Central American Unified Soccer Invitational: A Traveling We Will Go!

Wow. May 8th was a long, LONG day of travel!

Our day started with a 2:30 a.m. wake up call! Wait, aren't we supposed to be on vacation? Who sets alarms on vacation? Special Olympics Team USA does when they're going to Costa Rica! The first shuttle alone was crammed with bags and soccer equipment. We got everyone down to the airport and through security. The first plane ride was to Houston, where we were met with a 6 hour layover. Cajun food kept them calm for a couple hours, but after awhile, anyone would go a little stir crazy. Our second flight was a quick 3 hours and we were in COSTA RICA!!! (Can you tell I've never been out of the USA and was very excited?) After making it through customs, we were greeted by some tour guides of Marvi Tours (who have been amazing!) and Special Olympic Latin America dancers, who but on an awesome show for us! They gifted us with Costa Rican coffee and lots of sonrisas (smiles). Our Team bus was huge and took us to Best Western Irazí, where we met our tour guide for our trip, Bismarck. We were fed some very tasty rice, rolls, potatoes and chicken, and beef. The guys were paired up with roommates and sent off to bed. Lucky us, right? Well, the work never ends. Once the guys were in bed, the coaches met for a meeting and Scott Tranilla, our equipment manager, spent hours pumping soccer balls and organizing uniforms.

Well, at least that night we got 5 hours of sleep instead of the 4 we got before! :)

Norm and Joe Passing the Time