Costa Rica |ˌkōstə ˈrikə| a republic in Central America on the Isthmus of Panama, with coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; population 4,253,900 (est. 2009); capital, San José; language, Spanish.
Pura vida!
This summer we went on vacation to Nosara, Costa Rica—and I already can’t wait to go back next year!
Last year, 11 of our friends went on vacation with us to celebrate Field’s birthday, and this year the group expanded to 16. Field and I look forward to this trip every year because it is always so relaxing and fun—and now, it has become a beloved tradition that we get to share with our friends.
Field found this little surfing town years ago after we surfed for the first time on our honeymoon in Maui. Nosara is located 2.5 hours from Liberia on the North Pacific Coast, and it is most known for its tourism, local surfing, organic coffee plantations, and relaxing yoga retreats. (If you love any of those things, I think Nosara should be on your traveling bucket list!)
Most people don’t think of Costa Rica when they list out well-known surfing areas like those in Sydney, Hawaii, and Southern California. But Costa Rica has some of the best surfing on the planet because of the sandy, unpopulated beaches and its consistent swells and breaks. Each year, we get surfing lessons from Surf Pacifico because they have great coaches who make surfing easy and fun for our group.
Plus, they work right off the beach that is walking distance from The Harmony Hotel where we stay. This place has become a little home away from home for us. The staff knows our group now, and we are getting to know the activities and restaurants in the area so well.
This year, we checked in early on Wednesday evening, just in time to shower and get ready for a group dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Pacifico Azul. Most of the restaurants in this town have great seafood because of the ocean-side location, but this place is specifically known for its organic margaritas (with no sugar and no syrup). For our first night, most of us ordered some kind of seafood—except my pregnant sister-in-law. She ordered a steak, and the restaurant dog sat right at her feet until she finished (and he may have gotten a few bites *grin*).
We woke up early the next morning eager to surf, but the tropical thunderstorms and rain from the night before looked like they might last all day. So, we postponed our surfing lessons until noon and enjoyed a long breakfast in the open hotel dining room while it rained all around us.
It rained most of the day, so a lot of the group scheduled massages and relaxed around the hotel. The rain stopped just long enough for us to surf for an hour and then we ate appetizers before an afternoon yoga class while some of the guys went surfing again.
I love the yoga classes at this resort because of the open floor cabana style concept that is surrounded by a jungle forest. It is so relaxing and peaceful.
We woke up to clouds again on Friday morning, knowing it would rain on and off throughout the day. We enjoyed a good breakfast together before a few of us attended another yoga class at 10am. Some of the girls had enough yoga for one week, so they went shopping and we met up with them after our class. Field’s favorite thing to do is to explore the city in the golf carts and four wheelers we rent, so he didn’t mind driving them around.
The fresh $1 coconut water tasted incredible after a hot yoga class. The sun was shining by the afternoon so we all hopped in the golf carts to look for places to eat lunch.
It started down-pouring rain at 4pm during our surf lesson and there was something so beautiful about it. But when we spotted lightning, we quickly got out of the water and huddled under the grass-roofed beach huts as we waited for the storm to pass.
We woke up to sunshine on Saturday and decided to make the most of it. Some of the guys decided at breakfast that they wanted to go deep sea fishing while the other half of the group went paddle boarding at Costa Rica’s black sand beaches at Playa Negra. The guys had a great day fishing and ended up catching our dinner for that night! We all met back up together to surf again at 4pm. This was Field’s favorite time surfing because the sun was shining and we watched it go down as we all rode the waves together. By this point, most of our group had gotten the hang of surfing and we were all having so much fun. I treasure moments like these.
Dinner was so special on Saturday night because we ate the fish the guys had caught that afternoon and we celebrated Field’s birthday by going around and saying our favorite things about him. I know hearing those words from close friends meant so much to him—but it also meant so much to me. I love Field more than anything, and nothing makes me happier than to hear how his life, generosity, and faith have impacted the lives of others. We stayed up late (10pm seems late in Costa Rica after being out in the sun all day *grin*) talking and laughing with our friends. I adore each one of them and I’m so grateful they could come on this trip with us.
The staff at the hotel couldn’t believe we had so many people there, simply vacationing together to celebrate one person. I couldn’t believe we were able to eat every meal together and do every activity together as a group. Each night at dinner we would go around the table saying our favorite and least favorite part of the day. At breakfast in the mornings, someone would volunteer to share a short devotion about what God was doing in their lives. These moments of laughter and transparency really brought the group closer together and they ended up being my favorite part of the trip.
We woke up to the sun shining on Sunday morning for our last day. I woke up early with Field to go surfing one more time at low tide. We all enjoyed one more breakfast together and Field and I shared a little devotion from our hearts.
This trip was so special to me, and each year it just keeps getting better.
We enjoyed complimentary breakfast at the hotel each morning together as a group and would explore the town for lunch and dinner. A few of my favorite spots from this year are La Luna (best ceviche), Beach Dog Cafe (great lunch spot), and La Dolce Vita (great Italian seafood).
Until next year, Costa Rica.
XO-
Sabrina
