PURA VIDA - PARTE UNO: Vacation mode
When I stepped out of the San Jose airport in Costa Rica late November at 10pm the humidity and heat hit me like a bag of bricks. My body entered a state of shock and my mind was running on the adrenaline of this new adventure and could care less about the hot sweaty mess I was turning into. Thank god for air conditioned hotel rooms.
The next morning after slamming back a couple cafés con leche, and a long stroll around the block spent admiring the jaw dropping vegetation everywhere, I sat myself down and decided on a destination that would fill my need for vitamin sea and allow quick access to Montezuma for a few days to check out my winter digs - Jacó it was.
Getting to Jacó from San Jose is a pretty easy commute (about an hour and a half) on narrow roads through small villages and beautiful green landscapes. By noon I was oceanside with salty hair at Selina where I was staying, had a dog sleeping at my feet, a cold beer in front of me and had downed one of two delicious fish tacos. I was more than content. The day capped off, as it would for the 2, with a quick downpour and a sunset full of surfers sitting in the line up. All in all, Jacó was ok but nothing to write home about and I probably wouldn’t go back until I’ve explored some of the other locations south of this cool coastal town. However, I met some cool people that led to sharing good conversation over food at an amazing Thai restaurant, a bunch of ceviche servings, some ok sushi and many cervezas over World Cup matches. More than anything it gave me time to finally establish a loose itinerary for my solo adventure.
From Jacó I took a quick boat ride across the Gulf of Nicoya to Montezuma where along the way I’d get sunburnt, witness many Devil Rays jumping out of the water, a school of dolphins casually playing in our wake and finally lay eyes on my new home that I’d heard so many wonderful things about. I won’t go into details now as this was a very quick stop before my vacation would start. My time in Montezuma deserves it’s own story.
With just over two weeks to myself before I needed to be back in Montezuma I decided to head to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and with Panama so close I was easily tempted to Bocas del Toro and this is where my adventure would start. A shuttle picked me up at my hotel in San Jose very early and saw me all the way to Bocas via an air-conditioned, wifi van that included lunch and made sure your passport had everything dotted and crossed to enter Panama, ending with a water taxi to the island. It was the long way to get there for sure but an incredible way to see a stunning country and how the people live in it, plus it was less than half the price of a stuffy plane ticket. The Selina was my choice for accommodation in Bocas since my stay at their Jacó location was relatively enjoyable and it was a reasonable price for a private room with a balcony looking out to the bay and a good location in town to everything.
I’d love to say I got out and explored the other islands around Bocas but the reality is I slept more than I’ve slept in the last year. Which if you don’t know this is kind of an anomaly for most who visit Bocas since it is known as a party town - every night there is something. Example: I fell asleep, with no earplugs, on a Friday night with the music pumping below in the bar until 4am and woke up feeling like a million bucks. My body had finally given into full relaxation and I wasn’t about to fight it. I did manage to take a day trip over to Red Frog for some beach time and visit Nacho Mama’s for some delicious ceviche and friendly faces. But other than sleeping I focused my time on eating as much delicious food as I could and it wasn’t hard; arepas, plátanos with tuna poke or bruschetta or just salted, bapé, bacalao, pineapple shrimp curry, miso & sushi, more ceviche etc… I thoroughly enjoyed not cooking but instead filling my belly full inspiration for future dishes. Otherwise I made some great connections, I almost came home with a dog (this will become a theme) and left wanting more time in Panama.
From Bocas I made my way to Puerto Viejo to soak up some more Caribbean vibes for the next week. It was a relief to be out of the infrastructure and city-like feel of Bocas and back into some jungle and even chiller “rub-a-dub” vibes. Still, I slept… and a lot at that. But I also walked everyday to Playa Negra to swim and always hit Playa Coches for sunset surfer watch. The middle of my days were filled with more walking, biking to beaches, Shazaming music to get lost in later and of course more eating. A cerveza (o dos) at Salsa Brava became a regular stop on my way home; the music was always on point, the beer cold, the food delicious, service was all-time and if the surf break was firing you really had the best seat in town. Oh, and I saw sloths, lots of them - so cute, so awkward. Also as you may guess, I almost came home with a dog.
All good things come to an end and my time to leave the laidback vibes of turquoise water lined beaches had come. Luckily I was headed to similar scenario for the next three weeks and not back to the worst winter at home in years. I would be ok. I was more rested and relaxed than I could remember and somewhere along the way over the last 3 weeks I had awoken parts of the old me I didn’t realized I missed. More importantly I felt so empowered traveling by myself and so free. My eyes were open but now they’re blown wide open to endless possibilities of where I can go with with my knives*. To say I was humbled by my first time in Central America is an understatement. And, honestly, I didn’t expect to fall in love with everything about it like I did and how I’d come to crave the taste of ocean on my lips everyday.
What I do know is this Pura Vida: happy life, simple life, be grateful, be thankful, celebrate everything. They’re not just words but a feeling that people here radiate and it’s infectious. We could all take a page from this way of life and I’m certainly taking more than uno, more like a whole chapter.
M.
*(I’d like to note that the only downfall of loving and wanting your personal knives is you have to check your bag - God bless AirTags.)