Here’s a quick video

Related Articles:

1. Video of Ben Surfing First quick video of Ben surfing with the GoPro mounted directly on his surfboard. Can’t wait to do more! This is surfing at Playa Tamarindo near the river mouth. Below...
2. Video of Jacob Surfing You’ve gotta love the GoPro cameras. This is the first video we shot of Jacob after adding the GoPro Surf Mount to their board. Turned out great :) I need...
3. Surfing, Broncos and Chinese Food Yesterday was a really fun day. It was Sunday, we didn’t have any school to attend, so we had a casual morning. Went out to breakfast at Nogui’s which is...

For the first month or so, we were consistently approached by all the vendors. I felt like I spent almost as much time enjoying the beach as I did repeatedly saying “No Gracias.” After the first month, there was recognition between us and a number of these different vendors. When recognition turned to casual conversation, we began to ask these familiar faces basic questions. One of the very first vendors we “met” was Antonio. He sells pottery. It started as a simple conversation, “Where are you from?” “What’s your name?” etc. The next day when Antonio walked by, we were no longer a sales pitch opportunity, we were someone he knew. He was curious about us, we were curious about him. In that moment we realized that if we formed any sort of relationship with these guys, we were no longer a sales opportunity.

Since that moment, we have made friends with a number of the beach vendors and it has changed the way we experience the beach. Our new friends come and see us, but they no longer ask us to buy anything.

Almost every beach vendor we’ve met is from Nicaragua and the majority of them have families in Nicaragua that they are supporting. Antonio has a wife and daughter. His daughter just turned 3. We’ve seen pictures of her and his wife. We know where he lives in Nicaragua and a little about his life. He talks with the kids, and also knows a little about us and our life.

Benito, another friendly, familiar face on the beach, is an older guy that walks the beach all day with a small cooler selling beer and water. We’d seen him for months walking the beach and one day after a surf session we finally gave in and bought a few beers. Later that week we saw him again and bought a few more. This time we started chatting. He only speaks Spanish, so it’s been a hard relationship to form, but we’ve become friends over the last few months. He always stops by to say hello when he sees us. He asks how the kids are doing with their surfing, we talk about the weather and his sales for the day. It’s easy for us to support him with a couple bucks for a cold beer on a hot day.

Last week, we flagged Benito over for a cold beer and quick chat. Quickly realizing that we were out of cash, we apologized and tried to send him on his way. He immediately responded, “You’re my friend now, it’s all good, just pay me tomorrow.” As silly as it sounds, it was a moment. We were getting Beach Beer on Credit. All because a few months earlier we started a relationship on the beach with the nice old man carrying a tiny cooler of beer.

We’re still not immune to the sales pitches of the vendors, but I feel like the majority of them at least recognize us now and walk by, and some of them are now friends that swing by to chat. It’s one more level of this town that I can’t help but love.

Except for the bird whistles. They will forever be annoying.

Related Articles:

1. Stretch before you play soccer on the beach We got a soccer ball for the kids today, their first and only beach toy thus far. Our day today was filled with non-beach activities, we walked all around Tamarindo...

Considering the facts – no 8 year old’s to celebrate with, no invitations, party favors, jumpy castles or the like, we had to start from the ground up. Jacob wanted nothing more than to celebrate his birthday surfing. The day of his birthday – we went surfing. Honoring tradition, Jacob and Matt went to breakfast together and when they returned we walked to the beach and surfed for a couple of hours. During the afternoon, Jacob chatted via Skype with grandparents. Afterward, we celebrated with cupcakes and gifts, followed by dinner at Bamboo.

The big birthday anticipation, however, culminated yesterday with the long awaited, long anticipated surf trip to Witch’s Rock and Ollie’s Point. From the moment we arrived in Tamarindo, we have all wanted to see, (simply see), the legendary Witch’s Rock. Unfortunately, while there is a beach break and surf shop named after Witch’s Rock right here in Tamarindo, the actual Witch’s Rock is a two hour boat ride from Tamarindo. I am glad we didn’t waste our time taking this trip any earlier. And I am hoping, and assuming, that Jacob will never forget where he spent his 8th Birthday.

Witch’s Rock is considered one of Costa Rica’s best surf spots and attracts serious surfers. We do not fall into this category, but luckily we have friends that do. So, we asked Brian to help us arrange the trip, (in a way that would work for our family of 5 – the right weather, swell, boat, etc.), and asked Omar and Brian to come surf and hang with us – extra hands, eyes and experience. Thank goodness, because we had no business being out there by ourselves.

As usual, we had no idea what to expect, but as usual it was an amazing experience for all of us. We were picked up on the beach in Tamarindo at 7:15 May 1st. We spent about two hours traveling north to Witch’s Rock. When we arrived, Captain Rick and Brian scouted the area for awhile, considering the size of the swell and the size of the boys! They finally settled on a spot that seemed “reasonable.” Alright… the waves were big and my boys are small… but, I put on my game face and got “excited,” despite being nervous. In the end, I was jumping in with them, so I had to get over my nerves.

We were coming into the waves from the back. We had only surfed waves from the beach and now I’m not sure if waves are more intimidating from the front or the back. It’s the difference between seeing the size and imagining, (with my limited experience) the size. Either way, the waves were much bigger than anything we had surfed before. Omar, Brian, Ben, Jacob and I tossed our boards off the boat and paddled toward the outer swell. Brian gave the simple, fitting and intimidating advice, “listen, the waves are coming, they are big – you can get crushed by them, or try to ride them. You might as well try to ride them.” I wish I could say that we all went for it, but we didn’t…

We stayed on the outer set for a short while, but Jacob and I headed toward the beach when we got a break. Before long, we all found our spot – Brian and Omar were catching the big waves, Ben was hanging somewhere in the middle, Jacob and I headed for the milder beach break. A couple of times, I would leave Jacob near the beach to check on Ben. There were lots of eyes – Rick and Matt with binoculars from the boat, Omar and Brian in the water near Ben, and me, paddling between the two boys, unable to see both at the same time.

On the way back in to check on Jacob again, I saw him crying, paddling back through the waves with the help of a stranger trying to push him through the break. I was now behind him and I couldn’t paddle fast enough to catch up or yell loud enough to get his attention. We were right at the break, getting knocked back and under by a steady stream of waves. I finally spotted Omar, yelled at the top of my lungs, “help Jake,” while pointing in his general direction and quickly approaching him. I was mostly desperate to get close to provide comfort, knowing that he was not alone in that moment. Omar and I approached at the same time and we all three got crushed again by another wave. Jacob was escalating toward panic at this point. In my worry about him I was having a hard time staying calm.

Omar kicked into high gear. I still get chills thinking about it. He has been a surfing hero to the boys and a dear friend to our family since we met our first day in Tamarindo. He quickly abandoned his (very, very nice competition board), told Jake in a calm voice to relax and summoned some sort of super hero swimming power. He grabbed Jacob and his board, pulling his own board behind him by the leash, diving under and swimming through wave after wave at incredible speed and with total focus. I was running on adrenaline, paddling as fast as I could, getting pushed backward with each wave. Before I knew it they were 10 feet, 30, 50 feet ahead of me. By the time I got through the last large set, they were through and half way back to the boat. At this point I spotted Ben, calmly hanging out on his board, (thank goodness) and Brian behind me after coming in to check on us. I kept paddling toward the boat, toward Jacob. Brian was with Ben trailing close behind us. Jacob was on the boat, staring into the ocean before I even touched the boat.

Jacob was fine, but shocked. Omar was fine but exhausted. I was fine, but shaking from adrenaline and exhaustion. Brian and Ben were happy and tired. Jacob quickly fell asleep on the boat and Omar was right behind him. While we were out surfing, Jacob was surfing appropriately sized waves, having a great time. He only got scared while paddling back to the boat. He was not in danger, but he was scared and fear is dangerous while in the water. Forever more, Jacob will be bonded to Omar and I will be grateful for his strong, calming presence in those moments. Omar lost a fin and Jacob’s board had some pretty substantial dings, (most likely from their boards crashing together in the waves). We bought Omar some new fins as the most minor of thank-you’s upon our return to Tamarindo.

While a big part of this post, that was only a small part of our day. We took a deep breath and then motored another 20 minutes north to Ollie’s point. Ben, Brian and Matt jumped off the boat and swam to this awesome point break – totally empty and just starting to break. Abby and I swam, Omar relaxed and Jacob shook off his shock. By the time Matt returned to the boat, Jacob was ready to jump back in and go for it. Ollie’s did not require any paddling through the break, so Brian, Jacob and Ben spent the next hour plus taking turns catching nice, long rides – one after another. The boys were so happy, taking every little piece of surf advice they could gather from Brian. Matt, Omar, Abby and I enjoyed the hour taking pictures, swimming and relaxing on the boat.

Matt and I have had the amazing experience of watching our boys surpass us, (rather quickly) in skill, confidence and understanding since the time we started surfing. What an interesting and cool rite of passage as a parent. They are still small, still my little boys, while the ocean is big, powerful and unpredictable. Our day just would not have been possible or successful without Brian and Omar who provided the skills and support that Matt and I just didn’t have.

May 1st was another incredible day in Costa Rica that changed us. Ben and Jacob wrote their own accounts of the day that I can’t wait to read, type and post.

Here are a few pictures from the day at Witch’s and Ollie’s:

Related Articles:

1. Goodbye’s… and hello’s Goodbye’s are hard. We are anticipating ours – one month from today. It’s difficult not to “go there” yet, considering we have had so many happy Hello’s as of late....

It’s difficult not to “go there” yet, considering we have had so many happy Hello’s as of late. We have been blessed over the last five months in Tamarindo to have made so many new friends while also welcoming friends from home to Tamarindo.

Prairie and Tom and their three kids – Will, Sydney and Kate visited Tamarindo two weeks ago. With three kids under the age of five in tow, they still enjoyed the surf, horseback riding and a river trip with dangling chickens and jumping crocs, (LOVE CR). We were lucky enough to have time with them here at the house, another amazing evening at Bamboo and sunset cocktails on Playa Tamarindo.

Uncle John arrived a few days later. Oh, those late night flights into Liberia. The kids had a hard time going to bed knowing that Uncle John would be arriving late that evening. After a long flight from California, through Denver, then Houston, he arrived in Liberia and was shuttled to Casa Colorado by 10 p.m. While sleep deprived and exhausted, he was ready to decompress out by the pool. It’s always fun to welcome someone in the dark, (thinking back to our arrival in Tamarindo), knowing what they get to see and experience when the sun comes up in the morning.

The kids were excited to have John here for their surf competition on Saturday and to watch him catch some waves of his own. Prairie and Tom inspired us to finally take the trip to Palo Verde today. Unfortunately, (or fortunately), we didn’t have a guide who baited the crocs with chickens. Nor did we have the coveted white faced monkeys jump onto our boat. But it was still a great river trip down to the Nicoya Peninsula, including a visit to historic Nicoya, and a visit to Guaitil to see how local pottery is made.

During the last week, we made some new friends and said goodbye to some new (old) friends. Yesterday, we said goodbye to Frank and Elsy. Besides Luciano, (our driver), and Pino, (the hotel owner who opened our door), Frank was the first person we met in Costa Rica. He showed up to our door early our first morning in Costa Rica. We were so white, and so “green.” We didn’t know what was going on, but he got all three kids in the Luna Llena pool that first morning. Ben and Jacob were taught how to practice covering their head while falling off a surfboard. Abby was basically taught how to swim.

Before we knew it, he had us all in the ocean learning how to surf. That evening, he took us on our first walk to watch the sunset on the point at Langosta. Little did we know at this time that he and his family would become part of our Costa Rican family. Frank, Elsy and Omar were such an integral part of our first months in Costa Rica. They taught us how to surf, took us to the most amazing beaches in Guanacaste, helped us with our Spanish, invited us into their home and so much more.

Today, they returned to Venezuela to start their own surf school, Aloha y Olas. We plan to visit and surf with them on Isla Margarita, off the northern coast of Venezuela. We are so thankful to have met them upon our arrival in Costa Rica and to say goodbye to them with our new friends Amy and Brian, Uncle John and friends Carrie and Brian.

We really had no idea what to expect. We knew it was Saturday. That’s it. None of us have ever been to a surf competition, let alone competed in one, so it was a day full of wonder and our usual feeling of “I have no idea what’s going on here.” It was perfect.

Pre Surf Relaxation

When we arrived Saturday morning we found out that it was starting at 11, and the competition was part of a town festival for kids revolving around Earth Day. There were 4 age groups ranging from 7 and under, 9-12, 13-16 and under 20′s. Quite a few of the kids competing we had “heard” about around town. The good surfers stand out and people talk about them, and they were there that day, ready to compete.

Erin and I were quickly reminded of the early swim team days with Ben from last summer. He got real quiet. Very focused. In his head. In the Zone. It was cool to see how similar his pre-surf competition game mode was to his pre-swim meet game mode. Virtually identical.

Jacob was the opposite. He was all smiles and when we suggested he go out and catch some waves to warm up, he quickly grabbed his board and ran to the ocean and surfed for at least an hour. Focused and driven.

Ben - Heat 1

When the time came for Ben’s first heat he was paired up with (in my opinion) the best 10 year old surfer (Malakai)  in the country. I wasn’t sure how Ben would feel about that. He wasn’t phased at all. In fact, he paddled out with him stroke for stroke, watching, learning. Ben has never done a duck dive on his board before, he’s never learned and within 30 seconds of watching Malakai duck dive, Ben figured it out and was charging the waves. It was amazing to watch.

First competitive wave for Ben

Ben did great in the competition. He caught a ton of waves, rode them in and tore it up. Malakai (as expected) was a much better surfer, but Ben was all over it. He never got frustrated, and kept catching wave after wave. I was so proud watching Ben, who has been surfing for about 4 months competing with Malakai, who has been surfing for the last 8 years. When the heat was over and Ben was riding his last wave in, he was FULL of smiles, so proud. He knew he rocked it. We all welcomed him back to shore and that quiet kid that paddled out was now beaming upon his return. We couldn’t have been happier for him.

Jacob Final Heat

When Jacob’s heat came up a little while later, he was ready to go as well. With the younger kids they have the option to have a parent go out with them. I asked Jacob if he wanted me to go out with him and he replied, “Dad, do I get more points if you don’t go out with me?” “Yes”, I replied. “OK, you stay here, I’ve got it.” And sure enough, he had it. Out he went. Immediately he started catching waves, I don’t think he missed any of his first 5 or so waves. The current was super strong that afternoon, and he kept getting pulled further and further down the beach toward the crowds of the surf schools in the water, I’m not even sure he noticed. He was on fire. His goal was to catch a wave and ride it as far into the shore as he could. He nailed it.

Jacob's first competitive wave

When his heat was over, Jacob came back to the shore with a smile plastered all over his face. He knew he did exactly what he set out to do, and 20 minutes later when Elsy came over from the judges area and told him he had placed FIRST in his heat and would be going to the finals, he was ecstatic.

Both Ben and Jacob had qualified for the finals. We had no idea (again) what to expect, but we were super excited for them. Ben went back into his “mode” and Jacob remained lively and pumped.

Long story short, both boys did a fantastic job in their final heats as well. Competition was fierce (especially in Ben’s heat) and the boys both held their own. As a parent it was such a cool thing to be experiencing. We hung out with the other parents of surfers on the beach and had a great time. Abby was there cheering them on the whole time, Uncle John joined us as well. A few of our friends from town came by to cheer on the boys also.

Ben, Jacob and Omar

When it was all said and done, and awards were being given out at the end of the day, we couldn’t believe it. Jacob had placed first place in his age group. Ben places third in his. Who would have ever thought that two Colorado Boys would be placing in a surf competition in Costa Rica. I certainly never even considered the idea. Erin and I were at a loss for words on and off all day long. Was this really happening? Are those really our kids out there surfing? YES! And we were so so so proud of them.

We’ve heard there is another competition on the 5th of May, both Ben and Jacob are already excited and ready. Guess we’re competing again!

Enjoy the pix of that incredible day.

Related Articles:

1. Rain, Sand & Surf We had a great morning today. We had a “day off” from the surf institute, so we decided to head out on our own and surf. The tide was pretty...

We are so thankful to have met Jeffry who knows this house much better than we do. He knows the in’s and out’s and has really taken care of us as we settle in and figure it out. He is a local and he only speaks Spanish, which means he gets to teach us Spanish, as well as everything else. I feel like we are coming into his house, not the opposite. And he has been so amazingly kind, patient, and welcoming. So much so that he invited us to celebrate Easter Sunday with him and his family.

To be honest, I was so intimidated by the invitation that I was not looking forward to it. I wanted to go – would never have passed up the opportunity. But I could never use the word “excited” to describe how I felt in anticipation.

Sunday morning – I wrote out a couple of sentences in Spanish to express gratitude, (at the very least), for the invitation. That was something I didn’t want to hack to bits when saying goodbye and thanks to his family. The kids drew some pictures for him – Happy Easter, Thank You, etc. And I had a bottle of wine to bring – (is that appropriate, normal??), I had no idea what to expect or what what was expected.

Turns out, surprise, surprise, that there were no expectations. Like every other experience here it was so casual and warm and relaxed. He and his entire extended family live in El Llano, near Huacas. We drove to the gas station – 25 minutes from Tamarindo, called him, and he came to meet us and drive us down the road to his house.

We parked Vino and were welcomed into his home by his girlfriend Pamela. They offered us a Coke, introduced us to their dog DeDe, and showed us around their property. Jeffry and his dad built his home and hope to add on to it in the future. There are lots of animals – pigs, roosters, dogs and horses right outside his door.

We then walked from his home past his cousin’s, aunt’s, uncle’s, grandparent’s, brother’s, etc. homes. We were greeted by numerous family members at his mother’s??? home. His uncle??? took us on a horseback ride to show us their land. Upon returning, we hung out – literally just stood around, eating mangoes and trying to speak Spanish. While the communication was rough, there were lots of smiles and an amazing amount of warmth.

After a lot of anticipation, I just put myself out there and tried to speak as much Spanish as I could, with as little self-consciousness as I could muster. At one point, Jeffrey’s mother asked if we went to church for Easter. Matt and I both looked at each other and then looked at her and said, “no,” and then laughed – come on Spanish, come on. We just couldn’t manage a conversation in Spanish about religion. At one point, Matt said, “si, en el pasado, pero, no hoy – yes, in the past, but not today.” We tried and failed, although we received lots of compliments for our efforts!

We met Jeffry’s long anticipated baby nephew. We held a baby chick and after awhile, Jeffrey said, “listo? ready?” We headed back to his house, had another glass of Coke and loaded into Vino for the drive back to Tamarindo.

We felt honored to have been invited to his home for Easter and I think they enjoyed sharing a little slice of Tico life with us. Stepping out of our comfort zone came with a multitude of unexpected gifts on Easter Sunday.

We enjoyed our early days in Tamarindo, feeling like we were the only “tourists” in a sleepy little town. Eating alone at restaurants, night after night, and seeing the same faces on the beaches day after day. But watching the town come alive and bustle with activity and business has been equally fun and fascinating. Since the first holiday surge, we have been told over and over, “just wait for Semana Santa, just wait and see!” We didn’t know what to think about this anticipated week, but there were enough comments and stories to capture our curiosity.

Semana Santa – Easter week – holy week – is one of the most important holidays of the year in Costa Rica. There are many religious and cultural traditions that are honored, but one of the most important is time for rest and family. Thursday and Friday are recognized as days off, but many people take the entire week off and enjoy vacationing with friends and family. And where better to vacation than the beaches of Tamarindo?!?

The beaches were packed, the hotels were booked, and there were people everywhere. We went to the beach mid-day just to witness the scene. At low tide there was a lot of space to play soccer, build sand castles, play in the waves, etc. But, at high tide, (and the tide was especially high this last week), the water came so far up the beach that people – their tents, barbecues, towels and umbrellas – kept getting pushed back. It was almost impossible to find a little space in the sand.
We enjoyed the energy – music, food, fun and family – lots and lots of family – everywhere. We enjoyed the ease and openness of other kids joining us for a game of football or inviting us into a game of soccer.

Once again, we had the opportunity to practice our hilarious, broken Spanish. I think Matt especially enjoyed speaking Spanish with a three year old boy who joined him and the kids for a game of football. He asked him his name and then said, “Cuanto anos tiene?” – How old are you? The little boy replied, “No se.” – I don’t know. Matt said, “yeah, I get it,” No se – I don’t know – is our favorite thing to say in Spanish. We feel like we are three all the time!

We know he was three because he finally managed three fingers to show his age.

There were few reminders of dying eggs or the Easter Bunny. No baskets or Easter egg hunts to be found. Snow Cones were the closest things we saw to Easter Eggs.

Instead, we spent Easter Sunday at Jeffrey’s house… Stay Tuned.

Related Articles:

1. Getting Pulled over in Vino Yet again, we experienced another first this morning, not quite as fun as our other firsts though. This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Latin America. It’s the busiest...

Ben, Jacob and Abby laugh a lot. They laugh because life is full of joy. They laugh when a wave knocks them over or when a monkey pees on them, (which happened to Ben yesterday). They laugh at each other, at us, and at themselves. They laugh all the time because they are kids. It doesn’t take much more than a belly flop in the pool to send all three of them into a fit of giggles.

Taking the risk to learn new things has naturally resulted in a humbling, child-like experience for both Matt and me. And, just like the kids, we find ourselves in fits of laughter as we fumble through the Spanish language, get tossed around on our surfboards in the ocean and figure out the subtleties of life in Costa Rica.

As we settle into our new home, back in town, we are thankfully “forced” to practice our Spanish once again. This time, however, it is not in the school setting we were in when we arrived in December. Now, it is real life situations that challenge our limited vocabulary and test our creativity.

Yesterday, Matt and I were talking about food with Ingris. She does not speak ANY English, so we couldn’t even rely on broken Spanglish. We were telling her what we like, what we don’t like, what we can eat and what we can’t. Matt was trying to explain that while he loves shellfish, he can’t eat it because he has an allergy. The explanation was a hack job to begin with, but when it came to the word “shellfish” neither of us could remember how to say it in Spanish. The word was crucial to the conversation and hand gestures didn’t help at all. Finally, Matt  stopped, thought for a second, and came up with one simple statement, spoken in Spanish. “I am allergic to fish with jackets.” Ingris, sweet but stoic, broke into laughter. Matt and I also laughed.

It was later that night, however, that we were laughing so hard that we were crying. “Fish with jackets” was certainly hilarious, but it got us thinking about all the endless ridiculous things we have said over the last four months. The list is long…

By the way, shellfish is mariscos!

Erin and I have been reflecting this week about how different some of our relationships are down here purely because of a huge language barrier. The casual conversation is out the window sometimes and all we can pull off is the essential communication. “Is the dryer fixed?” “Did the water pump stop leaking?” “When are you coming back?” “I like chicken more than fish” “Yes, I like to ride horses.” “We’re going to go get lunch” “No, I’m not Catholic” etc.

With people like Ingris, I want to know more about them, I’m interested, but it’s hard to go much beyond the basics without breaking out the iphone to do some translations. “How was your weekend?” “How many kids do you have?” “How old are they?” “Are you from Costa Rica?”

Just this week Ingris came over and was clearly in a great mood. We started chatting and then she said something with quite a lot of excitement that I knew was important to her.

“Tengo buenas noticias! Mis matrimoniales están en el 05 de mayo”

Erin was there too and we had her repeat what she said at least 4 times before we finally understood what she was saying. She said “I have great news! I’m getting married on the 5th of May!” Our first three attempts at understanding were not followed by the excitement we had on the 4th delivery with full comprehension.. it was rather amusing and we all got a good laugh out of it.

We’ve had to dumb down our communication to use words we know and thus have had to dumb down relationships to the most simplistic, raw forms. It’s kind of nice in a way, but being connected people, it also tends to leave us wanting more. Especially from ourselves. We want to connect and share and express our gratitude, excitement, feelings and thoughts and at the moment we’re limited to “Thanks so much” “That’s great” “How nice” “Of course” and “I understand”.

The good news is that we learn more every day. Today I learned “Smells great” “Replacement Part” and “Bring me the receipt.” Amazing how something so simple can be so complicated.

Poco a Poco – Little by Little.

Related Articles:

1. Spanish Intensive Spanish – No comprendo! No se! Tengo una pregunta! Repita, por favor! We had four hours of lessons this week, and learned a lot. CSI is a full immersion program,...
2. Life in Tamarindo: The Hotel Luna Llena As promised, here is post three on our everyday life in Tamarindo. This edition is focusing on the hotel we’re staying at, the Luna Llena (Full Moon). The hotel has...
3. Life In Tamarindo: Our Casa Part two of our writings and photos on everyday life in Tamarindo thus far, today’s installment is our house. We are living at the Luna Llena Hotel & Residence. It’s...

This morning we were having breakfast at Kahiki’s and we needed to head to the grocery store, so we walked back home, immediately jumped in Vino and took off to the store. We were hoping to avoid the gridlocked roads getting out of town to the store. We were successful in avoiding the traffic, but as we rounded the corner to head out of town there was a police road block. They were letting most cars go through with no issues, so I wasn’t stressed. As we approached, we were waived over to the side. Oh great…

The Policia came to the window and (in spanish) asked for my license to operate a vehicle.  I knew this was going to be an issue as you have to carry your passport while you’re driving in CR and in our haste to beat the traffic, I had neglected to grab my “purse” with my passport. I decided to play dumb. I gave him my USA license and waited for the response. He looked at it and then asked for my passport. Again, in spanish, I told him that I was sorry, but that I did not have my passport with me, I had left it at the house. He said something back to me that I didn’t understand so I asked him to speak more slowly. Slowly, he said in spanish “I have to give you a ticket.” – “Ok” I said, and then added “I’m sorry about that.”

He walked away from the car and I awaited my punishment. I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was the first time I’ve spoken with the Policia here. I didn’t really care what the fee was going to be, I was more worried about how and where I would have to pay it. A drive to Liberia or the dreaded San Jose would be far worse punishment than any fee they could asses. About 20 paces from the van, the police man turned back around and gave me my license back and said something. I couldn’t understand him, so again, I asked him to repeat. Then I realized he was speaking in english, which I was not expecting. He said “Only a warning today. Passport next time.” Whew!!

I thanked him a few times with true conviction, shook his hand, smiled and drove away. At least the guy was nice. Lesson learned. Bring your passport. Always.

Related Articles:

1. Vino is put to the test. And passed. Mostly. This past week was another week of firsts. First week in the new house, first family friend visitors from Colorado, first emergency trip to the dentist, the list goes on....