Slow down, time! I can’t keep up! The last 4 months have been flying by. We are already a third of the way through our one year stay in Costa Rica.

So, what have we been up to since our last life update 2 months ago?

Where to even begin?

Well, it started with a short trip to Canada for Blue Skies and some quick visits. Since then, we’ve been hitting up beaches, we’ve hiked through some more national parks, we’ve tested many different types of coffee, my obsession with iced coffee has grown stronger, we killed some houseplants and bought some new houseplants, and we’ve continued making Costa Rica our home away from home.

I actually returned back to Canada for a whirlwind couple of weeks for work – hitting up 4 provinces/territories in 15 days (read about it here) fitting in as many visits with family and friends in between work trips. It was nice to be home with familiar faces and catching up on snuggles with Toby (our cat), but it was also nice to get back to Costa Rica and a slower pace of life.

Weekend Getaways

We’ve been making the most of our weekends and utilizing some vacation days to create some long weekends for beach getaways.

Punta Leona

I was invited along on one of Rob’s work beach trips to Punta Leona, which is a short hour and a half journey from San Jose. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort (how fancy!) and hung out with some KGers on the beach and in the hotel pool. And then both Rob and I lost our favourite sunnies to the ocean.

Tamarindo

We went to the Tamarindo on the pacific coast in the Guanacaste region and beach-hopped for a couple of days, finding some of the most beautiful beaches and the most magical sunsets I’ve ever see. We also tested our surfing skills which we haven’t used since our honeymoon in Hawaii. Our surf skills weren’t horrible, and our surf lesson wasn’t a complete bust…except that Rob may have lost his wedding band to the ocean. So, if you are keeping a tally, that’s 3 for the ocean and 0 for Roberica.

Puerto Viejo

We finally made it to the Caribbean sea with a weekend getaway in Puerto Viejo, something that has been on our bucket list since we arrived. We did the usual beach-hopping but also went to two animal sanctuaries: the Sloth Sanctuary and the Jaguar Rescue Centre (which, ironically, didn’t have any jaguars). I love seeing the work that is being done locally to help rehabilitate and conserve wildlife.

And it is true what they say – the Caribbean side definitely has a different feel than some other parts of Costa Rica. It’s much less developed (although development is happening) and has a more natural, cool vibes feel. And let it be known, Caribbean rice and beans are better than Gallo pinto. Yep, I said it.

To be honest, it was a bit overcast and threatened rain most of the weekend, so while we spent time at the beach and hanging outside with animals, we spent an equal amount of time eating and drinking at a bunch of different places. We had a very fancy dinner at one of the best restaurants in Costa Rica. We had chocolate cake for breakfast to celebrate my half birthday, of course. And I had tacos at any opportunity I could.

Life in San Jose

We aren’t always out exploring the far and wide corners of Costa Rica. Some of my favourite moments have been sitting on our balcony surrounded by mountains on a sunny morning, eating breakfast, drinking coffee and taking it all in. We’ve been hanging out in San Jose doing some fun activities here.

• We took a mixology class with Rob’s team, where we perfected our cocktail making skills. I have to say, we can now make a mean margarita and mojito.
• We attended the Weezer and Foo Fighters concert at the National Stadium. Costa Ricans looooove them some Foo Fighters.
• We’ve tried out many of the local vegetarian restaurants and have found our favourite brunch spot.
• We’ve embraced learning the local cuisine and have (almost) perfected the patacones dish. Our Gallo pinto still needs some work.
• Spanish lessons are still in full force. I still suck but Rob is getting muy bueno.

Next on the Agenda

We are impatiently waiting for our first visitors next week and we are stoked to start showing people around Costa Rica. October will be filled with visitors which will allow us to do more exploring some of our favourite places and some new places we haven’t yet experienced.

Stay tuned for the next adventure.