We took a cab about three minutes away to a restaurant recommended by the hotel, Dragonfly Bar Grill

Amazing things happen when you combine rejuvenation and adventure. When tranquility and adrenaline collide, geckos tours of south america worries seem to suspend. When you leave behind digital communication you begin to comprehend that your body and mind seem to be better off without the constant influx. It's amazing what you hear when you get rid of the noise. You learn it's okay to stop checking a device every five minutes seconds and adore that you are a difficult to get a hold of. You appreciate that you are telling time by where the sun is and how your stomach feels. You stand taller and breathe more deeply. geckos tours of south america You go from smiling without showing teeth to smiling with teeth. geckos tours of south america At least, that's how Costa Rica was for me.
We had an hour long bus ride from the airport to Hotel Capitan Suizo , a hotel that prides itself on it's sustainability efforts. It was strange driving in the dark not being able to see where we were or where we were going. I silently hoped this Gift of Happiness thing wasn't an elaborate scam and that we weren't geckos tours of south america going to be kidnapped. I pushed fear aside.
We arrived to Tamarindo and saw restaurants, bars and hotels lit up and then the roads turned to dirt and our path was dark and bumpy as we drove through what looked to be the downtown area. Our tour bus pulled up to our hotel around 11:30 p.m. local time, which was very quite, dimly lit and seemed to be located off the beaten path. The lobby was completely open-air, it had a roof but the sides were open and we noticed a wonderful aroma wafting through the thick air. We were checked in promptly and escorted to our room by a hotel security guard (since it was after hours) where we unloaded all of our things, sprayed bug spray on ourselves, the bed legs and sides of the mattresses and got ready for bed. Yes, I was a little paranoid about the potential insect situation. Don't worry, I used the natural stuff .
Our terrace was filled geckos tours of south america with the lovely scent of jasmine. We took our sweet time getting dressed and strolled over to the hotel restaurant for a buffet breakfast that overlooked both the ocean and pool.
The restaurant was open air and there was a rather large cat curled up on one of the seats and a bird perched on top of chair visiting with hotel guests begging for food. My chair faced the pool and my friend's geckos tours of south america faced the ocean.
We filled our plates and cups, sat down and took in the sights and sounds of tropical paradise. We both had mirrored compulsion to check our phones for emails and texts whenever we'd sit down to eat - at least for the first couple days, but since we had no service they were left in our room. We weighed geckos tours of south america the pros and cons of going ahead with or cancelling the scheduled surf lessons that afternoon or just using the time to shop in town and explore. My friend was leaning towards shopping and I leaned towards saying yes to surfing because it was something I was practicing on this trip - saying yes . And I didn't think we should pass up the chance to surf in Costa Rica, even if the thought of it really freaked me out. I decided to be more brave than normal and say " yes !" to things I normally wouldn't.
JoJo hopped on my friend first and quickly sat on her bag and before we knew it he had reached his little hand inside, grabbed her lip gloss and ran up a bookshelf and onto the roof with it before he started sucking on the end of it while looking at us with a " haha, you can't get me up here " look.
We rushed back to the hotel to change into swimsuits and waited geckos tours of south america for our surf instructor in the open air hotel lobby. There was some confusion as to what time the travel agency told us to meet him in the lobby and the time he was told to be there but we didn't mind and he apologized profusely. We just sat and chilled until he arrived.
He gave us rash guards to wear and a 20 minute lesson on how to get up on our boards while they were still on the sand. We also learned he was a lifeguard geckos tours of south america which made me feel better. He was bossy (and funny) but for our own good.
Surfing was a truly amazing experience. It was scary, exhilarating and exhausting but in the end we were so glad we did it. It helped me conquer my fear of the ocean. Although usually quite scared, on this day I just kept putting one foot in front of the other until I was walking out into the water. For some reason I was determined to do it so I just took the necessary steps to do it and kept pushing my fear to the sidelines.
Yes , I thought geckos tours of south america several times that I was going to die - but I didn't. Yes , I fell off my board - but I got back up. Yes , I got tossed around in the water and didn't know which way was up - but I came up for air and regained my bearings (a few times). Wow, it's harder than it looks. It was as if I'd done 100 neti pots and ran 100 miles. I was wiped out and worried I wouldn't have the energy to fight another wave or get pummeled by one so after several geckos tours of south america rounds of falling, tumbling and swallowing water I headed to shore with my board to sit on the sand, breathe and reflect. I thought about our surf instructor's geckos tours of south america words and wondered if he knew he sounded more like a life coach:
I doubt he'll ever know how much the things he said while we were out in the ocean really stuck in my mind or that I'd think about them long after leaving Costa Rica. Man, he was bossy. For good reason, of course. His words were wise. He was sure of himself. We liked him. When I asked how long he had been surfing, he said " since I was 5, but technically since I was 6, so 20 years ." Wow.
My friend who initially wasn't sure about proceeding with the lesson was a natural and rode waves longer geckos tours of south america and stayed in the water much longer than I. I watched with amazement and pride as she glided gracefully across the waves. It was as if I was watching a metaphor of her life and how she has handled waves that seem difficult to imagine. When we got in the water it was overcast and foggy, but eventually the sun shined down on us. I decided to walk back to the hotel to get her camera so I could capture this moment and she'd have proof this wasn't a dream.
We took a cab about three minutes away to a restaurant recommended by the hotel, Dragonfly Bar Grill . It was open air, dimly lit, sparked with white lights and hanging paper lanterns in a garden setting. It was charming, geckos tours of south america quiet, casual and delicious. We drank, ate, conversed, laughed and cried over the course of a couple hours there. It was the perfect end to our amazing first day in Costa Rica.
Amazing things happen when you combine rejuvenation and adventure. When tranquility and adrenaline collide, worries seem to suspend. When you leave behind digital communication you begin to comprehend that your body and mind seem to be better off without the constant influx. It's amazing what you hear when you get rid of the noise. You learn it's okay to stop checking a device every five minutes seconds and adore that you are a difficult to get a hold of. You appreciate that you are telling time by where the sun is and how your stomach feels. You stand taller and breathe more deeply. You go from smiling without showing teeth to smiling geckos tours of south america with teeth. At least, that's how Costa Rica was for me.
We had an hour long bus ride from the airport to Hotel Capitan Suizo , a hotel that prides itself on it's sustainability efforts. It was strange driving in the dark not being able to see where we were or where we were going. I silently hoped this Gift of Happiness thing wasn't an elaborate scam and that we weren't going to be kidnapped. I pushed fear aside.
We arrived to Tamarindo and saw restaurants, bars and hotels lit up and then the roads turned to dirt and our path was dark and bumpy as we drove through what looked to be the downtown area. Our tour bus pulled up to our hotel around 11:30 p.m. local time, which was very quite, geckos tours of south america dimly lit and seemed to be located off the beaten path. The lobby was completely open-air, it had a roof but the sides were open and we noticed a wonderful geckos tours of south america aroma wafting through the thick air. We were checked in promptly and escorted to our room by a hotel security guard (since it was after hours) where we unloaded all of our things, sprayed bug spray on ourselves, the bed legs and sides of the mattresses and got ready for bed. Yes, I was a little paranoid about the potential insect situation. Don't worry, I used the natural stuff .
Our terrace geckos tours of south america was filled with the lovely scent of jasmine. We took our sweet time getting dressed and strolled over to the hotel restaurant for a buffet breakfast that overlooked both the ocean and pool.
The restaurant was open air and there was a rather geckos tours of south america large cat curled up on one of the seats and a bird perched on top of chair visiting with hotel guests begging for food. My chair faced the pool and my friend's faced the ocean.
We filled our plates and cups, sat down and took in the sights and sounds of tropical paradise. We both had mirrored compulsion to check our phones for emails and texts whenever geckos tours of south america we'd sit down to eat - at least for the first couple days, but since we had no service they were left in our room. We weighed the pros and cons of going ahead with or cancelling geckos tours of south america the scheduled surf lessons that afternoon or just using the time to shop in town and explore. My friend was leaning towards shopping and I leaned towards saying yes to surfing because it was something I was practicing on this trip - saying yes . And I didn't think we should pass up the chance to surf in Costa Rica, even if the thought of it really freaked me out. I decided to be more brave than normal and say " yes !" to things I normally wouldn't.
geckos tours of south america JoJo hopped on my friend first and quickly sat on her bag and before we knew it he had reached his little hand inside, grabbed her lip gloss and ran up a bookshelf and onto the roof with it before he started sucking on the end of it while looking at us with a " haha, you can't get me up here " look.
We rushed back to the hotel to change into swimsuits and waited geckos tours of south america for our surf instructor in the open air hotel lobby. There was some co