Running Away to Costa Rica

Hi friends,

We just spent six days in Costa Rica! Now, I know what you’re thinking: Hannah didn’t you just go to Iceland? Yes I did, BUT we also had this trip planned because we love Costa Rica and had been hoping to go back last year when Covid derailed those plans. I went with my parents and we were so excited to be able to finally go. We flew to San Jose, spent a few days in Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos and then a day at La Paz Waterfall in Alajuela.

I’ve been here once before in 2019 and the people are so friendly, they treat you like family, the food is delicious (the pineapple pizza being my favorite), and the wildlife, oceans, and jungle are so picturesque you can’t quite believe they’re real. It was such a wonderful and memorable trip - but there was another reason why this trip was so important to me.

I was going through a rough time and I needed to run away. I needed to not be home, to be away from anywhere that was familiar and the wilds of Costa Rica could not have been more perfect.

The Why

I went through a breakup right before the trip and it suuuuuuucked.

As always, the end of a relationship isn’t fun but this one really got to me, which is infinitely annoying. I knew it would hit me hard, heartbreak always does, but I don’t think I realized how hard. So before we left, I felt like a shell of myself, there wasn’t any joy or happiness in me and I was just empty and sad. Heartbreak and pain, well, I’m never quite the same after.

I feel everything so incredibly deeply. You know that quote from Dumbledore that says “but you do care, you care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it”? That quote is such a painfully beautiful way to describe how I feel my emotions sometimes.

And I was struggle bussing so hard before the trip, to the point I almost, almost, did not get on the flight. Because of everything I was feeling, my nerves were frayed and I had crazy bad anxiety about the plane. My mom kept saying “you can turn around and go home at any point if you don’t think you can do this.” And let me tell you I was so incredibly close to doing that - and what a terrible mistake that would have been. This trip was a life saver and it came at the perfect time when all I wanted to do was run away.

“Sometimes you just need a break, in a beautiful place, alone, to cleanse the bitter taste of life from your soul.”

— Author Unknown

Adventures!

Basically, we split up our trip into four locations and activities:

Exploring Manuel Antonio
Exploring La Paz Waterfall
Relaxing day at Si Como No
Beach day at Tulemar

We also wandered around Quepos, hung out with friends, went bird watching, and enjoyed live music at night.

We spent an afternoon with Anna and Joshua, a family we met last time in Costa Rica, it was really awesome to see them again!

I stopped counting how many piña coladas I was drinking after 6 lol
I was sad don’t judge me

I wasn’t eating before the trip (depression is like super fun isn’t it?) but in Costa Rica, ya’ll I ATE. We had cosados, pastas, sandwiches, pancakes, and meals at little sodas along the road (mom and pop run shops).

Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antonio is a national park that has everything from dense jungle to open beaches and tons of animals all around. We hired a guide named Socio who took us around the park and pointed out and taught us about everything from capuchins to tiny rainbow grasshoppers. Socio is actually an ornithology professor at the university there and teaches a lot of the guides! So we were in very good hands and saw tons of amazing wildlife.

La Paz Waterfall

La Paz Waterfall is an animal rescue that is also home to three beautiful waterfalls you can hike. The animals have all been rescued from terrible conditions - usually kept as pets, and now get to live here. It’s a beautiful place and I highly recommend visiting.

Catching waves and zzz’s

We spent a day relaxing at our resort Si Como No and then a day at the beach and massages at Tulemar - the highlight of the trip really.

There’s something about walking ankle deep in the ocean as waves wash over you and your toes sink into the sand and there’s nothing but never-ending blue on the horizon, that’s better therapy than money can buy. Despite the fact that I am a piss poor swimmer, I love the ocean and it gives me so much peace and happiness being near it. Even when we have crazy thunderstorms at night with lightning crashing, it’s still amazing and terrifying and beautiful. We spent a lot of time at the beach and all I want to do is be under the palm fronds listening to the waves right now.

We’re usually super active on vacation, constantly going on excursions and adventures. But this time, I wanted a few days to rest and recharge. I wanted to sit at the pool, the beach, drink pina coladas, and nap in the sun. It was such a time of healing and I loved it. We got massages and ate sandwiches by the pool and napped as much as we wanted and it was the most amazing thing.

Vacay Outfits

What would The Small Town Big Closet be without some outfit appreciation?

Now, it might be due to the fact I packed the night before, I don’t have a ton of tropical themed things, or the fact I was going through a breakup and didn’t really care what I brought but, you guys, I actually kind of under packed for this trip. I forgot that in Costa Rica, with the heat, humidity, and sweat, I changed outfits twice, sometimes three, times a day. So this jumpsuit and my swim cover up were used the most but some of my other items didn’t stand up so well after a day of exploring and I only wore them once or twice. By the end of the trip, I didn’t really have anything left to wear and was struggling to find non-sweaty or sandy clothes.

Wildlife Photography

I LOVE photographing wildlife. It’s one of my greatest passions and this is one of my favorite shots I’ve ever taken. This was taken the last time I was at La Paz in 2019.

Costa Rica is full of the most amazing and beautiful wildlife. During our trip we saw 14 sloths, 3 species of bats, and more lizards, frogs, and butterflies than I could count. and DON’T even get me started on how many bugs I saw plus a ginormous spider that made its way into our room and hung out under my bed and I was ready to burn our bungalow down because it’s a lost cause anyway.

We had breakfast with monkeys every morning. Here, a squirrel monkey poses oh-so-adorably so that he can lull his victims into a false sense of security. As they grab their phones for pictures, he snatches their bananas and hops away with his ill-gotten gains - only to repeat the process again on the next tourists foolish enough to order fruit in his presence.

Morpho Butterfly

Although this one had already finished living its short life, even in death and decay it was still stunningly beautiful.

Coming Home to Myself

This was the perfect place for healing and, although I ran away from life for a while, I came home more myself than I was when I left.

Somewhere in the wilds of Costa Rica, between the lulling waves of the ocean and the chirping of frogs on a cool night, I found myself again. I really feel as though Costa Rica saved my life. It brought life back into me and I’m so grateful I was able to go on this trip. The world is so much bigger than li’l ole me and it helped to see it for myself and remember who I am and what I want.

I went there to heal… and I did. It almost hurts my heart at the improvement I’ve gone through. It’s still a process, healing always is. But I am comforted knowing any down days I have won’t be quite so low and the ups will become more and more frequent until this time becomes nothing but a bittersweet memory and an amazing trip.