UPSIDE DOWN VIEW


Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 10.9 ounces of cottage cheese— $5

When people visit Costa Rica, they immediately plan on zip-lining. My sister and her family are here for a couple weeks and this excursion is first on their list. My nieces can’t stop talking about it.

Zip-lining should be the country’s designated excursion. I’ll go as far as to say it should be printed on all Costa Rican flags and possibly their currency as well. When I sit and have coffee in Tamarindo, inevitably someone at a neighboring table is discussing all the fun they had while flying through the air on a cable.

Wanting to make a good impression with my eleven and thirteen-year-old nieces (and because we now wear the same size and I steal their cool Aeropostale T-shirts), I search for one that’s going to guarantee an exciting time. I pick Pura Adventura since they have great reviews on the internet and because you are secured to not one but two cables as you fly through the jungle.

When we first walk into their lobby I am greeted with big, friendly smiles. The manager comes from behind the desk and shakes our hands before welcoming us to his establishment. I always like it when a business does this; it usually means they really take pride in their product. We have to wait a half hour so I buy a bunch of soda to pass the time. Why I drink two bottles of Orange Fanta right before being strapped to a harness for an indefinite amount of time just goes to show you my train of thought when it’s 90 degrees out.

A truck pulls up and we all pile into the back. It feels like a hay ride as we drive through lush green pastures under trees full of monkeys. Cattle are periodically blocking the road and lazily move to the side once we beep the horn. The ride alone feels like a separate excursion.

Once we climb to our first platform and are safely harnessed, we look out across the first cable and realize we are above most of the trees. This gives sweeping views of the hills and valleys before us. I jump off and it feels like I’m zipping forever, spying down on the world like an eagle. There is nothing…nothing like a view from above the treetops. I feel happy, and free, and all those things I thought I lost when I was working in the office years ago. Costa Rica continues to make me feel like a kid again.

After a few cables, they encourage us to go upside down. I volunteer and marvel at how the world looks from this perspective. It’s the perfect metaphor for how differently I live my life today and how much it has changed. Five years ago I turned my life upside down, moved to Costa Rica, and each year I’m saying yes to more things I would never have tried in the past.

Whenever I get out of my comfort zone I learn something new. This journey never stops teaching me things and I welcome each new encounter that comes my way. It may be just shaking hands with a business owner or speeding upside down on a steel cable. Costa Rica reminds me to show up and be present in my life. It sure beats being a spectator.

We all rappel down the last platform and proceed to pile in the truck for the drive back. My four-year-old niece is sitting with my sister and anxiously waits to hear if we saw any monkeys. Since she didn’t get to go zip-lining, I want to do something special for her. I point to the horse stables and ask the guide in Spanish if she could ride an onion. Yes…you read that right.

As you can see, my Spanish is coming along splendidly. Thankfully the guide did not let her ride any vegetables just because a wacky gringo hyped up on Orange Fanta asked him to.

(Don’t forget to visit me at www.facebook.com/happierthanabillionaire . I share lots of great pictures of our life here in Costa Rica!)

By | 2018-04-15T18:19:31-04:00 August 26th, 2012|Categories: Tourism|Tags: , , , |18 Comments

About the Author:

Nadine is the author of the best-selling series, Happier Than A Billionaire. Join her as she navigates living as an expat in the sometimes confusing, always beautiful, country of Costa Rica.

18 Comments

  1. auntiemjo September 5, 2012 at 7:50 pm - Reply

    Had fabulous time on the Zip-line at Monteverdi Cloud Forest. Literally zipped through a cloud. Awesome. And the view was great lower when not in a cloud.
    Please update us on how your area was affected by today’s earthquake and your personal status.

    • admin September 5, 2012 at 8:34 pm - Reply

      Thanks so much for thinking about us. We are good, house is standing, and now just trying to deal with all these aftershocks, some upwards of 5.0. I doubt I will be getting any sleep tonight!

  2. kcmookie September 5, 2012 at 5:41 pm - Reply

    Hey Girl, I hope all is well. I understand there was another earthquake today. Please let us know your all right, your site is the closest I get to a vacation these days….

    • admin September 5, 2012 at 8:33 pm - Reply

      Thanks for thinking about me. It was an intense day, terrifying but all is well and the house sustained minimal damage. Boy oh boy, you just never know when it’s your time…but luckily it wasn’t mine today.

  3. SE September 3, 2012 at 9:05 am - Reply

    Party of 9 will be there in October staying at casa muy grande on Playa Grande. Daughter is getting married on the beach. Husband has not been there and he is anxiously counting down the days! Want to eat at Happy Snapper a few times. Love that place. Pura Vida!

    • admin September 5, 2012 at 8:29 pm - Reply

      Was at a wedding there over the summer. Just spectacular, you are going to have such a lovely time!

  4. Melissa A Hudson August 31, 2012 at 12:19 pm - Reply

    I was wondering how to find out about pharmacist license transfer and employment in Costa Rica. Any ideas on how to find out? Havng a lot of trouble finding a starting point from the US.

    • admin September 1, 2012 at 12:07 pm - Reply

      I’m not sure. I would visit and talk with a pharmacist here. It’s hard to find out this information, it’s never posted online. But I think a meeting with a colleague here would at the very least point you in the right direction.

      So much of the move here really started once my feet were on the ground. It’s hard to get anything done unless you are here doing it in person. I hope that helped and good luck with your journey!

  5. Robin August 28, 2012 at 8:47 am - Reply

    Nadine we went zip-lining and we had a blast. We are both in our upper 50’s so it was something on my bucket list to do! LOL ! Costa Rica was a wonderful place and we saw lots of beautiful places and wonderful people. Had lots of bugs and flying friends in our room at Lake Arnael! Still thinking about retiring there.. When is the new book coming out?

    • admin September 1, 2012 at 12:03 pm - Reply

      Hi Robin!! Thanks for visiting my blog and telling me about your own experiences. Isn’t it wonderful when you try something new, I try to never pass up any opportunity I get here. And for this one, going upside down was the perfect thing to do.

      My book should be out by the end of the year and I hope you come back to visit soon. Maybe you’ll end up like me and never go back!

  6. Alejandra August 28, 2012 at 1:53 am - Reply

    I love your block and your facebook account! It makes me happy to know how happy ppl can be in my country. My boyfriend is canadian and when he came for the first time I try to make him go to the zip line… Mission impossible lol

    • admin September 1, 2012 at 12:01 pm - Reply

      Thanks Alejandra. I really do love this country and all the lessons it has taught me. This morning I had HUGE parrots sitting outside my window…what a wonderful way to start the day!

      Lets get your boyfriend to do it! He doesn’t even have to upside down, but a zip on that cable makes you feel so alive and wonderful, he shouldn’t pass up the opportunity!!!!

  7. Tom Duffy August 27, 2012 at 10:13 pm - Reply

    Glad to see you writing again, it has been over a month. We are coming down next week, hopfully we can hook up this time, I have your number if it hasn’t changed?

    • admin September 1, 2012 at 11:59 am - Reply

      Hi Tom,

      I’ve been finishing up my second book and stayed off the blog for a while. My number is still the same and hope you have a safe trip!

  8. Lori August 27, 2012 at 7:56 pm - Reply

    Awesome

    • admin September 1, 2012 at 11:58 am - Reply

      Yes it was Lori! Can’t wait to go upside down again!

  9. Merry August 27, 2012 at 6:38 pm - Reply

    Yeah, Nadine the zip-line was a highlight of our trip. Here is a pic I took of my son (hope I did this right.)

    IMG_0109.JPG

    $5.00 for 10 oz cottage cheese? Yikes, I live on that stuff.

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