My one month in Costa Rica ended almost a week ago and I am ready to share my overall thoughts and experiences. I am trying to strike a balance between telling you about the place and how I experienced it, and self-reflection. Let me know in the comments what you want to read more about!
The Good
I knew what to expect from Costa Rica, even though I hadn’t been to the Guanacaste province, and I wasn’t disappointed. The beaches, sunsets, volcanoes, fauna, flora, and food were exactly what a thousand other blogs will tell you about. The food is fresh and delicious (albeit relatively expensive), the nature a true sight to behold. The people are absolute gems, offering warmth and hospitality, excited to share their knowledge about the country and the region, and always willing to help. These are a few things that make Costa Rica a worthwhile destination, so if you’re hesitating about going – just do it.
In mid-April I started my second month of not working. I had a tough time answering the “so, how does it feel to be on sabbatical?” question, because I honestly did not know what I felt. For a good while I felt like the time off was short-lived and I would be going back to work the following Monday. Interestingly, that seems to have faded now as I’m settling into another rhythm.
I got into the habit of doing yoga flows, using the travel mat I carried with me. Always looking to optimize my packing, I was afraid carrying the yoga mat would be a PITA and I wouldn’t use it – I was wrong (well, it is a bit of a PITA to carry but mostly worth it).
I read 13 books in April, which feels like such a luxury. I simply had no mental capacity to read when I was working full-time. Or rather, I didn’t (couldn’t?) prioritize reading when I needed to disconnect. I love immersing myself in the written word, and yet I somehow found it too hard, which seems very nonsensical. I was afraid I’d lost my love for books. Luckily it seems that I still have the capacity to immerse myself, devour books, and enjoy the heck out of it. On the flip side, I have not watched a single minute of tv since I left Canada (I don’t even miss it).
The pictures below capture some of the amazing sights and experiences from Costa Rica.
The Shenanigans
You can read about the laundry shenanigans in this post. There were also cold plunge shenanigans (you can read about my cold plunge experience in this post). My cousin and I dropped by the wellness centre a few days prior to my cold plunge to find the owners refilling one of the tubs with water from various plastic bottles that had been stored in a freezer. We helped out while talking to them (as one does) and it took all my willpower not to have a giggle fit at filling a 65 L tub with 250 ml Fanta bottles… but hey, they had their system (and it worked)!
As expected, sending postcards from Costa Rica was rich in shenanigans. Accompanied by a new friend, I set out to Playas del Coco to look for postcards and stamps. Neither of us knew the exact Costa Rican term for postcards so we got some blank stares when we asked shopkeepers if they had them until a kind soul finally understood and told us the correct term (rinse and repeat with stamps). Armed with postcards, we set out to find stamps. From experience, this is the problematic quest in most countries, Costa Rica being no exception. We were told that the only place you can buy stamps is at a post office (called correo) and there was one about a kilometre away from where we were. We set out on foot in 37+ Celsius weather and somehow made it alive to the blissfully air conditioned post office.
I was able to buy international stamps, which the post office worker additionally manually stamped. Interesting. When I asked where I can drop off mail I found out that I would have to return to said post office or drop them off somewhere at the airport (the second choice seemed a little risky to me, I did not particularly want to leave the country with mail I wouldn’t be able to send from anywhere else).
Days flew by and I realized I wouldn’t have the opportunity to return to the post office so I packed the postcards in my bags and left for San José to fly to Colombia, hoping for the best. Luckily, my wonderful AirBnB host in San José told me there is a post office in a nearby mall. Huzzah!! Finding the post office was an obstacle challenge, peppered with many, many interesting shops (apparently I lost my interest in watching tv but not in shopping). I managed to make it relatively unscathed only because I simply have no room in my packs for anything else. I did however buy a slightly bigger messenger bag to fit that one extra shirt I found and couldn’t say no to…
In the end, I managed to mail the postcards! They were left with the Costa Rican postal office on May 2, 2024. Godspeed, little paper rectangles!
And uh… I obviously stumbled on the mailbox at the San José airport without any effort. Figures.
The Ugly
The heat. I am not made for it, and I suffer from being in it for long periods of time. By the same token, the blistering sun – with all my efforts to sunscreen diligently and cover up as much as possible, I still got a weird half-a-leg, half-an-arm, full-face sunburn.
Costa Rican road infrastructure. From bizarre 3-way intersections with no traffic lights to clogged up traffic due to choke points. It takes wayyyy longer to get between places than it should.
Public buses, for their lack of air conditioning. At the least the ones I took, which included a 6-hour bus from Playa del Cocos to San José. See first issue re: heat.
Getting caught in a downpour and walking the 15 minutes from the grocery store to my accommodation on the side of the highway in shin-deep side-of-the-highway runoff water, in the dark, with a backpack of groceries and a 6 L water bottle.
Feeling guilty if I don’t do anything “productive” during my day. I think this one will take a while to unlearn. I’m working on it every day, trying to relearn how to simply live my life, find joy, and not feel guilty about it. My sense of worth is so wrapped up in my work that I have to actively focus on defining who I am, not what I do.
What’s next?
I have started exploring Bogotá, Colombia! I am letting everything settle in, taking the experiences, the lessons, and the self-reflections in stride. I will continue to work on myself while enjoying a cooler climate, learning about a new culture, seeing new places and meeting new people.
There is so much more I could share about Costa Rica, let me know in the comments below if you would like to know about anything else!
Postcards and shenanigans 