We made it :-)

We’ve been in Playa del Coco for one week now, and we’ve taken to the Pura Vida life like a gecko to Noah’s ceiling (the comparison to be explained later). But before I get into our Costa Rican adventures, let me rewind…

To say that Ken and I didn’t sleep well the night of the 21st would be an understatement. To give a taste of what we were feeling take your: excitement for Christmas as a child, apprehension about the first day of a new job, nervousness for your first day of school, and eagerness for summer break (my teacher friends); ball all that up and you’ll have a taste. Now add to that taking your 5 year old.

Prior to leaving Noah had a few conversations with some family. Here are some of the highlights to those conversations:

Noah would only hug his aunt enough to last until September; he wanted her “miss him a little.”
Noah asked Grandma if he would remember her. My dad and I took this as an opportunity to make comments such as, “Grandma who?”
When Grandpa was leaving he imparted last words of wisdom upon Noah such as: “Don’t talk to strangers.” Noah’s reply: “Except to order dinner.”
Abuela asked if there was space in Noah’s suitcase, he told her, “No way!”

Princess, meanwhile, left for the beach with Grandma and Grandpa, and she never looked back.

Ken and I woke up at 4:30am on July 22nd. We had an uneventful and swift ride from American City Express to the airport. The porter got us checked in, and before we knew it we were sitting at our gate. The time was 6:30am.

Boarding began at 8:05am, and Noah promptly got settled in his first-class seat. Ken and I decided, there’s no sense in hoarding travel points. You get them for a reason, we might as well enjoy them! The 4hr and 35min flight was easy. We watched movies, played games, colored, relaxed… Noah is a great traveler. But, let’s be honest, first class helps!

Approaching for our landing was gorgeous. We saw lush, green mountains. Sandy beaches. Blue ocean. Noah and I believe we spotted our condo!

We had to walk down steps from our plane which was an interesting feat considering the weight of our luggage. Immigration was a breeze, and there were many cabs waiting for us to pick from. It was a short 30min drive from the airport to Playa del Coco, and our driver brought us right to the condo office.

Our condo at Green Turtle was only a short walk away, but we had a lot of luggage, so the cab driver waited while Ken checked in and then drove us to our place. We brought all the luggage in, turned on the AC’s, and began to explore. Ken went back to sign paperwork while Noah and I checked things out. Green Turtle was nice. But it was small. And knowing Ken has to work, having meetings and phone calls would prove difficult in the one-floor, two-bedroom place. It was small. We decided to upgrade a bit and moved on to Coco Sunset Hills. This place is beautiful and an upgrade, for sure.

While the condo management at Tropical Gardens got our new place cleaned up, Noah took a dip in the Green Turtle pool. It was almost TOO warm (if that’s a thing!). We ate lunch at Che Sirloin and enjoyed some passion fruit juice and guanabana juice. By 4:30pm we were at our new place, getting settled. While exploring our roof-top deck, I bumped into a light-bulb which must have been left on for awhile. A hot bulb in the sun = a burned arm. Not the way I wanted to start my trip. But, a little neosporin and view of paradise numbed the pain.

At 5pm we took a walk to the market. It was stocked with all the goodies we might need, and we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of goods. After, we walked to the beach via “Iguana Way.” Both Noah and Ken have never seen the Pacific Ocean. It was such a sweet moment. We strolled, found hermit crabs and shells, and Ken and I looked at each other knowing this was one of our best ideas yet. Family time in paradise.

That night we had dinner at Plato de Luna, owned and operated by a woman from Quebec who has lived here for 10 years. Once finished we hit up the market for some necessities and walked back to the condo. I unpacked Noah’s stuff while Ken got him dressed in his jammies, and Noah was in bed by 8:30pm Costa Rico time (10:30pm EST).

Ken and I weren’t too far behind. I did try to watch the Gold Cup: US vs Costa Rica game (I thought it was fitting that it was on!), but I was asleep before the second half started. Our first day was a success!

Since our first day, each morning has started very similarly: cartoons in Spanish, cereal for the boys, strong Costa Rican coffee for me, and a few hours of relaxing. As I said, the Costa Rican lifestyle is easy to adopt. We’ve walked into town a few times, and we decided that walking is great, but walking back carrying groceries (different things we can’t get in the market) would be difficult, especially with our child. So we are now renting a golf cart!

Here are a few other highlights from our first week:

A boy on the street made a flower and grasshopper from palm leaves – he suckered Ken into giving him some $$, but to be fair he did instantly buy lunch.
We had delicious iced coffee and milkshakes at Java (a local coffee place) under cover during a short rain storm. The only one to date!
We swim in our pool every day for at least an hour or two!

After an amazing dinner at Soda Mediterranea, where we had squid-ink tempura shrimp, grilled squid and shrimp, and homemade sea-food pasta, I was told by a lady at a nearby table: “You have a very grown-up little boy.”
Noah has 2, possibly 3, geckos living in his room. He loves it. It freaks ME out, but he loves it. They live on his ceiling, under his bed… all over. This little guy (pictured below) crawled and ran all over Noah when he was picked up!

The sand in Playa del Coco is brown/black because its proximity to the volcano! But the sand is also so FREAKIN’ hot!!! I learned that the hard way trying to sit while Ken and Noah swam.
I’ve been cooking dinner each night, after which we play a game as a family until Noah’s bedtime.
Each time we leave the house we are “lizard hunting.” We’ve had exceptional success!

Our first week here has felt very normal. It doesn’t feel like a vacation, it just feels like life. And it is a nice, relaxing, comfortable life. Spending time with my son and husband. Taking in our surroundings with very little pressure from the world. A girl could get used to this.