Count Down....Costa Rica
I first set foot in Costa Rica in January 2006. I fell in love. Never had I been somewhere so tropical, so wild, so friendly, so relaxed. Every single year since I have returned with my family for at least a week or two.
As far as Central America goes, it’s a safe, family oriented country. North Americans and Europeans arrive in droves to experience the jungle and breathtaking deserted beaches.
Tim and I seek out hideaways in authentic Costa Rican communities, off the beaten tourist path, so that we can experience the quiet, the majesty and the people at our own pace. We’ve travelled all over that little country, from the cloud forests to the off shore islands on both coasts.
In 2015 Tim and I took our 5 kids and spent our first entire winter in Costa Rica. It was the beginning of what has become a ritual for us. We are about to embark on our third official winter in Costa Rica. But this is not a travel blog.
My love affair with the little country continues. It has evolved in my heart and shaped the life I lead in Canada. It allows me to view our North American way of life from a different angle. It has completely changed my desires in life, and the desires I hold for my children.
When we live in Costa Rica, life is simple. For the children we bring with us; home-schooling supplies, paper and crayons, a soccer ball and no more than 4 toy cars. The lap top and tablet come along to assist the older children with schooling. Netflix does creep in once or twice a week, because lets face it, Netflix is handy. That is the extent of our life. Simple. Calm.
We live outside. We swim. My boys make hockey sticks, cricket bats, and light sabres out of sticks. They climb trees, harvest coconuts and ride bikes. We trek on the beaches and in the jungle. My older children serve in the community. We eat rice and beans and fruit. Once a week we go for an ice cream and a pizza. (Costa Rica has the best pizza and gelato outside Italy.)
When I get back to North America I am culture shocked. My time in Costa Rica is helping me to see through our North American culture. I am letting go of consumerist ideals, the need for “stuff" and the desire for the most current technology.
I no longer want the same things for my kids either. I look for ways to un-complicate their lives. To give them less stuff and more experience. To peel it back to the bare feeling of being alive. Away with the technology, home-work and extracurricular. Into the bin go the gimmicky plastic toys that I trip on under foot. I want my children to experience their way through the world, touching different cultures and foods and climates. I want them to love their Earth Mother. I want their feet to feel the earth.
This year we’ve rented a small house, tucked back into the jungle with the sloths and the snakes, near Playa Chiquita on the Caribbean Sea. Infused with the flavour of Jamaica, the area blends both Jamaican and Latin language and culture together. The community is unique and relaxed. Our house is a stone’s throw from the ocean, a “futbol” pitch, and a mini-mercado. What more could a family of 8 need?
I’m counting the days until we board the plane. So much time, hope, and elbow grease has gone into making this year’s Costa Rican adventure possible. I’m really looking forward to the deep inner calm and sense of being alive that always seems to descend on me while I am there.
When I arrive I’ll set up my laptop at a table overlooking the ocean. Somewhere where the baby won’t pull it down and where Isaiah won’t spill pineapple juice all over it. I’ll write my posts from the jungle this winter and capture the energy of the experience. I’ll blog it back to North America with as much earth love as my spirit will channel. And with any luck I’ll bring even more of it home with me in April……or maybe I just won’t come home at all!\
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