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 an island) took us to San Jose, the capital city. Since our daily travel started at around 2 in the morning to make a 5:30 AM flight out of the Twin Cities, our first day and night we had not planned on accomplishing much. Get oriented in a new country, account for any travel delays or issues with customs, get SIM cards and plans for our cell phones, etc. We got to our hotel, walked to grab a quick dinner, and couldn’t make it up past 8.
 
We had set our sights first to Manuel Antonio, on the west coast of the country, to really begin our adventure. The two of us had spent a few days there the previous summer on our honeymoon. The beautiful national park, the proximity to the ocean surf, and the wildlife drew us in. This is also a good area to “transition” from the states. A number of ex-pats, bilingual locals, and a tranquil setting were waiting.
 

Simple map of Quepos/Manuel Antonio

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The town of Manuel Antonio isn’t actually so much a proper town as it is a landing pad for the national park and the various beachfronts. It has some shops, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and accommodations of all types, from backpacker hostels, to 5 star resorts. Most of the local Costa Ricans (called Ticos or Ticas) that work in Manuel Antonio live in Quepos, a port town a few KM away. Quepos is home to the hospitals, schools, larger super markets and banks, and a large marina. It’s a very functional town, but does not have the scenic views/location of Manuel Antonio, though certainly, Manuel Antonio is more “touristy.”
Casa de Manuel Antonio
Nuestro casa en Manuel Antonio
Hammock time
Hammock time

From our hotel in San Jose we left for Manuel Antonio the following morning via shuttle. The shuttle arrived precisely on Tico time – 30 mins late. This is something Ramona is well versed in in her travels throughout Latin America. The slower pace and reduced importance of strict punctuality is also certainly common in many other cultures/regions across the world. As we arrived in Manuel Antonio, we ate lunch overlooking the ocean while we waited for our Airbnb to be ready. When it was time to check-in, we were quite pleased. Our first lodging on this adventure was a simple little place with a deck overlooking the ocean, where we could take in some sunsets, and be awoken each morning by the sun flooding in through the main window. There were also enough amenities to start cooking Tico-style, and enough room to spread out and get some work done. !Que excelente!

La primero oficina en Manuel Antonio
La primero oficina en Manuel Antonio
 
On our first day in town after getting settled into our home for the next week, I had one request of Ramona – that we find a place to watch the US vs Costa Rica World Cup qualifying soccer game. She had one request of me (if we had to watch a soccer game) – that we find a spot with a sunset view. So we did. We ate dinner overlooking the ocean at one our favorite restaurants from our trip the previous year. Unfortunately, the US played terribly and lost to Costa Rica 2-0, for the Ticos’ first win on US soil in World Cup qualifying against the Americans since 1985. Soccer is the biggest sport in the country, but other than the boisterous owner of the restaurant bounding around during the game and when Costa Rica scored, there wasn’t as much passion exhibited for the game as I expected from locals in this setting. I suspect there was a dive bar or two in nearby Quepos that were on fire. 
 
Costa Rica 2 - US 0
Costa Rica 2 – US 0
  
During the rest of the week and weekend we stretched our legs via some walks/hikes down to the various beaches. The hills and the humidity made for quite a workout. We got in the groove of taking these beach walks during the work week either in the morning just after sunset, or at lunchtime. This sufficed for a nice routine to start the day or a method of getting refreshed to resume work in the afternoon.
  

Playa Espadilla - Manuel Antonio in the early morning, outside of the national park

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A memorable time was spent on Labor Day, performing the opposite of hard labor. One of the local high-end resorts offers use of their infinity pool to non-guests of the resort, if you pay $20 a person toward food/drinks, and if the pool is not at capacity with actual resort guests. Ramona and I decided to give it a shot, and being the low season in Costa Rica, we were rewarded with the entire pool to ourselves. Much reading in the pool and swimming in the rain was achieved.
 

Infinity pool, all to ourselves

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While we used our first week in Manuel Antonio to relax somewhat and become reacquainted with the country, we had more work to do. We had booked accommodations for the first couple of weeks, but what after that? Ramona and I decided that we really enjoyed Manuel Antonio, and wanted to come back for a more extended stay as part of our time in Costa Rica. We set out to scour classifieds and online listings for longer term rental options, and were overwhelmed by the sheer number of places that were available. Definitely a result of the low season. A stroke of creativity from Ramona solved the problem for us. Landlords and rental managers are struggling to fill their apartments, condos, and Airbnbs for even short amounts of time: why not try to cut a deal for a reduced rate, in exchange for staying long term? They fill their property instead of leaving it empty through most of the low season, and we stay cheap. After sending out some messages, working through some offers, and checking out some options in person, we landed on an Airbnb a hop, skip, and a jump away from our current accommodations, owned by the same person, at a very nice price. It has more space, some Costa Rican house plants, and a nice porch overlooking the ocean. Also, it’s above a restaurant/bar, so that could be interesting. But more on that in a few weeks.

The initial stop on our adventure concluded, we waited for the shuttle to Tamarindo in the early morning rain, happy knowing we would soon be returning to Manuel Antonio for a longer stay, to see old friends.
 

 

Monkey in Manuel Antonio

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