Northern Ireland

As we were staying in County Sligo in the north west of Ireland, we decided to take a day trip to Derry/Londonderry, a city in Northern Ireland with some historical significance in the past several decades through Ireland’s “troubles”.  It was fascinating!  Londonderry, or Derry, as most people call it, still remains part of Great Britain…

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The Irish Countryside

We sought out for big waves in Northwest Ireland, but instead we got nice mild weather and a calm ocean.  The Atlantic Ocean’s waves are very unpredictable, so our time in Ireland was spent waiting…and waiting…and waiting for waves.  Unfortunately they never came, but we made the best of our three-week trip.  County Sligo We…

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Delightful Dublin, Ireland

Welcome to Ireland!  Our cross-Atlantic flight seemed short this time around and it’s probably because we were flying from New York versus California.  Mike’s parents, Eric and Betsy Matz, joined us on this leg of the trip.  Upon landing in Dublin, we picked up our rental cars and Mike & Eric had to immediately get used…

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Coming to America

Coming home to the United States was a blast!  We planned a short 3-day stopover in New York City on our way to Europe.  During this short trip, we were joined by our parents who were gracious enough to come visit and agree to stay with us in our tiny rental apartment in the Lower…

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La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Time was winding down…we eventually had to leave our wonderful life in Costa Rica.  Although we were sad to leave Santa Teresa, we were excited about the weekend adventures ahead in La Fortuna, the last destination on our Costa Rican journey.  We packed up the rental car, drove 5 hours north past San Jose and…

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Playa Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

We spent our last month in Costa Rica in beautiful Playa Santa Teresa, on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula. We had heard that this friendly little town was a great surf destination and was not to be missed on our travels, so we decided to find an apartment and settle in for some…

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Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

During our transition from the jungle, we were fortunate to meet up with Lee and Scott Bowen, Mike’s family from Omaha, NE, for a short visit including a trip to the Caribbean side of the country. We loved having visitors and being able to take this quick road trip with them to eastern coast of…

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Parque Nacional Corcovado, Costa Rica

It’s jungle safari day in Costa Rica!  During our stay on the Osa Peninsula, we visited Parque Nacional Corcovado (Corcovado National Park), which is a must see while in the country.  The park is located on the western side of the Osa Peninsula and is described by National Geographic as “the most biologically intense place on…

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Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

The Osa Peninsula, located in the South near Panama, is one of Costa Rica’s most wild and unexplored destinations.  During our stay in Costa Rica, several people had suggested visiting Osa as it is renowned as the country’s most wild and beautiful region.  We decided to see it for ourselves, and scheduled a 10 day…

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Dominical, Costa Rica

Roadtrip!  After packing up and leaving Playa Guiones, we headed down to Dominical to stay the night on our trek down to the Osa Peninsula.  Dominical is a tiny surf town on the Pacific coast, known for its big waves and relaxed atmosphere.  It was nice to be done with my yoga program and be…

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Graduation Week at Nosara Yoga Institute

Beautiful music, lots of yoga, and pure joy come to mind as I reflect on graduation week at the Nosara Yoga Institute (NYI).  This week was dedicated to synthesizing our learnings and teach a 90 minute yoga class to a small group of fellow yogis who walked the same steps I did over the last…

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A Day in the Life of a Yogi

Nearly four years ago, I created a vision statement. My vision was to first participate in an international yoga certification program and come home to open an organic Mexican Café adjacent to a new yoga studio! Well this month, I’m one step closer to achieving this vision. On Sunday, June 30th I began a 200-hr…

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Surfing at Playa Guiones, Costa Rica

Our little apartment in Nosara, Costa Rica is just down the street from a fun little beach break called Playa Guiones. The waves here are fun; it is generally a user-friendly wave that picks up pretty much any swell in the Pacific. On any given day you’ll find the lineup scattered with local rippers busting…

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Nosara, Costa Rica

Quick update: Life in Nosara has been much more busy than expected.  We’ve lived here now for over 2 weeks and have made a home of a very cozy (300 sq. foot!) studio apartment!. It’s called “Casa Surfeando” as you can see in the photos and it’s conveniently located in the small beach town of…

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San José, Costa Rica

We’ve arrived in Costa Rica and spent a couple of days in San José, Costa Rica’s capital city.  After settling into our hotel in Santa Ana, a suburb of San José, we decided to take the city bus into downtown.  We walked around the Mercado Central, which has a lot of little craft stands and…

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