Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 15 oranges— Two dollars and fifty cents

Rob and I took a road trip the other day and visited Playa Ostional. The “arribada” was occurring and we didn’t want to miss the chance at seeing tens of thousands of Olive Ridley Turtles make their way from the sea to lay their eggs in the soft sand. It’s such an incredible sight that no matter how many times I witness it, my heart expands like a confetti balloon of happiness.

Even though we saw hundreds of turtles lay their eggs in the sand, we were one day too early for the official “arribada.” “We’ll come back next year,” I said to Rob as we were taking our last picture.

That’s when we noticed a mama turtle wrapped in a net. She must have swum into it years ago, the threads strangling her front limb. No one had a knife so Rob started tearing the net with his bare hands. He wouldn’t give up and finally was able to free the poor animal.

When you are married, you can often forget the great qualities of your spouse. While watching Rob save this turtle, he once again became my boyfriend. The man I hopelessly fell in love with. The one who promised that even though he didn’t have any money, he was going to do big things with his life.

I’m glad we missed the “arribada.” By going a day early, we had the opportunity to take some suffering out of this world. And unexpectedly, I also got the chance to revisit my boyfriend… the one who, without a penny in his pocket, promised me the world.

(read more about Playa Ostional in one of my previous posts “The Turtles Are Coming” )