Costa Rica

Welcome to paradise. 

Central America, may not be on the top of everyones list, but once out there it is super cheap, contains beautiful beaches and gorgeous blue seas. Also has lots of fun things to entice even the most relentless. 

I spent a month out there, hiking up spectacular volcanoes, looking at the local wildlife of monkeys and bullet ants. (Some animals more welcomed than others!) I got stuck in to the local life and every morning helped milk the cow and I even killed and plucked a chicken. I appreciate Waitrose so much more now!

Life here is simple, but fun and refreshing. I spent a couple of weeks in the heart of the forest with some local people, they had one shower and working loo and the rest was all hand crafted. Getting back to basics was surprisingly easy to adjust too, and trust me I am a girly girl. One panicky moment occurred when I found a tarantula in my bed…but my quick thinking friend popped him in a Pringles pot and named him Harry (pictured below). He soon became an emblem of how much I had changed. I am usually the person screeching so only the cats can hear her at the sight of a moving black dot, with eight legs that I presume is trying to eat me.

I also worked at a turtle reserve, patrolling the beaches at night from poachers. During the day helping injured turtles in the rehabilitation centre. A rewarding and very cute experience! As always Costa has its own flair, in the middle of the reserve is a runway where rickety planes land to drop of the next batch of willing volunteers and supplies. You are literally in the middle of no where with nature. 

Costa Rica will offer you everything, for the sporty type there are plenty of amazing scenery filled walks on offer. The volcanoes offer cool springs and waterfalls to cool down on expeditions. The towns and larger cities have rum filled nights for the party animal, drink are cheap and partying is encouraged. Still not tempted? Worlds best coffee.

The motto of Costa Rica is Pura Vida, and that is what you find there, a good pure life. 

Walking along the idyllic Beach

Harry the spider, now released and believed to be sunbathing with wife Sally.

The model shot. Jumping for joy at sunset. 

Loss...

Cancer in my family is like buses, it comes in threes. My father, uncle and aunty were all diagnosed within months of each other. My aunty, a lovely kind women who was gentle and loving passed away today.

On my way to the train station heading back for University I went to visit her. Cancer is a violent disease that just leaves a shell of the former person, and their she was; shrivelled and ravaged by the disease, here but not really. 

I held her hand and said my goodbyes and while we were all in the room she passed away, taking her last breath. I had to check for a pulse, and couldn’t find one, it all happened so quickly. A sense of relief and sadness filled the room. I couldn’t help but think unlike my father she had died in her home surrounded by those she loved, and that helped us all. 

Her sons soon came, one was already on the way but just missed saying goodbye. With them her grandson, a happy chappy with curly blonde hair and an infectious giggle. Sometimes you have to see the beginning of life with the death of one to realise how important yours is. 

I wasn’t there with my father, something I wished I had been. For me being with my aunt when she died, in an odd way helped me to heal. I shall of course grieve, it brings back horrible buried memories. Yet seeing someone so peacefully slip into death and to feel that they are now at peace makes me feel better about my own fathers passing.

I haven’t figured what happens on the other side of life. Part of me thinks this can’t be it, there has to be more. Another part of me wonders, do we experience death to remind us about the fragility of life? This is our one chance, and to make the most of it?

All I know is the sensation is numbing, and will take you on an emotional roller coaster like never before. Sometimes I look up to the sky and think, you got out of it, left us behind to pick up the pieces. 

Icicle Curtains, the Beauty of Nature...

Sometimes I stumble upon a place that haunts me with its beauty. 

In Garmisch, Germany I found such a place. The icicles hang down the steep rocks like giant frosty curtains. Ice blue water runs below and the rocks are sprinkled with snow, the result is stunningly beautiful. The fresh air and cool breeze invigorate the senses and enabled me to spend hours sitting and thinking about life while watching rain drops drip down these magical natural creations. 

Sun will come soon and destroy. What Winter has spent months making will go in a couple of days, and the trees will be green and life will be created. A fact of life is that something destroyed will be replaced. For now though, maybe it reflects my mood, the jagged spears of ice are more alluring and far more welcomed.

He surfs the seas with the wind whipping his blonde hair. 

The salt spray licks upon his cheeks. 

The waves crash upon the sandy beach. 

He is in his salty heaven, master of the sea. 

This christmas I lost the first man I loved, my wonderful father. He was such a burning bright light in this world, and he will follow me wherever I go. He wrote a book of his quotes and life lessons to lead me through my own. His last words to me where, go live your life and don’t let yourself down, be the best you can be. 

These words haunt me, I am young and naive and have not yet understood my path in life or where I should go, so this blog is for him, and for me. It will document the shaping of a person as she explores life without her coach and best friend.

Like me, this blog will be an eclectic mixture of my loves; fashion, music, travelling and politics. 

I leave you with my fathers summary of life:

In the end nothing matters except that you have loved, and have been loved.