Whirlwind Visit to Canada

Working remotely in my job means that occasionally I get to fly back to Canada to do some project work with our clients. It also means that I get to fit in some quality time with my family and friends. This most recent trip was no exception.

I was in Canada for 16 days, and I definitely made the most of it.

Day 1-2: Toby Cat

First and foremost, I was reunited with Toby, my little dude and got in alllll the kitty snuggles that I could. When I’m home, Toby rarely leaves my side, which is equally precious and heartbreaking. He also ensures that I don’t get much sleep so that we can maximize our time together. How sweet. I was actually working every day I was home and so had to fit in things in between working hours and late-night prep for projects.

Day 3: TIFF with a Friend

Luckily, I was able to be in Toronto during TIFF. However, I didn’t have time to check out any movies this year, but a friend and I went out for dinner at Momofuku and had drinks at the Shangri-la as all the fancy TIFF people do. The people-watching was excellent and catching up with a friend was even better.

Day 4-5: Family visits in Belleville

I rented a car for my first weekend back to go to Belleville to visit family. First, with my mama and then with Rob’s mama and Grandpa. On Sunday morning, I went to visit my godson and his mom (my sister from another mister) and sister. We then went off on a little adventure, which Colton was convinced we were just lost, to a cidery and the apple store.

  • Cheers!! (no worries, his is juice)
  • Gosh, I love this little face so much

Although it wasn’t nearly enough time with any of them, I had to head back to Toronto to get ready for an early flight the next morning to Iqaluit.

Day 6-10: Work in Iqaluit

Going from Costa Rica to Iqaluit is quite the transition. It was 25 degrees when I left Costa Rica and 5 degrees when I arrived in Iqaluit. Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I’m not looking forward to doing this in February when the difference is much more drastic. Luckily I had my Toronto stopover to pick up my books and warm clothes/jacket.

I spent 5 days in Iqaluit for work where I was facilitating a 3-days session. One of the afternoons, we were facilitating some activities in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park. I had this idea of an activity I wanted to run, but not knowing the area or the landscape, I needed to go there the night before the check it out. So, off I went, dragging my boss along with me to collect rocks in the Territorial Park. There aren’t any trees which make for a unique landscape. Picture autumn on Mars. The colours were all beautiful golds, yellows, reds and oranges.

I got what I needed, planned out the activity and called it a day. It just so happens that there is also a brewery just outside of the park, so we rewarded ourselves with a flight of NuBrew beers. It also happened to be trivia night. As it turns out, space trivia is not my forte.

  • Losing badly at Space Trivia

The 5 days in Iqaluit were a whirlwind. Between planning and facilitating the 3-day session, meeting with other clients, and staying on top of all the other work that doesn’t go away just because you aren’t in the office, it was a long, exhausting week.

Day 10-12: Bachelorette Pary in Ottawa

Instead of flying back to Toronto, I flew into Ottawa and stayed for the weekend to celebrate my dear friend Kaija’s bachelorette party. When we had initially planned this event, I didn’t know yet that I was going to be living in Costa Rica. So, I thought I wouldn’t get to attend but am so grateful that it worked out. It was a wonderful reunion with my university besties/roomies, and it was the first time in a very long time that we were all together.

These friendships are so special to me. These are the friends that you know will always be there if you needed them. Even when months or years pass of not seeing each other or chatting, you can pick up right where you left off. It is rare to find these friendships, so I hold them very close to my heart.

For the bachelorette party, we went to the Nordic spa in Chelsea, Quebec for the day and it was everything I needed. I knew my body was fighting off a cold, so sitting in a sauna and steam room was exactly what I needed.

We then continued the celebration with a nice dinner and fancy drinks at a lounge. And then, as girls do, we stayed up late just chatting and catching up.

Day 12: Eating in Ottawa with Family and Friends

On my last day in Ottawa, my dad came to visit me for lunch. I couldn’t complete a trip to Canada without seeing him. And I took this opportunity to have some poutine. Shocker: I haven’t found this in Costa Rica yet. Then, I headed over to my friends’ place and had the most delicious dinner cooked for me and then went to this quirky little bar for some Moscow mules. I also finally met the infamous Homer Jr. (aka Hoju), and he did not disappoint.

Day 13-14: Work in Halifax

The next morning was an early one and started with a flight to Halifax for another work thing for two days. Turns out, we weren’t staying in Halifax as I had thought but Truro. It was a pretty cute little town with the sweetest bookstore and cafe. We didn’t get up to much other than work and drinking coffee, and then it was another flight back to Toronto.

Day 15: Wine Club

My last social activity before heading back to Costa Rica was Wine Club (without the wine). A night where my group of girlfriends get together and usually drink wine, eat an abundance of cheese and other snacks and catch up on life. It was the perfect send-off back to Costa Rica.

Day 16: Farewell Canada

The next morning, I headed off to the airport to return to Costa Rica and be reunited with the Rob to my Roberica. Although when I showed up at the airport, the lovely staff told me I missed my flight because they did not know the accurate time of the flight nor how to read a clock. But, I didn’t miss my flight (okay, maybe it was a close call) and I made it back after w complete two week whirlwind across eastern Canada.

A Window to Life in Costa Rica: 4 Months In

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.

Recognizing and Celebrating Costa Rica’s Greatest Treasures: National Parks

On August 24th, Costa Rica celebrates National Parks Day. At a time when the world is on fire and there is less and less nature to observe, this is vital. Recognizing the importance and celebrating the existence of nature, in all of its raw beauty, makes me love Costa Rica that much more. After all, 25% of Costa Rica is National Parks (or so Google tells me).

Does Canada have this? Is it Canada day? I know it was free for the 150 year, but is that it? I feel like I should know the answer to this. If we don’t, we definitely should! For all you Politicians reading this (lol), take notes!

Okay, we didn’t actually go to a national park on Parks day, BUT, in the nearly three months since we have been here, we’ve had the opportunity to visit several of the most beautiful National Parks of Costa Rica. So, while I wasn’t physically celebrating in a National Park (we were at the beach!), I reminisced about how lucky we are that we get to experience these parks.

So here’s a list of our experiences at 5 of Costa Rica’s National Parks:

Irazú Volcano National Park

Irazú is probably one of the closest parks to where we live, so we visited it first. I wrote all about that experience here. Irazú is the highest volcano in Costa Rica with a beautiful little crater lake that changes colour from a beautiful turquoise blue to red. And being so high up, it also has temperatures that feel like autumn in Canada. I knew I packed sweaters for a reason. On a good day (ie. not the day we were there), you can see both the Pacific and Caribbean sides of the country. This is now on my Costa Rica bucket list of experiences.

Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antonio was our first weekend trip to the beach which you can read all about here. The park is the home of many sloths, monkeys, a million dirt crabs, colourful birds and fauna, and beautiful beaches with water temperatures to match a bathtub. It really has it all. What isn’t there to love? It was our first sloth, monkey, and beach experience since moving to Costa Rica, so it holds a special place in our hearts. This is also where I learned to make sure your flash is off when you try to take pictures of animals or you will get yelled at by a tour guide.

Marino Ballena National Park

The Whale tail park (wrote about it here)! The beach forms into a whale tail at low tide. It’s kind of hard to describe how cool it looks when the water meeting in the middle of the whale tail and pictures never do it justice. Also, watching people try to go out to the tip of the tail before low tide is highly entertaining. Prime people watching spot. Just don’t sit under a coconut tree. You may get knocked out by a falling coconut. Another important lesson learned in a national park.

Poás Volcano National Park

Poás Volcano is active. And by active, I mean could blow at any moment and has steam constantly coming out of it. It last erupted in 2017. Luckily, we got in and out without experiencing an eruption. Most of the park is still closed to the public because of the current volcanic activity which is a bit of a bummer because it looks like there are some really cool hiking trails. Right now, you essentially go in, get a video orientation in a mini theatre, grab a hard hat, walk to the volcano lookout and then, head back. While cool, I look forward to the day we can explore more of National Park around the Volcano without fear getting swept away by hot lava (that’s how it works, right?).

Tapantí National Park

Another park that is fairly close to where we live, so we can drive there, hike 16 kms, visit some hot springs, and make it home with plenty of time to cook dinner and chill before passing out hard (deserved after those 16kms). Tapantí has the most clear, beautiful river running through the park that has hiking trails right to the river edge. I am always mesmerized by the clarity of water here; so blue yet so clear. There were very few people there when we visited, so it felt like we had this little piece of paradise all to ourselves. There is more for us to explore in this park, so we will be back.

There are plenty more parks for us to explore. I look forward to adding to this list! Stay tuned…

“Get lost in nature and you will find yourself.”

Home: A Person, place, or feeling?

After being in Costa Rica for almost two months, Rob and I headed back to Canada. Mostly for Blue Skies Music Festival (the greatest place in the world), but also to visit friends and family. Oh, and also, to work in our Toronto offices.

When we were in Canada visiting, I found myself referring to ‘home’ a lot. But I used ‘home’ to refer to many different places and it got me thinking…what even is home, anyway?

Home #1

When we were leaving Costa Rica, we were telling people that we were going to home to Canada for a visit. That makes sense. It’s where we have always lived. It is where we are from. Our passports say so.

Home #2

Upon arriving to the airport in Toronto, I texted my sister to tell her that we had landed and we were going to be ‘home’ soon. That makes sense. That is the apartment we have leased in our names, that holds all our stuff, where all our mail goes, and most importantly, where our catbaby lives. It is our permanent address, it is our ‘home’.

Home #3

When I was working in my Toronto office, I was telling colleagues that I would be taking some days off because I was going home to visit my parents. Now, this is where it gets interesting.

When I visit my mom, I am not visiting the house that I grew up in. I’m not even visiting the town I grew up in, but she is my mom and she is ‘home’.

My dad has lived in the same place since I was 5 years old (give or take a year). I never permanently lived there, but that is where I spent many weekends and summer nights, camping in the backyard, climbing trees, and trespassing through neighbours properties. It is familiar. And this is where my dad is, and he is ‘home’.

Home #4

When we were at Blue Skies, I found myself telling people that it felt like home. I’m not a Blue Skies baby (someone who has been attending the festival since exiting the womb), but this was my 14th consecutive year attending. This is a place where I see friends that I only see once a year. A place where we spend quality time with the McDiarmid’s. A place where new friends and old friends come together. It feels safe and it feels familiar, and it feels like ‘home’ for one weekend a year.

Home #5

When our time in Canada was nearing it’s end, I found myself talking about going ‘home’ to Costa Rica. This one surprised me. We’ve only been here for two months. Most of the stuff in our apartment isn’t ours. I get nervous going through customs because we don’t yet have proof of residency. Yet, I still felt like it was my current ‘home’. It’s the place where my phone automatically connects to the wifi (but I actually don’t need it because I have a working phone with data and cell service). It’s where my leftovers are stored and where my plants are (dying). Somehow, without really noticing, Costa Rica has become my newest home. Temporary as it may be, it’s the home I am very grateful to be able to my list of ‘homes’.

So, what even is ‘home’?

Truth be told, I used to struggle with this feeling of uncertainty of lack of identity of what my home was. When my childhood home was no longer a house I could visit, when my family was distributed across different geographic locations, when I didn’t live at my permanent address – I didn’t really understand what ‘home’ meant. At that time, I considered home to be one place that never changes.

So, I guess I’m learning that ‘home’ is many things. It’s a place, it’s a person, it’s a feeling.

I say this, as a person of extreme privilege. A person who has not one but two dwellings that I can call home, people that love and support me unconditionally, and the feeling of safe spaces where I can truly, unapologetically be me.

So, while I am having a moment of discovery that I, in fact, have many ‘homes’, I am also thinking about those that do not. Those who do not have secure housing, or access to a safe space, or a loving and supportive network. I wish we lived in a world where that is not the case. And maybe one day we can.

So, do you agree? What does ‘home’ mean to you?

Two Months In Costa Rica: Settling in and Lessons Learned

It’s been 2 months (plus a bit) since we have relocated our lives to Costa Rica and boy, what a whirlwind it has been. Time needs to sloooow down!

Settling (but not in the bad way)

As it goes with moving anywhere, there is always an adjustment period where you are figuring out your new surroundings and new routine. Moving to a new country is just like that, but magnify it by 100.

We spent the first couple of weeks exploring our neighbourhood: finding where the heck to get groceries (other than Walmart); where to buy necessities; how to get an Uber to find us at our condo that isn’t accurately on Google Maps; and where the best sports bar is to watch NBA playoffs. Doing this all while not speaking the language or having any sense of familiarity with anything around us…except Walmart.

Finding a New Routine

It really didn’t take long to get settled into a new routine. After all, we are creatures of habit. However, our routine in Costa Rica looks significantly different than routine in Toronto. For starters, we go to bed at like 9pm, 10 if we are really feeling wild. We also wake up with the sun sometime between 5-6am. Contrast that to Toronto life where bedtime was sometime after midnight and it was a real struggle to roll out of bed by 8am. There are also many more home cooked meals happening here. We even tried experimenting with some Tico dishes like patacones and gallo pinto.

Working from home has brought on another new aspect of routine that, truthfully, I am still figuring out. Setting boundaries is not a strength of mine, so this adjustment is taking time to find balance between work and personal life. Any, and all, tips are welcome.

I’m finding myself balancing between feeling like we just got here and also feeling like we’ve been here for ages. It’s funny how time does that. But in our two months in Costa Rica, we’ve felt welcomed, challenged, surprised, enchanted, and mesmerized. And through all of these experiences, we have learned some valuable lessons that we carry in our Pura Vida life.

5 Lessons Learned Living in Costa Rica

Lesson 1: Spanish skills are necessary.

  • …And I do not have them. Rob on the other hand, has been practicing Spanish for the past 4 years, so he can at least get by. And I get by with a little help from friend (read: husband).
  • I have signed myself up for Spanish lessons, downloaded every Spanish language app and started watching Spanish Netflix shows. I haven’t made a ton of progress, but you gotta start somewhere!

Lesson 2: Driving in San José is not for the weak of heart.

  • Between the windy two-way roads only wide enough for a small car and trying to figure out who has the right of way at a 6-point intersection, driving is an interesting experience. It definitely requires mucho focus and preferably a navigator.
  • ‘Ceda’ signs mean yield. Took a hot minute to figure that one out.
  • Apparently, you have to pay for parking (shocker!). Learned that one the hard way!

Lesson 3: Costa Ricans have the kindest and warmest souls.

  • We are lucky that Robs office is full of people we can make be our friends, and that is just what we have done. We even accidentally kidnapped one for a day and yet, she still agrees to hang out with us. (Long story, short: we picked up said friend to go to the market. After we were done at the market, we drove her straight to our place instead of taking her home without any discussion…And then we made her teach us how to cook Costa Rican food. We did double check that she wanted to continue hanging out with us after we realized we were at our place and still was still in the car, so it was all good.)
  • If you say you don’t have any plans on a weekend, they make sure you do! People have invited us to weekend trips to the beach, Sunday market hangouts, and hiking trips in the jungle. In all of these adventures, we have always been welcomed with open-arms and cheek kisses.
  • My experience has also been that Ticos are very open and engage in deep conversations without much hesitation. I find this so refreshing. An excellent example of this is when we did a beer tour in San José with a tour guide. By the 4th bar, we were hearing about our guide’s upbringing, how strict his mother was and the way his wants to raise his own child (spoiler: he only wants one!).

Lesson 4: Costa Rica has a secret microbrewery scene that is pretty fly for a white guy (and gal)

  • Okay, maybe this isn’t a secret, but most of the beer you see here is Imperial or Pilsen. Not the most…exciting of beers. I have found that the delicious local beers are not as readily available as we are used to in the LCBO (Ontario Liquor stores). And you need to know what to look for.
  • We did a beer tour and found a bunch of great places in San José with an excellent selection of delicious beers.
  • We also stumbled upon a cool brewery, Fuego, in Dominical that has the MOST refreshing beers. This may be due to the timing of having these beers after a long hike to and from a waterfall.

Lesson 5: Being a plant lady is hard work.

  • New country, new Erica. In this country, I am replacing my cat lady tendencies with a plant lady tendencies. I wish I could report that my plants are flourishing, but that is not exactly the case.
  • I have recently learned that overwatering plants can have the same result as not watering your plants. I can’t win. I just want to love you, cilantro!

Bonus Lesson: ‘The problem is that you think you have time’

  • One of our wise Tico friends shared this quote with us. He told us how it has inspired him to say ‘yes’ to more things; to take action on the things you want to do because you never know how much time you really have. He now has it tattooed on his arm.
  • This quote resonates with me too, especially given that we are on a timeline here in Costa Rica. I want to do and see everything (like that is actually possible?!). I want to make the most of this experience that we are so lucky to have. So, we are saying yes to opportunities, yes to adventures, and yes to ‘now’ rather than ‘later’.

Overall, the first two months have been pretty incredible and ended with a trip back to Canada, just as feelings of homesickness were trickling in. More on that later.

Celebrating Year 3 of Marriage in Uvita

Can you believe it has been three years already? No, me either! Yet, here we are, three years later continuing to embrace all our adventures and misadventures together. We have made it a tradition that we go somewhere every year to celebrate our anniversary and have some quality time to connect. This year was no different. So, to celebrate year 3 of marriage, we jetted off for a 3-day weekend away in the most beautiful Uvita.

Continue reading “Celebrating Year 3 of Marriage in Uvita”

A 36 Hour Weekend Getaway in Manuel Antonio

One of my favourite things about living in Costa Rica is that we can take impromptu trips to places like Manuel Antonio and hang on beautiful beaches and spot sloths and monkeys.

We originally planned to have a low key weekend, maybe go for a short hike around San José, hit up a market. BUT when someone offers you an opportunity to go to the beach, you say “yes!”.

Rob and I were at his office for a typical Friday night social when his colleague suggested we come with a group of people to Manuel Antonio. We booked a last minute hotel room and they sorted out rides all within 10 minutes. So, at 9pm on Friday night, we made plans for 6am the next morning. We were headed to Manuel Antonio.

Continue reading “A 36 Hour Weekend Getaway in Manuel Antonio”

Our First Costa Rican Adventure: Exploring Volcán Irazú and Cartago

Travel not to cross countries off a list, but to ignite passionate affairs with the destinations. – Nyssa P. Chopra

After spending the first couple of weeks getting settled in (you can read about that here), we were ready to start exploring the beautiful country we are calling home. We were told that Volcán Irazú was a pretty cool experience that was close to San Jose and an easy day trip, so we put it at the top of our Costa Rica adventure list.

Continue reading “Our First Costa Rican Adventure: Exploring Volcán Irazú and Cartago”

Moving to Costa Rica: Our Process in Making the Move

Let me tell you, moving to a new country is no joke. There are so many things to consider and do and pack and unpack and organize and it’s exhausting just thinking about it. And doing it in a condensed amount of time makes it that much more chaotic. It seemed that throughout this process, the expectations didn’t always quite meet up with reality. So, here’s a bit of our process of making the move to Costa Rica.

  • sunbeams coming out of a cloud at sunset
  • the lights of San Jose at night
Continue reading “Moving to Costa Rica: Our Process in Making the Move”

Taking the Plunge: How to Decide to Move to Another Country

I will admit decision making is not one of my strengths, particularly when it comes to major life events. I am the type the agonizes over every option and breaks down every scenario, making endless pro and con list, and then when a decision has been made, I begin the doubting phase.

This is probably why it took me two years to find our last apartment. And perhaps why it took Rob and I 10 years to get married. But both of those things have turned out pretty okay, so maybe I’m not so bad at making decisions as long as I have time for my due process. In the decision to move to Costa Rica, time was of the essence.

So, how did we decide? What was the process?

Well, Rob emailed me one Monday afternoon essentially saying “my company wants me to move to Costa Rica for a year. Do you have any interest?”. My response: “ALL THE INTEREST”. So, that’s how the conversation began.

A little background info: Rob has been learning Spanish for the past 4 years and has come to Costa Rica a couple of times to work at his company’s San Jose office, so it isn’t a completely new place to him and he knows several colleagues in Costa Rica. The offer for him to be relocated was a good one, and a positive career move.

I will admit, after my immediate reaction, I started running through all the potential scenarios, creating my ‘pro’ and ‘con’ lists, and reflecting on what this would actually mean for us and to be honest, I went a little off the deep-end. I was less than the best version of myself for sure, but eventually was able to get to where we needed to be to make the decision.

There were four things that I needed to be figured out: my job, our apartment, our Toby cat, and figuring out of Rob actually wanted to take the plunge.

  • My Job:
    • I love my job. I love the work I do, the people I work with, and the opportunities I have been given. I have long-term personal career goals that my company supports and encourages and I really didn’t want to give that up.
    • So, with some hesitation, I boldly asked if I could work remotely. To my surprise, it wasn’t an immediate ‘no’, in fact, it wasn’t a ‘no’ at all. After many discussions about the realities and logistics of me working from Costa Rica and my commitment to the company (ie. will I actually come back from Costa Rica), it was approved. Check!
  • Our apartment:
    • If you’ve rented in Toronto or looked for an apartment in the city, you know that the housing market (buying and renting) is bonkers. We love our apartment, have decent rent, and did not want to lose the great deal we had.
    • It just so happened that my sister needed a place to live in Toronto and was having a tough time finding an apartment, so she is going to be living in and taking care of our apartment while we are away.
  • Our Toby Cat:
    • What would we do with our babycat? We couldn’t leave him! But also, the thought of taking him in a plane and finding someone to look after him when we visit home is nightmare inducing.
    • Luckily, since my sister is taking over the apartment and she loves Toby, it was a match made in heaven. While we will miss Toby desperately and he will probably miss us for at least the first week, we’ll be able to visit him when we come home. And also, we have a Furbo (pet camera) to check-in on him…and my sister.
  • Does Rob want to take the plunge?
    • I have been lovingly bugging Rob to move anyway for at least a good 5 years and his only desired destination to live was Toronto. So when this opportunity came up, I was not convinced that this was something Rob would be into and I didn’t want him to feel pressured by me to agree to this move if it was only because it was what I wanted and not because he wanted this for his own career and personal growth.
    • Turns out, sometimes the people you know best change right in front of your eyes and you don’t even realize it. Rob has embraced this opportunity as a chance to push the boundaries of a comfort zone and utilize those Spanish skills he’s been working for 4 years to develop. While we both have worries and hesitations, we are in it together and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

So, with the job, apartment, and cat situations sort out and a husband that is fully onboard, it was decided: We are moving to Costa Rica.

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