Friends of ours that sail (I’m talking about you Greg and Lew) have a saying – “Plans are written in the sand on the beach at low tide.” Loosely translated, that’s a reminder to stay flexible, since the best-laid plans often go awry. If there was ever a season for plans to go awry, we all know this was the one. To recap a bit, since our last post this past spring: after a winter traveling throughout Central America, we had planned to return to Colorado in late-April, regroup, and travel to Hawaii, where we had accepted a house-sitting position for the entire summer. At the conclusion of that gig, we hoped to return home briefly before heading to South America for the upcoming winter season. Of course, that nasty little virus raised its ugly head and a huge wave came crashing down upon the beach that held our written plan. Given forty-eight hours notice that Belize’s only airport was about to close, we chose to cut short our winter travels by a month and return home to the U.S. We thought the worst was that we’d have to spend an additional month back in Colorado before flying to Hawaii. Then, two weeks before our late-May departure, our flights were canceled. But the airline allowed us to rebook for early June, when Hawaii’s fourteen day quarantine requirement was set to expire. When that was extended through June, our flight was once again canceled (another wave hits the beach). We rebooked for July. That was canceled in late-June. We rebooked for August. That was canceled a week before. As the latest wave receded from the beach, leaving our summer plans washed clean, we resigned ourselves to staying put until the fall, when surely this pandemic would also recede. With each passing month, facing another flight cancellation and another month in Colorado, we did what any stranded flyer would do – road trip! Since everyone else was staying home, we naturally thought it would be a good idea to get out and see the best sights the Rocky Mountains had to offer. In May we traveled to Utah and northern Arizona, visiting Moab, Lake Powell (and one of the most incredible paddle board adventures into Antelope Canyon) and Bryce and Capitol Reef National Parks. In June we drove north into Wyoming to visit Devils Tower, Yellowstone and Grand Teton (grizzlies, anyone?) and Jackson. For July we took in Snowmass, Crested Butte and Gunnison in central Colorado. We definitely made the most of the summer, but eventually we had to start thinking about our upcoming winter. Options were few – most Central American countries, other than Mexico, were still in lockdown. South American countries were taking turns making the top-five list of highest COVID case counts in the world. Asia wasn’t welcoming American travelers. The only sure thing was – we weren’t spending a winter here in Colorado.

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Now, I know this will sound whiney. ‘First world problems’ sort of thing. But we were really starting to stress about where to go. Heather, particularly, was having a hard time. She’s the person that typically starts planning our next trip – the day after we return from the previous one. This was killing her! Finally, a light clicked on – Costa Rica announced it would reopen to certain American tourists in September. Unfortunately, only residents of six states (all in New England) would be welcomed. Soon after, Coloradans were added to the list, and our destination decision was made! But wait. There were hoops to jump through – we would have to have proof of a negative COVID test (taken within 72 hours of travel) and present proof of travel insurance that covered care for contracting the virus, as well as cover the cost of accommodation if we’re forced to quarantine. But perhaps the toughest announcement was this – all the countries beaches would be closed from 2 pm on. That meant no toes-in-the-sand happy hours at the beach bars, and worse, no viewing the legendary sunsets from the beach (with those in Hawaii, the best in the world, IMHO). But this would all be a small price to pay for winter warmth, sloths and toucans (and quetzals, howler monkeys, iguanas and even enormous spiders), rainforests, long beach walks (in the mornings at least) and endless ‘pura vida’.

One afternoon, after we had booked our flight to San Jose, reserved a rental car and found a one-month deal on a condo just back from the beach in Samara, on the Pacific coast, I was happy thinking we’d made a good start on our winter travel plans. After a month, or two, in Costa Rica, we’d see how the virus was being managed and who else in the region was open for U.S. travelers. I was startled out of my thoughts when Heather, from her spot on the couch, yelled “Sunsets are back!!!” It seems Costa Rica had just announced the 2 pm curfew on beach visitation was being rescinded – sunsets were, indeed, back. Days later the countries officials announced that they would no longer require a negative COVID test result prior to entry. Things were really looking up! Now our only concern was getting out of Colorado before the snow flies – which would be a stretch since we weren’t leaving until October 29th. In this case our luck ran out – four days before departure we received 8 – 10 inches of the white stuff, followed by two nights where the temperature dropped below 0. Oh well, guess you can’t have everything.