Costa Rica - unbelievably beautiful! 

We visited Costa Rica in the middle of the Covid crisis, (April 2021) so I imagine -  like the rest of the world, everywhere was fairly subdued, tourism was low, and the places we visited were pretty quiet. 

We completely loved it, however, and managed to get out and do a few hikes in the rainforest.

So much fun - the wildlife was amazing, and my big overriding memory of the country is how beautiful the people are. The motto is "Pura Vida" - which means good life - or simple life.

Surrounded by Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico and El Salvador, who have all had many many (expensive) civil wars, Costa Rica has not been at war for over 70 years. 

The people place huge emphasis on education, peace and sustainable living.

After abolishing their army in 1949, they committed to a peaceful existence and concentrated their funds on education and health services. 

The literacy levels in Costa Rica are now the highest in Latin America and apparently Costa Rica is the happiest country in the world (According to the Costa Rica Tourist board - but honestly, I can well believe this) 

Everything about this place was easy - from checking into the country, to finding food, buses, directions, talking to people - just lovely. We would love to go back and if you get a chance - go! 

We spent time on the west coast- initially at Golfito - checked in at Banana Bay Marina but anchored outside the marina and used the bar etc. The marina staff acted as an agent and did all our check in for us. Very easy.

We spent a wee while here, but there wasn't much happening, so we sailed round to Drake Bay where we anchored off the remote wild beach.

Every time we went ashore we needed to do a proper surf landing, there was huge swell, and the waves were so big- not really the best plan, but we all survived, even though I did wet myself every time we went in. 

From here, there were loads of walks, a few hotels, and restaurants and that beautiful beach. 

We slowly sailed up the coast with Jan and Bram,of SV Hemma, playing UNO at every opportunity, ending up in the North of the country to check out from Playa del Cocos, on the Golfo de Papagayo. This town was a little touristy, but being Covid times, it was manageable.