OUR RETIRED ADVENTURE
qUEREMOS VIVIR AL SOL
KSha
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
May ‘21 We are finally at the precipice of our next adventure in life. Deliberate planning and a shared vision of a stress-free, sun-filled retirement has worked out successfully for us to have reached this point. Counting the days until the first of many new adventures begin. ¡Queremos vivir en al sol! Reading International Living magazine for the past 2 years and watching countless episodes of HouseHunters International, “where no one is ever sorry they made the move” has opened up our eyes to the possibilities the world has to offer for people looking for a lower cost of living, affordable health-care and a stress-free environment in which to enjoy it. Sharon, my life partner, best friend and love of my life and I have similar concerns and wants for our retirement. This includes sun-filled days and warm temperatures on a beach, an affordable and active lifestyle, where health-care is not our biggest item in the budget. Costa Rica was a country that piqued our interest after only reading a few articles in the IL magazine. Although neither of us has ever set foot in Costa Rica, multiple friends and acquaintances have either lived there or spent some time there and we've gleaned information from those travel conversations. But, I believe the zeroing in point came after last year’s January issue of IL that listed the top 20 countries in the world to retire and Costa Rica was in the top five last year, and currently sits at #1 for the 2021 review. Costa Rica’s government position and commitment to sustainable and renewable energies was another factor that drew us to look closer at possibly retiring here. With 25% of the country designated as national parks or preserves, the green-forward thinking of preserving their natural beauty and resources, and a strong commitment to education is one I embrace. We both were also impressed with the fact that there are no National military forces, and that money instead has been put into education. The country claims near 100% literacy of its citizens. We have initially set our eyes on Costa Rica; but that in no way means we have eliminated other parts of the world as possibilities in search of a new environment to retire in. We have planned a summer scouting trip to Costa Rica that will start on the North Pacific Coast and meander down to the southern part of the Pacific coast through the summer (53 days). Our research has led us to believe that the central part of the Pacific coast may hold all of the keys to what we are looking for in a retirement area; although we both are super excited to see the whole of the Pacific coast. Our follow-up step to this adventure would be to revisit an area that we could see ourselves living in, for a 4 to 5 month period upon our return from this first trip. “I’m 90% excited and 10% scared, or maybe I’m 90% scared and 10% excited...I don’t know! But that’s what makes this so awesome!” (Armageddon, movie) As seasoned and confident international travelers to many of the Caribbean islands, the Dominican Republic, and various points throughout Mexico, we are looking forward to this trip to a new destination. So, how do you pack for 53 days? Well, Mrs. Seibel is a genius! We plan to pack 10 days of outfits that are wash and wear; and then, rinse and repeat. This will be a great way for us to immerse in the local communities where we will be visiting by using the local facilities for these and other needs. There was always a point in each of our previous trips where we looked at each other and said “Why don't we stay here? This trip will be completely different from all of those; as “staying here” will be our sole purpose to the trip. Our adventure will begin with a five hour non-stop flight from O'Hare International Airport to the international airport outside of Liberia, Costa Rica. Once in the country, and after we secure our rental vehicle, we have a 23 km drive to Hotel ManGaby where our initial home base will be for 10 days. This short initial drive may be the best way to become acclimated to the roads and driving in Costa Rica; which appear to be a whole new adventure in and of itself according to many sources and research we have done. First generation drivers! Our second home base will be located at the Rip Jack Inn. Right on the beach, this will be a super relaxing stay and I’m pumped to open my room door and walk right out on the beach every morning! We will spend 19 days north of Tamarindo in the Guanacaste Province of the northern coast. With 26 or 28 different microclimates, depending on the source you use, this area is labeled as the warmest and driest climate of the country. I am excited to explore the less populated regions north of Tamarindo. As one of the most well-known and most frequented by tourists, Tamarindo has evolved due to the tourism business and will be a less desirable place for us to set roots down as the cost of living in this area is more pricey than most. Because of this, Tamarindo will have a much more developed infrastructure and amenities, albeit, with a higher price tag. Therefore it may be a visitation point for us rather than a permanent endpoint. Our third destination on our scouting trip will be to Hotel Giada which is located at Samara's main entrance to Playa Samara. This part of our trip will take us down the horse's head part of the country. On the map, the (sea) horse’s head is on the northern Pacific coast and encloses the Colorado Gulf. We will be based just slightly past half way down the peninsula in between Nosara and Punta Islita. Nosara is a “high-end” community and will be another place that we will take in the sights versus look to settle down in. Our exploration of the southern part of the peninsula may be determined by road availability and accessibility, as this portion of the country will be less populated and therefore contain less roads, infrastructure and amenities. We have also researched many ways to get the best routes available for point to point traveling in the country; and Waze has been the number one used, and recommended app for navigating roads in Costa Rica. We plan to download our route and directions from our home bases to secure a map for the road that will hopefully keep us from getting lost. I'm hopeful in our explorations of the peninsula that we can find time to take the ferry across the Gulf. I think this would be a great way to see the coast from the water. From the peninsula, we will have to retrace our road route to get back to the mainland part of the country and our next home base, which is at Hotel Poco A Poco in Monteverde, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. As we head inland, the elevation will start to change and our next home base will sit at approximately 4400 feet in elevation. The topography of the country is interesting, with a mountain range that runs the length of the country and summarily divides the country in half in terms of Pacific and Caribbean coasts. [The Caribbean coast, while being beautiful, remote and having a laid-back atmosphere, has a downside as the accessibility to this side of the country is limited by the number of roads and the long drive times from the nearest International Airport in San Jose (the capitol).] Perched high on the Tilaran Mountain Range, Monteverde is one of the most fascinating destinations in Costa Rica. The area is cool, lush, and rich in biodiversity with a variety of microclimates. We will only spend two nights in Monteverde, however, we have two exciting tours that we will be doing while at this home base. The first, a full-day Canopy Walkways, Butterfly & Hummingbird Gardens tour that will take us into the clouds of the tree canopies to zip line and walk a suspension bridge to see the hummingbirds and butterflies in their natural habitat. Our second day we will be off on the half-day Don Juan Coffee Tour, which is three tours in one. The Coffee tour segment includes its history in the country and importance in Costa Rica’s development. The second part of this tour is the famous Chocolate tour, which is the perfect complement for the coffee I should be carrying. The third stage of the tour will be about Sugar Cane, where we'll learn about its history and significance for the country. I might have to try un cafe con azucar. After completing the coffee tour, we will travel back toward the coast and head farther south to the Jaco area. We will be staying for a week at the Hotel Terraza del Pacifico, located directly on the ocean at the majestic Playa Hermosa Jaco on the Central Pacific of Costa Rica. This segment of our trip will entail more “work” than in our other stops, as we believe this area could hold a lot of the must-haves for us in our retirement desires. The “work”, as I attempt to begin the disuse of the word, will entail a deeper investigation into the infrastructure of the area, and a closer look at the amenities and services the area has to offer in regards to everyday living. We will be in search of a small local community where farmers markets are available for fresh produce and meats, where we can walk to the local restaurants and stores, and be able to embrace the local culture and people that will allow us to become an active part of the community. We will be also celebrating the retirement of another faithful family member, our 1994 GMC truck, which has faithfully served the Seibel's well for the last 27 years, and is reaching her retirement time as well. Therefore, walkability is a key factor to any possible future home’s location. The Central Pacific Coast area is also very accessible from the airport in San Jose, being less than a 2 hour drive from most communities. On July 21st, we will be driving along the coastline, 66 km south to the Hotel Karahé. Karahé Hotel is located just in front of the beach of Manuel Antonio in the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is an internationally famous national park and will be a great place to see Costa Rica’s natural beauty up close on a hiking excursion, or two. Our last home base along the coast will be for six nights at the Hotel Villas Rio Mar, an Eco-Hotel in Dominical 48 km south. I am looking forward to exploring this region as the natural surroundings of the jungle and beaches seem to cry out for people to be outside. This area is also touted as a place to enjoy the marine life to see whales, turtles, and scuba/snorkeling the reefs offshore. While in Dominical, we intend to day-trip to the most southern tip of the country and explore the “mini horse head” peninsula area and the border with Panama. Recent research has indicated that this area is receiving upgrades to the roads and utility infrastructure. Smaller and somewhat more isolated communities can be expected; but with easier accessibility and necessities becoming available, the beauty of this region will be reason enough to see what there is to see, and now easier to get to. On August 2, we will be heading to San Jose, the capitol, for a single night stay at the Hampton Inn before we fly back home to the States. I am looking forward to organizing and reliving our experiences in the photos and notes we will take. ¡Ya hablamos! Nos vemos pronto.
3 Comments
|
Kevin & Sharon SeibelBeginning our next big adventure! Archives
December 2023
Categories |