Week 59 & 60: Chillin’ in Tamarindo

October 27, 2009 - Filed under Weekly Report

First off, sorry this is so late. To be honest I’ve kind of been putting it off, as we don’t really have much to report. It looks like the rainy season has finally started here in Costa Rica. Its been the driest October on record, but over the last week or so, the rain has really started to fall. (Of course as I sit here and type this it just happens to be gorgeous and sunny, which figures since today is a work day!)

We have managed to get to the beach a couple of times in between showers, but for the most part we’ve been holed up in our apartment where the work seems to be piling in.

Playa Tamarindo

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Posted by: Kelly

Vote for my Underwater Photography Book!

October 23, 2009 - Filed under Underwater Photography

Underwater Photography Book

I’ve finally gotten around to putting all of my underwater photography from our year in Southeast Asia into a book. Just in time for Blurb’s “Best Books Contest”. Finalists are based on the number of votes so this is where you come in. Please go here and vote for my book! You’ll need to register (so they can make sure people only vote once) but it’s quick and it would mean a lot to me.

Vote for my book here! (Click the blue ‘Vote’ button on the top left of the page)

You can even purchase it, if you want your very own copy (but don’t worry, it’s not required to vote).

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Posted by: Kelly

The result of a quarter-life crisis

October 22, 2009 - Filed under General

Last week, I was reading Shannon’s RTW (Round the World) trip blog and came across a post about the moment she committed to a RTW trip. She mentions that she was going through “what can only be described as my quarter-life crisis.” And I had to consider how much of what I’ve done this last year has been due to a similar circumstance?
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Posted by: Shim

Random Factoid: Pura Vida

October 14, 2009 - Filed under Random Factoid

Costa Rica’s unofficial motto “Pura Vida” literally translates to “Pure Life”, but is often used in everyday conversation to say “Cool” or “Everything’s awesome!”

Tamarindo, Costa Rica - Beautiful Sunset! Pura Vida.

But the phrase isn’t another of the many tiquismos, or Costa Rican slang terms. It’s believed to have actually originated in Mexican movies of the 1950’s and then became wildly popular in Costa Rica.

Posted by: Shim

Week 58: Settling In

October 13, 2009 - Filed under Weekly Report

It’s amazing how fast you can settle in to a routine. We’ve been in our new place for less than three weeks and already it feels like home. As Mike mentioned last week, we’ve both been trying to work off all the beer and deep fried foods we consumed last year in Asia, and work is starting to pick up. Unfortunately this all makes for rather boring blog posts, but hey, it can’t always be Saturday.

living room & kitchen

We did however take a little bit of time out this week. On Wednesday we rented a motorbike and drove up to Playa Grande, a 3 mile stretch of beach, about 30 mins north of Tamarindo. The beach of Playa Grande forms part of Las Baulas, National Park, so remains practically untouched by development. Read More…

Posted by: Kelly

Week 57: Workout Week

October 5, 2009 - Filed under Weekly Report

When we left Vancouver a year ago I was a not-so-svelte 210 lbs. Not exactly a lightweight anymore, I had put on quite a bit of weight over the previous couple of years when a shoulder injury had sidelined me from active sports. With this last year abroad being a barrage of new foods, a lot of beer on the beach, and the lack of gym time, I continued the climb up to 225 lbs. Back in Vancouver this last visit, I made a travel resolution to get into a workout regimen when we got settled in Costa Rica.
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Posted by: Shim