M&M are at it again! International travel, hooray!! We went without our dear sweet Emerson, but he’ll be traveling the world with us soon enough. We finally got to Costa Rica, which has been on our list for a long time. One of our first trips was to Guatemala, which we loved – but we had actually wanted to go to Costa Rica and had been booking too last-minute 😂 so this one felt a long time coming. We have so many friends who have come here and loved it.
As for getting here, did you know that it’s less than a 4 hour flight from Atlanta to Costa Rica? Totally manageable. We did have to wake up at 3 am to get to the airport for a 5 am flight, which I would ABSOLUTELY refuse for a work trip or anything other than a vacation like this. We also had to show proof of vaccination to enter the country, which I appreciated.
Today was a blast. We took a two-hour surfing lesson this morning at Playa Tamarindo, which is a hot spot for beginner surfers (which is definitely what we are). It was so much fun. It turns out that I can actually surf decently well if someone just points out the right waves to catch and gives me a little shove in the right direction. I popped up and rode about 30 waves into shore. This was the fifth country between the two of us that we’ve attempted surfing in (embarrassing) and definitely our most successful!
After spending the morning surfing, we hopped on a catamaran for the afternoon. Glorious. We cruised around for a while, sipped on some drinks and met some interesting friends (including an international jujitsu icon (!?)). Snorkeling was so cool! I don’t think I’ve ever snorkeled anywhere halfway decent. I saw little neon purple fish, bright blue and yellow ones like you see in the dentist office, and Nemo’s much larger uncle. I loved it.
Until…Mark said that he was getting bit. Which isn’t uncommon because bugs love him. But we were in the water this time, and I was getting bit too. Something brushed against me as we were about to get back on the boat and it felt almost sharp. We asked the crew what these bites could be from, and they saId, “Ohhh. Yellyfish.” I said, “What?” “Yellyfish.” Jellyfish. Yep, we got stung by tiny invisible jellyfish. They gave us white vinegar to put on the stings, which helped. We’re totally fine now, it was not a big deal, but very unexpected!
I should mention how beautiful the beaches and the sunset are here. I mean, stunning. We’re staying at Playa Conchal, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Costa Rica and I see why. It has to be the finest, most pristine sand that I’ve ever experienced. There isn’t anything on the shore or in the water besides sand – no rocks, crabs, green things, slimy things, nothing. Only sugary white sand. And the sunsets!!! I can’t even. I’ll just show you the pictures.
We got to spend our first full day in Costa Rica at Playa Conchal, taking advantage of the hotel’s stand up paddle boards and cheap beach massages. We’re staying at the W, so there are ample pool DJs that set the vibe 🙂 it’s young and fun. There are many Americans here, but it seems like there are also quite a few Europeans and folks from other parts of the world.
Everyone is SO NICE. “Pure vida” is the local saying, meaning something like “enjoy life”. A driver today told us that the good thing about having a limited Spanish vocabulary in Costa Rica is a good thing because 80% of what is said is simply “pura vida”.
We get one more morning here, and then onto Arenal for a volcano adventure!
Love,
M&M
