Sowrey.org

Our last day in Calgary — yesterday — was filled mostly by me repacking all of our bags so we could fly out, and then the actual travel here to Burlington, Ontario. We’re here to visit with family (today is Alex’s family reunion) before we leave for Costa Rica.

Or face the long-distance wrath of scorned relations…

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, so much for an easy day. I suppose I was asking for that, eh?

We left the hotel a little later than planned, and the movers (three guys in their 20s) and the two cleaners were already at our front door engaged in deep chat when we got to the house. After a few quick introductions (I have since forgotten all of their names) we proceeded to all lay siege to the house.

The movers moved. The cleaners cleaned. The owners … um … well, mostly ran around stupidly trying to finish things without getting in everyone’s way.

Read the rest of this entry »

When we started planning this crazy little excursion to Costa Rica oh-so-many months ago, there was always the need for me to leave in advance of my family, and then come back to get them. The logistics of making everything happen were basically impossible to handle any other way. That month away wasn’t easy, which you already know. Issues of living in Costa Rica aside, the reality of being that far from my family was far more harsh than I had ever imagined.

Needless to say, when I arrived last night, I was overjoyed to see that Mi Pequeña Niña (I think I’m going to use “MI Niñita” from now on, by the way — that seems to be the prefered version of “little girl”) recognised me. You have no idea how good that felt.

Today was packing day. And also my 36th birthday.

Read the rest of this entry »

We tried to survive without cars. Really. We took taxis everywhere, and suffered due to the language barrier and an unfamiliar taxi system. (We’ve been unable to get taxis when we need them — baffling, when you see them driving around — and gouged when meters have been turned on.) We could try the bus system, but so far we’ve been utterly unable to understand them. We don’t know what the routes or schedules are.

So we went to renting a car — an infinitely better improvement, as we can go where we need to go when we want to. And if we feel the urge to take a detour to explore a bit, it’s not a problem. But rental cars aren’t cheap — it costs a few hundred dollars a week.

The natural conclusion, and something we’d planned all along, is to buy a car. But it’s harder than it sounds.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been in Costa Rica for over three weeks now. Three weeks away from Alex and Mi Pequeña Niña. Each day has been a challenge being so far away from them. The longest I’d ever been away before was six days. Six short days. That was hard — I missed them both a lot, and that was just after spending over two weeks with them every waking moment.

My well, you could say, has run dry. I have nothing left in my reserves. I want to go home now. I want to be with them both right now. If I could just get on a plane and go there this afternoon, I would.

But I have to wait another week.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had a few people tell me about how great it is to be living in Costa Rica, and how much cheaper it is to live here. Some people know from a little bit of experience, but others are making the assumption — it’s not Calgary, it’s not Canada, so it must be cheaper.

Funny thing about foreign countries: if you live in the right places, if you know how to blend in, you’ll do well. But if you’re a gringo, you aren’t going to get the free ride that you want.

Read the rest of this entry »

So you’ve been around a bit. You’ve been to Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize, Hawaii. You’ve seen a lot, but are finding the same problem again and again and again — everyone else has already been there. They’ve done it, so every time you want to go somewhere, your friends are blasé about the whole thing.

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. There’s a small country near the equator that an exceedingly small number of people go to for tourism. Business, yes. One city as part of a cruise, maybe. But visit? Hardly.

Read the rest of this entry »