Hi everyone and happy summer, officially. I’m adjusting back to my routine after having maybe the best vacation of my life (so far) in Costa Rica. I needed that!! When I finished unpacking, my luggage still smelled like sunscreen and it made my heart ache.
I always saw myself as “not a summer person" but if we’re talking specifically about tropical climates…that I adore. My parents are from El Salvador and my dad grew up near the coast. Every time I visit El Salvador, it feels right, maybe it’s in my DNA. I feel it in my hair and skin and mind, like I’m exactly where I need to be. I find myself quickly adapting to the heat and humidity and waking up at 5 am every day and eating copious amounts of fruit and not being afraid of bugs and critters.
For years, I’ve been curious to see more of Central America. Costa Rica, I learned, is very similar, but also very different, than its neighbors. If we go all the way back, they were less colonized by the Spanish in comparison to the other countries. Costa Rica also abolished their army in 1948. They’ve had political stability for decades (unlike the civil wars that tore apart the rest of Central America in the 80s). They heavily focus on conservation and education. They have a blue zone. It all adds up. There are more layers to this, and I’ve only recently started digging into their history, but it’s fascinating to see how Costa Rica lives and I’m wanting to learn more now.
The trip was with my partner’s family (he’s the oldest of 6 and some of them are still teens!!!) so it was chaotic, in the funnest way. The 10 of us stayed in a house in the Guanacaste region with the most beautiful ocean view I’ve ever gotten the pleasure of seeing. The pool facing the ocean was the cherry on top.
On this trip, I realized that I had never taken a vacation like this before. Most of my vacations have been to cities, or extended travel when I was freelancing and traveling for months on end, but still working and taking meetings here and there. This time, I was completely unplugged for an entire week, with no desire to look at my phone. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend planned an incredible itinerary, equal parts leisure time and adventure time. I didn’t spend time in a big city at all, just the small beach towns around the area and it was pure bliss.
My daily routine became something like this:
Wake up at 5 am and watch the sunrise and listen to the birds and howler monkeys — a little time for myself before the rest of the family wakes up
Make coffee for everyone
Shower and then a few of us would run to the mercado to get groceries
Make breakfast together and then clean up
Read, write, journal, morning dip in the pool, or power nap (but often, all of the above)
Wildlife tour or beach or sailing or other outdoor outing
Come back exhausted (the good type of exhausted) and get groceries for dinner
Get home and shower again
Take a dip in the pool and watch the sun set over the ocean’s horizon
Shower (again)
Lounge around and help prep dinner while the brothers grilled
Watch the KNICKS (I was away when we won but I saw the game and !!!) or a movie or shoot hoops with all the siblings or play card games (or on rainy days, watch the thunderstorm and see lighting bolts strike the ocean)
Go to sleep and wake up and repeat
It was glorious. I drank more coffee than usual. Had lots of mango smoothies. Ate lots of plantains and beans (my favorite). Saw lots of birds and monkeys in their natural habitat for the first time. On one of the days we did a hike and our wildlife tour guide, Oliver, was incredible. He’s a 23-year-old second-generation guide and taught himself English and French. He was telling us how he plans on staring his own business at the end of the year.
And on the day we went sailing, we also learned a lot from the crew. We asked Bismark, the captain, what he thought of tourism in Costa Rica and this is what he said:
“On one hand, it’s given us so much more opportunity and we get to meet people from all over the world. I love what I do. But on the other hand, my family has lived by the beach for generations and life used to be so beautifully simple when I was a kid.”
Jeffree, the captain and first mate, told us he “felt more comfortable on the water than on land.” And Jonathan, the other captain and first mate, told me that he learned how to swim when his dad pushed him into the water and made him learn the hard way. (I was telling him that I don’t know how to swim, but that it was my goal to learn). It was the best time but we got caught in a storm on the way back because it’s currently rainy season. I was holding onto the boat for dear life. :) But truly memorable. Apparently, the storm was “nothing” to them.
Beach life was so good I found myself questioning my life decisions and future!! Jk, I love NYC, but actually…I can’t wait to go back.
Here’s what I packed, wore, ate, experienced, listened to, read, etc.This isn’t an exact packing list or itinerary, but I hope you enjoy.
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