Living Pura Vida in Costa Rica!

I just got home from the trip of a lifetime! I just spent the last week in Costa Rica, along with 16 other people from my Church. And we were shown Costa Rica, by our pastor who was born and raised there!

The best way for me to describe Costa Rica, is as a place filled with so much joy, happiness, wonder, and beauty. God's handiwork is just everywhere throughout the country. Through people who are so kind and joyful, to the amazing beauty of everything you see, everywhere you go. And I totally understand now why Pastor Tito raves about it so much!

For me, this trip, was seriously a HUGE thing for me. And was simply, a dream come true! I seriously always dreamed of taking a big vacation and trip like this one. But, not only was cost a factor, but my weight was also a huge factor. Before I lost weight, I either needed a bigger seat, or would have to possibly buy more than one seat on the plane. And also my weight made it that I knew I never would be able to enjoy or even participate in about 95% of the activities. There was no way I could have ever even survived or handled a trip like this one before I lost my weight.

So, going into this trip, I was so excited. But I had no idea just how amazing this trip was truly going to be and how much I was going to learn and grow during it. And how accomplished and strong I was going to feel!

First big accomplishment for this trip, being able to sit in my airplane seat with room to spare and fasten my seat belt with ease and even have extra rope! But then once we arrived in Costa Rica, I was overwhelmed by the immediate gorgeous sights around me and the actual feeling of "Wow, I am here!!" It was almost unbelievable!

And that next morning, waking up to the warm sunshine, I was so ready and so excited to begin the adventure and really begin to experience everything. And we piled into our bus to head off to our first destination, the beach. And all of the pretty views as we drove, just breath taking! The mountains in the background and all the houses lining everywhere. Just absolutely beautiful! We first stopped at a little fruit market on the side of the road, and we tried some absolutely amazing mango! And we stopped along the way to go on Safari Jungle Boat Tour down a river! And we saw all kinds of birds and Crocodiles! And even one big Crocodile the locals call, Osama Bin Laden, because he is very hard to find and isn't out very often! And from there we continued on to Quepos, where our hotel was, close to the ocean and our beach destination! And the ocean views, also just gorgeous! The water was such a gorgeous and pristine blue and the breeze was amazing, and the cliffs surrounding the area just made it all so breath taking! And we ended our even seeing an absolutely beautiful sunset!

Day 2, we woke up in Quepos, and prepared for our beach day! We were gonna head out to Manuel Antonio to see the National Park and, of course, enjoy the ocean! First we walked through the Manuel Antonio National park, where we saw some animals and just got see some jungle area. We then came out by the beach, where we were able to climb out onto some rocks, and check out the tide pools and see all kinds of little creatures everywhere. After climbing around, we then went to the area where we could actually swim in the ocean! And man it felt so good and so refreshing! And the waves were incredible and so much fun to body surf in and jump in. And just feeling the amazing power of the ocean through them was such a thrill and was so much fun. And we ended our day by seeing another amazing sunset, and playing a great game of Uno in the hotel lobby! Boy there were many laughs! And then it was off to bed for the evening!

Day 3, it was Sunday and we woke up bright and early, around 4am, so we could leave to head to our Sister Church, Iglesia Tepeyac, where Pastor Tito's dad is the pastor. We made a stop for breakfast along the way, and then continued on. After arriving at the Church we were able to see where Pastor Tito lived and grew up, including the Christian Elementary School he went to. It was so cool to see and then to be able to experience Church in Costa Rica, was just wonderful! The Lord showed really opened up my eyes to this joyful culture of praising God and being happy and welcoming and just filled with love, not only for the Lord, but for everyone around me. After the Church service, we were given quite the hardy and very delicious lunch of Chicken and Rice, Refried Beans, Potato Chips, and Pasta Salad with a glass of Mango Juice! After that, it was off to the Coffee Plantation for our Coffee Tour! And the owner of the Coffee plantation, he was such a character, full of so much life and joy. He had us all laughing as he showed us everything there was to see and told us exactly how it is coffee is made down there! We even tried a fruit called, Cas. Which is super, super, super sour!! I did not like it one bit! And, if you ask some other people with us on the trip, they caught some good pictures and video of me trying the fruit. It was not pleasant, I couldn't take it! I was coughing, gagging, and even tearing up from it! But made for a lot of laughter and fun and good times! After leaving the coffee plantation, and taking back with us many pounds of Coffee, we went off to our hotel in San Jose for the evening. And after getting settled at the hotel, we all walked around the corner to a little restaurant for some dinner. And talk about a lot of laughter and silliness! We were all so tired from such a full day that we were just very slap-happy and silly! Oh my goodness I don't think I ever laughed so hard and so much in all my life! Seriously, the best times! And then it was back to the hotel for some sleep!

Day 4, and we were off to the mountains! Our destination was Monte Verde! And the plan was to hike some hanging bridges and potentially do some other activities! And talk about an interesting drive! Nothing but lots of winding roads, and also our "free massage" driving on nothing but gravel and dirt roads the whole way up the mountain! Once at Monte Verde, we sad down for a quick light bite in a restaurant before heading off to hike the hanging bridges. It was pouring rain, and also pretty cold. We were in the rain forest, after all. And my "water-proof coat" turned out to be "not-so-water-proof" once we began hiking the hanging bridges. I ended up getting soaked to the bones and freezing cold! Like, literally, barely able to move and function. A lot of the last part of hike is kind of a blur to me. I was helped back down to where our bus was by the other people in the group. And I just remember waking up in bed in the hotel room, wearing other peoples clothes, and just being kind of confused. This was my big learning curve for me in my new body. Being cold, was something I never really experienced much of before I lost weight, and getting cold so easily, never happened to me before. And the went my coat failed me, well, it didn't take too long before I was freezing. I felt so bad and so stupid. But, luckily, I was with a lot of amazing people that made me feel better and told me not to feel bad and that there was no way I could of known my coat wasn't going to work well and that it was something new for my body and I couldn't have predicted it happening. It did put a damper on my plans to attempt to go zip-lining, but that's ok, it still ended up being all good in the end!

Day 5, woke up in Monte Verde to an absolutely gorgeous rainbow arching over the whole rain forest! It was an amazing sight to see! And once breakfast was over, the weather eventually cleared up and the sun came up, and we took a little a walk into town to look around. And, I made sure to by myself a good rain poncho to use for later so I wouldn't have any repeats of the day before. And after our little walk into town, we loaded on the bus to begin our journey to Arenal! Which is still in the mountains and in the rain forest, but is volcanic land, because of the Arenal Volcano, which is an active volcano! Once again we got our "free back massage" driving on ruff roads and also lots of winding and twisting roads! We saw monkey's along the way! But, Arenal, definitely, I think was my all time favorite place of the whole trip! There was a gorgeous lake at the base of the volcano with some amazing and beautiful views. And the area was definitely much warmer than in Monte Verde. Not to mention, our hotel was gorgeous and had a spectacular view of the volcano and was surrounded by rain forest vegetation and wildlife! After settled, we had our hike to climb the volcano, at least as high as legally allowed to! And talk about an epic hike! It made me feel so strong and accomplished! I made that climb with such ease, and barely got winded! And when we reached the top, I felt like I was on top of the world! I felt like a champion, as did everyone else on the hike! Because it was definitely a challenge! But it was worth it for the stunning views overlooking everything and for the view of the Volcano! We then made our wet and rainy hike back down the trail, this time I was well protected by my rain poncho! And then we went over to the Tabacon Hot Springs! We had an absolutely delicious buffet dinner, complete with desserts! And then we got to enjoy the hot springs! Which were so amazing and felt so good! The whole area was so cool and so pretty and so much fun! We went back to the hotel that evening and talk about the most amazing falling asleep experience! Being able to go to sleep listening to the sounds of the rain forest was magical! The rain coming down, the sounds of all the animals outside. It was so serene!

Day 6, waking up to the sounds of the rain forest in Arenal, just as magical as going to sleep to them! And getting to eat breakfast in a lobby looking out over the rain forest and being able to watch the wildlife, also magical! And after breakfast, me and few other people took a little hike through the rain forest, again, just magical. We then left Arenal and began to head down the mountain and back to San Jose. This time so we could experience the city and head to the market to do all of our souvenir shopping. Along the way we stopped in a little town where we looked at a Catholic Church, which was beautiful, and me and a friend got a Henna Tattoo! We then stopped for lunch and made our way into the city. And the city was packed and full of people! It was kind of overwhelming. Made me thankful that we had Tito with us to help us all navigate and stay safe, because otherwise, we would have all been so lost! And after our shopping, it was back to our hotel for one final night in San Jose before heading for home. We had dinner together that evening at the same place we did on Sunday night, this time just a little less silliness! Had a strawberry daquiri to finish off our final night in Costa Rica and had some good fellowship time!

Day 7, our last few hours! We packed up our luggage, and just spent the morning hanging out down by the pool and taking in the last of the warmth and sunshine! Trying to get the last bit of tan in we could! Some last fun fellowship moments and laughter! And then it was off to the airport and we made our journey home!

As you can tell, we experienced a little of everything and did a lot. And I had endless energy for it all! It was all so much fun! I grew so close to such a wonderful group of people! We laughed a lot and joked a lot, had so many amazing adventures, and had so much fellowship! God really opened my eyes to a whole new world. A new world of love and really living life. Experiencing "Pura Vida" as they say in Costa Rica or "Pure Life"! Living life to the absolute fullest with nothing but joy and happiness! That was a big thing down there, every person down there was just so happy and joyful, and really lived life to the fullest and with so much excitement! That is how it should be everywhere, no matter what is going on in life, live it to the fullest potential with nothing but joy and happiness! This world and this life is a gift and blessing from God and we need to live with grateful heart and showing our joy and happiness! The culture is beautiful and the country is beautiful.

My eyes were opened and I think I was forever changed! And I am so grateful I went on this trip and have absolutely no regrets! I felt so strong and accomplished doing everything I did, with energy to spare! I felt on top of the world and like I was a champion and I felt like my dreams had really come true. And God really showed me how to live my life and enjoy my life and opened me up to a world of possibilities and opportunities that are only just beginning for me. This trip was just a start! Now with my wedding to continue planning and beginning that whole new journey ahead, I plan to continue to live out Pura Vida and continue to just be happy and enjoy life and live it to its fullest! Not let anything hold me back, and continue to learn and grow along the way! There is always more to learn and more growth to happen throughout life. There is never an end to that. And I just want to continue to become the best version of me I can. And I am already on my way to that!

I am going to end this by saying, first, a huge thank-you or "gracias" to Pastor Tito for organizing the trip and for being a wonderful tour guide and for showing us his beautiful country! He put in a lot of hard work and did a fantastic job and made it so fun for everyone! And second, a huge thank-you to the entire group I traveled with for being so amazing and for making the trip so wonderful and so much fun and for being a bunch of great "mommies an daddies" to this "baby"of the trip and for loving on me and taking good care of me and putting up with my craziness! Because I am well aware of how crazy I am and that I can be a pain sometimes! ;) haha! I love you all so much and I love how close I now am with you all! Thank-you, guys, for a great trip! And very lastly, thank-you so much to everyone who was back at home praying for us and supporting us all as we were on this grand adventure of a lifetime! It was so appreciated and I think I can definitely speak for all of us when I saw we truly felt each and every prayer and the love from afar! Also, thank-you to God for having your hands over all of us and for blessing us with the opportunity of a lifetime an for granting us with so much fun, joy, laughter, and adventure! Pura Vida!