Vacations are typically a time for relaxation and rejuvenation.
As a non-adventurous girl, traveling to Costa Rica with my fearless, adrenaline-junky boyfriend seemed daunting, but I was optimistic. Two weeks at an all-inclusive resort, what could go wrong?
My excitement for this trip was overwhelming. It was a much-needed break from my everyday life and would give me some time to relax and enjoy myself.
Arriving shortly after midnight, I was exhausted and ready to get to our hotel. The tiny airport was closing down for the night, meaning no more taxis or car services.
Luckily, my boyfriend had pre-arranged a shuttle service for us, too bad we missed it. By the time we arrived at our resort and quickly checked ourselves in, it was already past two in the morning.
We got to our room, which looked beautiful until we stepped inside and realized it was infested with bugs and spiders.
I am a relatively easygoing person, but bugs are where I draw the line. We quickly gathered our things and headed back down to the front desk. They informed us that no other rooms would be available until the morning, so we had no choice but to spend our first night in a bug-infested room.
As the morning rolled around, we decided to start the day with a fresh perspective. We switched our room and then headed straight to the pool.
The pool had a swim-up bar. While sitting there though me, being the klutz that I am, slipped and fell off the barstool, hitting my head on the way down.
Then about five minutes later, a wasp stung the top of my foot, causing it to swell and hurt to walk.
The trip continued with a gorgeous sunset catamaran boat ride that resulted in seasickness, a romantic walk on the beach leaving us with splinters in our feet and a horseback jungle tour that took us through thorn bushes that cut up our legs.
Every day of our two-week trip seemed inflicted with some sort of bad luck. Day by day though, we tried to start fresh and enjoy our vacation.
It is said that bad luck never comes in sprinkles, but instead, it comes in waves. My trip to Costa Rica proved to me just that.
The trip was amazing, but now I never go into situations expecting perfection. The higher expectations you hold for things like this, the bigger the disappointment.
Or maybe, I’m just an unlucky traveler.