Costa Rica - The Experience

I packed my luggage stuffing endless amounts of “what if” items in corners of my puke green-had-since-I-was-in-college-first-real-travel bag hoping to make the airline weight limit. I felt unprepared determining I hadn’t read enough reviews of places to eat and things to do. Twenty-five days of research just didn’t seem enough to prepare me for visiting a country as small as West Virginia but with options the size of America. I placed a tiny silver cross around my neck and prayed for two things – a safe flight and a good time. Being the family travel planner the weight of success or failure of this trip rested heavily on my mind and in my luggage that was 11 pounds too many.

From message boards to travel guides and picture blogs I had formed premeditated memories of what Costa Rica would be like – outdoor excursions, beautiful beaches and enough rice, beans and chicken to probably leave me salivating for McDonald’s once back in the U.S. I anticipated what you get from most vacations – a well relaxed much needed escape that would be summarized by countless self-took photos.

I took away much more.

“I didn’t come back from a vacation. I came back from an experience”. This was the line I instinctively told friends upon my return. Atypical from our previous travel stories that always start with descriptions of white sandy beaches, I first talked about the people of Costa Rica – each of their names cross-mapped to places we drove, the food we ate, the adventures we survived! I shared stories of Wilson Rojas – our driver, guide, and now friend. Three-hour transfers turned to seven-hour adventures with Wilson stopping along the way so that we could eat local cuisine, stroll beautiful parks, and pray at breathtaking churches. I spoke of the taxi drivers we encountered who were all so eager to learn our names and point things out that we may have missed along our way. I told of the locals who embraced us at their Discotech, one gentleman grabbing my hand leading me in learning the Salsa I so desperately was trying to master. I shared the story of the stranger who helped me use a calling card that repeatedly refused to work. When I impatiently decided I had had enough, he had more time to spare. These moments made us pause and reflect on the kindness and patience we rarely see exchanged in our motherland.

And don’t get me wrong – we took away more than just memories of the locals that warmly welcomed us. We embraced the adventure of Costa Rica. We white water rafted down the Rio Balsa and hiked a dormant volcano (Cerro Chato) that brought me to tears a quarter way up! We walked a trail to an amazing waterfall (La Fortuna) and jet-skied in 10 foot ocean swells. My shyness towards risks was shed.

We left Costa Rica with much more than sun-kissed tans and sleeveless Imperial souvenir shirts. We left Costa Rica embodying the philosophy of its people – “Pura Vida” – to live a pure life that is full, a life content with what you have.

*To watch a video I made about our trip to Costa Rica click HERE
*If considering a trip to Costa Rica read my reviews HERE and HERE!