Lessons from Pair-o-Dice Village. How the gorgeous Ballena Coast called us on a rollercoaster ride of magic, sorrow, and hilarity.

In 2005, I sat on the “Magic Rock.” The rock is in Santa Elena, so far out in the hills, I probably wouldn’t be able to relocate it with a decade to spare.

Sitting on the Magic Rock, the idea hatched to move to what we call Pair-o-Dice Village on the breathtaking Ballena Coast. But the rock didn’t lead us straight to the Village.

We had to return to Costa Rica, pass through the Village, and be so ingratiated by the people that despite intending to move on to see other things every day, we checked back into the same hotel every night for a week.

The smiles and hospitality of the people, the lush mountains hanging over the Pacific, and the overall spiritual rooting we felt for the place completely reinforced the decision to move.

And in late 2006, within the span of eighteen hours door-to-door, we went from subways and taxi cabs to crossing bridge-less rivers in 4x4s and saving hummingbirds caught in our screens.

In hindsight, the Villagers say we had the roughest time they had ever seen of any expat who had moved there. And that is why we poke fun at the experience with abandon. At the same time, it’s times like those when you learn the most.

We completely reversed roles as a couple, visited shamans, launched ourselves off mountainsides, got over a fear of heights, and even learned why a tarantula might just randomly fall from the sky.

The people of breathtaking Pair-o-Dice, its nature, and its drastic change of pace were our great teachers–imparting to us many of the lessons that expats in Costa Rica so often learn.

For this we are always grateful, and we will never forget.

Featured on ABC News, in CNBC, ongoing expert contributors to Psychology Today and in Redbook, Self, and the Miami Herald, Laura Berger and Glen Tibaldeo are the Life Leap couple. They chucked their well paying corporate America jobs for the jungles of Costa Rica to bring some spice back into their marriage.

Surrounded by natural beauty, ironically it was the technique in their book Fall in Love Again, Every Day: 3 Steps to True Connection for Any Couple that created the connection of a lifetime for this couple. Their second book, Radical Sabbatical: A Hilarious Journey From a Stifling Rut to a Life Without Boundaries is already getting rave reviews.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.