And for my next trick, I took a mini jaunt around Central America. I didn’t cover much of the area (I do plan to go back), and one country was a repeat – but it was one of the most lovely times I’ve had on my trip so far. Let’s get into it:

Costa Rica (the repeat country): This felt the most like a proper vacation since I started my trip last October. Probably in part because it was with Kelsey – who again joined me in yet another foreign country (we have been to five countries together in the last 8 months, no big deal or anything). She’s the best, and we had an amazing time, even if we both left Costa Rica pale due to our religious application of sunscreen. Our skin will thank us for that in the future, though. I’ll just put on some self-tanner in the meantime for the same effect without the increased risk of cancer! Fun!

Fun fact about Costa Rica: Nosara, Costa Rica is inside of one of the world’s five “blue zones” where people are believed to live longer, happier, and healthier lives. High vibes locales, if you will. The five zones are:  Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, Nuoro Province in Sardinia, Italy, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Icaria, Greece. Kelsey said there’s a really good documentary on the Blue Zones.

Vibe of the moment: ~*~adventures~*~ We had lots of adventures in Costa Rica, yet it was still the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long, long time. We started off in Tamarindo, a more tourist-y and fancy pacific coast destination in CR. It was lovely, but it would soon be topped by Nosara, a smaller and more remote surf-y town further south on the pacific coast. You have to take a 4-wheel drive vehicle and a bunch of sketchy dirt and rocky roads to get there. That was an adventure itself.

In Tamarindo, we started off our first morning with an early morning yoga class on the beach. We got very sandy. The class was much harder than anticipated, but that was nice because I’ve been working on getting my flexibility back. We spent the rest of the day alternating between the lovely beach, the pool, and our AirBnb to take breaks from the intense sun. We also had the most delicious waffles either of us have tried in a while from a place called Waffle Monkey. We ended up going back the next day. We had one bacon and egg waffle, a churros waffle, and an apple pie waffle. All delicious. And now I want a waffle… 

Speaking of food, here are some photos of food and drinks from Central America (delicious):

Our second day in Tamarindo, we took surfing lessons. It was a lot of fun even though the wind was raging and the waves were the biggest and wackiest that I saw on the trip and said waves kept assaulting us in the water. Also, I sprained my ankle – mildly – which took me out of surfing for a little over a week after. But that was okay, because I could still walk just fine. Thank god. 

In the words of the most surfer bro kind of bro that I’ve ever met (on the shuttle to Nicaragua), “are you really learning to surf if you don’t have at least one surf injury?” Fair. 

We also did more fun activities once we got to Nosara, namely zip-lining and a sunset boat trip. Both were fab. The zipline part made me feel like I was a kid again. We started up in the jungle after being bussed up a mountain and across a river (where we got sprayed with water in the ‘chicken bus’ that took us to the ziplines). Then we gradually made our way down over the next couple of hours via eleven ziplines. It was just a blast, and it was gorgeous. We saw monkeys, lots of cool birds, and some neat lizards. It was pretty sick. Neither of us took our phones, so we had some 1990s fun and there is no photo evidence. Sorry, y’all. 

Nosara was one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. It’s a small, relaxed surf town. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but not too bad. The beach was phenomenal, the ocean was a perfect temperature, and we spent our mornings going on long walks (or adventures) and then would lie around the beach and read. Then more walks, and the best tuna carpaccio ever from Howlers, the local bar/restaurant right by the entrance to the beach. I loved it, and I want to go back as soon as possible.

The sunset boat trip that we took from Nosara was also phenomenal. It was the perfect amount of time on the boat – a little under four hours. Sunsets here are just before 6 p.m., so we set off on the catamaran around 2:30. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to snorkel because the sea was rough. But we did get to swim around and lounge on giant floats in the middle of the pacific ocean. We took cute pics, ate good food, met new people, and had solid cocktails. Then the sunset was gorgeous, as always. 

Here’s some photos from the boat: 

Speaking of sunsets. They are so glorious in Central America. In Costa Rica, Kelsey and I would go every night to the beach about 20 minutes before and 20 minutes after the sunset and just stare at it, marvel at how pretty it was, and then take lots of photos. In Nicaragua, I mostly watched it from my hostel – it was a beautiful view, so no need to move.

Accordingly, here is a collection of sunset photos from Costa Rica and Nicaragua:

Nicaragua: After Kelsey sadly departed, I took a shuttle across the border to Nicaragua to stay in San Juan Del Sur for five days. I stayed at a hostel in the middle of the jungle, which felt like a haven for ambiverts. I loved the common space so much that I weathered the lack of AC for four whole days. Which is tough for me (a princess). 

My original goal was to surf as much as possible, but with my mildly sprained ankle, I had to cut back and just do one lesson on one of my last days. I spent most of my days in Nicaragua doing a rotation of the following activities: reading by the pool in the hammocks, writing in the common area by the pool, roasting in the sun (with 50 spf), doing yoga on the mats the hostel provided, chatting with cool randos, and eating good snacks. The hostel was a bit isolated, but it provided free shuttles into town in the ‘chicken bus.’ It was a really relaxing oasis, and I got a ton of writing done and finished reading another book. A lot of people had a similar vibe to me – keeping mostly to yourself but having the occasional chat. I also managed not to get sunburnt the entire trip in Central America (thanks to several bottles of sunscreen and multiple applications a day). 

Other vibe of the moment: Learning more Spanish

One of my favorite things about everywhere that I have been in Latin America is how friendly and helpful the locals are when it comes to trying to learn their language. I took French in school, which was poor judgment on my part because I really wish that I had taken Spanish. Much more practical, but alas. I’ve been using Duolingo here and there to try and teach myself Spanish. I’ve also been watching Narcos and I put on Spanish subtitles for English shows to help my vocabulary. Languages are tough for me, but at least I’m trying.

When I finally felt good enough to do my surf lesson, it was the Sunday before I was about to leave. I was itching for that feeling of standing back up on the board and riding the waves to shore. I took a two-hour private lesson with transportation for $65, and my instructor was awesome. All the surf guys at the company were lovely and encouraging. I love surfing instructors so much, for real. They also helped me practice my Spanish. And I met some cool girlies who were also learning to surf, and we grabbed a couple of drinks and did some people watching of the really good surfers after our lessons. It was a whole vibe. I have now surfed in three different foreign countries, because I am very cool.

Here’s some miscellaneous photos from Nica:

I don’t have another surf trip outright planned yet, which kind of bums me out. I’m leaning towards going to Sri Lanka in late June/early July and checking out the waves there. Or I’ll go back to the Pacific coast of Central America. Stay tuned for more on my surf journey. I’m sure you’re locked in.

Song of the moment: 2 Hands – Tate McRae

Why? Because Kelsey and I couldn’t stop singing this. We even studied the lyrics.

Featured lyrics: all of them. duh.

Listen to the song:

Next stops: briefly back to the USA, then Portugal and Spain