As I sit listening to the fireworks beginning to go off to celebrate the new year, I am amazed to think back on where we started and where we ended this year. At this time last year, we were living in Moscow, Idaho and working at the University of Idaho. We had our house in Costa Rica but at that time we honestly thought it would be a couple of years before we were able to actually make the permanent move. In February we came down to stay for a couple of weeks in our new house and by the time we left we knew we had to figure out how to get here sooner than later. We had put our house in Moscow on the market to sell in late January and the first offer came in within a week even though our realtor and pretty much everyone else had said it would be at least six months before it would sell due to the downturn of the market. Once we closed on the house in April and had rented a short term house (the “barn” ) we had changed our date to leave the university to the end of July.
We left Moscow the last week of July, drove to Wyoming to see mom and brother Tom 
and other friends, then went on to Colorado to see all the kids. After about 10 days in Colorado we boarded the plane to Costa Rica – dogs and all – and have not looked back. Nothing to date has been much of a surprise. 
The flora and fauna are amazing, we love our house, and we have begun making wonderful friends in our new little town. In addition, some health issues that have plagued me for years are beginning to abate due to the amazing work of a therapeutic masseuse. I also started taking yoga classes and my teacher is perfect for me. Love your body!! she says and I try to do just that 
It is not all idyllic – theft is a major concern here and it is important to not take safety and security too lightly. It also has been raining pretty steadily for the last month although today the sun has been out and we are reminded how gorgeous it is when the rain stops. Actually, although it is getting a bit old, I still don’t mind the rain. I love to read so I have spent a lot of time reading over the last month. Although books are not easy to come by here, I have a Kindle and have about 300 hundred books downloaded that I have not yet read. Now – once those 300 are read I might be singing a different tune.
Today (since it is not raining) the 
birds are out, the sloths are drying out in the trees and the howler monkeys have been howling. I just don’t think I will ever take for granted the amazing diversity of the wildlife, the flowers and other plant life. While I was never one to want to live near the ocean, I have found that listening to the varying tempos of the ocean at night is something I miss very much when I go away. And the ocean tells us when the weather is changing. During the stormy and rainy season, the oceans waves are huge and the beach has debris (I prefer the term “treasures”) all over it. As the rain abates, the ocean becomes very calm and the beach is busy with people walking, swimming, and playing volleyball. 
Next week I will be going back to Wyoming to take care of mom for a couple of weeks. She broke her hip a couple of weeks ago and so will need some help after she comes home. This is just one more reason retiring early was such a good idea. I no longer have to worry about trying to get off of work when I need to take care of family or just visit. Sure takes the stress off………
So – next year I can only hope that it will be as amazing as this one was. I am pretty sure that it will be!!!
Costa Rica Dog Lover 