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Another Return to Manuel Antonio After an interesting and at times challenging month in Nicaragua, Ramona and I were anxious to return to our Central American home base in Costa Rica; in particular, nuestra lugar favorita (our favorite place), Manuel Antonio. In theory, we might have stayed here for the remainder of our planned time abroad, perfectly satisfied and content, before heading back to the midwest in late July/early August. However, after discussions and research, one more interesting destination in this part of the world kept surfacing to the forefront of our minds, somewhere we should visit since we were down here. Tune in forRead More →

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On the Way This post will begin and end with a personal declaration of appreciation for my wife and her driving aptitude. From the winding roads in the Nicoya Peninsula, through the narrow lanes around La Fortuna, Ramona was on her way to covering a thousand or so kilometers in the drivers seat through uncharted territory, in a foreign country, where streets and motorists are not considered to be especially manageable. Through it all, she kept positive and on her game, allowing our traveling companions to stay relaxed and be engaged in the Central American scenery, and providing me an opportunity to complete some programming workRead More →

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Making our way from the Nicoya Peninsula, Ramona and I arrived in La Fortuna with her parents, rounding out the end of their trip with a few more happenings in the area, before welcoming numerous other guests to Costa Rica, all in La Fortuna. Yup, this was a busy time. El Castillo On one of their last days in the country before returning to the states, Ramona’s parents Donna and Troy drove with us to El Castillo (The Castle). The tiny volcano village consists of no more than a few shops or attractions, a few restaurants, and some exceptional views of Arenal. The location isRead More →

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Getting Started As February neared an end, and my ski trip back home in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan concluded, I returned to Costa Rica, flying back into San Jose. On the long drive from the airport, I conversed with my cab driver entirely in Spanish, which felt great after not having touched the language in about a week. Goodbye white snow, ski slopes, and IPAs. Hello heavy traffic, palm trees, and Imperial. At around the same time on this day, Ramona’s parents Donna and Troy, flew into the same San Jose airport, ready to begin an incredible three week vacation, immaculately planned for them by theirRead More →

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As the sun set on our time in Panama, Ramona and I boated back to the mainland from Isla Colón, saying goodbye to the islands of Bocas del Toro. From the port town of Alimante, the two of us boarded a shuttle alongside a number of other tourists, heading toward the Panamanian/Costa Rican border. Our destination: Puerto Viejo, to meet up with Ramona’s friends Shannon and Krystal, the four of us hoping to enjoy the better part of a week on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The group had to wait for a while before embarking for the border; the initial shuttle broke down,Read 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 →