Marriage | Hostels and Hot Rollers

Well, it took some work, but we did it, we made it back to Jaco to find the exact spot where Shaun proposed. But Costa Rica certainly didn’t make it easy for us.

As you may have read by now, I suffered a little bit of a travel illness back in Montezuma. After 24 hours in bed, I woke up the next morning with an hour long speed boat ride ahead of me. Not exactly something that my queasy stomach was yearning for. That being said, I soldiered on.

white lips, and indication of health for sure

This picture pretty much represents the worst of it. I think I looked, and felt so pitiful that this wee little perro came up and nuzzled up next to me for a snuggle. The high point of my low point.

After waiting on the curb for a while, we lugged our bags down to the beach, and hopped in our boat…Well, some of us hopped, some of us hobbled. And then, in a flash, we were off. I clung on for dear life, and just hoped that I wasn’t “that” girl. Thanks to sheer will power, some fresh air, and the gravol I took before boarding, we made it to Herrudia without incident. After a quick shuttle ride, we arrived at our hostel.

SO happy to be on the boat.

The day was not all that adventurous. After a long nap, I was determined to walk to theother end of Jaco to get a Mandarina, my first real source of sustinence in days. Shaun was very patient with me, and sat with me as I took breaks along the way. We finally made it, I managed half a Mandarina, before I tapped out, and reported, I needed to go back to the hostel stat, and in a cab. The rest of the evening involved the bed, and Shaun convincing me that chicken soup was a good idea. A very romantic start to our engagement celebration.

The next day I was feeling better, toast for breakfast and even managed a low impact workout. Shaun and I wandered into town to look around. It was amazing to see all the changes that had occurred in Jaco since our last visit three years ago. Everything is paved, there are huge condo’s everywhere, and a much higher police presence. We found ourselves noticing that they had road marking on the street, something that we take for granted back home, but a novelty here.

After wandering around town, and stopping for an ice cream, we headed back to the hostel for a little pool time. We had planned to go to the Caliches, the restaurant I mentioned in my Must Sees post. Their nachos are burned into our memory, and we were so looking forward to imbibing in them once again. When I was looking them up online I discovered, they are closed one day a week, Wednesday, the day we were there. *sigh*

We changed our plan, and decided to rock a happy hour the local beach bar, than find our “spot” to watch the sunset. Well, lets just say chips, and spicy salsa on a weak stomach, probably one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had. I thought I was done for, but I knew sunset was looming, and we only had one shot to get to our spot, and re-enact our moment. So, I sucked it up, and we had a very silent hike down the beach.

Now, this is fairly appropriate, as it truly does pay homage to our proposal moment. Shaun and I had decided to watch the sunset, but he made me walk the entire length of Jaco beach to do so. The longer we walked, the more I complained, and the grouchier I got. He kept telling me he wanted to watch the surf waves on the other end of the beach.

Our sunset

Despite my discomfort in my current moment, I couldn’t help by laugh at how similar our situation was becoming. In the end, we arrived, Shaun pulled up a log, and we sat down to watch the sunset.

It was surreal to be in the exact same spot, thousands of miles from home, where such a momentous occasion occurred; a moment that changed our lives forever. As the sun went down, we reminisced about the proposal, and how funny, and appropriate it was for us. Never in a million years did we think we would make it back to that spot, but, despite all the obstacles, we did, and now we have a new memory to go along with it.

Our proposal picture on the top, and our re-enactment on the bottom.

Do you have, or have you heard, a good proposal story you want to share?

Pura Vida

Kate

Follow me on Twitter:@caketress

Travelling Costa Rica when the man of my dreams is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

That being said…

Staying sane, while travelling Costa Rica with the man of my dreams, is something else entirely.

Having been married a year, Shaun and I knew that transitioning from seeing each other after work and on weekends, to 24/7, would be an adjustment.

So, without further ado, here are 5 ways to travel long term with a spouse that help keep the trip fun, and the relationship strong.

Cheers!

1- Take Time For You: Go off, and do something separate from one another. Shaun, and I often find times to do our own things. For him it’s often surfing, or beach walks, for me it’s running, and coffee shop time. This is time to ourselves to help us recharge our batteries.

2- Try not to be too Gross: This is a tough one. Close quarters, means close contact. Although Shaun, and I are married, and have gotten pretty darn comfortable with each other, we’ve already had some very “overshare” moments. Whether it’s up close and personal with your spouse’s food poisoning, or running out of toilet paper before our early morning shuttle leaves, situations will arise, and things won’t be pretty. So, control the things you can control. For example: closing the bathroom door, not clipping toenails in bed etc… Remember, this is your spouse, not your roomie.

3- Is it you or is it me: Travel can mean lots of outside stressors, all of which can take a toll. Whenever I find myself annoyed with Shaun, I always take a moment to decide, “Is it him or is it me”. I know I’ve talked about “hanger” alot in the past, but being hungry totally creates a mythical angry beast in me, and often times it creeps up without me even realizing it. So, for myself, I always double check to make sure I’m actually annoyed, and not just needing some peanut butter. (95% of the time, peanut butter fixes it!)

4- Talk it out: So you’re had your peanut butter, and you’re still frustrated, angry, sad, mad,upset, hurt? Time to talk it out. Travelling is no time for the silent treatment. Close quarters are actually really nice for this. Without the pressure of having to go to work, or school you actually have the time, and the space to really talk about what is going on, and work it out.

5- Be a couple: Shaun and I try, and have regular date nights during our travels. Nights where we actually both shower, he’ll shave, I’ll put on some mascara, and ta-da we are fancy. Even though we are just going out for dinner, calling it “date night” makes it extra special. Find ways to still feel like a couple, and not just a rag-tag dirty backpacking duo.

So those are our five tips for travelling with a spouse. They’ve worked for us, hope they work you!