Pura Vida - Pure Life. Travel Inspiration.

A lot of photo - memories. Click to enlarge.

"All trails seem to lead to waterfalls, misty crater lakes or jungle-fringed, deserted beaches. Explored by horseback, foot or kayak, Costa Rica is a tropical choose-your-own-adventure land."

-Lonely Planet

On sunny August Fridays when I actually don't have plans to leave the house or, better yet, leave the comfort of my sofa in the living room I tend to look back at the moments that made me irrationally happy. I can't say how long I spend on this activity but it always results in one or three crazy ideas on what to add to my Bucket List or what to add to our castle to make it even more cosy. Normally this results in me rushing to do online shopping before I lose the inspiration or start another page in my Bullet Journal with multiple plans for the next X days, but not today. Today I felt nostalgic over our holiday trips and since we are struggling to fit another mini-holiday in our schedule it made the crave for adventures even harder. Today I had Costa Rica on my mind.

This year in February we have spent just over 2 weeks exploring  this paradise on earth and the memories that we made will always be a reminder of how beautiful is the world we live in.

We started our journey in San Jose, where we have spent an evening adapting to the climate and surroundings. Although not as tropical, it was definitely different to what you would expect to see when you think - Costa Rica. As you do for your holiday, we packed everything that screams SUMMER and thought that maybe we should have taken a few warmer clothes with us because when the evening came, the winds were quite chilly and it was not a very pleasant experience trying to walk around San Jose all cold and without a clue of where we are and where should we go to have dinner.

(San Jose, Costa Rica 2017)

Next day we were all eager to get on our bu to the "wild side" of the country so all packed and ready all bright an early we went down to reception lobby to wait for our transport. Breakfast was on the schedule and it did take time for me to adapt to the food offered first thing in the morning - very healthy selections of fruits ad fresh juices and beans. Spicy beans and rice as a first meal sounded like torture for my yogurt and coffee on the go stomach, but we are here to experiment right? To be fair, after the third morning you adapt to it fairly well and it does not sound as bizarre as on the first day. 

We packed our cases on the bus and jumped aboard to Tortuguero - a protected wilderness area on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast. It is a National Park and the only way to get in and out is by boat. My overexcited - "I want to touch everything!" - was ruined by our guide who's first worlds were - "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, everything here might be poisonous/venomous or just harmful." Ah, brilliant. So here we are in the middle of a tropical jungle with a burning temptation to explore and we were told to behave... But we were to find out why very quickly.

(Tortuguero, Costa Rica 2017)

Everything about this place was super eco-friendly. Everything from electricity to waist was up to the bare minimum and it was interesting to see how different we live here in UK and how much more waist we produce every day. Our lodge had a pool but we were more interested in going to explore the Caribbean sea. The view of that beach made me feel like there is not a better place in the whole world. I am a huge fan of beaches and oceans and water in general, take me there anytime, but this was so inspirational, it just made my heart warm. I could not help but run right into the water, avoiding all the - warning strong currents - signs (by the way don't do that, it is quite serious).

(Tortuguero beach, Costa Rica 2017)

We have spend several days on boat trips around the National Park - in the early mornings trying to spot the nature waking up and see all the animals running through the Rain forest. The climate felt more like the one we geared  up for but here is when a problem hit me - allergies. I have suffered from asthma waaay back when I was a little girl and I seemed to grow out of it with years but I still have weird forms of allergy attacks here and there but mostly it is something I can cope with. First couple of days in Tortuguero my eyes would not stop watering and my nose would not stop running. As much as I tried not to let it ruin my Rain forest exploration, most of the time I could not wait to go dip in the cool pool to get a bit refreshed after a day in high humidity and almost zero change of breathing like a normal human being.

(Tortuguero, Mawamba Lodge)

(Tortuguero, Mawamba Lodge)

(Resident Toucan at Tortuguero, Mawamba Lodge)

(Tortuguero, Mawamba Lodge)

After experiencing a extreme eco-friendly life, we moved on to Arenal and Monteverde where volcano and hanging bridges awaited us. Yes, it was another long journey on a boat and then on a bus but when we got there it was all worth it. We zip-lined through the valleys and climbed up and down massive trees (including inside of the tree I mean that cured me from being ever slightly claustrophobic) and walked miles and miles on narrow bridges stretched across the Costa Ricas most stunning Rain Forests. If you are to ask me if it is scary to do all these things, the answer is  - very - but I would not let myself  miss out on the opportunity to zip line across a valley in Costa Rica or run all the way up to a volcano view point with the love of my life holding my hand all the way to it. Ever. This is something that will stay with you in your memories for the rest of your life and it changes everything you knew about your abilities before that moment. Nothing matters but that very moment.

(Hanging bridges, Costa Rica 2017)

(Hanging bridges, Costa Rica 2017) (Arenal, Costa Rica 2017) 

(Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica 2017)

 To finish our volcano exploring - flying above treetops - dining in the trees - mosquito infested - but still nature loving February adventure we headed to the sunniest, beachiest, surfing/tourist/living life location in the country - Tamarindo. Ahh, the boiling sun and a book in my hands - well deserved week on the beach for this holiday. I was so eager to drop on the sunbed and soak in all the sun I could get after a long week of exploring and being my own version of an animal expert - "Oh look that is that bird thing we saw back at Arenal with black feathers that runs like a chicken!... or is it a monkey?" Yeah, don't hire me as your nature guide any time soon. Maybe after a few more of the wildlife style holidays.
We swam in the saltiest waters ever, we drank the tastiest smoothies I ever tried in my whole life, we stayed up until late and drank the night away and we were happy. As happy as anyone can possibly be. Costa Rica is a must do on anyone's Bucket List. It is hard to understand the beauty and the adventure of this trip just by reading my (very short) story on it months later, but I would go back again and re-live the adventures, the sun, the sand and sea, the beauty all around us and inspiration for a lifetime.

Pura vida, my friends.