Costa Rica

The beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica are the stuff dreams are made of. The infinite possibilities offer beaches for everyone – like a Starbucks menu you can pick and mix, designing your own perfect beach. Choose your sand - sugary sweet white sands, traditional golden, volcanic grey, or amazing shelly sand so new its made of coin-sized pastel-coloured broken shells. And what kind of waves would you like with that? Surfable beginners waves, intermediate or advanced waves or a calm swimming beach? Shade on the sand with trees growing horizontally for the kids to make huts, wide expanses of wilderness? Crowded beaches with the general array of Costa Rican treats: massages, horse rides, quad biking, or fishing; or secluded coves to be shared with the pelicans, gossipy scarlet macaws and the rubbery hatched turtle eggs high in the sand.

We spent 10 days here on the Peninsula, each day moving on to a new beach of our choice - alternating town beaches for the secluded ones, alternating cappuccinos for campfires and star gazing...

We've met a group of expats living out the Costa Rican dream and at the moment we're the luckiest of all overlanders, spending a couple of days with our new friends Stephanie and Michael and family who moved here from France to set up a stunning BnB. We feel like kings relaxing in hammocks in their lush garden, using their washing machine (!!!) and the kids are in heaven with a new friend, a playroom and a TV!

Costa Rica is also an animal lover's dream and at our first stop we saw sloths, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, a hairy Mexican porcupine, a tarantula and so many different colourful birds. Even the magpies here are amazing with their feathery crests regally sticking straight up and their bright blue breast plates!

Next stop, southern Costa Rica for a few last days on the wild beaches before organising the shipping from Panama to Colombia (the chance to sleep in a hotel while Picar is being shipped!! Yay!). Then it’s on to South America and the next half of the trip!

Much love to you all xxx