Three months in Costa Rica - The end

This is it, I'm on the plane, flying out of San Jose. Three months have passed already, my 90 days in Costa Rica are over. With tears in my eyes I realize how attached I have become to this country and how much I have experienced here. Initially I thought I had scheduled too much time here, but now, 3 months later, I feel it wasn't even enough. Let me stay!

And actually, I could stay, just a short bus trip to Panama would have been enough to re-enter and get a new 90-day visa. But I know it is time to move on, it is important for me to keep going forward on my journey and stick to my next plans. And I'm also very much looking to what is ahead.

On my first days in the Costa Rican jungle I didn't think I'd ever stand the heat and humidity for so long, but now I am very sad to leave and wish I could stay longer, much longer. This country gives me a feeling of richness, abundance, it is so alive. And it turns out that humidity is actually very beneficial for this life all around, even for my body, and my skin! Sure I've lost a few items in my backpack to mold (and almost the backpack itself), but I haven't used any moisturizer or even any face cream this whole time in Costa Rica. I've spent the last 2 weeks eating food almost exclusively grown right there in the farm surrounding us within a nuturing community. I arrive back at the hostel in San Jose and find a group of super sweet people who instantly become close girlfriends. Yoga and/or meditation has become for me a daily practice and I'm loving giving classes.

I also got really attached to the lovely people I met and feel I've made important new friends. Waking up every morning around happy people, all grateful for being here, fun and deep conversations but also sometimes simple, light and easy exchanges. Of course in these trainings we are all on 'vacation' or travelling, so it is probably normal to be so chill. But I do think the good vibes of Costa Rica itself had alot to do with the good vibes and it was also the relationships with the locals - most of the ones I've met and talked to and lived with are very much 'Pura Vida', enjoying life, living very much connected to the nature, their environment, their communities, conscious of the richness and beauty around them and working together to keep it up. And I've also grown very attached to one specific person and farm somewhere close to Quepos... my heart will probably still stay there for a while.

It also turns out that nature in Costa Rica was not as bad I thought it would be. I was in nature, in the wild, A LOT but haven't been surrounded by snakes nor spiders as much as I had feared. Ok I was really careful, watching where I put each step and not venturing out alone too far. But still I felt the giant spiders usually stayed in their webs away from the path, or on the bathroom walls but not too close either. That giant moth that one time was kind of scary but also just stayed up on the ceiling around the light. And the little crab in my mosquitoes net was really just lost, meant no harm and only wanted to get out of there. I would say I'm usually very scared of insects and critters, so I thought the Costa Rica jungle would be the biggest challenge for me, but nope, all good, chill. Okay the mysterious itchy bites (ants?) at the very end were pretty bad, but that was just one week out of 12. And, true, I wasn't sleeping in a tent in the woods like Gabe and Sophie nor woke up to a scorpion on my pillow like Chris at Finca Tierra, that would probably have made my experience very different.

While Chile was a place of contemplation, reflecting, inner healing, starting of a journey, mysticism, connecting to ancestral wisdom, emotional healing, meaningful conversations, supportive friendships, beneficial solitude and other grounding experiences, Costa Rica was a place to start living again, to expand and explore, face some fears, ride horses in the jungle, do yoga surrounded by monkeys in the trees, spend weeks with a nurturing yoga tribe by the ocean, laughing with roommates and friends, experience the richness of nature and enjoying the sweetness of freshly picked tropical fruits and local abundance in our plates.

I feel healthy, happy and nurtured!

Hearts = all the places I've stayed at, flags = where I have gone through

Some of my best moments in Costa Rica:
- seeing my first sloths in San Jose on the university campus forest
- entering the butterfly garden and the little magical jungle path on campus
- meeting my cool friend Lochmam from the very start in San Jose and nice people in the hostel
- arriving in the jungle at Hacienda Mil Bellezas and having 3 tiny kittens on my lap
- super nice times with the other volunteers Nikki, Morgan, Vuk, Cassi, Julia and during our dinners
- romantic date in the jungle and totally falling in love with Luis
- primal emotions retreat in Pachamama, sharing deep moments with new friends and living in a cabin around monkeys, hummingbird and armadillos in the jungle
- sunset in San Juanillo beach
- loving time at Matilde's with Nissa and Raquel and their sweet dogs and cat, cosy Christmas family time with them and delicious food
- amazing scenery, yoga classes by Elena and fresh air at the forest yoga lodge and meeting new friends and singing with Janice
- New Year yoga session and letting go ritual
- authentic rural Costa Rican experience staying with Luis and his family
- jungle hike up to move his cows from pastures
- Manuel Antonio park visit with instant friend Alexia met in the bus, lots of monkeys, raccoons, pacas and white sand/turquoise ocean beaches
- Uvita walk to the Whale's tail
- the whole Yoga Teacher Training, the full moon opening circle, sister-like roommates and peers, crazy laugh when the crab was in my mosquito net, teaching my first yoga class, sunrise every morning, ceremonies, every meal so delicious, deep conversations, gallopping on a horse across the fields, climbing the giant tree and rappelling down a huge waterfall, and more
- coming back to the city San Jose and to the Garden hostel every few weeks to recover from the heat and humidity, wash and dry all my belongings and have a few city days with good internet to write my blog and hang out with other travellers in transit
- meeting Sylvie playing her accordeon in our hostel back in the city
- meeting up with Samantha again sharing vegan burger and yoga training experiences
- teaching my first offical classes after YTT at the hostel!
- teaching yoga at Rodolfo's and having lots of fun with him, Africa and Rocio
- our river jungle hike with 3 big dogs coming out of nowhere
- permaculture course getting muddy, using the machete, eating sugar cane, learning and doing with a really cool group of people, awesome food directly from the vegetable garden, fruit trees and paddies
- baby sloth cuddle puddle and baby monkeys at the jaguar rescue center with Mallory
- being back 'home' in my hostel in San Jose meeting my girlfirends there again and feeling so cosy and homey :-)

What I learned during these 3 months:
- how/where to spot a sloth roaming free in San José
- how to deal with the high himidity, save most of my stuff and accept a few things being ruined
- how to care for horses on a daily basis and try to save one from dying from a colique (which sadly didn't work and we lost Rose)
- how to bottlefeed tiny kittens
- how to plant and transplant tropical plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies
- how to bottle feed a baby lamb but then accepting to having to let it die because it just wasn't getting better
- accepting that having a farm with animals inevitably makes you witness animals being sick and dying when nothing can be done to save them
- to recognize sounds of hummingbirds, toucans, oropendulas, howler monkeys, geckos and frogs
- how to use a semi-automatic washing machine with separate spinner
- how to express primal emotions in a safe space and connect with my inner child to heal and grow
- how to make escabeche, fried pineapple, sugar cane juice, fermented vegetables, and more
- what culantro, starfruit, breadfruit, yucca, water apple, chayote, fresh heart of palm and many more fruit and vegetable look and taste like
- a LOT about yoga and how to teach it
- about Ayurveda and my dosha type
- how to rappel down a waterfall
- how to stay on a horse while it gallops and even bucks
- that rivers in Costa Rica are actually safe to swim in
- how to wait on tables
- how to sing a bit better, thanks to Janice
- how pelicans and hermit crabs live their lives at the beach
- the difference between howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capucins and squirrel monkeys
- lots about sloths and monkeys
- how to sharepen and use a machete, all about vetiver grass, how to plant yucca and sweet potatoe, prepare a new vegetable bed, make compost, make kimchi, design a piece of land and a lot more permaculture principles
- and alot more I can't even think of right now

A few accomplishments:
- became a yoga teacher! and gave my first official classes at a hostel and at a Workaway (that was even my job!)
- got certified for taking a 72-hour permaculture design course
- got a bit better at riding and handling horses
- faced many fears living in so much jungle nature and around so many animals but also daring to show up in challenging situations, share emotions and speak up in front of a group or a class
- made many new important friends

7 months into my year of travels, do I have a better idea of what I want to be doing with my life afterwards? Not yet, but I do have more and more clues!

What have I realized during these 3 months:
- all the things that really made me happy and joyful in my 3 months in Costa Rica: waking up in nature, eating food grown directly on site, harvesting my own fruit and vegetables, eating vegetarian food in a well organized community, being around cute dogs and cats, seeing wild animals all around, seeing the positive effect a yoga class can have on my students, being surrounded by supportive kind and caring people sharing similar values - could these be part of my everyday life after travelling?
- that I can actually handle pretty well living in challenging environments like a open bunkhouse, mixed dorm with roommates and in conditions I initially thought would be too hard to handle
- that I am still not homesick for probably 2 reasons. 1 is that I have no home to be homesick of anymore since I have no appartment left and 2 that I have been able to make myself feel at home in almost every place that I have been, creating a homey space around me everywhere I go.

What is it about Costa Rica that made me love it so much?
- the deep serenity I felt every morning walking up in the jungle with the sounds of the howler monkeys and all other wild animals
- the gratitude and happiness I felt every night falling asleep in the jungle at Hacienda Mil Bellezas, Finca Tierra, Pachamama and Ojo del Mar, feeling protected under my mosquito net yet open to nature
- the homey feeling anywhere I went, even during the transition days in the city and grateful anytime I had freshly washed clothes and good smelling sheets
- the connection and care I felt from the people I met all along, in every single place I stayed, especially those with whom I spend the longest time at Ojo del Mar and Finca Tierra
- the incredible views, nature scenery, beauty of the jungle, the trees the plants, the ocean, the beaches, the animals, rivers, waterfalls, natural pools - I was in awe at this beauty every day
- simply spending so much time in nature
- the potential dream of moving here and living on a farm with a beautiful sunset view on the ocean (with a special person I met close to Quepos ;-))
- the hundreds more possibilites and places still to go discover
- the Pura Vida vibe in the whole country, the kindness and gentleness of the people there
- the Costa Rican spanish accent and expressions, just love this language, the pronunciation of the words Costa Rica and tierra.

Do I have any regrets?
- maybe just not seeing any sea turtles, this was one of my initial reasons for wanting to go to Costa Rica: to go volunteer rescuing sea turles. I didn't have time in the end but I'm actually okay about missing that - I experienced so many other things!

What I will NOT miss:
- the extreme humidity, moldy smell of clothes that just won't dry and discovering things in my bag slowly getting covered in mold
- the heat, let's be real it was quite hard to stand and I did not have mcuh energy during the hottest times of the day and I'm not sure I could live here and be productive working, or maybe I could get used to it after a while?
- the unknown insects bites in the first week at Finca Tierra on my arms and elbows, so weird and super itchy
- how expensive everything is in Costa Rica and the high prices in dollars for tourists

Things you need to bring when going to Costa Rica:
- earplugs, ok maybe you miss out on the night jungle experience, but earplugs are what helped me sleep tight and feel safe in the middle of many many jungle sounds in open cabins surrounded by the lush vegetation
- only things that you can easily wash to rescue from mold!

How much money I spent:
- I wanted to be transparent after Chile about how much it can cost to travel and thought I had done pretty good in spending little money by mostly using the Workaway platform for volunteer exchange opportunities that don't cost anything. Costa Rica was clearly different because of the yoga and permaculture courses I took. I kind of stopped taking count of what I spent because it this. But I did manage to spend several weeks without spending anything except for the bus ride and a few groceries while staying on the farm with horses and other Workaways. So it is possible. and Workaway.info is really a great resource to travel without spending too much.

Thank you Costa Rica and your people for these 3 incredible months!