Living
in Costa Rica
Exploring The Beaches of Costa
Rica ~ By Vanessa Morson
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Relocating
to Costa Rica means more than beautiful beaches - Yes, Costa Rica has
beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains, awesome panoramas, but Costa Rica
is also a very cultured nation with art museums, good entertainment, ballet,
and a wide variety of activities that make living there an ongoing delight.
The real estate is a bargain compared with the U.S.A. and Canada and you
don't have to be a resident to buy it. And there is more, much more, 147
pages of information on why you want to move to Costa Rica and how to do
it. Now a report by Christopher Howard that covers everything you need
to know about relocating to Costa Rica - Click
Here to learn more about Costa Rica - |
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| Connecting
through four countries, with four planes, an SAS air strike, a night in
a ghost-town airport, two solid days of travel and only two hours sleep,
Phil and I finally arrived in Costa Rica. What will happen in the
days to come no one would have ever guessed, not even us. Our plan:
Get there, rent a 4X4, drive to Jaco (a Pacific Coast surfer town pronounced:
Haco) find a nice hotel, catch up on sleep, and in a few days start sightseeing
and in a few weeks start looking for jobs, and a place to live. Sounds
like a reasonable enough plan, especially since we have been travelling
and unemployed for the last three months.
What actually
happened: Well, we did rent the 4X4, and yes we did drive to the
coastal town of Jaco and after that…well you’ll just have to read this
to understand. Renting the car was easy, despite the fact that neither
Phil nor myself speak a lick of Spanish. Navigating through San Jose
we finally made it out onto the one lane highway that will take us all
the way to our final destination. The backdrop: a very green, lush
country with earthquake induced rolling hills and full hovering clouds
ready to burst at any moment. The road is well paved, yet winds with
dips and curves that roller coasters are modelled after. We are tired
and yet so excited to be here while not knowing what our future life here
will bring.
There is one
road in and one road out, so getting lost was not an option, but staying
on the windy road was a bit of a nail biting experience. As we neared
Jaco, our fatigue was transcended by pure glee. With the Lonely Planet
Costa Rica in one hand, the map in the other we made our way through town.
Before I finished reading one sentence in our book, we had gone from one
end of the village to the other. That was it.
We unpacked,
showered, and decided to take a little snooze before dinner. We woke
up the next morning at 5 having completely slept through our alarms set
for the night before. The sun was up, as were the screeching roosters.
Phil and I dressed to go for an exploratory and romantic walk along the
beach. |
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| Of all
the countries I've traveled to in Central America, no other country has
more beautiful beaches or better beach life than Costa Rica. The Costa
Ricans know how to enjoy themselves on the beach. Above is a shot of Jaco. |
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Low clouds
pressed against the rain forest and the 8-foot waves were decorated with
devoted surfers. We stood hand in hand in complete awe of this country
we had decided to make home. We walked for about a mile discussing
our plan of attack with great excitement. We’re going to do this
and this and then we’ll try this and then that!! And then our neglected
appetites from the previous night interrupted our rather pleasant conversation.
Little problem: no money, banks closed. Aha, thank god the US dollar
as well as the English language is more widely accepted than American Express.
We ordered a fruit plate to share and a typical Costa Rican breakfast consisting
of scrambled eggs along with Gallo Pinto (black beans and rice) fresh orange
and papaya juice and two cups of tea. The fruit was so pure, like
it was picked out of the backyard with no residue of pesticides.
Eating the typical rice and bean breakfast made us feel like for a moment
we were locals. I still have dreams about the papaya juice and know
it will become a staple in my diet. Truly the best breakfast I have
ever had, but also realizing if I ate that every day I would need two seats
on the plane ride home.
The town started
to stir. Stores started to open their doors revealing their assortment
of surf goods, hammocks, fruit, and of course the touristy tours.
We tried to take in everything but knew even as small as the town is, there
are so many layers that it would take us weeks/months to understand.
Here, we are in no hurry, the pace is as we decide.
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| My favorite
drive in Central America is around Lake Arenal and the Volcano at the far
end of the lake. Leave from the volcano in the morning and drive around
the lake - do stop at one of the Italian restaurants or German bakeries
located on the road. There are some small towns along the lake and as you
drive around the lake always look for the windmills in the distance on
the hillside. The lake is large in the same way that a Scottish Loch
is large. After you pass the windmills and turn away from the lake the
view opens up and you see the beaches of Guancaste in the direct distance.
As you descend the hills to the hot lowlands you will see to your right
a large watertube that feeds the dry beaches of Guancaste. As you
drive down through golden fields and green pastureland you will notice
how good the road is and how smooth the ride. (Above: Inn on the far side
of Lake Arenal) |
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Six
days after arriving, we moved into our new home. It is beautifully
situated on the Pacific, with a pool, vaulted ceilings, cable TV, hot water,
security guard, gardener, maid service, air conditioning, and everything
you could possibly want. We have a balcony that is screaming for
a hammock!
Tomorrow we
are going to sign up for Spanish classes, look more seriously for bicycles
and maybe take a deep breath and digest all that has happened.
There are three
kinds of roads in this country: one-lane paved highways, one lane unpaved
highways, and anything that remotely looks like a car could traverse.
Luckily, most of the country is accessible by the first, and preferred
choice, but some less touristy areas are only accessible by 4-wheel drive
and guts of steel.
Friday afternoon
we head towards the famous Arenal volcano, which is still very active.
Much to our dismay, the peak was playing hide and seek behind thick rain
forest clouds the entire time. We were able to hike straight up the
side of a cliff (or so it seemed), to see where the lava flows. Satisfied
in at least seeing that, we still promised ourselves to return later in
the season when a possible sighting would be more likely. In the
gift shop, postcards teased us with what it is supposed to look like, so
we bought them as proof.
Next stop,
Playa Tamarindo. When we did our research on Costa Rica, our two
top picks were Tamarindo and Jaco. Having already settled in Jaco,
our curiosity was restless with the idea of whether or not we had rushed
into anything. Honestly, our only reason for going to Jaco first
was because it was closer to the airport. Upon arrival to Tamarindo Phil
and I exchanged confident glances that we had in fact settled in the better
of the two. Tamarindo was dirty, plagued with beggars, and had “Americana”
splattered all over it. There was a very definite vibe of the gringo
is there to live and the Ticos (Costa Ricans) are there to serve.
We didn’t like it as much as Jaco, though it did have beautiful beaches. |
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If you ever
come to Costa Rica, please don’t take my word for it, go explore everything
you want to see and make your own decisions. After all, this is just
my opinion!
After spending
one night in Tamarindo, we decided to head south to another popular coastal
town. Though the name evokes pain, we heard Montezuma was quite beautiful.
This teeny tiny beach town lies on the tip of the southern peninsula and
is only accessible by roads that look like dried out riverbeds.
Though primitive and simple, this town has three Internet cafes, and seems
to serve as a haven for surfer hippies who never moved beyond the 70’s.
Jaco is a very
small town and everyone seems to know everyone else. One has to be
very careful with every move you make, because word is sure to get out.
Despite that, we are slowly but surely forming a great group of friends.
Costa Ricans are by far some of the most friendly people I have ever come
across, however they are not too punctual, but that’s okay, because after
a while at living at their pace, you won’t be too punctual either.
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| Foreigners
include French, Italian, Israeli, Canadian, Swiss and of course the ever
popular American. “Little United Nations”, I like to call Jaco.
Everyone is there for various reasons: retirement, escaping debt, wanting
a different life, you name it. There are many opportunities to be
had here if you have the capital and the patience. Things progress
at a rate unfamiliar to most, but the lifestyle achieved maybe well worth
the wait. Property can be cheap or expensive depending if you want
basic or palatial. It is all available here.
What I have
come to learn in these last few months is that it is very important not
to be American while travelling. I mean that in the most respectful
way. It is okay, whilst in the US to expect your double decaf latte
in less than two minutes; it is okay to expect everyone to speak English.
Here, though there are so many Americans, it is not okay to expect the
same standards and/or be pissed when it is different.
I have seen so many foreigners come here, and claim this is a lousy place
because it is not like America. If they wanted America they should
have gone to America, if you want typical Central America, then this is
the place for you. I find myself cringing at the sight of loud obnoxious
Americans who think this is there local strip mall. My opinion comes
out self-awareness. I have found myself somewhat frustrated when
locals show up 30 minutes late and think nothing of it. I have
found myself comparing and at the end of the day it is wrong. I know
what my standards are, but I also know I am not in a place where it is
so easy to meet my standards. But that is the joy of being here!!!
The joy comes when you realize that all those things you thought you would
die without are not really necessary. I love the fact that life can
be as simple as a bicycle with a basket in front for groceries! It
gets me back in touch with what my goal in life is: happiness. |
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And then there
is the “high-season” that everyone kept talking about. How bad could
it get really, I mean this town can hold only so many people right?
Wrong. I like to sum it up that the Puerto Rican Day Parade invaded
Daytona Beach during Spring Break. Never in my wildest dreams could
I have imagined traffic jams with hundreds of neon-colored pick-up trucks,
each sporting their own bazooka speaker blaring the latest Latino-blood-thumping
rhythm at decibels too high for human consumption. Or the sight of
fat hairy men and women, more slick than an oil spill, wearing nothing
more than bathing suits which are two sizes too small, cruising up and
down the supermarket aisles looking for fresh melons. AAAAHHHHH!
This latest invasion has caused to me to hide in my house on weekends and
only dare exit when absolutely necessary. And again, I have redefined
what is necessary. I have been soothed a bit by the thought that
the madness will die down after the new year, but still frighten easily
at the idea of this continuing for at least two more months.
After nine
months of living here, our time has sadly and quickly come to an end.
It is time for us to find our next spot, but Jaco and Costa Rica will always
have a page reserved in our passports..
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