The travels continue: we’re off to Costa Rica in a few hours.
By the time you read this, I’ll likely be gone: Liebling and I are heading to Costa Rica for a week!
Those who know me well know that my love for Latin America runs deep and strong. I lived in Mexico for a year, spent five weeks touring Guatemala, and travelled solo in Chile. I’ve partied in Argentina and Uruguay, clambered atop ruins in Honduras, and beheld splendiferous sights like Machu Picchu in Peru. When I say I love Latin America, I mean it: I find the culture, the landscapes, and the language captivating.
At Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
For this reason, my upcoming trip to Costa Rica, a place relatively unknown to me, has me both ecstatic and expectant.
I’m excited to leave behind this dastardly New York weather which has “gifted” us with some of the coldest days in recent history. (It’s cold, here, yo! Hong Kong’s spring-like “winter” temperatures have ruined me forever.) The weather won’t be scorching in Costa Rica (average highs will be 25 degrees Celcius, with average lows hovering around the upper-teens) but anything will be better than New York City at this point!
I’m overjoyed to regain territory where Spanish is widely spoken. The linguist in me is interested in how Costa Rican Spanish differs from other varieties I’ve heard spoken in Central and South America (the variance in accents and dialects always throws me — I could barely understand the Spanish in Chile!).
I’m looking forward to road-tripping. We’ve lined up a car rental and will be making our way around the country at our own leisure. Liebling will be steering our chariot and I’ll play compass, fearlessly navigating and ensuring we arrive at our destination directly and without delay (or something like that — quite frankly I am horrible at maps and directions).
Looking out over Lima, Peru
Most of all, I am geeked about seeing how the country’s de facto motto, pura vida, manifests itself amongst its inhabitants. Literally translated as “pure life”, pura vida is said to be one of the underlying principles of Costa Rican society. I don’t know about you, but I love a good time, and seek to live my life to the fullest at every opportunity. I can’t wait to be in a place whose vibe aligns with one of my personal credos.
The itinerary
Our time in the country is short: technically we only have about seven days. After consulting various itineraries online, we decided to split our time between La Fortuna (site of the Arenal Volcano), Monteverde (major ecotourism destination and home to the renowned Cloud Forest), and Manuel Antonio (beach! beach! beach!). We arrive and depart from San Jose (the capital), so we managed to carve out a little time there as well. I feel we have a good cross-section in terms of things to see so am quite happy with our itinerary.
So there you have it, our trip to Costa Rica in a nutshell! Watch this space for on-the-fly updates from one of Central America’s most visited countries. Hasta luego, amigos!
Have you ever been to Costa Rica? If not, would you be interested in going? And if you have been, what do you think of our itinerary?
68 Comments
Sounds fun. I hope you have time to vlog in Costa Rica for a bit. Love those vlogs!
I have been vlogging! I would upload but sadly my connection speed here is too darn slow! Will put it up when I get back to NYC!
Ahh, jealous! I want to go to Nicaragua and Costa Rica so badly, but I’m pregnant with my second kid, so it’ll be a little while before I take any big trips.
Oh lovely! Better to wait so the new bundle can enjoy CR as well!
I did one of my internships in Costa Rica many years ago and I’ve been there on four other occasions. My favorite parts of CR are Guanacaste (beautiful beaches, good food,awesome people) and the Caribbean side (imagine Rice and peas, Bob Marley vibe all with a Latin twist…amazing). For your first trip, you are going to all the right spots. 🙂 I love the way Ticos speak Spanish. Its super clear and easy to understand. It will sound very different than the Spanish spoken in South America for sure. Enjoy your trip!
Sadly I wont be able to make it to the Caribbean side this trip. Next time!! Guatemalan Spanish is fairly clear as well!
Hello I’m traveling to Guanacaste soon. Are you aware of the options to getting to nearby countries by boat or place from there? I’m trying to plan a 1-2 day trip from Guanacaste…
I’ve never been to Costa Rica Oneika. In fact, I’ve only ever been to the Dominican Republic as far as the Americas are concerned. I have absolutely no idea why LOL! I’d love to expolre the region one of these days. My ideal thing would be Costa Rica (Yay), Peru, Mexico, and Cuba!!
Your itinerary sounds great. I look forward to reading all about it! Have a great trip!
That’s an ambitious itinerary as Peru and Mexico are huge and Cuba is very rich in history and culture. But I know that you of all people are up to the task!
Costa Rica has been on my radar of late but it may have to wait as I dont have any travel plans for that part of the world just yet but will see what happens towards the end of the year when work slows down.
Well in the meantime I have more CR updates to hopefully pique your curiosity even more!
I havebeen to Costa Rica. It was an awesome experience. I hope you had a lot of fun!
Thank you it’s amazing!
I was in Costa Rica this past summer and went to La Fortuna and Monteverde, so I’m glad that both those places are on your itinerary! We had very cloudy views of the Volcán Arenal but there’s some easy hiking there which was quite fun. Will you do a canopy tour in Monteverde? I had never done one before and it was quite fun!
Yes yes, did a canopy tour, check out my new post!! It was great, even though the weather was not very good!
Spent two weeks in Costa Rica a couple years ago with friends, and we had about the same itinerary. Make sure you wear bug spray/avoid mosquitoes – I brought back a parasite (human botfly) that took weeks to discover 🙁
Also, you’ve inspired me to visit Hong Kong – thanks for the articles and vlogs! I’m going for the first week in April! I hope this Black girl experience will be as great as yours 🙂
Yay! I’m away from the 2nd-11th but if you’re around while I’m in town feel free to hit me up!
I spent a month in Costa Rica and it was amazing! Everything was beautiful! The volcanoes and hot springs in Arenal, the beaches in Manual Antonio, and the laid back atmosphere of Limon were my favorites!
I just got back from Costa Rica. It is absolutely beautiful. I got a chance to go to many of the regions you mentioned (with the exception of Manuel Antonio). I can’t wait to go back! I have been studying Spanish and I love listening to the different accents as well. Their accent is definitely easier for me to understand. One thing I highly recommend is to go ATVing through the country side. Definitely a memory I will never forget. I’m so glad I found this blog. I recently made a new goal to visit at least one country every year. So far I’ve been to the Oaxaca, Mexico region and Costa Rica. I can’t wait to start visiting more countries like you! Keep traveling and sharing your adventures!
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