Latin America, Travel

Pura Vida in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

Pura Vida is that first morning walk along the beach and looking back to see my footprints imprinted in the virgin sand of morning.

Pura Vida is getting slapped by the unexpected wave as the tide rolls in.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

Pura Vida is sipping on a late morning beer with a good book in my hand and a view of the ocean for when my eyes get tired of reading.

Pura Vida is knowing when it’s time for happy hour only because the sun has begun to set since my watch has been locked away for the week.

Pura Vida is a Cuba Libre with my feet in the sand and the sun setting over the ocean in a portrait of blues, oranges, reds, purples, and yellows.

Pura Vida is Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

When I truly feel Pura Vida, I feel it in my entire being. 

My mind stops to wander and fill with anxiety, fear, and to do lists.  It focuses on the here and now and just being.  Worries are tossed aside.

This restfulness reverberates to my entire body starting with my muscles.  They feel like I’ve had a good massage and are free of tension.  Even my bones feel relaxed.  When I walk, it is as if I am floating on a cloud.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

I stand straighter and carry a healthy posture filled with confidence because nothing is pressuring me.  There are no Outlook appointments looming in the next hour in which I have to prepare.  There is no risk of a call from an angry customer.  I am free.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

This is how I felt in Costa Rica, and it is the first time I have felt that way in years.

I can’t really understand why I felt this way either.  I was in Costa Rica with my in-laws, and family vacations tend to be anything but relaxing, especially when your in-laws tend to enjoy more rigorous, action packed vacations.

But this week was different.  I think because my wife and I were so tired.  Work had been hell on both of us. Plus, our vacations as of late have been fun, but not restful.  We were both determined to go to Costa Rica and only do what we wanted to do. No pressure.

If we didn’t want to do an excursion, then we wouldn’t.  We weren’t going to prevent the others from going.  They were welcome to do as they wanted.  We just may opt to stay behind.  We had prepped ourselves to be Ticos for the week and embrace the celebrated Pura Vida.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

Pura Vida is the philosophy of life in Costa Rica. 

Translated, it literally means pure life.  But how it is incorporated into the daily lives of the Ticos transcends translation.  It can only be witnessed and hopefully felt.

A young man at our hotel wholly embodied what Pura Vida meant.  He was in charge of beach activities at our hotel and could not be caught once during the week without a smile.  Pura Vida could be heard in his answer to why he wasn’t at work one day when he was supposed to rent a kayak to my father-in-law.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

“I was supposed to be here, but I wasn’t,” he said. Pura Vida.

Or when I asked him why he was always smiling:  “I am healthy, I have a job, and I have this (motioning to the beach).”  Pura Vida.

Or again when I commented on his constant smile as he sat in an aged, plastic patio chair just staring at the ocean:  “This is the most relaxing part of my day.” Pura Vida.

Ticos embrace Pura Vida so much so that it is often their response to, “Como está?”  “Pura Vida.”

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is a great town to experience Pura Vida. 

It was secluded and completely unpretentious. The town was very local.  Most of the roads were dirt.  The boardwalk along the beach was a dusty trail with a few local restaurants and watering holes.  Everything was very come as you are.  very Pura Vida.

It’s a great place to escape to for a week – where sandals and a t-shirt is dressed up. Click here for the latest hotel reviews to start planning your Pura Vida experience in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.

 

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.

 

A week in a half later, I still feel relaxed. 

I  went to yoga the night of my first day back at work and held a crow longer than I ever had before.  The balance postures that normally have my flailing like I am a tree in a hurricane even came easy.  I was focused and stress free.

Since then, I have been trying to incorporate Pura Vida in my everyday life.  Right now I am sitting on my balcony with Michael McCloud playing in the background, sipping a glass of wine with a Java cigar, writing unabashedly, and contemplating a move to Mexico.

Pura vida!

 

When was the last time you experienced Pura Vida?

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is seclude beach town on the Pacific coast. It's the perfect place to totally unwind and experience Pura Vida.