It doesn’t matter where you’re going, It’s who you have beside you.

{WELCOME to our Honeymoon! Full of travel details just incase you may like to embark on this same special journey.}

John and I fell in love over the kindred wanderlust spirits that we both danced through life with. It was an instant recognition of finding that soul that you had been waiting for when it came to this little kindred strand of DNA that gave you an intense yearn to travel the unknown. That person that stands beside you discovering more of what truly matters to our existence, most often wrapped up with such simple life experiences that can change it and mold you in an instant. It such a simple endeavor to what we call –Taking time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.-

We’ve been blessed enough to have traveled to many different lands in our time together.  We knew this trip was something more- It was pure, It was welcomed, It was our honeymoon! It represented something bigger. A celebration of life, where it stood, where it is headed, and for where it had been. It was the slow down that we embraced. It was the little whispers of the ocean waves and the winds through the rainforests that seemed to say the most this time. The blessing of having eyes that can see and ears that can hear. It’s remembering the importance of the beauty that’s right infront of us throughout every moment, if we only take the time to embrace it. So often we miss out on the special ordinary moments by chasing the extraordinary. God has those extraordinary already planned, we are simply called to welcome them all.

There has been nothing greater throughout the last few years of our journey than letting God fill up the previous pages with his own moments of our divine plan. And the most exciting part is that we have vast glowing empty pages to our book yet to be written and filled with memories. We need only trust his plan, and run wild with him.

With travel being such a passion in our hearts, we knew we wanted our honeymoon to be something unforgettable. We scouted, researched, and dreamed of locations all over this world both near and far and something told us to escape to a place that we both love and cherish so dearly. So we did just that, COSTA RICA! There has always been something special about it. Plus we did this trip 2 years ago and I ended up in kidney failure so what a better time for a redo! For those of you who have never been- it’s a quick flight, the oceans are breathtaking, each beach is completely different, the accommodations are endless and out of this world wether you travel local housing or the commercial route, the culture is welcoming and simple, and the prices are even better!

We spent months searching for the perfect places to stay. This is where I get excited! We like to travel around when we get places as we both find ourselves wanting to always see more and experience more- as much as we can with the time we have.

After we landed at the San Jose airport, we headed to get our rental car and hit the coast for a 2 hour drive south towards Dominical and Uvita. Ahhhh… at last.

Our first choice was called the Bali House. An AirBNB (we usually stick with the local housing market simply because we like to get the local experience while traveling other places). This place was AMAZING!!! A caretaker named Raeol met us at the bottom of the mountain so we could follow him up through the rainforest to the Bali house. Only accessible by a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The house was shipped over to CR from Bali, and is over 200 years old. It is nestled away on the top of the mountain spanning 20 acres in the middle of the rainforest surrounded by what seemed like the never ending Pacific Ocean.

We walked in through the Balinease entrance way and our jaws dropped wondering if it was real life. I felt like I was right back in Asia all over again, just missing the chants echoing throughout the mountains. The wood work was intricate and nothing less than stunning. The kitchen and main living area were huge. A table for 20 for the 2 of us and our cat for the stay. A master suite looking out over the infinity pool and Pacific Ocean with a complete outdoor bathroom and shower the size of our master bedroom in America. It was nothing less than perfect. The toucans would call in the mornings to each other with the howler monkeys carrying on their own conversations in the midst. Iridescent butterflies and hummingbirds would fly around us leaving us with a smile each and every time we were graced by them. Showering outside there were the brightest blue birds that sat there and sang (along with the beautiful poisonous dart frog). There were late night swims and afternoon monsoon rain showers that would lull you to sleep as if you were a child again. We welcomed afternoon naps and woke to the room filled with a warm glow of the sun beginning to set after the rain shower had blown through. We cooked breakfast every morning as the sun arose and cooked dinner every night as the sun went down- and the ocean breezes filled that place. As I sit here typing and reliving these moments, and I can feel the very feelings that I felt in the midst of it all. We found ourselves not wanting to leave the Bali House. It was a little piece of Heaven, more than we could have ever dreamed from a reservation simply from a picture. Thank you Bali House, we can’t wait to see you again!

The next AirBNB house was simply perfection as well. Pure seclusion!! Also requiring 4 wheel drive with a 20 minute drive up to the house from the bottom, in the middle of the clouds. We may have passed a person one time heading up the mountain to our home. Gas pedal all the way to the floor and 5mph was all it could pull. The house was completely open and felt as if you were on the edge of the world. As we both fell out of our hammocks one night, we felt even closer to falling off the edge of the world (we still laugh about this as my bruise is still going away!). We would have full adventure in the day and race back up the mountain around 3 o’clock everyday to make sure we were back for sunset, this was definitely something you didn’t want to miss. We cooked dinner every evening as we watched the colors paint the sky with only His masterpiece. One night we were cooking and looked beside us and a Coati was gracing us with his presence smelling the beef simmer on the stove. I can’t blame him, cute little fellow! He came to visit every evening. The sunsets were incredible and the peacefulness was unlike anything we had yet to experience. A quiet we hadn’t heard in a long time, if ever.

We took a day and rode horseback with an outfit- Rancho Le Merced. Highly recommend! We rode through jungles and river sides with a precious local named Ishmael. We saw so many species of birds and saw grandfather iguanas sunning what seemed like everywhere. We rode through the rivers and climbed up a waterfall and took a plunge as the pressure of the falls massaged our backs. John and I sat in natures pool and just smiled with joy as if we had found a secret place. Just us and His creation. We sat there and took it all in. We rode back through the rainforests and the rains began to fall from the sky. We looked up and smiled and laughed together. The rain being one of our favorite parts of the ride in natures beauty. We had fresh baked bread and fresh squeezed lemonade when we got back with an American who has been there over 10 years and we were able to pick her brain a little bit with hearts that would love to do the same one day. The horses were incredible and the conversation was even better. Thank you Rancho Le Merced for an unforgettable experience!

We rode ATV’s through the rainforests and rivers up to one of the highest waterfalls in all of Costa Rica. Found back trails and flew around mountainsides with views unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We visited a coffee plantation and got to see what America runs on being made first hand. And the neatest thing is, the machine was engineered with a bicycle wheel. It’s the simple things, right? And yes, this girl who doesn’t like coffee, of course had some! I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.

One of the other must do’s of the Dominical Coast is the famous Whale’s Tale. At low tide there is a sand bridge that connects one sandy shore to an island out in the water. We trekked out there close to low tide. With a rocky base and tons of shells, sea creatures, and coral. We had a blast exploring it!!

 

John and I love a healthy mixture of exploration and relaxation. We love just getting in the car and driving, that’s why we always travel with a car. When you see something, you stop. And wrapped up with those stops have come some of the most unforgettable memories. We don’t like to have plans or schedules, we just go and do what our hearts are calling for that morning when we rise. We eat good, and I mean really good. There is so much to be seen and taken in within other countries different from ours. I believe that travel is all about moderation. Finding that place of balance between discovering and exploring the new and taking time to get back to the simple things of life when it comes to just being still and appreciating. Travel is just that for us, we step away and come back refreshed full of life and love.

This trip enabled us to see more of this world together while falling more in love while doing it, just as we’ve always embraced. We stepped back and enjoyed the slow down. We enjoyed the peacefulness of stepping away from the very things and blessings that sometimes find us too busy to enjoy the simple things. We got back to the realness of life. Watching the sunsets, sitting outside waiting on hummingbirds to come dancing back around us, walking trails chasing a bird call only to find out what it was, talking to locals and picking their brains on what a move to their country is like, driving without a destination down highway 34 to Panama, laughing till our stomachs hurt, having intellectual conversations full of dreams and prosperity, and the best part- spending time together with no interruptions. We laughed so hard and loved and cherished our time together even more. It’s the simple things in life that make you realize how important they those moments are and the people you have beside you are.

Thank you Costa Rica for yet, another unforgettable trip. Still leaving us with a will to chase dreams back to the very place where we left a piece (peace) of our hearts. It won’t be long, and we will see you again.