Quick post on Costa Rica today. It’s strange writing back and remembering, even though it was only a couple days ago…

On my last day at Paradisus Playa Conchal, I booked a tee time on the Reserva Conchal golf course at 6:30 AM… yes, 6:30 AM. Too early.

The Reserva Conchal golf course is a beautiful course in Costa Rica designed by Robert Trent Jones II. It’s a challenging course, fairly tight fairways and some tough greens. It is really amazing to think that they can keep a golf course in good shape like that in the hot weather.

It was strange playing a golf course by myself. Some background on golf and I… I started playing golf about 4 years ago when I was dating someone in university who used to play golf a LOT. He actually taught kids camps, etc. I wasn’t very good at all, but I did go to the driving range quite a few times that summer. Flash forward several years, and I’m still not very good at golf. I did start going to the driving range a bit last summer, I bought a set of irons, and I played in the company golf tourney.  Now this year already, it’s almost the end of July and I’ve only gone to the driving range a couple times this summer. I really need to start going more.

It’s a love-hate relationship.

So imagine my surprise when I played the Reserva Conchal course with my rented clubs, and I pulled out a driver for the first time, and actually managed to hit it alright. That’s the first time I have ever hit a driver without it hitting someone else, popping straight into the air, or divebombed 2 yards in front of me. It was exciting!

So, when I got back to Vancouver I bought myself a new driver because I was so excited. Needless to say, I have not been able to replicate my success and continue being a hazard to all at the driving range with my driver. More on this later in the week.

There were some gorgeous views of the ocean from some of the holes.

There was tons of wildlife all around the golf course, including these cute birds all lined up along the side of one of the holes…

… and this gigantic iguana!

After playing the course, one of the guys I had made friends with at the Pro Shop, Mauricio, was kind enough to drive my luggage and I to Tamarindo where I would be staying in an apartment rental there. I can’t thank Mauricio enough!

I was staying at Villas Langosta, just outside of Tamarindo on Playa Langosta. I loved Playa Langosta last time I was in Costa Rica, but I have to say… really disappointed with the apartment rental. It was totally functional and definitely no-frills as I expected, but for the price ($110 USD a night), I’m not sure it was worth it compared to some of the other B&Bs or vacation rentals in the area.

There was a kitchen which was functional and had everything I needed to cook, but there were TONS of cobwebs everywhere, and huge HUGE spiders in all the cupboards. For those of you who know how scared of spiders I am, it wasn’t a pleasant experience to be cooking by myself there!

The living room was actually pretty big for an apartment rental, but I barely used it.

The bedroom was nice, and I appreciated the mosquito netting… too bad there were tons of ants that crawled in under the door all night!

Anyway, if you’ve been following my Twitter, you know that I ended up coming back to Vancouver early. I missed Allan, I was worried about the cut on my face softening up after surfing and needed to see my family doctor, and I didn’t feel safe in my apartment rental. (It’s not in the best area of town, and I actually heard someone creeping around in the bushes around my apartment, and someone tried to open my patio door)… so I decided to fly back early.

Coming up on the blog this week… I am looking forward to posting some of the surf pictures… as well as putting together a Costa Rica compilation video! Also, I’ll be at Chill on the Hill at Whistler on Saturday thanks to NESTEA and will be SNOWBOARDING in July! Woohoo! Can’t wait to pull out the Malolo.

So, as most of the people who read my blog or Twitter know, these past few weeks have been really hard on me. This past week was spent as a recluse, a complete invalid… hoping my eczema would clear up. After numerous appointments at the doctor, several scares, restraints, supervision and all sorts of craziness I don’t even want to get into, we’ve finally found a solution that seems to be working. And it’s clearing up. It’s by no means healed or perfect yet, but there’s signs of progress for the first time in a long time. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

And you know what? I’m tired of wallowing in my own misery.

So while Friday and Saturday was mostly spent recovering still, I decided I NEEDED to get out of the house on Sunday.

First stop was the driving range. First time all year. In July… how sad is that? Nevertheless, we got out and hit some balls and boy, it felt GREAT to be out in the fresh air!

I’m really looking forward to getting to the range some more times this summer, getting out for pitch and putt and maybe a couple full courses later on in the summer. I’m also considering bringing my clubs to Costa Rica since the place I’m hoping to stay at is supposed to have a great golf course.

I don’t have a top of the line set, but for you golf heads, I’ve got a Callaway Big Bertha ladies iron graphite set, with a Big Berta 3 Wood, and a Rossi putter. No driver yet.

After the range we met up with my dad for Father’s Day for lunch at Earl’s (his choice). I had the Green Curry Chicken and it was delicious!

I can’t even tell you how much I love my dad. He’s been there for me my whole life, he’s held our family up through tough times with his amazing work ethic, and inspires me to be entrepreneurial. He works hard in construction 6 days a week and comes home late but he always seems to have time for his kids. He taught me how to ski, how to bike, how to play sports and love sports. He introduced me to the greatest sport of all time and my beloved team, the Vancouver Canucks… and he always encourages me to aim high in life. He’s extremely good-natured, kind, generous, God-fearing, and funny. I love you Dad! Happy Father’s Day!

After lunch, Allan and I headed down to Holt Renfrew to check out the shoes section. I’ve been doing so great with my budget over the past 3 months, sticking to it completely! And I’m so happy to be able to say that shoes are part of my budget. I haven’t bought any new clothes or shoes or anything in the past 6 months and new summer shoes were a real treat!

Holt Renfrew was having a big designer sale, so I tried on about a hundred shoes (including these cool Cole Haan heels) before deciding on some flip flops and a dressy wedge.

I love shoe boxes!

These shoes are TOTALLY me! First of all, I love Michael Kors. Second of all, they are my favourite colour (orange). And they will work well in the city, or on the beach! Love the comfortable, practical jelly. So stoked! And they are cheap too!

My big splurge was definitely these 2009 Prada Cutout Wedges. I completely fell in love with them. And they were on sale. Perfect for the city or walking around a resort in Costa Rica! They are very well constructed, made in Italy, with leather and cork. They are dressy but still summery, and REALLY comfortable! Love love love!

So… I think I’m back! Time to start updating the blog regularly again, and start living my life again. This week will be full of work, and then it’s off to Tofino on Friday for 9 days for the annual camping and surfing trip. And then a couple more days of work before Costa Rica. I hope my skin holds up. But even if it doesn’t, I’m determined to have a great time, get out there, and enjoy all the amazing things this world and life has to offer.

Hope you all are having a great summer so far!