THE ROCKY START

“You are going to love Costa Rica! I have a friend who moved there and she loves it!”, - V’s excitement is genuine, it’s hard not to smile.

“I sincerely hope so”.

Thoughts race ahead of each other. I DO sincerely hope we love Costa Rica. Getting there has been a lot more challenging than it should have been.

... “Look at those yellow trees! Do you see? Right there!”- Bobby’s amusement is sincere and genuine. His eyes are focused on the luscious greens that peeked from under the clouds.

My eyes follow his gaze. Yellow dots, the trees, pop in the sea of luscious greenery. Costa Rica is beautiful. The heaviness, a feeling that settled deep inside over the past couple of weeks, started to ease off as the curiosity took over.

... “That was the easiest immigration check point we’ve ever had,”- Bobby’s words literally voice my thoughts. People seem to be nice here. Kind. Genuine.

A gust of wind rushes through the open door at the airport exit and hits my face. Humid. And hot. But somehow it feels nice.

“This is where you wait for the shuttle to pick up your rental car”,- the airport attendant with kind eyes smiles and walks away. Whatever was left of that uneasy feeling evaporated. Maybe I will love Costa Rica after all! … “$500 extra? You’ve got to be kidding. How is it possible that the car insurance is more expensive than the rent itself? And then the deposit on top of that?! That’s ridiculous”,- my mind is trying to find solutions to a surprise I really don’t want to deal with right now.

“Maybe we don’t rent a car here and just take a shuttle?” - half desperate, half serious, my brain considers this decision as an option. “What if I give you a discount?”, - a salesman obviously sensed a very close loss. “How about I cut the deposit in half, yes?”

… ...The luscious greens are breathtaking. My eyes are glued to the road ahead. My hand itches to roll the window down, but the hot and humid air outside is not that appealing compared to a cool AC air inside of the car. “So, what exactly are we going to do at the first location?” - Bobby’s words voice my thoughts once again. What are we going to do there? My fingers quickly refresh the email on my phone. Still no detailed itinerary.

“I’m not sure. Let’s get there and see?” Bobby’s head nods in agreement.

A feeling of unease is starting to make its way back. This is not typical. We always have an itinerary to sign off on. Sure, this trip had a lot of logistical changes, but still. My mind tries to find logical explanations. Maybe this is a Costa Ricans’ way of doing things. Kind of, how islanders have a different pace of life? Half-soothed, my subconscious mind is somewhat calming down.