Today was an early start by design. We somewhat last minute booked a 5 hour deep sea fishing charter. You see, since our honeymoon fishing charter in Belize when we had a fruitful catch and ate for days (Thank you Terry’s Grill), we’ve tried to schedule a fishing trip whenever we travel. In Jamaica Amir and I were skunked when we tried to recreate our mega honeymoon catch. And we’ve been chasing that epic fishing adventure ever since.

We arrived at Marina Pez Vela at 6:45, allowing us time to hit the ATM for the all-cash experience, and potties for those of us afraid of the on-board bathroom experience.

Our boat was the perfect size for six. The benchmark seat up front for all three kids perfectly. Unfortunately for #1BigSister, today was the day she learned about seasickness. It took just ten minutes for it to set in despite Zofran and recurrent instructions to focus on the horizon line.

Oddly enough the guys headed out directly towards a thunderstorm complete with a water spout in the distance. We were just about to question their judgment when they has us drop lines in and Amir immediately reeled in a 20” bonito.

Unfortunately the weather (and lightening) demanded that we head elsewhere. And of course, there wasn’t a single nibble after that initial catch. Womp womp.

We still had fun though – to stave off the seasickness we stopped at a good swimming spot and allowed all the kids to jump in the water. Lidia went first to swim with them, then we traded out. Amir kept fishing and fishing and fishing.

As soon as #1BigBrother seamed to be getting the seasickness, we cut our losses and headed back to the marina about an hour early. The Captain was determined to not let us leave empty handed, but we knew it was time to pack it in.

After fishing and not catching, we’d worked up an appetite. They made us sandwiches in the boat, but this crew was completely willing to eat twice. At the San Jose domestic terminal, we ran into one of #1BigSister’s classmates from back home. The mom mentioned they had reservations at El Avión, and suggested we check it out. Turns out it was only 14 minutes away from the marina.

I’ve made it my mission to eat as much ceviche as possible. I’m ordering at each place we go, trying to gauge who has the best and how to recreate it at home.

The restaurant is built around a Fairchild C-123 cargo plane with a deep history in the 1980s Cold War Iran-Contra scandal. Once used by the CIA to supply weapons to the Nicaraguan Contras, it was abandoned in San Jose for years before being purchased for $3,000, transported to Manuel Antonio, and converted into a restaurant and bar in 2000. It’s now surrounded by a multi-level restaurant and bar.

The other bonus feature of El Avión is the built-in wildlife. Right when we got there we had our first sloth sighting of the trip, mom and baby together in a tree.

As we ate, the waiter called our attention to a macaw atop a tree in the distance. I’ve enjoyed the newer features of my iPhone camera this trip. It helps me zoom in on things I’d never be able to see on my own.

On the ride home, everyone except Amir fell asleep almost immediately. He dropped us off at the house and headed back down the mountain to the grocery store. Fishless, we needed a plan B for dinner, as well as some sunscreen and aloe after a long hot day.

Tomorrow Amir and Lidia have reservations for paragliding. I technically have a reservation as well but for the next day. Part of me wants someone else to do a test run first. The older I get, the more cautious I am. Ain’t nobody got time for broken ankles or road rash.

~Steph