Six months ago today on August 13th, we arrived in Costa Rica with our wonderful friends Susan and Rex who helped us with the move, and our dogs Wiley and Kaya, to begin our new life. Right about now we were pulling into the gate of our new house after a gorgeous drive through the mountains and valleys of the country. We decided that we would make our permanent move to the Caribbean coast after visiting almost every part of Costa Rica over the last twelve years. The affordability of a house near the ocean in the middle of the rain forest could not be matched anywhere else that we had visited. We also fell in love with the town of Puerto Viejo and the small coastal towns all the way to Manzanillo almost immediately.
In these last six months we have adapted quite well to our new home. The first couple of months, we spent most mornings drinking coffee in the living room and finding new birds every day that were coming in to our yard to feed on the different fruits and seeds in the bushes, flowers and trees on our property. 
In the succeeding months, we have broadened our horizons and have left the outdoor living room and started getting to know the 
towns nearby and areas nearby. We attended a Christmas festival in Bri Bri, a surfing competition on a beach in Puerto Viejo, went snorkeling at Playa Punta Uva for the very first time, hiked in Cahuita National Park, and sang in a choir in the gorgeous cathedral in Limon.
Shortly after we arrived we decided to buy the lot right next to our house which effectively doubled our property. Our plans are to plant fruit trees and more flowers as well as build a small cabina that can be used by our friends and family when they come to visit. We will be getting started on the planting in the next month but the cabina will have to wait a year or so. But that is the wonderful thing about Costa Rica – we are on Tico time!!!
Wiley and Kaya are acclimating very well. I think we were all concerned about how they would take the change in climate but so 
far they have held up well. They have had minor problems but nothing that wasn’t cleared up immediately with a quick visit to the vet (which, by the way, is amazingly affordable). Kaya has decided that laying in the leaves at the base of the giant trees is just the ticket to a relaxing day. Wiley likes hanging out in the family room when he is not getting his twice daily walk on the beach – he has decided inside is better with no flies buzzing around 
I was telling a friend this morning that our expectations of what our life would be like here have so far matched the reality. Now I can’t wait to see what the next six months will bring!!!
Pictures from our first months:
Susan and Rex – our #1 moving helpers!!
Bananas in our yard
Cacao fruit in our yard
Snowy Egret on the ocean
Trees with oranges flowers blooming now
Church in Cartago
Male Trogon right outside our living room
Costa Rica Dog Lover 