There are necessarily pre-trips to Costa Rica to open a bank account, get an attorney for residency, find a rental or look at property (hopefully at CRLT), and one should mix some fun with the dutiful tasks of relocation. After all, we are coming here to relax, change our pace of life, enjoy a beautiful tropical paradise, and some trips to the various ends (and sides) of the country should be part of the schedule.

The Central Valley is perfectly located in the center of Costa Rica, about the size of the State of Virginia, so a quick 2-hour ride and you can be basking at the beach in Jaco on the Pacific side where they have a zillion restaurants or go the other direction and there you are at the Caribbean side, which is far less populated.

We are also perfectly located a half day ride to the Sarapiqui River, where you can hire a river boat to take you almost to Nicaragua, all the while seeing howler monkeys, crocodiles, unending bird species, and even flying fish. You can go south toward Panama to the rain forest side of the country, and the seaside and mountainous views are breathtaking. There are the active volcanoes of Arenal as well as the hot springs for that spa type of day. Most of the hotels have nothing but window views of the volcano so that your nighttime views are nothing short of spectacular.

There are zip lines all over the country that my 80 year old mother-in-law loves to do and she swears to do the “Superman” zip on her next visit. This is one where they put you in a Superman type of giddyup (laying flat on your stomach) to do the zipping on. Needless to say, she has no fear and has been known to do this stuff all day. Normal folks just do the chair type of zipping. Don’t try to keep up with my mother-in-law; she will probably embarrass you.

My mother, at age 90, has become a little more reserved and prefers the botanical gardens in Sarchi (4 kilometers from Grecia) and then browsing in their Walmart sized souvenir store. And while in Sarchi, you have to stop at Steve’s place and get a whole rotisseried chicken as it is absolutely the very best in the whole world. Take all leftovers home with you and if you are like us, we order an extra one to take home anyway.

And if any of this has made you tired, you can still go to the theater in Grecia that rivals the finest quality theater I have ever seen in the states and don’t forget they will be in English with Spanish subtitles so you can be entertained and learn some Spanish at the same time. The activities in Costa Rica for entertainment are too numerous to mention because we did not even get to the scuba, the white water rafting, bird watching, and so much more. I never understood why people watched birds until I came here saw what beautiful creatures they have to watch here. The crows in Dallas never did much for me.

As always, CostaRicaLandToday is always available to make tour recommendations, give suggestions, and hopefully help you find your dream home, dream property and enjoy the Pura Vida lifestyle that we feel so blessed to have found.