Saltwater and Schedule-Free – Living Light in Jaco

We have been in Jaco for almost a week now and we are LOVING it! When we were planning our itinerary for the year, we wanted the Costa Rica portion to be our ‘summer’ before we start school. This definitely feels like summer! Our days consist of a combination of activities. Going to the beach, hanging out at the pool, our daily hour of Duolingo, reading, relaxing, taking walks and daily journals. There’s still the tasks of cooking, cleaning, laundry and grocery store runs – but nothing is on a timeline. I’m still on a quest for that pura vida way of life. I have to remind myself to relax (or Dave reminds me), but I’m working on it!

English Echos in a Sea of Spanish

We ran into an American expat on our way to the beach a couple days ago. As we were passing her she looked us up and down and said ‘Well hello there, lovely Americans’. She expressed her excitement to see fellow Americans and we chatted for a bit. She told us she was from Las Vegas, Nevada and has been living in Costa Rica for three years teaching English. It was fun to talk to someone who spoke fluent English. I have noticed lately that I am missing that. Anytime I over hear someone speaking in English I get a little jolt of excitement that I can understand them! We can pick up some words spoken in Spanish, but the progress is slow. As with many things already this year, the difficulty in learning a new language is eye-opening. You bilinguals out there deserve a serious high five!

Familiarity With a Side of Humility

There have been some things in Jaco that are familiar and some that are not. Although our washing machine is old, it’s easy to use and did not require AI for me to operate. Another thing is that dogs here are almost always on a leash. We did not see one dog in La Fortuna on a leash.

Something that is not familiar and that we are still getting used to is the plumbing. These signs are hanging in our bathrooms. I feel like no other explanation is needed here. The only saving grace is that there is a trash shoot in the hallway right outside our condo to easily dispose of stinky trash.

New Things Catching Our Eye

Alexis appreciates the symmetry of the grounds at our condo. Everything is very beautiful! Braxton enjoys watching the iguanas. We see them a lot! I am a little obsessed with the scarlet macaws that fly by every morning and hang out in the trees by the pool. Dave loves the beach and the liveliness of this little town.

I have often dreamed of living at the beach. Our family gap year is probably the closest I will ever get to experiencing that. I’m starting to miss friends and family back home, but feeling unbelievably grateful for this opportunity!