i’ve never been on a small plane before. last time i was in nosara, i made the five hour drive from san jose international airport, but not this time. this time, i climbed aboard the daily nature air flight with five other people.

“it’s like the magic school bus, only with wings,” my travel companion said as we psyched ourselves up to fly 45 minutes at low altitude in this crazy small aircraft.

but it was beautiful. and the turbulence coming down from los angeles scared me worse than this short joy ride. we cruised over costa rica’s landscape and ended up safely on its western coastline.

the last time i was here was april 2012 for a week. and now i am back.

back in a town whose name is telling me: no sara. i have taken its warning this time around and finally slowed down. for that is the tico (costa rican) way…

we are parked in a villa above it all. a 20-30 minute walk to the beach, but a fantastic 360 degree view of the shore and the jungle.

as much as the view is great, i do wish that my booking the cheapest month long rental i could find turned out a bit better. we don’t have a full kitchen but rather two electric burners that take almost 30 minutes to boil a pot of water. the internet only seems to work near our room, so the other guests (and their dogs) tend to congregate on the patio outside our window making privacy and silence nonexistent. (although there are two IT guys staying here that are trying to fix that problemo.) and as much as i love walking, doing a 3km trek along dusty roads and up a big hill to our villa more than once a day is just too much.

but don’t worry, i know. shut up sara, you’re in costa rica. (plus we move to a condo on the beach at the beginning of february.) but yes, i’ll stop the bitching now and make a note that maybe it’s worth it to spend the extra dinero now and then…

i’ve been here for a little over a week and am figuring out my daily routine. it involves three things: surfing, yoga, and work. that is all that i have on my agenda for the six weeks i am down here. and perhaps bringing my spanish back up to par. it’s gotten a bit rusty since i graduated college.

but i am not on vacation. i am here to say no, sara. i am here to stay focused on living the pura vida. a healthy balance of work and play. catching up on my writing and on my sleep. sitting still in one place for a whole six weeks. it’s magical so far.

although, the absolute main purpose of this extended stay is to learn how to surf. i figured the only way i would actually become proficient is by living on a perfect beginner beach with a gentle break and sandy bottom. so here i am.

so far, i have been pretty good about waking up early and heading down to the beach. luckily, my friend is dating a local surf instructor who lets me leave my brand new board in his shack right on the beach. otherwise, who knows how i would have transported it from this villa in the sky every day.

now, for a girl who grew up with lakes, tackling the ocean is a whole new feat. everyone tells you it just takes time in the water to feel the waves, get to know how they break, predict where you’ll need to be in order to perfectly drop in. so… time is what i’m giving it.

i’m losing all track of time, and spending every morning swallowing too much salt water and letting too much sand collect in my bikini bottoms.

and that is just fine by me.