What is it about Costa Rica? Part 1.

Costa Rica Cattle have the best attitude!

If you haven't noticed, I am a bit of a lover of all things Costa Rica. The great Costa Rican love affair started many years ago. Costa Rica continues to woo me with it's stunning countryside, intriguing people and last but not least, a certain je ne sais quoi ( that's French for, " I don't know what.") that I still can't put my finger on. I try to explain "it" to people when they ask me what's so great about Costa Rica. I try to capture  the feelings within my words but words just don't do it justice. Costa Rica does something to people, it leaves a soft, but profound footprint, in our hearts and souls and it's different for everyone. Talk to anyone who has ever been to Costa Rica and you'll notice that their whole demeanor changes at the mere mention of their little slice of heaven. What is it about that place????

This past December, I was fortunate enough to be able to bring one of my best of friends to Costa Rica. She had never been out of the country before and had never really understood my overly zealous need to travel. I knew she'd be the perfect candidate to join me on this trip and was excited to start this women's only journey. I had no expectations, no wild plans, just a loose itinerary that included going with the flow and maybe zip lining. Conquering my fear of heights or at least letting them slap me in the face while speeding over the rain forest canopy was something I had to do.

We arrived in Liberia, Guanacaste and were greeted by our driver who would be taking us to our resort, 3 1/2 hours away at The Springs Resort and Spa. The roads in Costa Rica are bumpy and that's putting it nicely. The majority of the trip was on a great paved highway but the last portion of the trip consisted of driving up and down gravel and deeply pot holed, narrow roads, heading off Papache's ( a raccoon type sort of animal) and farmers herding their cattle. I'm all up for the adventure and motion sickness has never been an issue for me ~ I can't say the same attitude or physical response to the bouncing around the roads applied to my friend. Thank God she had a good sense of humor. :)

Random pony mounting 

I watched my traveling companion closely ~ waiting for Costa Rica's hold on her heart to be seen because I knew it would happen . . . eventually. I think it hit when we actually got to The Springs Resort and Spa. Maybe it was our amazingly beautiful 2 bedroom suite that faced out to the Arenal Volcano? Maybe it was the overly kind staff at the resort that treated us like family after only an hour of being there. Maybe it was the warm air and the lush surroundings. Maybe it was our 2 1/2 hour trek into the Costa Rican country side without a soul in sight and then finally stumbling into a town where an ice cold beer never tasted so good and a random pony mounting just made the day. Whatever it was, I could literally see  the washing away of her  ( and my own) stressors, I could feel the peace in her heart and I knew she got it. At some point on our journey, she had said, " I get it, Carmen. I get why you love it here." She didn't need to explain what she loved about Costa Rica. She didn't need to over analyze anything, she just knew and so did I. That's what I love about that place ~ it creates a common bond that doesn't even need to be defined or explained, it's a freedom to be and take it all in.

Sometimes, on our travels through the country side of Costa Rica or while meandering through fern lined paths in the forest we would trail away from one another. We'd walk, staring up at the canopy, eyes darting to everything that caught our attention. Maybe it was a trail of leaf cutter ants carting around leaves 100 times the size of their body or maybe it was the design of the tree bark or leaves the size of our heads that needed attention, whatever it was, there was an "okay-ness" to get lost in the beauty of it all. It was okay to love up her new found horse friend who found himself enamored with her as much as she with him. It was okay to take off the flip flops and watch the current of the river wash over our feet. It was okay to not say a word because words really couldn't be summoned to explain it all ~ and we knew that and that was okay.

One of the things we ventured to do while on this trip was to zip line. I never really saw the appeal of it but so many people do it while on vacation that I figured I needed to conquer my intense fear of heights and see what the big deal was. My friend was also a total chicken shit so together, I'm sure we were quite a site to behold. Giggling like school girls, spouting out profanities and last wishes as we headed up into the rainforest in the gondola to meet our suspected demise, fellow soon to be zip liners joined us in a few good fear based laughs, easing the tension. We gave each other the, "we can do this (we think)" look and as I took the first leap into my fears, I found myself in very serene place of self absorption. I landed on the platform, shaky and giggly and waited for my friend to come sailing in. There is nothing like 1.) attacking your fears like a grizzly bear and 2.) watching someone else do it, understanding the fear behind it and seeing the sense of accomplishment and sheer joy on their face as they realize their potential for conquering things that once stopped them from moving forward. Zip lining was our gateway to conquering more of life's challenges.


So what is this blog really about? Is it about Costa Rica or what? I tend to ramble on and get lost in the moment of my travels and insights gained while traveling so to answer your question ( or maybe it was my own question), Yes, this is about Costa Rica but it's also about the power of just being and allowing ourselves to let things happen to us instead of mastering up a grand itinerary, checking off to do's and must sees. We do that on the daily. When we take the opportunity to surround ourself with the beauty that Mother Nature has graciously given us, it's vital we stop and enjoy it all. Costa Rica is marvelous in it's country side, in it's culture, it's people, it's language . .  . it's everything. I won't give you detailed descriptions of this great little country because I want you to experience it for yourself. Trust that I know what I'm talking about and know that when you visit Costa Rica, we'll be able to talk Costa Rica and that conversation will start and end with a smile.

Viva la Vida!