A homecoming for those who love the ocean best

Posted on by stanleyobando

Today my boost comes from the knowledge that people for whom Costa Rica’s beaches are not a vacation destination, but a birthright and a responsibility, are going to be able to dip their toes in the early-morning waters for the first time in months.

As part of the new, four-phase restriction-lifting plans announced yesterday, the Costa Rican government announced that beaches will be open from 5-8 am on weekdays only, starting on Monday, May 18th. For people who depend on the oceans for their sustenance, or who have grown up taking a walk or a dip in the oceans they love as part of their daily life, the closure of the nation’s beaches must have been particularly hard these past nine weeks, like someone coming in and closing your backyard. At the same time, the weekday-only rule and the focus on early morning hours should keep hordes of us city folk from descending on coastal communities and potentially taking the COVID-19 virus into their midst. I hope it does, at least.

Here’s to the ocean-keepers, those who live and breathe the rhythms of the ocean, those who pick up the plastic the rest of us send downstream, those who conserve and protect our coastal ecosystems, the kids who have been waiting in the heat to feel some salt water on their toes. You deserve to have your beaches back, all to yourselves. May your early mornings be everything you’ve been waiting for. And may the rest of us remember, next time we join you, that we are your guests.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! If you want to learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section, updated regularly – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.

Costa Rica without tourists, beaches without footprints

Posted on by stanleyobando

Just think: all of Costa Rica’s beaches look like this right now. They’re empty, except perhaps for a few local residents who, I imagine, continue to take an undercover, solitary stroll here and there.

It’s a stunning, sad, beautiful thought. It’s awesome, in the true sense of that word: not positive, just incredible to contemplate. It makes me wish we were there to see these sunrises and sunsets. Then I feel somehow glad that we’re not, that all these natural places are breathing without us. Then I think of the turtles who need protection and the plastic that needs picking up and the businesses that need customers, and I wish we were there again.

Again and again, we spin through these cycles of hope and despair. I hope that remembering our beaches makes you smile and maybe wiggle your toes in imaginary sand. These coastal communities will need us more than ever, and we’ll be ready.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! If you want to learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section, updated regularly – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.

Beaches are for everyone

Posted on by stanleyobando

TGIF and thank goodness for Costa Rica’s foresight in prohibiting private beaches. Did you know that in this country, no matter how exclusive your resort or waterfront mansion, you’re required by law to ensure that anyone who likes can still access the beach? That’s why we were able to make these footprints on Playa Nacascolo on Peninsula Papagayo, home to luxurious resorts like the Four Seasons but still publicly accessible for people who aren’t, you know, Madonna.

Well played, Costa Rica. And a happy weekend to all.

Day 64: Some Costa Rica travel resources I love

Posted on by stanleyobando

On this Travel Thursday, I know some readers are planning trips to Costa Rica in the upcoming high season. Here are a few resources that are not only handy for trip planners, but that I like to follow just for a splash of color in my Facebook or Instagram feed, along with travel inspiration for the future.

Costa Rica Traveler brings you amazing photographs by co-creator Andrés Madrigal along with useful links and articles from around the web. I kind of want their Instagram feed to be the wallpaper in my house; it’s a thing of beauty. The featured image on this post was taken by Andrés at Playa Negra on the Caribbean coast – see what I mean? You can follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

GOPlaya is “the beach engine of Costa Rica” – a site, feed and app that helps you figure out which beach to visit. The award-winning platform allows you to search more than 200 beaches and find useful info including access routes, photographs and videos. (If you’ve never been to Costa Rica, I can assure you that “Hmm, which of the 200 beaches should we visit?” is indeed actually a question that befuddles the tourist. There are so many, and often the best ones are down unpromising-looking dirt roads, and you wouldn’t find them unless you had a helpful platform on your phone. The struggle is real.) Check them out on Facebook or Instagram.

If you’re in the Central Valley and looking for things to do, I highly recommend GAM Cultural, a massive and searchable online directory of events. It’s only available in Spanish, but honestly, the information is so well organized that you can get the gist (name, place, time) and then consult your host or hotel. As a mom I miss 99.9% of the events they share, but I like to follow them on Facebook just to keep tabs on everything that’s going on in the city.

What’s your favorite Costa Rican (or international) travel resource? I want to keep sharing useful info and giving a shout out to people doing great work. Let me know what you love to follow or rely on!

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

Day 31: The cure for anything is salt water

Posted on by stanleyobando

These words from one of my favorite writers tend to make me want to dip my toes in the ocean, but recently, I’ve been thinking about the first option she gives us: sweat. The older I get, the more I understand the power of putting your hand to the plough as a solution for what ails you.

These are scary times we live in, politically, environmentally and socially, and sometimes options two and three are the most compelling. It’s a good time to disconnect for a while and take ourselves to the nearest surf, or to indulge in a good cry. But what I discovered in 2017 when I briefly wrote an interview series called Shadow Cabinet was that the people I spoke to who were more engaged with the toughest issues also seemed more cheerful than I was at the time.

I expected to hear stress and fear in their voices. After all, they, unlike me, were actually working on a daily basis with immigrants, or unjustly jailed young people, or frustrated public school parents, or struggling journalists, or the inner workings of democracy. However, I found instead that while they certainly spoke with a sense of urgency, they also radiated optimism and hope. What I learned from the women leaders of Shadow Cabinet was that leaning into the issues that concerned them, they seemed to have helped their mental health, rather than hurting it.

There are probably many reasons why this is the case, but I think the biggest one might be community. We can cry over the injustices of our society alone in our houses, but whenever we roll up our sleeves and really get in there, we will be meeting incredible people who share our stance. We also get up close and personal with the incredible resilience of people who are experiencing injustice, discrimination and oppression.

As we start another week, I share this lesson for myself as well as others. There are so many things I need to learn over and over again, apparently, and this is one of them. When I feel truly overwhelmed by the crisis du jour – climate, constitutional, you take your pick – sometimes the best thing to do might actually be resist the urge to pull back, and to learn more instead. To sweat a little bit, to put in some work in whatever way I can figure out, and to connect, wherever possible.

Failing that, a good cry and a dip in the sea will never, ever hurt.

Have you figured out ways to do this recently? It can really be a struggle, so I’d love to hear any tips you’ve got, or any websites, groups or little online or physical communities you’ve found. I hope you have a happy Monday, or, failing that, a short one.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter).