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After our month-long French connection in Montreal and Quebec City, Ramona and I spent the holidays in company of our families in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This included the annual trek my dad, brother, and I make to Lambeau to watch the Packers take on some unworthy opponent (the score was not in our favor this time). During this time, we returned to Madison for a spell, where Ramona and I were able to reconnect and share time and stories with friends. This also afforded me a few days to catchup with my coworkers in the office, as we stayed nearby in a bed and breakfastRead More →

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While hatching our November and December plans, before deciding on Montreal, Ramona and I had for a time debated lingering in Quebec City for that duration instead. After researching and waffling between the two, the consensus we arrived on was that Montreal was a bit larger, a bit less French speaking (better for those of us who weren’t learning the language), with more entertainment options. We were decidedly intrigued enough with Quebec to immediately follow the purchase of our Montreal flights with the procurement of train tickets to the provincial capital for a long holiday weekend during our stay in Canada. So, our third weekend in Montreal, we roseRead More →

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Brrrr. This was my first thought when stepping outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to hop into my brother-in-law’s car in the middle of November. After that cold, rude awakening, however: only relaxation. Ramona and I were back to being midwesterners for a little while, which meant spending time with our families during the Thanksgiving holiday, swapping stories, and stuffing ourselves with holiday meals. Shopping for supplies was necessary during this time as well, as we transitioned to the next stop on our journey to… Montreal, Canada! It is accurate to say, that neither Montreal, nor any part of Canada was a glint in ourRead More →

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As mentioned in Semana Uno, Ramona and I looked to return to Manuel Antonio for a bit of a long haul. We had booked a place above a bar/restaurant seated at the edge of a cliff, with a balcony overlooking the ocean. What could go wrong? Living away from “home” for more than just a fleeting vacation moment is one of experiences that attracted me to our yearlong adventure abroad. When on vacation, time seems to fly by. When living hundreds or thousands of miles away from home, time seems to relax. One settles and builds their own customs and routines, and starts a newRead More →

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Ramona and I departed Tamarindo for our next destination on Friday, September 15th, which also happened to be Costa Rica’s independence day. Our shuttle ride was a little more interesting than anticipated; there were parades and other celebrations occurring along our route, sometimes blocking the road and causing minor delays. We were taking a brief reprieve from the beach to enter “volcano mode”, as Ramona coined it, by staying in the shadow of Arenal Volcano (Volcán Arenal), in the small town of La Fortuna de San Carlos, more commonly referred to as La Fortuna. This would be a ten day stay, our longest in one place to thisRead More →

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When last we left off, Ramona and I were hopping a Grayline shuttle on a Friday morning, heading to Tamarindo, the second stop on our year-long tour in Costa Rica. Shortly after we arrived at our rented condo, we encountered El Horno Loco (the mad oven). But first, the rest of the week. Tamarindo is a popular beach town located in the Nicoya Peninsula, in the Guanacaste Province. Now when I say Tamarindo is popular, I mean it is popular almost exclusively with a few groups of people: American and European tourists, and Tico surfers. In particular, there are a lot of small shops andRead More →

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Welp, we did it.   We have arrived in Costa Rica. We are living in Costa Rica. By the simplest of definitions, Ramona and I have now achieved our goal. The goal started as just an idea, a want, romanticized about on early dates, fantasized about while on vacations together, discussed during long drives, elaborated on over late night dinners and glasses of wine, planned out over weekend brunches, and kicked off in earnest immediately after our wedding. But more on that later…this just the beginning.   Our flight into Costa Rica (not Puerto Rico – a very easy mistake to make. Also, Costa Rica, not anRead More →