After many months without the opportunity for vacation travel, we finally are at our end of year travel window! After researching a variety of options, we decided to head to Central America: the region is relatively easy to transit, we speak (passable) Spanish, and there are a variety of interesting cultural, natural, and historic sites to visit and many relaxing activities to do (not to mention the delicious food and rum!). We decided to segment the trip, bookending adventure and cultural travel with relaxation on beautiful Pacific and Caribbean beaches. To start, we wanted to revisit a place we’d both been before as children / young adults: Costa Rica! When I visited in 2014, we did a package tour transiting from San José to the Guanacaste Coast; when my husband visited as a child in ~2003, he remembers visiting Guanacaste but without any of the infrastructure we’ve enjoyed thus far. By way of quick orientation, Guanacaste refers to a region on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast (a common misconception is that all beaches are on the Caribbean side). In terms of positioning within Central America, Costa Rica is north of Panama (the southern-most Central American country), south of Nicaragua, and even further south of countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and others (many of which we’ll visit later in the trip!).

We set off bright and early for our multi-flight itinerary to the (new-ish) Liberia, Costa Rica airport via Houston (as you can see on the map above, Liberia is to the northeast of the Guanacaste coast). As we began our taxi away from the gate, the captain came on to let us know we’d been cleared to depart – and all the better that we were 13 minutes ahead of schedule, otherwise we might hit the “break” that Costa Rican Air Traffic Control (apparently) enforces, causing delays or next day arrivals. From the captain’s framing, it sounded like a mandatory electricity shut off, similar to a ration. When we asked our driver, Fernando, about the ATC situation, he prevaricated and said that Costa Rica has no electricity shut offs and has no precedent for that issue (he did mention that Costa Rica, in fact, has a hard policy that no local flights transit the nation’s airspace after dark and we were scheduled to land about 30 minutes after sunset; it’s unclear if this restriction includes international flights). From my own research, apparently the country experienced a complete ATC radar outage (due to lack of a backup power supply) in late September that has caused significant worry, especially for this regional airport.

For what it’s worth, we’re driving from Guanacaste to San José for our onward flight to El Salvador (in the hopes that the main airport which serves international flights to destinations beyond the continental USA will be more consistent). According to our driver / guide, Fernando, it’ll be a painful ~6 hour drive as “rush hour” lasts from 9am-3pm and 4pm-8pm and the highest speed limit in the entire country is 90kph (roughly 55mph; however, the drive itself is the adventure planned for that day!). His preferred departure time for that route is about 1am, which didn’t seem especially feasible to us, but makes sense if you’re someone who drives tourists in traffic day in and day out while knowing there’s a more efficient way.

The drive was anticipated to be 1.5 hours but ended up being condensed to about 1 (we hit that 8pm traffic-free sweet spot after about 15 minutes of traffic from the airport!). Along the way, we started talking with our driver, Fernando, who is also a tour guide and, formerly, an English teacher. One of the first things we noticed is that a lot of the Costa Rican signs are in English – leading to a question about the prevalence of foreigners in the area. Apparently, English (and Italian) are both “official” languages of the country (quick fact check: I can’t find anything that verifies this online; Spanish is the “official” language and then the next most commonly spoken languages are indigenous, followed by English and then a variety of European languages including Italian and German).

One of the main reasons for the signage in English (and Italian or Chinese, among others) is the significant number of American, Canadian and European retirees who come to Costa Rica, largely due to the excellent exchange rate and relatively permissive residency laws. From what Fernando shared, you can gain residency via marriage, birth of a child (it’s unclear if this is birthright for the child only or the parent and child; he did mention that if you father a child while abroad, you are able to retroactively claim citizenship for the child even if the mother is not Costa Rican and the child was not born in the country), or by owning property (including homes, cars, anything that ‘ties’ you physically to the land). Since many retirees buy property, that’s an easy residency avenue.

Costa Rica also has socialized healthcare, which means that retirees can access public clinics at no cost and private clinics should they choose to pay out of pocket. Interestingly, he did mention that as American tourists, we should avoid private clinics should (god forbid) we have a medical incident here, since American insurance is seen as a money pit and private clinics will charge you as much as they suspect insurance might reimburse you (and spoiler knowing the US: you’ll be stuck with the full amount!). However, as with most other places in the world, a public clinic would charge us a few hundred bucks for treatment (or just charge for the medications) should we break a bone or similar.

As we continued to pass signs in English (including those advertising for Italian, Chinese, and Indian restaurants), we learned several tidbits (again, these are all anecdotal, certainly not fact-checked):

• Signage, intuitively, largely represents the most common language spoken in a specific community. I joked that a friend who used to live here referred to the popular Tamarindo beach area as “Tamagringo” (Gringo being a Spanish language term for white Americans who do not speak Spanish) and Fernando readily confirmed that perception; he also mentioned that Coco Beach is largely referred to by locals as “Gringolandia” (“Gringo Land”). In both cases, a ton of American / Canadian retirees have moved in, bought property, and essentially established English-speaking colonies along the beaches
• Interestingly, the Indian diaspora to the United States and Canada has led to a similar influx of Indian retirees to Costa Rica, and they too are perceived as “Gringos” given their US / Canada passports and lack of proficiency in Spanish; we didn’t have the heart to tell him we didn’t need to seek out a “curry and naan restaurant” to try Indian cuisine here, given the Bay Area has a huge Indian community!
• Because of the significant American and Canadian populations, Costa Rica has informally adopted both countries’ Thanksgiving days as a holiday
• As a primarily Catholic country, Costa Rica celebrates Christmas regardless, but Fernando did mention that its increasingly common for people to use American-style decorations, such as festive holiday lights, blow-up Santa Claus or reindeer yard decor, and to sing English Christmas carols, even if they don’t speak English (he seemed dismayed to learn that Americans in the US who also don’t get snow for the holidays still put up the snowman decor!)
• We noted the availability of largely smooth, paved roads throughout our drive from the airport to the nature reserve where our hotel is; I joked that when I visited in 2014, our guide called the drive a free “Costa Rican massage” and Fernando said he usually just calls it a “free car massage” although some guides still use the phrase I joked about in farther-flung areas of the country

In the darkness between small towns along the road, we then segued to a discussion of what to do and avoid in Costa Rica. Fernando was effusive (as all Costa Ricans have been) about enjoying the country – and this cultural pride of place includes not just typical enjoyment of the different activities, views, wildlife, etc., but a much deeper enjoyment of being. It almost seems like a cultural ethos of gratitude, but in a more inherent and less performative way than how folks in North America express their thanks for various privileges. Costa Ricans often say (and seem to live) the phrase “Pura Vida” which literally means “Pure Life” but translates to “Good Life” as in, we’re alive and in a beautiful place – what could be bad, it’s all good? To be clear, there is widespread poverty, income / wealth inequality, and life isn’t always good here on an individual or even community level – but the attitude (overall) has been one of good vibes and coexistence with the environment.

That being said, Fernando did caution us that we should be mindful of two things: 1) always look out for yourself and 2) don’t break local laws (and the implied undertone here was “especially since this is not your country to break laws in”). For 1, as with everywhere worldwide, of course there are those who take advantage of unsuspecting tourists by swiping an unwatched bag on the beach should they see an opportunity. For 2, he explicitly said that tourists are welcome to get drunk – rip roaringly drunk, in fact – but drugs are illegal here and tourists should never, ever overextend their welcome by bringing them in or doing them. Similarly, drunks like to fight; he explicitly said that, “If you drink, don’t fight with locals, because they will kill you. That’s the truth” (also: see #1).

As we bounced over the speed bumps blockading the entrance of each small town along the way, we then moved to some interesting cultural history topics. These included (again, not fact-checked):

• Guanacaste is known as the “Texas” of Central America given its significant ranching trade; we passed several towns including Filadelfia de Guanacaste (formerly “Seven Leathers” in English) that referenced this. Our resort also has incredible local steak on the menu! The secret (oops…): cilantro chimichurri sauce (instead of parsley!)
• Costa Rica still has a significant indigenous presence; I asked whether or not these indigenous populations had ties to the Maya, as we’re planning to visit Maya ruins on other stops on our itinerary, and he shared that Costa Rica actually was colonized historically by the Maya and Aztecs from the north (think Chichén Itzá) as well as the Incas (think Machu Picchu) from the south. The Caribbean side of the country also has 20+ indigenous groups!
• As with all of Central America, Costa Rica also has a complicated relationship with colonization by the United States; Fernando seemed shocked we hadn’t heard of “Minor Keith” (an American) who was one of the most prominent railroad barons to make his way through the region in the late 1880s (back when Costa Rica was a ‘banana republic’ so to speak). Interestingly, Minor Keith began his legacy in the Caribbean, and when Costa Rican pastures called, brought many Jamaican and other Caribbean nationals to Costa Rica to (essentially) act as indentured servants and laborers to build his railroad. He’d also spent significant time in Korea, Japan, and China and brought a variety of Asian workers to do similar roles. As a result, certain parts of Costa Rica have extremely large Jamaican, Chinese, and Korean populations (to the point where Fernando has been a guide for various families from Jamaica and China who came to Costa Rica seeking out long lost relatives and actually found them due to impressive record keeping – apparently last names are specific enough in Costa Rica to provide good clues as to a family descendant’s local whereabouts!). We did pass several (very authentic looking) Chinese restaurants with signage in Chinese, which was fascinating!

Fortunately, we made such good time that we were at the resort in roughly an hour total. We’ve since spent the past several days enjoying relaxation in the sun and all the offerings that a resort within a nature preserve can offer (our resort is within Reserva Conchal with access to the gorgeous Playa Conchal beach).

We’ve seen a good number of animals on the short walk from the resort to the beach through the jungle, including monkeys (one kept howling, and a staff member said “he’s old and grumpy”), iguanas of various sizes, and some beautiful birds of every tropical color and size. There are also several large termite nests in trees and (supposedly) the famous Costa Rican sloths (there is a ‘sloth trail’ on the property that we need to visit!). We’ve also seen some GIANT bugs – one huge moth as well as a caterpillar about the size of a mouse (no joke, we thought it was a napkin until it moved).

We’ve made friends with the staff and are actively trying to practice our Spanish – in one amusing Spanish snafu, my husband was attempting to order a rum neat (since it’s mostly used in mixed drinks) and ended up saying, “Quiero tocar solo” (“I want to touch [it] alone”) instead of “tomar” (“I want to taste it by itself”) which led to some weird looks (on the staff’s part) and riotous laughter (on my part).

Amusingly, we also have experienced one of Fernando’s parting anecdotes ourselves: he cautioned that, if we hearing kissing noises, there’s a gecko nearby (not a human weirdo!) and to always check under the covers because even in nice hotels, critters such as ants or scorpions can be lurking. Upon arrival in our room, we immediately found a fire ant in the shower we lovingly named “Ant-Drew” (and a second one we later dubbed “F-ant-a” (“Fanta”) wandering the balcony). High on our travel delirium and amusement at the ant, we pulled back the covers… to discover a little spider creeping around. We howled. Sadly, it was quickly dispatched.

For those wondering, Ant-Drew in the bathroom continues to live on, at least as of our final night!

Of course, we’ve also greatly enjoyed the food here! Since we’ve stayed at the resort, we haven’t gotten the full experience of Costa Rican cuisine, but have had the chance to try a variety of items, including:

• Gallo Pinto, one of the national dishes of Costa Rica (and Nicaragua – the border is only ~2 hours away). Gallo Pinto is a dish of rice and beans, cooked with garlic, onion, and oregano – it’s simple but delicious and perfect with pico de gallo!
• Pollo Guisado (chicken stew) – a tomato-based chicken stew with potatoes, flavored with sofrito (a blend of garlic, onion, and peppers, similar to the ‘holy trinity’ in New Orleans cuisine)
• Rondón, a coconut-based, spicy veggie stew from the Caribbean side of the country (it was very flavorful but not spicy, so I suspect they held off for us Gringos)
• Lizano sauce – a Costa Rican condiment that is sweet and slightly sour (it reminds me of a sweeter, ready-to-eat version of Worcestershire sauce)
• A variety of salsa picantes (hot sauces) – unlike vinegar-based hot sauces in the US, these are creamier and use peppers like habanero and ghost chili (bhut jolokia)
• Potato empanadas – delicious little pouches made with a corn dough (similar to corn tortillas)
• Fried plantains – slightly crispy and fork tender, sweet but still savory
• House pickled veggies such as jalapenos, pico de gallo, etc.
• Fresh seafood, including Caribbean lobster, shrimp (not pictured: the Costa Rican version of gambas al ajillo, aka shrimp with garlic – in Spain, they make it with olive oil and here with butter. Butter was so decadent and delicious! I also love that the shrimp are much smaller and therefore more tender), and squid
• Incredible steak – again not pictured, but absolutely delicious; as with many Latin American countries, they use chimichurri sauce but use cilantro instead of parsley
• An absolutely wonderful (surprisingly vegan!) ceviche (it’s traditionally made with fresh fish or shellfish, in which the fish is ‘cooked’ with citrus). Hearts of Palm are very common in Costa Rica and were a primary component of the dish, adding a really nice texture. We initially didn’t realize it was vegan, but it was so good we weren’t even sad to miss out on fish!

On our final full day in Guanacaste, we opted to do a 2-hour guided jet ski tour of the local coastline. I purchased a GoPro for our snorkeling expedition in Belize, so I wanted to test it out and get a feel for the functionality. We were warned beforehand that this area of Costa Rica’s coast doesn’t have great snorkeling for fish (we didn’t see any fish with the exception of some minnows), but we did end up seeing some beautiful starfish, crabs, and some nice rocks (we’ll take what we can get!).

This was our first time on jet skis, but after a very basic orientation we were speeding at 50kph up the coastline toward Flamingo Beach! Based on the driving distance (12.5km), I suspect we probably did 20-25km of travel roundtrip with ~5 stops along the way.

The water is gorgeous, varying between teal, turquoise and a deep blue depending on where you are (and how far from the shoreline you are). Jet skis are a fun vehicle to operate – it takes a little bit to get used to navigating the waves and wake turbulence (especially at speed!). Along the way, we stopped at a popular cliff diving area in Playa Conchal. From there, we made our way past Brasilito Beach and Flamingo Beach.

Continuing northward, we had a stop at Playa de la Plata (on the Isla Plata, top island in the screenshot above) where we did a little snorkeling. It’s absolutely stunning and photos don’t quite do it justice. Isla Plata also has “Monster Cave” which is entered via a very narrow crevice in the rocks (it’s only accessible during lower tides, as it fills with water from the sea-side opening that isn’t accessible without a boat).

We spent the majority of our in-water time around this area, where I tested out the GoPro.

We didn’t see many fish (as expected), but did see beautiful starfish (don’t worry, they were only out of the water momentarily and were returned to their home rock!), a few crabs, and some nice rock features.

From there, we circled up towards the northernmost part of our tour, including another little inlet (not a full cave, though).

After that, we sped back to Playa Conchal where we hung out by the pool and relaxed for the remainder of the day! Tomorrow we have our overland drive to San José, in preparation for our flight onwards.