You didn't think I was actually gonna leave out what happened did you? Costa Rica 2018

Did I trick you? I guess having the posts be chronologically backwards doesn't actually leave me with the element of surprise. This post is going to be short and sweet, just to document where we stayed and what we did in the loosest terms.

First, shout-out to Corey (if he ever sees this post) for driving the duration of the trip. We dealt with some poorly maintained, unpaved roads through the mountains as well as pouring rain and he handled all of it amazingly, even with to shrieking passengers. I definitely recommend driving around if you visit, but make sure you have someone comfortable with mountain roads and driving in rain storms.

Stop #1/5: San Jose

• Lodging: Hotel Sura B&B
• I arrived 24 hours before Corey & Jenna, so I explored the city by foot using some walking tours I found online
• Wildlife sitings: birds, dogs, cats
• My favorite lodging, I felt like a guest of the family

Stop #2: Arenal

• Lodging: Hotel La Pradera del Arenal
• Home of La Fortuna waterfall, La Fortuna volcano, Mistico hanging bridges, and Los Perdidos hot springs
• Wildlife sitings: beetles, ants, fish, hummingbirds, spiders, prehistoric birds
• My favorite place in terms of activities meets relaxation in the face of overwhelming natural beauty

Stop #3: Monteverde

• Lodging: Cabinas Vista al Golfo
• Don Juan Chocolate/Coffee/Sugar cane tour
• Santa Elena Cloud Forest National Park
• Wildlife sitings: anteaters, butterflies, more birds
• My favorite hike

Stop #4: Quepos

• Lodging: Hy Paradise Inn
• Manuel Antonio National Park
• Wildlife sitings: crocodiles, monkeys, sloths, howler monkeys, crabs

No financial post, since I wouldn't be able to give an estimate that would be satisfactorily accurate. But safe to say it's a pretty cheap place to visit, except be aware that every you do will cost money. It's not a place where "once you get there, you just have to buy your food". You will pay for each and every activity and park entrance, because that's how the country makes its money. If you eat Costa Rican food at local places, your food will definitely be the least expensive category, but there are many places that cater to tourists with higher prices or foreign foods that inherently cost more. There were very few places where we could not pay in USD, so you can get some Colones (the local currency, $1 USD ≅ 500 colones) but reserve them for when you need them and use USD or credit card if you have no fees.

Costa Rica is the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation with a lot of wildlife and outdoor activities. I recommend hoping city to city as we did, because most people told me they got bored trying to stay in once place the whole time. You can customize you experienced based on what exactly you are looking for, and continue to change your daily plans based on how you feel. It's a choose-your-own-adventure kind of vacation destination, and well worth the trip.

¡Pura Vida!

So I went to Costa Rica and forgot to blog about it

For the first time in a long time, I left the country and didn't write anything about it. Ever since I studied abroad in 2011, I have chronicled my travels on this webpage, bringing everything I do back to this outlet. I usually had a paper journal as well to jot down notes and thoughts as I traveled. I even started incorporating financial posts over the past few years, as I figured out how to travel on a budget while being supported by governmental and parental loans. However, I didn't realize until halfway through my trip that I had not even thought about blogging.

This trip felt very different than prior trips. We changed our planned destination about a month before we left, and lived in the moment with the exception of places to stay. These things aren't bad, they are just very different than my characteristic over-planning with knowledge of the details down to the minutiae.  I think it reflects a change in my life overall since my last trip, and the reality that my travels now serve as an escape from a very planned and overfilled life. Last time I had a trip like this was when Jenna and I traveled across the west coast in her car right before I started medical school. Maybe it's her free spirited influence that causes me to forget my planning peculiarities.

Intern year was everything and nothing that I expected. I have gained a family of over 100 co-residents, supportive faculty mentors, and a new city to call my home away from home. I have worked crazy hours, felt burnt out, and questioned my calling to medicine. Many of the emotions I have felt this year I have only shared with a select few, and I don't think there is a person on this planet who fully understands what I have been through this year. But that being said, the minute Jenna and I got back together, I had my other half alongside me and all of that craziness didn't matter anymore. It wasn't until after we were back from our adventure that we reflected and realized (only thanks to our manicurist asking if we were sisters or friends) that we have been friends for 15 years. YES, 15 YEARS AND SHE HASN'T GOTTEN SICK OF ME YET. That's got to be some kind of miracle. Even across this entire country, with time zones and conflicting schedules trying to separate us, we have managed to stay in each other's lives in a meaningful way, and replenish our friendship with trips to visit each other and to experiences new places.

So I thought about trying to back-track and blog the adventures of this trip, so that my blog would continue as it was before, summaries of the places I visited and what I do and don't recommend. I even tried to figure out my finances retrospectively (because tracking those closely as I usually do fell to the wayside as well). But it just doesn't feel necessary. It's been laid out in instagram posts of my food, her videos of animals, and go-pro adventures caught by Corey.

I loved Costa Rica. It was beautiful and wild, filled with kind people accepting of our Spanglish vocabulary. I feel rejuvenated and relaxed, ready to face the rest of intern year and residency with the continued support of my wonderful friends on the east coast and the west.