Pura vida! Simply translated, it means “simple life” or “pure life” to native Costa Ricans (Ticos). January dropped us in full planning mode for our March Break visit to this tiny Central American country (slightly smaller in sq km size than our own province of Nova Scotia but 5 times the population – nearly 5 million). As it rolled out, the air travel came pretty easy and we secured Air Canada flights via Moncton and Montreal. The connections were better timed, and more economic, than Stanfield. Also slapped some points down which really made me feel better about cost. We thought it an excellent deal. The destination airport is Juan Santamaria International in San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) which is centrally located. Thus, we began research to narrow our wish list in regards to “places to stay” and “attractions”.
In short order we began to figure out the geography of Costa Rica. It’s very mountainous, jungle covered, and equatorial in climate with distinct rainy and dry seasons. Blogs suggest that “rugged” highways and byways don’t lend to easy travel about the country’s roads, and times between seemingly close destinations are longer than normal. Further, we really weren’t interested in driving ourselves in a strange country during such a concentrated one week time frame. Thus, we sought comfortable beach side accommodations, within a couple of hours of drive via private transfer from San Jose, that were central to the abundant selection of natural attractions CR has to offer. In the end, the more quiet, southern edge of the Jaco Beach area seemed the most reasonable decision. Janie did a hunk of the accommodation research, using Airbnb and VRBO, and chose an excellent living situation that we feel great about. Looking forward to getting on the ground in Central America!
Jaco (pr. Haw-ko) offers, in easy fashion, all the essentials. Included in the area are several well established “Adventure” and “Excursion” companies, grocery & liquor stores, proximity to two National Parks and a broad cross section of restaurant possibilities. Its reputation in reviews varies widely, from pastoral descriptions of ideal sunsets to “spring breakish” surf culture… So it may be an adventure in itself! Being first timers to Costa Rica, and unable to speak the language, we anticipate that a town used to tourists may make for an easier transition to tico time (logic that worked for us in Puerto Morelos, Mexico)! Next step is to iron out attraction options and book a little something for everyone. The many websites that host tips, advice, & recommendations for extracting the most we can from our vacation are yet to be explored. So… lots of prep left on the table, but transport and accommodations secured!