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Putting a pin in a map is perhaps not the best way of finding the place to spend the rest of your days, but this is what my husband Norman and I did when we decided to move overseas. We simply pulled up Google maps, closed our eyes, and left the rest to chance.
Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast is known for its dramatic coastline of tree-covered mountains dropping suddenly to the ocean, empty beaches, and lush rainforest full of wildlife like toucans, howler monkeys, sloths, and dozens of other species.
My first taste of Costa Rica came during a six-week college placement. Studying abroad was a requirement for me. After hours of research, I chose Costa Rica, known as “the happiest place on Earth.”
I was born in the 50s, so magazines played a huge role in my life. Of course, I cut my teeth on the magazines my parents always had around…Life, Reader’s Digest, Look, Mechanics Illustrated, Field and Stream, and the like.
Today was a typical day where we live, in San Ramon de Alajuela in Costa Rica’s western Central Valley. My husband, Paul, who is a morning person, woke to mostly clear skies at 5:30 a.m., fed our two cats, and ate breakfast.
New Jersey retirees David and Cathy Weed say they have found the perfect combination of slower paced, tropical life and convenience in Playa Langosta, the close neighbor of the popular beach town of Tamarindo on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
Since moving to Ecuador three years ago, I’ve had two marriage proposals from men I’d met only minutes before and several unexpected kisses (the real smack-on-the-mouth kind; not the air kind).
Recently, we had some friends visit us in our home in Cuenca, Ecuador. They only had one day before leaving for Lima, Peru, so we did our best to show them around our beautiful hometown in less than 24 hours...
Ecuador’s coast draws people from around the world who are looking to enjoy sun-drenched beaches, crystal-blue waters, and wildlife—including humpback whales during their seasonal migration.
There’s a steady breeze blowing. The sand is black—it’s volcanic—flecked with small crystals that twinkle in the sunlight. The sand is quite hot too in the heat of the day…best to wear flip-flops.