Postcards and shenanigans

When is the last time you experienced a first? Most of us don’t remember our first steps or words, but the adults around us who witnessed them remember them with awe. You probably remember your first heartbreak or the first time you did your taxes and felt very grown up (well, I felt utter terror). Firsts don’t have to be huge to be remarkable and memorable, but I think the joy they bring is priceless.

Today I want to share with you a few firsts I experienced over the last weeks in Costa Rica – I’m still smiling when I think about them.

The first first: cold

My cousin really likes cold plunges and scheduled to do one in one of the only places offering them in Guanacaste, a holistic wellness spot in Tamarindo, about 30 minutes away from where I’m staying. Curious about what a cold plunge entails, I asked him for details. It turns out that you (voluntarily) immerse yourself in very cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Whether this has any extraordinary health benefits or not remains to be seen, but since the average temperature here has been 35 degrees Celsius, an ice bath sounded freaking great! I signed up because I had never done one before (save the 12 seconds I plunged in an Icelandic lake or 25.5 seconds I go in the cold pools at the spa) so… why not?

Once at the wellness centre I asked the kind owners how I should go about it. They offered some breathing tips, said it’s best to immerse yourself as quickly as possible, and assured me it’s ok if I only make it to a minute or 2. Armed with the bravery of one who doesn’t quite know what they’re getting into, I plunged. And then I stayed. The 12 degree water feels like… well, being encased in ice, if I’m being honest. But I somehow got used to it, focusing on making conversation with the owners as opposed to focusing on my thoughts, which were basically a loop of ermygawedthisisfreakingfreezing for 5 minutes. I learned that if you stay absolutely still you don’t feel it as much anymore, but as soon as you move different parts get exposed to the icy water and you feel it all over again. I wasn’t sure my legs would work well enough to be able to get out of the bathtub but I was pleasantly surprised. I got out and towelled off, feeling incredibly refreshed.

As I was paying up and getting ready to leave, I thought it was a great first cold plunge and something I would definitely try again, if only as a way to cool off from the tropical heat. Not sure if the poor guy who went after me would – they realized when he kept asking how much longer that they forgot to turn the timer on.

Woman laying in a bathtub — I am fine, I am totally fine chilling in this 12 degrees ice water

The second first: bulls

I was lucky enough to visit Guayabo, a charming town at the base of the Miravalles volcano, during the weekend of the annual festejo, i.e. traditional festival. After having a delicious meal in one of the local sodas (a family-owned restaurant that serves traditional Costa Rican food), my cousin asked if I had ever seen bull riding shows. As a staunch city dweller, I have not.

We paid our 3,ooo colones ($8.50 CAD) entrance fee and found a seat to watch the 14 bulls and their riders put on a show, equal in entertainment to the very animated announcer. I’m not entirely sure of the etiquette for bull riding but I for one was rooting for the bulls. I was fascinated watching the folks hanging out at the edges of the ring, taunting the bulls, and jumping up the sides when an understandably pissed off bull would charge at them. I am very glad I caught a snippet of a bull who was much more interested in grazing the grass than anything else (ahem, giving decidedly Ferdinand vibes).

I am glad I got to see this show, I would likely watch another one – if only to root for the docile bull in the gang.

Channeling Ferdinand

The third first: community

On the second night of checking out the Guayabo festival, I had the immense pleasure of watching a tope, which is a horse parade. Imagine the town’s main street lined up on both sides with all dwellers from the area, young and old, bringing their own chairs, food, and drinks to watch an impressive array of horses and riders show off their skills, often accompanied by live bands. I honestly could not stop grinning. I was mesmerized by what I dubbed ‘the dancing horses’ and actually burst out crying with joy, wondering how this is my life.

I had never seen something like this before, I share it here with you hoping that you feel even a spark of the wonder I experienced. The dancing horses, the proud riders, the live bands, the people dressed in cowboy gear talking and laughing in the streets – it was abundantly clear how this festival brings everyone together. It was a community event in the best sense of the word, and I feel like we need community more than ever.

Dancing horse in the Guayabo tope (might be a better cumbia dancer than me)

The fourth first: nature

This one happened purely by chance and I am so grateful it did. My cousin’s farm in Miravalles is at the base of a dormant volcano, with a gorgeous valley spreading out across the street. Its distance from cities and light pollution sources make it great for watching the night sky – imagine my surprise when I looked up at the full moon to see a perfect circle around it. I tapped my cousin on the shoulder and asked him to look up at the moon. His ‘whoa, what is that?’ reaction reassured me that I wasn’t hallucinating.

While hoping for aliens (that would be a super cool first!) I later found out it is a phenomenon called a moon halo. It was my first time seeing this and while not as grand as seeing the Milky Way in the Sahara it was definitely memorable. I am incredibly humbled every time I glimpse something Mother Nature shows us – humbled by how perfect it is, how small we are, and how much we should work to protect it.

Full moon surrounded by 2 haloes — Moon halo

The next first?

I look forward to a next first, whether it is an experience I sign up for or a natural wonder that reveals itself to me. This planet and its inhabitants have so much to offer, all we have to do is be open, be curious, and say yes to things. I won’t chase these first experiences but I welcome the joy they bring. They make my heart full and I can’t stop grinning, like a kid experiencing cotton candy or a roller coaster for the first time (sometimes the order matters). Remember,we are never too old to try something for the first time, never too old to be joyful.

How about you, reader? What brings you joy? Share a first that delighted you recently, or how you make sure you’re open to these experiences.

After the 15 minutes it took me to pick out a detergent (side note: options are wildly different in Costa Rica and the choice is spectacular; imagine an entire aisle dedicated to laundry detergent, with 14 different scents and 45 different properties¹), I can’t figure out the washing machine. One of the premises of traveling light is being able to launder your clothes so I was elated when I settled into a complex that offers laundry on site. Excited to get the sweat, dust, sunscreen, and dog drool out of my clothes, imagine my puzzlement when I checked the load I had put on “gentle cycle” only to find it dripping wet. As in, sopping-pile-of-clothes, “what happened to the spin cycle?” dripping wet. I gave it another spin (pun intended), only to end up with the same result. Is this how clothes come out of the washer here? Do I need to adjust my expectations?

I repeated this internal dialogue out loud with my best friend (she’s in Canada and long-distance troubleshooting a washer left her equally puzzled) and my cousin, now my neighbour and resident expert on all things Costa Rica. He offered that the “gentle cycle” might not be a thing with this washer and to use the regular cycle. He even showed me exactly what option to choose and I put another load in, full of hope and optimism. 30 minutes later… same result. Many unanswered questions later, I wrung out my drippy clothes as best I could and called upon the dryer to work its magic. I hung up the non-dryer items on the shower curtain rod, silently praying that it wouldn’t come tumbling down – as it had in past travels, not once but twice, on different continents.

Fast forward a few days later, when my cousin casually mentions “oh by the way, they replaced the washer, it was broken”.

This makes me think about the quirks of travel that are often not discussed, but in my opinion make the experience rich and memorable. My best friend is afflicted by “bad travel juju” and try as we might (including having liquid smudge on hand at all times), it rears its head wherever we go.

On our last trip to Costa Rica, we were plagued by bathroom troubles. Lest you think I am about to launch into some diatribe about gastrointestinal issues, let me assure you that I mean mechanical bathroom troubles. As in, the toilet doesn’t flush, so let’s use a container – aka garbage can – to flush it (my idea and I’m very proud of it. My best friend looked at me like I had sprouted another head). I then somehow managed to block the sink in the same bathroom, which meant that using the toilet required pouring a garbage can full of water to flush the toilet then washing your hands in the shower. The next day our sink plug had been confiscated, proof that we couldn’t be trusted with such advanced tools. At least we were able to wash our hands in the sink again, and we also figured out that we could get the toiled to flush if we wiggled the thingamajig inside the tank.

In another bathroom the light went out. It took 4 people about 40 minutes to change the lightbulb and they told us it was a wiring issue – and to leave the light on at all times. When we asked what would happen if the light went out again we got shrugs. Phone flashlights came in handy for that one.

Each bathroom in each accommodation had a quirk, but the most epic was our toilet in Monteverde. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so tell me how many words am I saving with the video below? Sound on, and please watch until the end.

Our epic singing toilet in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Sound on and watch until the end!

The key to facing all these challenges/quirks is laughter. I truly believe it keeps us sane, healthy, balanced. It would be easy to fall into negative thinking and diminish your experience, but I offer you an alternative – laugh about it, put it down as a memorable anecdote, and enjoy the heck out of your trip and your life. Go ahead, flush the singing toilet, wring out your clothes – and use uncontrollable laughter as the antidote to bad juju.

Life is full of quirks – laugh to smooth out their sharp edges and transform them into the precious memories that will make you smile years down the road.

What travel quirks (or life quirks) have you encountered? How many of them sent you into peals of laughter? Let me know in the comments – and let me know if you liked this post and want to read about more shenanigans like these! I’m off to do another load of laundry.

Not actual numbers ↩︎