Memories of Costa Rica Allegro Papagayo

In March of 2014 we went on our first winter getaway with some of our kids. We only booked it with them two weeks prior to leaving, so little research had been done.  I'd left the exploration of our destination up to my daughter-in-law.  She did good!
My memories: 
"We booked into an all inclusive called Allegro Papagayo, on the western side of Costa Rica.  This place is quite remarkable! the flowers around the grounds are amazing, as are the many birds all over the place. Remarkable colours and song every where you look. We saw one this morning that had the most amazing crown. I didn't have my good camera, but we took a couple with the little one, will see how we make out.


The sand here is so very black, and in the soaring temperatures that touch in the high 30s, it was so very hot you would almost think the skin on your feet was being seared off.  None of us could navigate it without sandals, but it was lovely to see. 


The first day was pretty relaxed, once we got checked in we basically put on our bathing suits and spent much of the rest of the afternoon in the pool. In honesty, it's the first time ever that we've spent time in a resort pool enjoying the services of the pool bar. No wonder others love that so much! Billy and Robin were in the pool from almost the moment we landed here!  They know how to relax!

We rode from the airport in a small bus, as we were at the tail end of a large group of vacationers.  Worked out much better, only 8 of us on the bus. The couple ahead of us were from just outside Toronto. They were saying they had friends in Winnipeg, and had wanted them to join them on this holiday, but never thought to suggest they fly to Toronto as we had. They'd met them last year while vacationing in Cuba. When we got to the checkin, we were behind them again and began chatting. They had mentioned before that the guy they knew worked in corrections, however, didn't mean much, but when we were talking in the lobby they said the first names of their Winnipeg friends.  It was a very familiar combination, so I asked last names, and lo and behold it's my one of my supported living co-workers. We have a small team of about 10 people, and she is one of them, and here we are across the world chatting to two of her friends!
How small is the world, honestly! It was unbelievable!