weekly recap #36 – samara, carrillo

q. current home/addy where i stayed (neighbourhood) and how long
a. samara (airbnb, 3 nights), carrillo (villa, 4 nights)

q. favourite meal
a. i usually have such an easy time picking out something for this question but the last few weeks have been rather mundane on my end.  costa rican is relatively straight forward in terms of flavours.  there isn’t a whole lot of spice nor flavouring being added to the mix and meals lately have been more out of necessity than out of desire.  we’ve been cooking many meals at home with whatever vegetables we can find (heart of palm salads are our current flavour of the week)

q. most memorable moment / best highlight
a. full, uninterrupted days on the beach.  a ten minute walk from our rental home to the beach is the extent of our daily commute and between reading, snacking, rum & cokes and swimming, we have nothing else that takes up our time.  we’ve ventured out to a good number of beaches this year but it has always required a train, taxi or car ride of some sort and also requires the same commute home in the dark.  i’ve never been to a beach as quiet and as beautiful (partially because it being so quiet) as carrillo before and this last stop is just what the doctor ordered.

q. greatest challenge
a. coming to terms that this year (ok, more like 9.5 months) of traveling, exploring and running from responsibilities is almost over.  we have a week left before we’re back in vancouver and have to start dealing with such things like figuring out where to live, how to start padding the ol’ bank account again and generally, staying grounded and within the country for at least the next six months (yes, that’s an arbitrary number).  a far cry from having to figure out how, why and when we’re going to head to our next destination as well as budgeting our daily expenses.  both of us have a tendency to be quite simple and frugal when it comes to our day to day living and i think that we’ll be even more conscious of doing so after having watched our finances so closely since january.  having said that, i can’t believe it has flown by so quickly 🙁

q. what i miss most from home
a. powder.  it’s everywhere right now except… here.

q. next stop
a. the capital of costa rica, san jose, for a few days of urban life and then we’re headed back home.

q. weirdest observation about current culture
a. the women in central america have amazingly hairy arms.  this is a generalization of course but i have noticed an overwhelming number of arms that have more hair than my legs.  in some cases, the legs were clean-shaven/waxed but the arms still looked like a mangrove.  some of these women were also quite petite so i’m not singling out the large & in charge ladies.  i don’t know what else to say about this situation so that is all.

q. one tip i would give myself if i were to come back
a. same tip as the previous week… rent a car.  it will also help to have a job before the next time i visit costa rica and have a budget that allows us creature comforts such as wheels and more restaurant meals.

q. friends i’ve hung out with/visitors
a. just us two.

***q. one random/weird/cool thing i learned about the country i’m staying in
a.

q. one new experience/memory that will stick with me
a. i’ve never taken a vacation of this length (speaking of the last 2 weeks that we’ve been on the beaches of tamarindo, samara and carrillo) only to stay mostly sedentary.  with the exception of a few days spent surfing and one daytrip on a boat, we spent the majority of the days walking to and from the beach and watching the sun rise & fall with the waves.  under normal circumstances, i would be stir crazy and feel completely unproductive but i suppose that’s what has changed for me this year.

q. portion of luggage that’s been the most & least useful
a. i haven’t worn anything aside from my boardshorts, two tanktops and my sandals for more than the last week.  i wonder if i could get by with a 24L pack the next time i’m doing a short trip to a warm destination.