First impressions

Last winter as I sat near the fireplace at home in Santa Fe, coming in from a snowy evening out, I dreamed of being somewhere away from the cold. Somewhere tropical. Somewhere quiet and tranquil with a different pace of life. I was visiting Santa Fe, but living in Spain. Who was I to complain? Living a great life in Europe, learning Spanish and teaching English, making very decent money for such an easy lifestyle. However, after a year and a half, the city life was wearing on me. For the first time since I left, I truly did feel home sick and by the time I left Spain in July, I couldn't wait for the next adventure. I will always treasure my memories of Madrid, and will definitely go back one day, but having purchased one way tickets to Costa Rica following a month at home and me on the track to the tropics. And, I wasn't looking back.

Kevin and I arrived in San Jose on September 1st after flying over the lush green mountains, and through some very dark and ominous clouds. Rainy season? Oh we'll just pack a raincoat.

Our first 3 days were spent in Sarchi at a dear family friend's house. It was quite an introduction to real Costa Rican life. A small house perched on the side of a hill, with lush greenery and vibrant flowers. However we must admit that the tranquility was stripped by loud, fuming engines from the street below, as well as a 6 am aerobics class at the attic-turned-gym next door. Although it is on the exact same time zone as Santa Fe, I felt like I was on a new planet, and completely exhausted from only a 4 hour journey. Nevertheless we enjoyed the first few days, learning accupressure methods from Dale, a dear friend of my aunt Robbie. We also visited a beautiful river and waterfall which was breathtaking.

From Sarchi we journeyed back to San Jose, a big, dirty and loud city to the bus terminal. Just in time for the daily thunderstorm, we took shelter and watched men preach the bible and sell fresh, raw fish hanging from bicycle handlebars. We boarded the bus to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast.

Manuel Antonio was beautiful. The park itself was completely worth the trip. We walked along a muddy, overgrown trail and monkeys and sloths climbed the trees above. We swam in the ocean and hiked out onto a small peninsula where the view was worth the "death defying" encounters with large iguanas and mystery rodents. The day after the park we watched the sun set from a restaurant on the cusp of a valley, overlooking the dewey palm leaves and glowing western sky.  We had a lovely, quiet dinner at the Agave Grill at Hotel La Colina.  We enjoyed amazing nachos with homemade chips, and fresh, zesty ceviche.

We're now on day 10 and it feels like it's been months. We're growing accustomed to the heat and humidity, to the bugs and to the daily storms. However, we're feeling very far from home at the same time. We're on an adventure, and enjoying the challenges that face us. We're spending 10 days or so at Hotel Tucan, volunteering in exchange for bed and breakfast. It's a great spot, though remote, with a mellow vibe. If there's no work to be done, we run around with the two month old chihuahua puppies and swim in the river or hike to the beach. Trying to take the tranquility in stride...after all, that's what I was dreaming of sitting by the fire just 8 months ago.