pura vida!

Happy Monday, travelers! Now that we’re (almost) out of the moving haze we’ve been living in for the past month, it’s time to focus on the important things in life. Who needs to be concerned about whether or not we have enough space to keep all of the hubs’s shoes when there’s a trip to plan!? (Just jooookes, hubs, your shoes can stay. THE GOLF CLUBS, on the other hand…)

As you may recall, the hubs and I booked ten days in Panama and Costa Rica, and already things have changed. We did some research AFTER booking our airfare (hint: that’s not how you’re supposed to do things) and ultimately decided that it made more sense to fly round trip from San Jose because, while Panama City is all the rage lately, we’re craving a less cityified trip. (Yes, I just made cityified a word). Our original itinerary involved 4 days in Panama and 6 days in Costa Rica, with the Panamanian time divvied up between Panama City and Bocas del Toro.

 Bocas del Toro

All was right with the world until we started researching how to go from Panama City > Bocas del Toro > Costa Rica (either via Limon or San Jose) and none of the options sounded great. A 10 hour bus ride was immediately vetoed by this girl, and though we’re pro-car rental, it didn’t seem like a great idea to plan for a 10 hour drive in a country we know virtually nothing about. We also looked into flying, but all of the flights went through San Jose for some unknown reason?

Arenal Volcano

To be fair: we’re really not this dumb. We just got so overwhelmed and excited by all the Panama City hoopla we’ve been seeing that we originally really thought that’s what we wanted. We tend to enjoy splitting up our time between cities and non-cities… but city vs. world class beaches and rainforests? It’s no contest, and we’re craving a nature-focused, super active getaway.

SO, revised itinerary: fly into San Jose and then hop on a flight directly to Bocas del Toro; spend three days beach hopping and exploring the islands; head back to Costa Rica and spend the rest of our time in central Costa Rica exploring the rainforests and volcano/hot springs area. I’m also seriously on the fence about zip lining. Yay or nay? I would say definite yay, but the hubs and I went parasailing this past summer and I almost died from fear.

Any advice or insight? Recommendations? We’re clearly in need of some assistance, here.

xo!

the romantic