La Pura Vida

I have spent the better part of the last two weeks in a small beach town in Costa Rica. Tamarindo was not my first choice for Costa Rican destination, thinking I would instead prefer the Caribbean coast. However, the coast was flooded and rain-drenched, so I chose the Pacific and Tamarindo, popular with ex-pats and tourists alike, captured me. Many chastise Tamarindo for not being the “real” Costa Rica. Many complain of the influx of tourists, development and general Westernization. These are facts yes, and truthfully the beach is not even that nice (by Costa Rican standards) but what held me there were the people I met: the human connection. And, of course, the chance to work on my fledgling surfing skills everyday was hard to refuse...
I arrived in Tamarindo on February, 6 after a hot and dusty bus ride or two from San Jose. Tamarindo has the most beautiful sunsets and at low tide, the dark reefs become visible, providing a sharp contrast to the fading pinks and purples. Tamarindo became a charmed place for me that evening when I received a text message from my best friend in Canada, saying she had become engaged that day in Banff, to another long-time friend of mine. Excited and ecstatic for the two of them, so perfectly in love, I immediately warmed to my surroundings and embraced Tamarindo as the backdrop for such life-changing news.
As the days unfolded and melted into one, I met people from all over the world, each with his or her own story to tell and all of us united by one common love: travel. Surprisingly, many of the people I met had quit their jobs, with nothing secured for their eventual return home. Throwing caution to the wind and in search of the next great adventure, these people were inspiring, yet grounded in their reasons and beliefs for their choices. We ventured off to remote beaches, Playa Negra and Playa Avionnas, where I was lucky enough to catch my first “big” wave and surf all afternoon into the setting sun. We sat around our homey, Argentina family-run hostel at night, exchanging laughs and speculating on the cow-friendly theme of the hostel: La Botella de Leche. We ventured out to one of the many bars around Tamarindo offering free drinks for ladies on any given night of the week and frequented local sodas, embracing the national dish casado (rice and beans with chicken or fish). Days were spent surfing at high tide, fighting off sandstorms at the beach and lounging at a nearby pool with a diverse and intellectually stimulating group of young women whose ideas and passion influenced my own direction.
And then I woke up one morning and checked the date and realized I had to leave in the next two days if I was going to make it to Panama City in time for my flight to Rio de Janeiro (via Caracas, Venezeula) for Carnaval. Where had the time gone? I had missed the chance to see some of Panama, namely Bocas Del Toro, but I was at ease with the decision to stay in Tamarindo. Sometimes a girl just needs to plant roots somewhere and stop for awhile. Meet some great people and get to know them long enough that they make her consider things she never questioned before. Give her a new outlook on old perspectives. The people I met in Tamarindo did just that and if it hadn’t been for them, I doubt I would have stayed more than a few days.
Michelle and I arrived in Panama City 3 days ago, with just enough time to visit the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal and tour through the historic, and wildly chaotic, neighbourhoods of Casco Viejo. We also met a couple of great people at our new hostel who had just gotten off the infamous 5 day sailing voyage from Cartagena, Columbia to Colon, Panama. Tales of days on the choppy water, snorkelling, sleeping on deck and drunken sailors made my head ache for a longing for this experience... maybe on the way home? And for now, I am on a layover in Manaus, Brazil awaiting the last leg of a 24 hour journey that will end in Rio de Janeiro and the greatest party on earth. I have been dreaming of Rio since I can first remember visions of travelling and it is hard to believe that in less than 12 hours I will be there...