Getting acclimated

This morning I woke up and unpacked.  Now Costa Rica is officially home.  Here are some pictures of our apartment (before I unpacked and organized).  Living room (front door on right):

 Kitchen (to the left of the living room):

 There is also a fridge and a stove on the other side.  Bedroom:

 Aaron was still sleeping.  Bathroom:

Shower on the left.  That's about it!  This is our spot.  It's not much, but we have a nice view of the pool and we're relatively close to downtown and the beach.

After Aaron woke up, we decided to go to the grocery store and get provisions.  I took a bunch of pictures on the way to the store and inside because they had so many weird products, but we took a cab back and I LEFT MY CAMERA IN THE CAB!!!  I lost my $500 camera, which I love love loved!  It's so crazy because I NEVER lose/leave stuff EVER!  I guess we had so many groceries that I got flustered and forgot to grab my camera.  Oh well, she'll make someone else very happy.  Although I lost all the pictures from this morning, at least I downloaded all the previous pictures to my computer before we went out.  Bright side, people!  But yes, I'm a moron and I was very depressed for awhile after that.  Moving on!  We went to a grocery store called Mas X Menos and it was right downtown (about 7 minute walk).  I looked it up online and it's actually owned by Walmart.  'Merica!  Anyway, I did take pictures of some of the goods we bought (with my iPhone):

As far as drinks, we got milk, pineapple juice, mango-banana-pineapple juice and beer (Pilsen and Imperial are the cheapest beers here, but they aren't bad at all, to me anyway).

We got eggs.  They only sell brown here and I bet they're pretty fresh!

We got a bag of ketchup and mayo, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I just thought it was strange to have ketchup and mayo from a bag, but they were cheaper than the bottle.

These are the junk foods Aaron picked out.  He likes his random chips and is a total sucker for gummy candies.  We also got tons of bottled water (even though the water here isn't bad, we're just doing it to be extra safe), some chicken, ground beef, bread, tortillas, lunch-meat, a bag of black beans, spaghetti noodles and sauce, sunscreen, toothpaste, detergent and other random necessities.  Aaron even got an ice cream on a stick shaped like a donut.  He said it was delish!  In total, we ended up spending $148, which isn't much cheaper than shopping back home.  I figure since Jaco is a pretty touristy area, they charge touristy prices.  Kinda sucks, but we'll live.

After the grocery store mania, we decided to find the beach.  This is the street view once we exit our complex:

We walk down the street and turn left and walk until we hit downtown (about 5 minutes).  Once there, you can turn left on any street and hit beach.

The glorious beach!

Looking left:

Looking right:

We walked this way up to the red umbrellas.  We sat down, but turns out you have to rent the chairs and umbrellas, so we did (we got a "good deal").  

In the second picture, Aaron is the tiny dot in the water.  He really went for it out there:

After taking these, I went out and joined him and it was super duper fun getting caught in the waves.  The water was so warm, it reminded me of lukewarm bathwater, but way less gross.  Then we walked along the beach awhile:

We found bird footprints in the sand:

Pretty cool.  We even saw a few birds catching butterflies in the air and eating them.  There are butterflies EVERYWHERE around here, especially on the beach, and they're big.  I didn't snap a pic of a butterfly (they're too fast!), but here's a yellow bird on a yellow umbrella:

On the way home we decided to stop and catch a bite and a drink.  Did I mention it's hot and super humid (even at 5:21pm!)??

We found this cozy spot on the beach:

We got drinks and watched the sun set:

This is Imperial beer and it is yummy.

It only took minutes for the sun to set and it was beautiful.  We ordered beans and tortilla chips and not only were the chips fresh, but the beans were the best I've ever had.  They just had that je ne sai quois:

Then we walked home.  We saw pretty flowers:

Doesn't it look fake?  Crazy.

About a block away from our home, there is a small produce market to get fresh fruits and veggies.  Check out these giant tomatoes:

I guess you can't tell, but they were the biggest I've ever seen!  For comparison, down below are potatoes.  We also got giant mangoes.  I made Aaron hold them for reference.  Yes, he's butt naked:

I guess they don't look that big, but they were so yummy!  We even got new change:

Someone drew a face on this one LOL!

Aaron's shoulders got pretty burned:

My poor, white baby!  

Well, that was our day.  it wasn't very long, but it was very eventful.  We're getting more familiar with our surroundings, but it's gonna take awhile to get used to this heat.  Now, we're home with the AC cranked (our electric bill is going to be sky-high!) watching:

It won the Academy Award (I LOVE watching Oscar-nominated documentaries.  I don't always care for the movies, but the documentaries are on point) and it was extreme and scary, but fantastic.  Aaron said it was the best thing he's ever seen!  Yes, we're watching TV in Costa Rica, so shoot me!  You can't be on the go ALL THE TIME!  Especially when you're fat and lazy like we are.  It's a miracle we even leave the house, it's so damn hot!

Lastly, Ryan facebooked (that's not a word) a picture of the dogs:

Capone is under the blankets apparently.  We miss our boys so much.  They would have loved it at the beach today!  But they are in great hands and I know we don't have to worry at all.  Thanks Ryan and Sophia for everything!!

More Costa Rica to come!  Stay tuned!

We made it!

So we're here and everything's great! It's ungodly hot and humid, but a paradise for sure.  Here we are on the plane getting ready for take off:

I took a couple pics of San Francisco, as we were saying goodbye:

We got some food at SFO before boarding because plane food is just gross:

I had cous cous and Aaron had pesto pasta salad and we shared a roast beef sandwich.  OMG best roast beef I've ever had!

Have you ever seen the movie Up In The Air?  This shot reminded me of it:

I made Aaron watch it a few nights ago.  It's one of those quirky, but awesome George Clooney movies.

We both slept on the plane, but only I was smart enough to take pictures:

Once we landed, our first stop was Kolbi:

They set each of us up with 4GB of data and 38 minutes to call the US for $30 each.  Once we run out, it just shuts off, so no worry of going over and getting charged a ton of money.  I can text for free (no data) using What's App or iMessage.  I can also make free calls through Skype or FaceTime.  Not too shabby!  We have internet at our apartment, but it's somewhat slow, which kinda sucks for blogging and uploading pictures, but better than nothing!  FYI, we no longer have our same phone numbers, so you can't call us.  We now have local Costa Rican numbers, so comment down below if you need to get in touch.  We can always be reached through my email also:
sharmeela84@gmail.com
Email me anytime.  I check it regularly.

Right after we left Kolbi, we went outside to find a cab.  Tired, but oh so happy!

The cab to take us from San Jose to Jaco took one hour!  But I did find my new favorite radio station: 99.5.  Then we checked into our apartment (very basic, but clean).  Then we dumped our stuff and walked about 7 minutes to the downtown area for dinner.  This was our first meal at a random joint on the main drag:

I had chicken, Aaron had ceviche and chicken with rice.  It may not look like much, but it was seriously delicious (and altogether cost us $13!).  A kitty was keeping us company while we ate:

Check out the change we got from the restaurant:

These are Colons and about 500 Colons equals $1, so we're in good shape.  Then we were wiped, so we walked back home.

Today I woke up to the view outside our bedroom:

Yay we have a pool!!!  We will definitely be checking that out later!

Today will be a grocery shopping and beach day.  I'll try to take more pictures!  OMG it's hot!!!

Here we go!

The worst day

Today was the worst day.  I left my dogs today.  I said goodbye to my family today.  I sobbed for an hour today.  I'm getting ready to leave my life and almost everything I love behind in a matter of hours.  I don't know what I'm looking for or what I'll find, but I'm leaving the worst day behind me...

Packing

The moment I've been waiting for and simultaneously dreading has finally arrived!  I'm going to pack for a year around the world.  How in the bloody hell am I supposed to do that (sorry, I went British there for a sec)?  So, I started by piling all the crap I've set aside for the trip onto the bed (keep in mind this doesn't include clothes):

This actually didn't help at all, if you couldn't have guessed.  I proceeded to breathe into a paper bag for a few minutes and then just left for awhile, so as not to deal with it.  Then I came back and decided that it was now or never (or tomorrow) and just started doing shit.  I made my first aid kit, which you saw:

I also packed toiletries into other toiletry bags I've accumulated (I have to say the more kits/bags/containers you have to stuff things into, the better).  I hate having loose stuff in my suitcase.

These are all my toiletry kits:

All packed full of random knick knacks and toiletries (no liquids, though).  Here they are packed into my suitcase:

The black thing on the left is our first aid kit.  Now my right side is completely full and I'm half full on the left.  Then I decided to remove the first aid kit and stuff clothes at the bottom (to fit in those weird, dumb grooves at the bottom of the suitcase (from the retractable handle):

I was told rolling your clothes makes them fit better.  Not sure if I believe it, but I'm going with it.  I packed a pair of leggings, a pair of yoga pants, 2 tee-shirts, 5 tank tops, 2 maxi dresses, 2 bathing suits and a pair of sandals.  I had NO IDEA what I should be packing, so I kinda just threw stuff in.  They recommend long sleeves for hiking, so I need to get some Under Armour shirts (that shit is pricey!).  I also threw in a box of dryer sheets because I heard adding a dryer sheet between your clothes keeps them smelling fresh.  I'm gonna try it once we're on the road.  Here's the underwear situation:

I stuffed a bunch of underwear, 5 pairs of socks and a bra into this top section.  I'll wear another bra, my jeans, tennis shoes, jacket, scarf and (obviously) some sort of top.  Wear your heaviest clothes on the plane (planes are cold anyway).  Then I stuffed the first aid kit on top of my clothes:

This works out much better because I don't have to worry about bleeding out trying to find the first aid kit.  Then I put my stack of important documents on top:

Aaron didn't like that all our documents were in a file folder, so we went to Walmart and he got me one of those plastic, pliable accordion folders with different sections for all our stuff.  I love it!  I forgot to take a picture.  Here's Aaron's luggage:

 It's ALL clothes!  He's got tons of underwear, undershirts, 2 tee-shirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shorts and 2 pairs of basketball shorts.  His backpack will have to hold all the electronics/toiletries, including:

Our GoPro gear!  Yup, this is all stuff for the GoPro.  Crazy, right?
This is my stuffed suitcase:

It was when we were both at this point that we realized we forgot to spray our clothes down with permethrin:

When going to an area highly infested with bugs/mosquitoes, you want a permethrin spray.  You are supposed to spray your clothes really, really well (like wet them) and lay them out to dry for a few hours before you pack them.  One good spray can last up to 6 weeks or 6 washes.  Since, we forgot to do this, we had to unpack and spray, then repack.  Excuse me for a minute, while I breathe into a paper bag.  Okay, I'm back.  Here's Aaron spraying the damn squirrel pants (before I strangled him with them):

Then we had to let them dry outside for a few hours and then we repacked everything AGAIN!  OMG!

Let's move on to my backpack:

I've got my tiny, super absorbent towel clipped to the bottom.  In the front pouch, I've got:

My sunglasses, gum, band-aids, chapstick, inhaler, hair-ties (just basically stuff I might need on the plane) and my Ziplock bag of liquids:

I packed this sucker so full!  I've got hand sanitizer , Neosporin, toothpaste and a few tubes of hydrocortisone cream (I get a touch of Excema sometimes), burn cream, Aloe Vera gel and a small contact lens solution.  This liquid rule is so dumb and makes packing so much more difficult!  I remember when you could pretty much take anything on a plane and people could even walk you to the gate!  Yea, I'm that old.  Find a better way, airlines!
In my middle pouch, I've got my scarf:

In my top pouch, I've got:

my green planner, my Costa Rica guide book and my gold notebook, filled with all the research I've been doing for the past 8 months.  After I took this picture, I added my crossword puzzle book and journal (thanks Mike!).  In my weird front-side pocket, I've got:

My Sony headphones and a Ziplock bag of my inhaler prescription boxes, just in case they're super anal at security.  There are also these tiny zip pockets when I buckle myself in:

In these I will put my passport, ID and some money, just for the airport.  Then they will go into my money belt.  Here's my backpack all locked up:

My pink locks scream to predators, "Move on loser!  This sucker is locked up like a bank safe!"  I feel like it also says, "You better watch your back!"  Whatever it says, good luck getting into it, I already tried because I needed my planner and I couldn't find the key.  I'd be the worst thief ever.
I wish I took more detailed pictures of packing, but I was so stressed out that I couldn't even think straight.  Subtle segway into a shout-out to my boo:  The reason I know deep down that this is gonna work is because Aaron and I make such a good team.  We're both basket-cases and we get easily frustrated, but when I'm down he makes sure he's up and vice versa.  I was losing it yesterday and he was there to pick me up and calm me down.  He's the only one who has that ability and while I don't necessarily appreciate it at the time, I always think back and know I'm the luckiest girl in the world.  He doesn't get a lot of credit for all the tiny things he does, but he does them anyway and they make my life easier.  He takes good care of us.

Okay, shout-out complete!

So to sum up, when packing for a trip around the world, make sure you bring important documents, the electronics (and chargers) you'll need, A CAMERA!, some toiletries (you can buy when you get there), all your medications, lots of underwear, a bathing suit and some clothes.  Leave behind unnecessary electronics and all expensive jewelry, meaning the necklace Aaron bought me for Christmas 4 years ago:

I rarely take it off, so I keep reaching for it and for a split-second I panic and then realize what's happening and I'm a little heartbroken.
Anyway, try to pack as light as possible because it's not worth lugging a huge suitcase around, just to have a perfect stylish outfit for each day (in my opinion, anyway).  I'm planning on wearing really basic stuff, nothing fancy or trendy, so don't expect to see pictures that look like they came out of a magazine because it'll look more like we just rolled out of bed.

Our flight is 6am tomorrow morning, which means we'll be at SFO around 4am.  Our plane stops in El Salvador for a couple hours and then we finally get to Costa Rica around 4pm.  It'll be a long day, but when going for flights on the cheap, sometimes you have to fly at weird hours with lots of layovers.  Honestly, we don't mind one bit.  We're just excited to get going.
I was cleaning out my car, Miles, yesterday and I found this old fortune I'd kept for years:

Isn't that crazy??  Fate...
I've had Miles for about 12 years now and we've been through so much together.

I'll miss you, Miles!

We took the dogs to Ryan and Sophia's last night with all their stuff just to hang out one last time before we leave them for good tomorrow night (the thought terrifies me).  They had such a blast!  We unwrapped the new bed we ordered them and they were so psyched:

We're spending today BBQing with my family and the dogs.  Couldn't think of a more fitting goodbye.
If I'm able to blog from the airport I will, but if not we'll catch you on the flippity flop!