met in Golfito think the world of Reymundo who is originally from Detroit. We begin to have a conversation,she says she has started the process to open a bilingual school in Golfito to teach English to children and adults. Coincidentally, Peter's and I have this dream for retirement to do just that.
We are asking ourselves what kind of crazy coincidences in the universe made this happen? We were all feeling goosebumps and praising DIOS!
The story gets even stranger if you think about it. Had we not missed our flight like Isabel, we would not have met in Houston at all. Suddenly I said; You are going to Boston, Isabel! and we are flying to Seattle! We looked at the ticket and we should have been at gate C-18 not C-14 where we were sitting with Isabel. We hugged took a picture and ran to our gate to get on our flight in the nick of time.
Judy Vars and Isabel Arias
I do not know the significance of this meeting but something tells me that there are forces larger than we know at work for our good and our protection if we can just get out of the way and let it happen. Thank you to the people of Costa Rica you have strengthened my faith in Humanity! Thank you Great Spirit!
I LOVE COSTA RICA and I love the people of Costa Rica! Thank You Dios!
