Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
My partner and I have officially been living on the same beach in Costa Rica for 3 months now. While that may not seem like a long time to most people, it is a bit of a bench mark number for me. In the past, when my ex husband and I would travel for long lengths of time (back in our 20’s before “real life” kicked into gear), we would always start to get itchy to go home around the 3 month mark. Granted, that usually meant that it would take us another month or so to get back home, but the intention was usually laid around the 3 month mark, and the plan would be set.
This time is different though, this time we aren’t going home. This time there is no home to go back to!
In the last couple of weeks I have started to feel the pang of boredom, that feeling of “spinning my wheels”, a feeling of not really getting anywhere. That yearning to see and do more has crept in, and I go through feelings of a bit of anxiousness as I wrestle with it all. After all, we are supposed to be travelling right? (Accent on the “ing” part!)
However, and this is a HUGE HOWEVER, we are sitting in the absolute most perfect spot right now. We are making a little bit of money, our accomodation is paid for, and we are parked on one of the most undiscovered, and picturesque beaches in all of Costa Rica.
So what really IS the problem??
I have been contemplating this for about a week now, and I think the answer is that stagnancy has crept in, and with that a certain laziness. Suddenly we have a routine, suddenly we are comfortable, suddenly we have a community, suddenly nothing is new anymore, things aren’t as exciting as they were when we arrived, and we have started to become complacent.
My Dad, John Amatt, has a quote that he uses in his motivational presentations:
“You either change, or you stagnate. You either leap forward, or you fall backward. You cannot stay where you are today.”
When I look at this quote, and I think about my reasons for wanting to go on this traveling journey, I realize that it is the need and the want to see and experience different things, that really gets me excited. That is what travelling is all about after all, seeing new things, experiencing new experiences, trying different food, finding out about what is around every corner. As we have new experiences in life, we grow, we change, and we become better people all round.
This past few weeks I haven’t posted many new photos on my social media pages, I have been finding it hard to write blog posts (therefore already dashing my goal of one per week in 2018!), and I haven’t really felt like doing much at all in general. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been doing lots of artwork, and continue to upload images to my various online pages (clickShops here to see more of this), which is always a lot of work, but that’s all I have really felt motivated to do. And I do realize that this all sounds like a very “Poor Me” post, but it’s not. It’s simply just real. It’s simply my human experience, and that is all.
We just had a friend visiting us for about 12 days from Canada, which really felt nice, having our routine broken up for a bit. He fell in love with this place, and proclaimed that he could stay here for a really long time. When I told him that I am starting to get itchy to go somewhere else, he stated that I was crazy. Why would I want to leave such a perfect spot? We have friends here, we have community here, we have a routine, we have created a new life.
It might seem bizarre to people that these are the exact reasons that I want to start a new, go somewhere else, experience something else, but I guess that is just how I am built. I feel like when I do the same thing for too long, have the same scenery over and over for too long, I become bored, I become disinterested in doing much, I become lazy, and worst of all I become stagnant.
When we lived in Canada, it was an easy fix. We would just jump in the car and go exploring, go for a hike, go on a road trip, go see something new. And looking back, I think that is pretty much what we did every so often. But here, we have no car and we have 3 dogs to take care of, which makes it difficult to even leave at all.
But, as I said before, it really is the perfect scenario, so I will just sit with it, I will continue to appreciate my surroundings, and I will continue to be thankful that we are so fortunate to be here. After all, we worked very hard to get ourselves here, it would be a shame to not enjoy it!
Not too mention, no matter what I am thinking, and no matter how anxious I get, we are here for as long as we need to be. The owner of the place we are managing is not sure when he is coming back, so it’s necessary to stay and take care of his dogs and manage his business until he returns. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be thinking about our next moves! I have a growing list of places we want to visit after we leave here!
Maybe this is the lesson I need, to be able to learn to be patient. Maybe I just need to breathe in one spot for a while. Maybe THIS is the universe trying to tell ME something!
I have to say though, it hasn’t been all being lazy on the beach this past month, and while our friend was here, we did have a couple of adventures, and had some exciting experiences!
#1, We went Ziplining!
I really can’t even remember the last time that I went ziplining, it has to be at least 20 years I think! We went to Hacienda Baru, a 330 Hectare Wildlife Reserve that is located just down the road from here. We flew through the canopy with reckless abandon on 8 different zip lines! It was exhilarating!
#2, We went camping!
We spent one night up at our friends farm in El Silencio, located 30 minutes away, in the mountains behind us. It was his 60th Birthday celebration, and we arranged for the dogs to be cared for while we enjoyed a night with friends around the fire. He also took us on a pretty awesome tour of his property and a few of us marched through the dense jungle to reach a lookout high above his house, that looked out all the way to the ocean!
#3, We got Accepted to Volunteer!
We learned that we have been accepted to Volunteer at Envision Fesitval about 3 weeks from now. Click here to find out about more from this amazing festival. We can’t wait to be involved in the creativity and meet incredible artists from around the world!
#4, We saw Whales!
Yes, we had a pod of about 5 humpback whales swim past our beach, very close to shore. We saw them spouting and breaching and could really see just how big they actually are! Quite a spectacle! Unfortunately I started videoing JUST as they finished breaching right in front of us, so I have nothing to share in that regard.
Another thing that I have worked on recently is a small crowd funding campaign that I have launched. Chris and I have made a friend here in Costa Rica, and she is going through a rough time right now. She is only 21 years old, has a 4 year old daughter and is going through a divorce. I can’t imagine having to take all of that on at such a young age!
She works as hard as she can, and as much as she can, to try and make ends meet. While I know that money doesn’t solve the worlds problems, I feel that a small boost for her in the short term, would get her through her current rough patch, and would maybe take away a feeling of hoplessness, and a scary outlook as she navigates parenthood alone. She is so young, and just starting out, and life can be a long and difficult road.
One of my goals when we set out on our journey, was to try and make a difference in the world. This is one way that I feel like I can maybe give back a little bit. We are so fortunate to have the lives that we do in North America. The fact that we can afford to do most things that we want to, even those of us that are seemingly scraping by, means that we are already in the top percentages of the wealthy people in the world.
In Costa Rica the wages are incredibly low in comparison to the cost of living. We have noticed that much of the food, gasoline, electricity and other common bills, are comparible prices to those found in Canada. At a standard rate of roughly $3 per hour, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for some people to get by.
If you have even $5 to spare, it would mean a lot to me if you were able to contribute to the Go Fund Me Campaign that I have set up. Help me to help others, but making a small difference in one persons life.
Thanks for reading! Pura Vida to all!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are managing a Cabina on the beach at Playa Matapalo, between Quepos and Dominical, in Costa Rica. If you are travelling in the area, please get in touch! We would love to connect with fellow travellers!
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to do this, click here.
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Just Some Wandering 