{"id":91,"date":"2021-10-19T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/export.themeruby.com\/look\/2020\/02\/28\/how-to-make-a-cappuccino-without-machines-copy-copy-copy-copy-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-10-20T07:11:48","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T12:11:48","slug":"living-through-the-pandemic-for-better-or-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhomewithcharms.com\/?p=91","title":{"rendered":"Living Through The Pandemic – For Better or Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you define living? Is it defined by your income? Or the pursuit of a specific lifestyle? The presence of family and\/or friends? Whatever it is, this pandemic has surely put a wrench in it. We have missed so much these past 18 months I sometimes ask myself, are we living? Or just passing time? As an expat, I never feel totally at ‘home’ where I live and travel has always been an escape for me. Whether it is to seek out new places or revisit familiar ones to see family and friends. And travel partly defines living for me. So how do we go about living through the pandemic? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting Back to International Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The islands have been closed to international travel since March 2020 with no reopening time in sight. How do we get back to travel when travel for leisure is discouraged and comes at a hefty price tag? The easiest solution is to get to know your island home. We are three islands with a wide variety of offerings to explore and enjoy. So, after happily exploring the other two islands, Cayman Brac<\/a> and Little Cayman, I was ready to face the world again. I was longing for cool mountain air, flowing rivers and a respite from the summer heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"La<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hello Costa Rica!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After a bit of research, I decided on Costa Rica. A friend of mine has been singing its praises for the past two years and I had an open invite. Having less than 2 weeks to travel I needed a short commute and no quarantine. Costa Rica fit this bill as I was able to get there in one day. Of course, that took a bit of planning and thankfully a lot of flexibility from the airlines involved. It reminded me of traveling in the past where airlines were more sympathetic to life changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was longing for cool mountain air, flowing rivers and a respite from the summer heat. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Choosing to travel at the height of the rainy season was a big gamble. But I said to myself I’m going to be in the rainforest, so rain was a given. And that’s what rain gear was for, after all! I arrived in fine style, and by that, I mean a serious rain\/thunder storm that our pilot assured us the plane could handle. I had my doubts, but he landed us safely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to Explore! <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By now you would be aware that I am a bit of a busy body. I surprised myself planning this trip as I had a list of things I wanted to do but no set agenda. As a solopreneur it is hard to just hang up your out of office sign for two weeks. So, there would be some working, and I also needed to rest. However, we are not living in normal times and some amount of pre-planning is required. Thankfully, because of the pandemic, most of the places I wanted to get into had availability. And I was able to do all my bookings at short notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Coffee
Photo: Enjoying a great coffee at my Airbnb in La Fortuna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My trip was mostly spent in central valley around the provinces of Alajuela. However the area to cover was quite large with some locations being 3-4 hours away by car. To make the most of the trip I would overnight in different locations rather than take day trips. A caveat, booking your Airbnb at short notice can be a hit or miss. So, in hindsight I would have done a bit more planning in that respect. However, we lucked out with some great Airbnb places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alajuela, one of Costa Rica’s largest cities, and nearby towns like San Jose and Heredia. Fun Fact: <\/strong>The Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) is actually located in Alajuela and not San Jose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica is living through the pandemic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Throughout my entire stay I felt safe. Costa Rica opened to tourism in November 2020. Almost a year later when I visited you could see that they had become accustomed to the new norm and all the normal protocols we come to expect were in place. What I appreciated the most was the installation of hand-washing stations everywhere. Some of which were really ingenious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n