Lately, I’ve been getting lots of requests from people for one of my favorite recipes, so I am sharing and hopefully you all will love it. When I was younger I never liked cabbage or brussel sprouts, but as I’ve gotten older my taste buds  and my knowledge of cooking have grown. One of my favorite side dishes (but for me could be a main dish) is brussel sprouts. My favorite way to cook them is on the stove top, I love to get them a little crispy before pulling them off.

To start, saute the onions & bacon in a little bit of olive oil (about 1 tbsp) until the bacon starts to get just a little crispy.

Once the onions are transparent and bacon has begun to get a little crispy add some balsalmic vinegar & brown sugar to the mix and turn up the heat a little, stirring occasionally. Let it start to simmer and caramelize (about 3-4 minutes). While the bacon & onions are caramelizing, I like to chop my brussel sprouts in halves they cook quicker and I like to have a the insides a little crispy.

Once the bacon & onions begin to look caramel-y add in your brussel sprouts and bring the heat back down in between medium-low. I add a lid at this point to let the brussel sprouts steam (usually takes mine about 15-20 minutes to really get to the tenderness I like). At this point you can pull the brussel sprouts off the stove, unless to like a little extra crisp like me. I turn the heat up again between medium-high and add the remaining oil if you feel they need it to let them get crispy and stir a few times so they don’t burn. Once they are crispy to your liking transfer the brussel sprouts to a big serving bowl add in Gorgonzola cheese, toss & enjoy while still warm! (Nobody likes cold brussel sprouts and if you do…well…)

Bacon Brussel Sprout Recipe (Serves 4-6 people)

• 1 bag of whole brussel sprouts (or if you get the individual brussel sprouts about a 1lb)
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 6-8 pieces of bacon
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 C of Gorgonzola Cheese
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Candied Pecans & Dried Cranberries (optional)

Instructions

1. Chop your onions & cut bacon into 1/4″ slices then saute the chopped onions & bacon in a little bit of oil over medium heat.
2. Once the onions are transparent and bacon has begun to get a little crispy add some balsamic vinegar & brown sugar to the mix and turn up the heat a little. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Once the bacon & onions have begun caramelizing add the halved brussel sprouts. Turn heat to medium-low and cover with lid. Let steam for 15-20 minutes.
4. Once the brussel sprouts are to the tenderness you like you can crisp them a little by turning up the heat between medium-high. Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring a couple times so they don’t burn.
5. Once crisp, remove & transfer to serving bowl and add in Gorgonzola cheese. (If you want to step it up a notch add in some candied pecans & dried cranberries)

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Not Messin’ Around Huevos Rancheros

For the Sauce:

• 2 Cups of baby tomatoes (2-3 medium size tomatoes)
• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 handful of chopped green onion/ leek
• 4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1/2 yellow white onion chopped
• 1/2 lime squeezed juice
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika

For the Rest:

• 1 corn tortilla
• 1 can of re-fried black beans (you can use canned or make your own)
• 2 eggs
• Cheese (optional – I like Feta on mine)

Putting It Together:

1. For your veggies you don’t have to chop them super fine because we will be stewing them on the stove for a bit.
2. In a medium sauce pan add the chopped tomatoes, basil, cilantro, green onion, garlic, onion, lime, and seasonings all together and put the burner on low-medium heat and put a lid on the pot. Let simmer for 20-25 min stirring occasionally so that the tomatoes break down. Once everything has cooked down remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
3. Next you’re gonna puree the sauce, I like to use my Ninja blender. You can make the sauce as chunky or as smooth as you like, I like to leave mine a tad chunky. Once the sauce is at the consistency that you like transfer back into your pot and leave on low heat to simmer.
4. Heat up your black beans, fry your eggs and warm up the tortilla.
5. Once everything is done cooking it’s time to plate. I put my black beans on my tortilla then my eggs and then pour the sauce over, add the cheese and top with a couple slices of avocado. Enjoy!

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A Little Background on My Health Journey:

I have been constantly yo-yo-ing with my diet and getting discouraged along the way for the last couple of years. I am a relatively small person being only 5’2″ and when I was younger I was always very thin and didn’t really watch what I ate because I was young and had a great metabolism. I also always had jobs where I was on my feet all day long constantly moving. Then fast forward a few years and I was working my first desk job in Los Angeles for almost 2 years, stressed out daily, and still eating like I had been on my feet all day. I was shocked how drastically my body had changed in just under a year. Suddenly my jeans didn’t fit me the way they had before, I could still wear them but not without some spillage on the sides. I loved wearing jeans, but yoga pants became my new best friend and I avoided my full length body mirror as much as possible.

The word plateau was one that became all too familiar, I would try some kind of quick eating change and work out some but once I hit my dreaded number I would get so discouraged. There was also a little pity party I was throwing for myself, making excuses and throwing the blame everywhere else except for where it should have been put. “That job was too stressful, I was working too much and didn’t have time to meal prep or exercise like I should, I was too tired, etc.” I was making excuses instead of accepting the fact that it was a choice I was consciously making to turn my attention away from my health instead of being proactive and taking control of it.

The beginning of this year I reached my absolute highest weight and I finally had enough. Part of it was the realization that I was not going to look any different for my wedding, but also I was so mad that it had taken me so long to finally get motivated enough to do something about it. I started being more conscious about what I was eating and how much I was moving throughout the day. I accepted that I wasn’t going to be where I wanted for the wedding, because this wasn’t just a diet change this was going to be a 番茄社区 change. Since arriving in Costa Rica back in March I had started losing weight, but once again I hit a plateau. It was the plateau that was all too familiar and that number on the scale infuriated me to no end, but this time it made me want to work that much harder to get past it.

What Prompted My Diet Change:

When I was a kid I found out that I was lactose intolerant. I remember the doctor saying I should try alternatives such as goats milk, goat cheese, and anything not from a cow. Of course give a kid soy milk instead of real milk or almond cheese instead of real cheese and well that’s a different battle. In my mind I had been eating it my whole life and it wasn’t making me sick so I didn’t think it would make a difference if I kept eating it. So this time when I hit my dreaded plateau I began looking at my diet even closer. I realized that I was still eating all kinds of dairy and began wondering if that was part of the reason I was struggling so much. At that point I knew that if I at least didn’t give it a try I would never know, so I challenged myself to cutting out dairy and gluten (which has been another problem for me). I had some reassurance since I could still have goat and feta cheese which I love so I don’t feel like I’m missing out too much.

About 8 days into it I decided to test it and see if I could tell a difference when I ate some dairy and not even an hour after eating it I was bloated and started to have stomach pains. That was all the proof I needed and now at week 4 of no dairy or gluten, I have flown past my plateau and as of today have lost 18lbs. I still have a ways to go to reach my goal, but I am so encouraged by the results I have seen so far and how my body feels. It has taken some tweaking in my diet to substitute certain foods and been an adjustment eating more greens than before, but it has opened a whole new realm of food possibilities for me and forced me to be more creative.

So if anyone is struggling with diet and hasn’t been able to figure out what works for you, first of all get out of your head and don’t be hard on yourself it’s not going to make you feel better. Then I definitely recommend getting tested for any food intolerance’s and start there. Be open to trying new foods making little changes over time will help immensely and remember that all diets are not for everyone, you have to find one that works for you and it will take time. So don’t get discouraged if you try a diet that seems to be working for lots of people but isn’t working for you. If you are dedicated and it’s still not working it just means that your body needs something different. I am so excited to start sharing some of my new favorite recipes and continuing this new eye opening journey.

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Avocado Tomatoast:

2 poached eggs (or however you like them)
1/2 avocado (smashed)
1 C. of Spinach
2 Tbsp Feta Cheese
2 Slices of Tomato

Basically I have used the 2 slices of tomato as the “toast” so that it supports my tower of avocado, spinach, feta, and eggs.

It’s still not my true avocado toast, but it satisfied my craving and actually filled me up for most of the day. I only had a couple of small snacks throughout the afternoon before dinner. Even though I haven’t much cared for the taste, I have found spinach is good at keeping me feeling full longer.

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I am still catching up my thoughts and events that have happened over the last year, bringing us to where we are now. We had started talking about how the things we wanted were changing from what they’d been before. Deep down, we didn’t want to leave Costa Rica last year, we wanted to keep on traveling around and discovering new places. It was really hard coming back to the states and going back to our jobs. After we quit our jobs and moved further south in California we spent the next year working and just enjoying the new area that we were in. Quitting my job in Los Angeles circled me back to my licensed profession, which is cosmetology. It’s funny, all that time showed me just how much I really loved the profession I had originally chosen. It was like someone hit the refresh button and I had come back a more passionate, focused, and creative person.

After much much soul searching and late night discussions Jeff and I chose to sell practically all of our possessions, except for the things that had real meaning to us like things we had from our childhood. We also got married (wedding post coming) and we moved to a foreign country all in a matter of about 3 months. If you had asked me 10 years ago I would have never thought that I would have traveled this much so far let alone be living in a different country. Right after we arrived in Costa Rica and moved all of our things into our house here we basically hit the ground running. New family members were visiting almost every week and there was always something to do.

One of the first things I did was attended a local yoga class with Jeff and my mother and father in law. The class was located not even 100m from the beach and the whole class you could close your eyes and hear the waves crashing; it was beautiful. That class was the first time in probably at least a year that I was able to take a very deep breath and relax. I was so overcome with emotion I practically had to pinch myself. I couldn’t believe that after those last few trying months, all the ups and downs, we had finally accomplished one of the many things that we had wanted to. I couldn’t believe the place I was in, that we had been given the opportunity to be in a place this beautiful with some of the people that I cherish most.

This is a place that some people only dream of and here I am getting to live in it with my best friend. Even if it is just for a short while, I will always remember and have a place in my heart for Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country and life is so simple, life is how it should be. This beautiful world was put here for us to explore, enjoy, find new adventure, and just admire the 番茄社区 around us that is sometimes so hard to see. Life gets so clouded with all of the negative going on in the world, but I don’t want that to define my life. So I am choosing to see the 番茄社区 in an ugly world and seek out the adventure that this world has to offer and this is just beginning for us.

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Fast forward to a trip back home we took early last year and my mother in law had started making her own kombucha. I had been a little weary to try it because I seem to kill anything I try to “grow”, but after breaking the bank each week on kombucha (which is already expensive as it is, but try being in California) I was considering my options. Right before we headed back home to California, she had to dispose of the majority of her scoby and offered to send me home with my own. The scoby is the “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” that helps ferment your sweet tea brew and I’m not going to lie it does not look appetizing and kind of looks like it should be in a research lab. The scoby grows each time you make and add a new brew to your jar and hers had pretty much taken over the entire 2 gallon jar so she had to peel off some layers to make room. A lot of people can start their own brews by taking a layer of the scoby and transferring it to their own gallon jar and once theirs has grown they can pass it along to someone else that can then begin their own batch of kombucha. Kind of cool.

After much thought and deliberation of how I would actually get the scoby home I decided to at least try it. Now mind you, this baby scoby was in for the trip of it’s life, because it had to ride in a mason jar with all of it’s liquid in my checked bag on our flight back home and not break in my suitcase.

So as you can see the scoby jar is almost entirely empty of liquid, meaning it spilled out all over my suitcase. I wasn’t sure that the scoby would make it and that my new brew would be successful since having the original liquid is really important to start your new brew. I ran to the store immediately and got all of the items I needed to start, because I was going to at least attempt it. I brewed about 6 cups of black tea, let it cool and added raw cane sugar to sweeten the tea (this is what the scoby eats to grow and is part of the fermentation process). I transferred my scoby to the my 2 gallon jar of sweet tea and said a quick little prayer that it would survive. Lastly, I found a dark and room temperature place to keep my brew in, which just happens to be our guest room closet. Being in a dark place is very important since the scoby will not survive if it is in direct light for long periods of time. Thankfully no guests visited in the time my scoby was hiding in the closet or I would have had some explaining to do.

Once your brew is in it’s quiet, dark place you will leave it for about 2-3 weeks to ferment fully.  I had a hard time leaving it alone for the first week, because I was concerned it wasn’t going to make it, so I kept peeking every day.  About a week into it I took it out to see if I noticed any progress and this is what I found:

It had survived!  And it was brewing exactly how it was supposed to.  I was relieved that I hadn’t killed my first scoby and gently put it back so that it could continue to ferment.  Fast forward to this week (about 2 weeks later) I have just been waiting for it to officially ferment to the taste I want.  I like my kombucha really fizzy and when I tapped it about 4 days ago it was almost fizzy enough, but I wanted it to ferment just a little more.  So now that it’s finally ready, part 2 of the process begins.

The layer of film on the top is the new scoby forming that will attach to the mother floating on the bottom once I add a new batch of sweet tea.  I am emptying the liquid into a couple different mason jars and flavoring them with some berries and essential oils.  These will go directly into my fridge and is the Kombucha I will be drinking.

Update: I flavored these three brews with mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries) and for one I added some freshly grated ginger to try something a little different. It was delicious and I had a hard time not drinking an entire mason jar in one day. My experience with making my own kombucha has been great. It is so easy to do and much more affordable than buying kombucha from the store every day.

I hope you guys decide to give it a try, there are many places that you can get your own kombucha starter kit: ask a friend (like I did), get a kit from a local health food store, or order one online. Good luck!

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I have been trying to catch up on all the time that I have missed on my blog, which has been near impossible because the last few months have been so hectic I haven’t been able to really catch my breath until now. I wanted to share a couple of things, because my blog is going to be taking a little bit of a different direction. I will still be sharing my health & 番茄社区 discoveries, but will be transitioned into more of a 番茄社区/ travel blog and I’m sharing what brought on this change.

This travel bug that has become so strong in my life began when I was a little girl, but I never imagined the places that I would be able to go. Truth be told, if you had told me back then that I would be where I am right now and getting ready to fulfill some of my biggest dreams I would have told you that you were bluffing. I watched my parents my whole life work as hard as they possibly could to provide for our family and we traveled frequently when we could, but it was always so hard to travel out of the country. I am so grateful for the places that I did get to go, because it planted the seed and it only grew stronger.

Moving to Los Angeles was a little bit of an eye opener for me realizing that there was so much to discover. Then at the end of last year one of my biggest dreams came true, Jeff took me to Europe. We got to visit Paris and Amsterdam and when we got home all I could think about was going back. Not long after that we both were presented with the opportunity to go to Costa Rica for a little over a month. His family had talked so much about their love for this beautiful place and none of their stories could have actually prepared me for just what to expect in that place. The only thing hanging in the way for me and getting to go was my job. It was a very crucial time for me, because I had been at this job for too long and was completely miserable. I knew it wasn’t where I was supposed to be. It was probably the first time in my life that I was close to a breakdown, I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. I knew I had to do something, I wasn’t going to let myself be miserable any longer even if that meant we would have to minimize our 番茄社区. You hear of people quitting their jobs and traveling, well I did it. With the biggest support of my partner, I jumped with my entire body and it was completely terrifying and also 100% worth it.

I cannot describe the feeling that took over my whole being the first few days being in Costa Rica. Even though there was poverty, I met so many people who barely had anything but were some of the happiest people I have ever met. When we came back to the states, we both began to take a really hard look at where we were in life and realize how much “stuff” we had. We were tired of Los Angeles and wanted to be somewhere a little more remote, we missed the smaller town feel that home had and wanted to be closer to San Diego, so we moved further south. We moved in early May last year and fell in love with the area that we picked. Even being in a new city that we enjoyed and talked about raising a family in we still felt like something was missing. We began talking about what we truly wanted in life and what we needed to do to get to that point. Little did we know that these thoughts and discussions were just the beginning movements that set something much bigger into motion.

…to be continued…

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We recently moved out of Los Angeles and closer to San Diego, one thing that I love about down here is the small town feel, it reminds me of home. I recently discovered a little mom and pop fruit and veggie market where all of the produce is a steal! I stocked up on limes and got a couple of other veggies I needed and somehow wound up spending only $5. I will say now, unless you dare do not proceed with attempting this recipe until you have a juicer or juice press. I did not. I literally squeezed 12 limes all by hand into a pitcher. My hands are now killing me, lesson learned.

I only got about 15 limes and squeezed 12 of them, I would recommend doubling this amount to have extra mix left over to store for future margaritas. My batch only made enough for about 2 margaritas. Once you have squeezed all of your limes into a pitcher (about 2 cups) set aside and heat 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar on the stove until all of the sugar has been dissolved. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from the heat and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. Once your water and sugar mixture has cooled a bit combine the lime juice and water mixture and stir. Transfer to whatever kind of bottle you will be storing the mix in and put in the refrigerator.

After making my own mix, I will never go back to buying store mix. If you’re not sure what kind of tequila to use I highly recommend the brand I got called Reposado Tequila.

The end result…

Enjoy!

Recipe

• 20-25 limes (Should make about 2 Cups of lime juice)
• 2 Cups of Water
• 1 Cup of Sugar

Instructions

Start by squeezing all of your limes so that you have about 2 Cups of lime juice. Combine 2 Cups of water and 1 Cup of sugar in a pot and heat on the stove until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from the burner and let sit for about 10-15 min to cool down.

Once the mixture is cool combine the lime juice and the water mixture and stir. Transfer the mix into whatever container you will store it in the fridge.

Cheers to trying this out for yourself and enjoy some margaritas!

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What usually will wind up happening when I find a new recipe is me putting my own twist on whatever I’m making and just using the recipe as a guideline. I have come up with some pretty good stuff using this method, one of those recipes being chili. I don’t dare touch my mom’s chili recipe, but I think about what the flavors tasted like and I base mine off of that. Chili is usually best in colder weather, but there is never really a bad time to have a nice bowl of chili with some cheese sprinkled on top (I also like to put a dollop of sour cream on it.)

I like my chili with as many different types of beans that will fit in the pot and you will want to use a quart sized pot and have a crock pot nearby (not needed but really brings out the flavors).

To start I like to heat about a tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of your quart pan over medium heat. I personally like my onions chopped a little finer, so I try to get them chopped as fine as I can. Toss in the onions once the oil has heated and mix them around to get a good coating of olive oil on them. I like to season the onions with some salt and pepper right away so that they can absorb some of the flavors. I like my onions to be a little transparent before adding anything else to them. Once the onions are transparent add the chopped garlic cloves (you can use dried garlic or garlic powder, but there is nothing like fresh garlic) and let them saute with the onions for about 2-3 min.

Once the onions and garlic have cooked down a little bit add the ground beef, I used grass fed beef 80% lean 20% fat to give a little more flavor. Once the outside of the beef starts to brown just a little add your spices.

I love experimenting with new flavors so when I saw this spice mix at Trader Joe’s I had to try it. I have used it as the main spice in the last couple batches of chili I have made and it gives it a hint of smokiness. Add Trader Joe’s Rub (optional depending on your preference), salt, pepper, and chili powder. Mix and cook the beef until the beef is only a little pink on the inside and add your chipotle peppers and about 1/2 C. of brown sugar.

I only use about half the can of the chipotlé peppers since they pack a pretty big punch and they are usually whole, so I finely chop them before adding them to the beef. Use your judgement if you like a lot of heat in your chili then I would use the whole can, but start with adding half and doing a quick taste test of the beef mixture before adding the rest. The brown sugar helps to cut a little bit of the heat. Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on to simmer for about 5 min. Since I don’t have an electric can opener I used this time to open all my cans of beans and tomatoes and do a little bit of clean up.

I like to add the tomatoes first, I used one 16 oz can of chunky tomato sauce and a 16 oz can of crushed fire roasted tomatoes. My crushed tomatoes were already diced up, but if they are halved tomatoes blend them a tad before adding them. Mix the tomato sauce and beef together thoroughly.

Once the tomatoes are mixed in start adding all of your beans. I usually add 2 cans of chili beans, 1-2 cans of kidney beans (this batch only has one), butter beans, black beans, and a combination of different beans. Make sure to drain all the liquid out of the cans except for the chili beans, you will want all of the sauce from those beans. Also, if you want your chili to be runnier and not as thick I would only use 3-4 different cans of beans and add a small can of tomato paste. Once you have the beans mixed in add the 黄山区政府网 Sauce and Ketchup. Taste again and if it is a little acidic add a little bit more brown sugar.

Once everything is added and mixed in turn up the heat to medium-high and let the chili come to a slow boil. Once it begins to boil, turn off the heat and transfer chili to the crock pot and put it on low for about 4 hours. My crock pot doesn’t have that specific setting so I just set it on the 8 hr low mark and timed it for 4 hours.

Now that your amazing chili is done it’s time to sit down and enjoy!

Recipe for Chipotle Pepper Chili

• 16 oz. package of Ground Beef
• 1 whole Yellow Onion
• 6-8 cloves of Garlic (I use the organic pre-peeled garlic and usually add an entire pack into my chili)
• 2 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 1/2 tbsp of Salt (I usually don’t measure the salt and just taste as I go)
• 1 tbsp of Pepper
• 1/2 tbsp of Chili Powder
• 2.5 tbsp of Trader Joe’s Rub (your preference to substitute: chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, and adjust salt & pepper)
• 1/2 C. of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 of a 7 oz can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce (optional – you can adjust based on your preference of heat)
• 28 oz. can of Chunky Tomato Sauce
• 28 oz. can of Crushed/Diced Tomatoes (I like the fire roasted flavor)
• 6 oz. can of Tomato Paste
• 15 oz. can of Seasoned Black Beans
• 15 oz. can of Kidney Beans
• 15 oz. can of Tri-Bean blend
• 15 oz. can of Butter Beans
• Two 15 oz. cans of Chili Beans
• 1/2 tbsp of 黄山区政府网 Sauce
• 2 tbsp of Ketchup

I hope that you enjoyed the recipe and the chili, I always feel like chili is never complete until you make some fresh, hot cornbread to go with it and some raw honey drizzled over the top of it.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Instructions

1. Sauté the chopped onions with the olive oil in the bottom of your quart pan over medium heat, once the onions are transparent add the garlic and let it sauté with the onions for about 2-3 minutes. Once the onions and garlic have cooked down add your ground beef and let it brown on the outside before adding your spices. Wait until the meat is almost completely brown, but still slightly pink before adding your chipotlé peppers and brown sugar to the mix.
2. Let the onion, garlic, beef, spices and peppers simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. Next add the cans of tomatoes and mix into your meat thoroughly before adding your beans. Once the tomatoes are mixed in start adding your cans of beans and lastly a small can of tomato paste. Mix the beans thoroughly and then add in your Ketchup and 黄山区政府网 Sauce and mix again.
3. Put a lid on your pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the chili starts to boil turn off the heat and transfer into a crock pot (you don’t have to do this, but I think it really brings out all the flavors) and put on low for about 4 hours.
4. Enjoy!

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About 45 minutes outside of Esterillos is a little spot called Rio Tarcolas, commonly known as crocodile bridge. You can park your car and walk down the bridge on a little sidewalk about as wide as a person and cars whizzing past on the bridge just to look over the side of the bridge to the river below where the giant crocodiles are basking in the sun. Now mind you the bridge we were standing on was about 100 ft high so you can imagine just how big these guys were. Before continued on to Esterillos we noticed that they were selling the biggest pipas I had ever seen, so of course we had to get our fix of coconut water and take it to go.

One thing you need to know is that Esterillos Oeste is small, there are roughly 300 people living in town and it is a little piece of paradise. The southern part of Costa Rica becomes three times as humid as the northern parts and is covered by thick lush jungle that stretches out to the sandy beaches. The water is crystal blue with waves that can reach up to 20 ft in some parts along the coast like Playa Hermosa just a couple of minutes out of town and known for their epic surfing. The most mind blowing aspect of this beautiful destination is that you can walk out on the beach, look up and down the coast as far as you can see and you will be one of the only people standing out there. When we first arrived, I just stood on the beach listening to the waves roaring and crashing into each other, trying to soak in the peacefulness of it all.

It is so peaceful and beautiful at anytime of day, though the best times to go out are right around sunrise and walk the beaches. There are thousands of sand crabs creating little pictures in sand with their tiny feet and if you’re lucky you may even see some wild horses roaming the beach. Sadly we were only in Esterillos for a couple of days so I didn’t get to see any wild horses, but we did walk the beach a little after sunrise and saw a few crabs. The low tide allows you to walk out to La Sirena, a mermaid statue that guards the coast line.

If you ever choose to visit Costa Rica I highly recommend you make Esterillos Oeste a destination on your trip. You won’t be disappointed by the people, food, warm clear water and breathtaking sunsets. Thanks to the fishermen for letting me use their boats as props for my photos. These boats bring in loads of seafood every morning, you can meet the fishermen on the beach and buy from them right there. Talk about fresh!

Before we came back to Tamarindo at the end of our trip in Esterillos we made our way down to Manuel Antonio where the water is even bluer and warmer than you can imagine, you could look down and see the fish swimming around your ankles. There is so much to see in Manuel Antonio and unfortunately we were only there for a few hours, but we spent the morning swimming and playing in the water. We got to see a few Capuchin monkeys in Manuel Antonio before heading back to Tamarindo.

Both Esterillos Oeste and Manuel Antonio are little glimpses at just how big our world is and even though there are large amounts of people living in highly populated areas you can still find hidden gems like these. My heart is so full after getting to experience all the nature and 番茄社区 of Costa Rica.

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