From Heat to Heart: Back Where It Began

There’s something about a move that makes you take stock of your life in a way few other things do. It’s like standing in a doorway, one foot still on the old floor, the other testing the new one, hoping it doesn’t creak too much under the weight of your expectations. This next move, we hope, will be the last for quite a few years. Not because we’re done exploring, but because we’re ready to settle, to exhale a little, and to let life come to us instead of constantly chasing it.

Leaving Costa Rica isn’t easy. It’s not just a change of address, it’s a shift in rhythm, in temperature, in mindset. It’s trading in flip-flops for boots, mango trees for maples, and the sound of howler monkeys for… well, snowblowers and hockey games. But like anything in life, every place gives you something, and every place takes something too. So here it is, plain and simple.

What I’ll miss most from Costa Rica

The simple, everyday moments that quietly made life feel lighter

• The Pura Vida, that slow, unhurried pace where life happens whether you rush or not
• The people, genuinely kind and welcoming in a way that stays with you
• The pool every day, no winterizing, just jump in and enjoy
• Fresh fruit, picked ripe from trees, tasting the way fruit is supposed to taste
• Some prices, especially meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables, the healthy kind of foods
• That addictive mango, ginger, and habanero hot sauce that may require smuggling
• The monkeys, both sound of howlers and seeing the capuchins, nature’s own little comedy show
• The toucans, looking like they were designed by someone having a laugh
• The scarlet macaws, hands down the most spectacular birds I’ve ever seen
• No winter conditions, because loving winter and loving shovelling are not the same thing
• Clothing, or rather, the lack of need for much of it
• Sunrises and sunsets at the same time every day, 12 months of the year. 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of dark, no time change

What I won’t miss

The little challenges that added up, even if they never truly defined the experience

• Worrying about the dogs getting bitten or poisoned by something that slithers or crawls
• Being a visible minority, a new and uncomfortable experience at times
• The constant USD influence, especially in today’s political climate
• Driving those narrow, winding roads where lanes are more of a suggestion
• The frustration of language barriers, knowing it’s on me, but feeling it just the same
• Power outages and surges that keep electronics on edge
• Mildew, the uninvited guest that never really leaves
• Insects, such as scorpions and spiders, including the kind you don’t want to meet in your clothes
• Snakes, and the fact there are 23 venomous species here compared to none back in Quebec

What I’m looking forward to

A return to familiarity, comfort, and the kind of life that feels like home

• Being closer to family, even if not physically closer to my kids and grandkids
• A dollar being worth a dollar, done with the conversions
• Blending in again, something you don’t appreciate until you lose it
• ATV trails and getting our quads back, riding again
• Familiarity, in language, culture, and the simple act of knowing how things work
• A return to my roots in Quebec after 34 years away. It’s time
• The seasons, the colours in the fall, snow covered trees in winter, and sugar shacks in the spring
• Freedom for the dogs to run without hidden dangers
• This new house, likely the nicest we’ve owned, even if it doesn’t have Nakusp’s view
• Reliable connectivity, including recording our favourite shows, which you only truly value when you don’t have it
• Not having to use a VPN, risking being blocked from some websites you like visiting

If there’s one thing this chapter has taught me, it’s that life isn’t about finding the perfect place. It’s about collecting pieces of yourself along the way. Costa Rica gave us pieces we didn’t even know we were missing. It taught us to slow down, to breathe, to accept that not everything needs fixing, scheduling, or improving. Sometimes, life just needs to be lived.

And now, we carry that forward. Not perfectly, because let’s be honest, it’s hard to sip coffee slowly when there’s snow to shovel and a driveway judging you. But the intention is there. The awareness is there. And that alone changes how you move through the world.

We leave without regret. Atenas was more than a location, it was a lesson, a beautiful one at that. It showed us what it means to live, not just exist. And for that, we’re better, fuller, maybe even a little wiser.

We’ll be back, no doubt about it. Probably in Sámara, chasing sunrises and sunsets, and pretending we never left. But for now, it’s time to turn the page, head home, and see what the next chapter has in store. Because in the end, it is possible to love more than one country. Life isn’t about where you are, it’s about how deeply you allow yourself to experience it.