39 Images You Wish You Hadn’t Seen of Costa Rica

Today is a snowy day in Chicago. It’s also a busy one — meetings scheduled wake to sleep, a not-quite-clean house that’s about to be put on the market, and a full mug of coffee to take it all on. This is one of those “holed up in my office” days I mentioned in my last post and I take comfort in the familiar.

Of course, I do this all while slowly experiencing a horror that many who look like me must suffer after a brilliant winter getaway to a tropical paradise — a slowly dying tan. Just three weeks ago I was in almost the exact opposite situation as I am now. It was roughly 80 degrees warmer, I had absolutely no access to wifi and instead of being at my computer I was sitting on a teak balcony overlooking an aqua-blue ocean.

I did, however, still have a great cup of coffee.

Ok, I get it — you don’t want to hear about my trip to paradise with Wanderful and WHOA Travel at the Laguna Vista Villas. That’s why I’m not going to tell you any more about the hikes through Corcovado National Park, or kayaking in a lagoon, or watching monkeys eating bananas. I won’t tell you about any of it.

I won’t tell you. But I will show you.

If you haven’t been to Costa Rica yet, make sure to add it to your list. This beautiful country is easy to get to, gorgeous beyond belief and extremely eco-conscious, especially where we were on the Osa Peninsula. My lovely and brilliant friend Ann Becker plans trips there regularly and is a great resource for your next Costa Rican adventure.

And if that doesn’t convince you, maybe these images will:

Gearing up for my flight in a 9-seat Cessna from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez. Let’s do it!

View from the sky

First day of breakfast in Costa Rica — Gallo Pinto, bacon and freshly squeezed orange juice. I’m not one to take pictures of my food, but this was just too pretty to pass up.

I’d never seen an orchid growing in the wild…until now.

Incredible view at the top of Luna Lodge, a yoga retreat in the Osa.

Taking the Colectivo into town.

Bar Esperanza. My new favorite place in the world.

6 AM view while walking into the rainforest. What a sight!

Two scarlet macaws as seen through a telescope.

Left behind by a friend.

Poolside at the Laguna Vista Villas

French toast with a freshly picked hibiscus flower

Boat for sale — who wants it?

Blue from water to sky.

Not the world’s worst view from an airport.

Stay tuned for more words next week from