Why is this day so significant? Well, we live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the leaves are off the trees for almost 6 months of the year. The winters here can be quite cold.

So that particular evening on February 20, 2008. My husband and I were at the kitchen table watching the moon cover up that night. We were watching the lunar eclipse. The wind was cold and wind chill even colder. But we love the stars and my husband loves taking pictures.

So outside he goes and clicks away. Only minutes after he returns inside looking like a Popsicle, with icicles hanging from his brows, hands frozen and the camera nearly seized.

So let’s back up a bit.

We have travelled back and forth since 1998. The country of Costa Rica called our name. But we wanted to see other places. So island to island, country to country through different places of the world. Every second year we returned to Costa Rica. Why?

The birds, the fauna, the people, the food, the tranquility, the diversity and mostly the adventure. Where will the next road take us?

Where in the world could you go through 7 microclimates in a one hour drive or less? Where one can be wearing a sleeved shirt and jean jacket and within one hour you are peeling off your clothes with heat?

The country amazed us!

But over the years we had also seen the country grow with each visit. We actually do not believe there was even a golf course when we first visited. Forests were being cut to make way for development. There were fewer monkeys and wildlife in places we first loved and so had to travel around more to find more new exciting flora and fauna. Now, we understand that development just has to be in order for a country to grow and provide jobs for the people.

We had loved Costa Rica so much that we said that one day we will buy property there. Not just a condo on the beach but our little piece of the jungle. A place where the monkeys, birds and other creatures could have a safe place. We would save our little piece of the rainforest.

El Bosque Tranquilo was born! That night Feb 20, 2008 all the way in Canada, my husband and I called a person we had met on our travels and told her we want to buy our little piece of paradise.

I had told many friends over the years here in Canada that we would buy a property there and one day a friend said…” Gwen, when are you going to buy something there?” And I said, ” I don’t know….when the stars are all in align!”
Well that night the moon, the earth and the sun were in align and that is what we did. Not realizing that it was the -52 with the wind chill that made us buy, but the stars were actually in align.

We had called an American woman whose property we had previously visited. The property had everything we wanted. It came with a road in, water and electricity. With her generosity, she lets us stay with her over a weekend. We visited the lot we bought daily and had the chance to get a good feel of the area San Salvador.

Linda Gray was a horse lover and provided horse tours to the valley. She took tremendous pride in her horses and her property. She took me on a few trail rides free of charge and introduced us to many local people and expats of the area. Thank you Linda for making our transition to the area easy!

So back and forth we went for now 7 years. My husband and I own the First Impressions Hair and Skin salon/spa in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

We now celebrate our 21 year in business. We worked hard and than rewarded ourselves with 2 visits a year to our future home of El Bosque Tranquilo of San Salvador. Lucky for us we have a daughter with the same passion. Jennifer and her husband came with us one year to see the paradise we had been carefully carving in the jungle.

Taking care not to disrupt the forest. We made small paths to various tranquil locations. We showed them the beautiful rivers that ran through the property and the most amazing 50 foot waterfall that provides us with a cool mist and shade to relax and explore. They too fell in love with Costa Rica.

We were blessed with a property that was once a homestead to a farmer and his family. We had many mature fruit trees, many large hard wood trees and various other types brought here by the original owner. We have a paradise of birds which we have on record and we have seen over 100 different species. We have wild pigs, deer, white face monkeys, olingos, coatis, agoutis and some very rare birds. We even had a visit from a beautiful Scarlet Macaw couple.

We have not seen a sloth yet on our property but they are there. Our neighbours have seen some. So one day we will add that beautiful animal to our list.

So once again here we are… June 2015. The stars are in align again.

We did not wait for this to happen. Once we made our decisions to leave Canada, 7 years later and two grand children and 21 years in business. We sat one evening and I noticed the brightest star in the sky. I immediately jumped up to get my iPad and googled the stars and this is what I found. The stars, Venus, Mars and Jupiter were in align. Crazy but true. That was it!

We feel at peace with our decision. It is time to move on.

Our daughter and her family will become the new owners of the salon that she too has worked in for years and helped develop it over the years. She will continue to mentor many other new talent stylists and continue to provide excellent service to our customers and community. She and her family also care and share our love for Costa Rica so they too will visit enjoy the beautiful and diversity of this country. Our eldest grand daughter has already been to Costa Rica 3 times.

So visit San Salvador on your next trip. See and hike the most amazing Diamante waterfalls.

Hike the trails and climb the trees of Hacienda Baru.

Choose a horse tour and swim in the incredible pools of the Nauyaca waterfalls

Enjoy the hustle of San Isidro de General and hike the Chirripo mountain.

Than take in the weekly grand feria of San Isidro del General. Enjoy the most amazing fruits, vegetables and foods of Costa Rica. Wow the list goes on, there is so much more to do and say.

With every stop and corner you turn. You will be totally impressed with the friendly, smiling faces of people willing to help you find your way. Even if you do not speak the same language. The people of Costa Rica love their country and want you to also enjoy its beauty. They are all very proud of their country.

And if you do not speak it yet… Like us, you will learn and want to learn so that you can enjoy the Tico company so much more. The best and easiest way I had discovered when I just visited and hung out with the local ladies and their children. We chatted and taught each other through playing and cooking. I enjoyed that so much I collect many recipes in Spanish, than translated them.

I had many that we have enjoyed so I decided to make a cook book. That cook book grew, but it was only the tip of the iceberg of the so many culinary dishes to be had in Costa Rica. We soon realized that the typical dishes of Costa Rica were endless, just like the coastline.

Now with my collection of recipes I decided to help and give back to our community by making a cook book. The proceeds go to helping people send their children to school. Help make dreams come true. The children are the future!

You can order your copy of Gwen’s book Typical Dishes of Costa Rica here.

Yours to discover. Salud!

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.