Travel Plans

When we stepped into November, it dawned on me that DW and I hadn't made any winter travel plans.

Usually by this time of year, we would have already booked airfare and accommodation somewhere south. For years, we've gone to Mexico, often booking our resort in Akumal in the previous spring. By this time of year, we'd be going through our packing list and making sure that we had everything we needed, and if not, would be acquiring it.

Now, in November, we had no foreseeable travel plans.

I really want to go to Iceland and told DW that I'd do it in 2026. But apart from watching a few travel videos, I haven't booked a flight, reserved a car (or camper van, as I'll likely do), or picked out any accommodation. I've looked at many videos, including some that tell you how to prepare for Iceland, but I haven't followed through.

I think that trip will have to wait until 2027.

On Sunday, I mentioned to DW that we haven't planned for a winter escape to a tropical location. Were we going to skip the sunny south this winter season? A few months ago, we looked at St. Lucia, but being so close to Venezuela and with the American administration's murderous rampage in that region, we think we'll hold off on that area for a while.

DW did some searches and learned that Porter Airlines has direct flights from Ottawa to Liberia, Costa Rica, and that the round-trip prices were pretty unbeatable. We were in Costa Rica in late January to early February, last year, and we covered a lot of ground, but there were still a few areas that we had yet to explore.

We spent all afternoon, on Sunday, watching travel videos of the Guanacaste province, and we decided this was one of the areas we'd like to see next. We'd love to visit Tamarindo and the various beach towns north, along the Pacific coast, plus we'd like to explore the interior jungles and volcanic areas.

Playa Santa Teresa, 2024

And we don't want to do it alone: we want to share the experience with close friends.

Last night, we met at The Manx with our besties, Bee and Marc, and they agreed to join us for a 12-day excursion. From our table in the pub, we booked our flights.

Now all we have to do is book our accommodation and rent a vehicle. But DW and I are pros at that.

So, in little more than 48 hours, we've gone from recognizing that we had no winter travel plans to having plane tickets. It's so exciting.

Stay tuned.