THE FLIP FLOP LIFE

This week we crossed the equator of our one year sabbatical. We have spent already 180 days in this wonderful country. In a way, it feels as if we had arrived yesterday. As the saying goes “time flies when you are having fun”.

I thought it would be nice to make a balance of these first six months…. in numbers. So, in these 6 months we have:

1. Changed houses 9 times (including the short stays for holidays)
2. Tried 17 different Costa Rican Arabica 100% coffees
3. Identified 220 birds
4. Found 3 frogs on our own – yes, it is more difficult than it sounds!
5. Seen the 4 types of monkeys available in Costa Rica 
6. Seen 2 tarantulas, 5 scorpions, 1 venomous snake, and 2 types of poisonous frogs
7. Witnessed 2 massive insect massacres
8. Built 1shelter for our car
9. Drove 5500 kilometers
10. Visited 7 protected areas, including 2 National Parks (here and here)
11. Volunteered for 4 months
12. Underwent a home confinement for 3 months (thanks to Covid-19)
13. Made 104 interviews
14. Organized 60 tables with sea turtle data into 1 with 100 columns
15. Visited 6 of the 7 provinces of Costa Rica (the last one will be next week)
16. Been stopped by the police 3 times. We have never been fined.
17. Multiplied our luggage by two…!
18. Learnt at least 10 new skills …
    • make nectar for humminbirds
    • plant pineapples
    • cook patacones, chancletas and frijoles
    • cross rivers with a car
    • clear paths in the rain forest 
    • eat mango (without making a mess)
    • make Tamarindo juice
    • how to eat carambola (starfruit)
    • work with a machete
    • park the car in the tropics (not under a coconut palm)
19. Experienced 1 mild earthquake and 5 tremors
20. Been 22 meters below and 3450 meters above sea level
21. Got stuck with the car in the mud once
22. Read more than 25 books (here, here and here)
23. Taken one (1) neighbour to the hospital at night to give birth to 1 baby
24. Written 171 blog posts
25. Made more than 4200 photos with the camara and 2000 with our mobiles.

And had countless unforgettable moments and experiences…not everything can be put in to numbers 😉