Week 63: Lauren’s Last Week

November 27, 2009 - Filed under Stuff to do, Weekly Report

After a couple of very touristy days, we settled back into the laid back vibe of Tamarindo. Mike and I spent the days working and Lauren made the most of her last week of sun, by alternating between the beach and pool. We had a couple of good meals out, and Lauren finally got to have “Nachos as big as your ass”…. which were actually smaller than all 3 of our asses.

Week 63: Laurens Last Week photo

On Thursday evening we set out on a Turtle Tour in hopes of seeing a nesting Leatherback Turtle on Playa Grande. Playa Grande’s three mile stretch of beach is part of the Las Baulas National Marine park, one of the largest Leatherback Turtle nesting sites in the world, and is strictly regulated in order to help protect the turtles.

Week 63: Laurens Last Week photo
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Posted by: Kelly

Week 62:
A Visitor, a Volcano, and a couple of Van rides

November 17, 2009 - Filed under Stuff to do, Weekly Report

This week we had a visitor. Lauren, a friend from my old work in Vancouver is down visiting, and it’s been a great excuse to be a tourist for a while. We managed to put a few things on hold, and for the first time since we’ve been in Costa Rica, actually took an entire weekend off.

Wednesday was her first full day here, which actually coincided with a scheduled town-wide power outage. Since we couldn’t get any work done, we really had no option but to make it a beach day. The morning started off a little overcast, but by the afternoon it was gorgeous and sunny, and we all got a little burnt. Ooops! To cool off and get out of the sun, we headed to the patio at Witch Rock Surf Camp for some cold beers and a late lunch. Unfortunately the power outage made the menu selection a little thin, and Lauren wasn’t able to fill her craving for Witch Rock’s famous “Nachos as big as your ass”, but we made due with what was available and added nachos to our list of things to do next week.

Week 62: <br />A Visitor, a Volcano, and a couple of Van rides photo
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Posted by: Kelly

Week 61: Where’s the skip button?

November 17, 2009 - Filed under Other

This week has been skipped due to the lack of interesting events in which to post about. Instead here’s a picture of Tamarindo.

Week 61: Wheres the skip button? photo

Posted by: Kelly

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.

Week 59 & 60: Chillin in Tamarindo photo

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Posted by: Kelly

Vote for my Underwater Photography Book!

October 23, 2009 - Filed under Underwater Photography

Vote for my Underwater Photography Book! photo

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!”

Random Factoid: Pura Vida photo

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.

Week 58: Settling In photo

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

Week 56: Costa Rica and our “Casa del Surf”

September 29, 2009 - Filed under Weekly Report

After a great month back in Canada visiting family and friends we were both anxious to get back to what’s become “normal life” for us. We arrived in Costa Rica Saturday night and breezed through customs. The airport in Liberia is super small, basically a converted airplane hanger, and makes arriving in the Costa Rica really easy. Plus, flying into Liberia meant we were only about an hours drive from Tamarindo, instead of the 4-5 hours it would take from San Jose.

I had been to Tamarindo about 6 years ago, and have great memories of it being a sleepy little surf town so convinced Mike it would make a good first stop in our quest for a place to live.

Week 56: Costa Rica and our Casa del Surf photo
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Posted by: Kelly