Weddingbee Blog

Pura Vida!

Costa Rica rocked, Weddingbee! And boy, was being swept away for a six-night escape in the middle of the jungle just what the doctor ordered! It was such a fantastic way to decompress from the wedding and spend some one-on-one time reflecting on the Brooch past, present, and of course, married future!

As you know, we debated between Aruba and Costa Rica, but there’s no doubt in my mind we made the right decision by choosing to go to Oxygen Jungle Villas in Costa Rica. If you’re looking for an adventurous, yet relaxing vacation, we can’t recommend this trip enough! Look at all the fun we had:

As you can see from the first photo, we went zip lining! Everyone told us we had to. Costa Rica is apparently the place to zip line, and we are so glad that we did! Mr. Brooch loved the nature hike and was a natural at the zip line. I, on the other hand, was a lot more nervous than I thought I would be, but I eventually got the hang of it. On our last line, we even zipped backwards! Whoa! Talk about an adrenaline rush!

How about that pink beach hat? I love it y’all, and I fit right in wearing it! I bought it in Dominical, a small surfer’s beach nearby our resort. It was a great place to meet locals and do some shopping! The food was pretty amazing in Dominical, too! We ate Tortilla Flats and Great Escape (The fish tacos at Flats are delish, but if you want a great all-American burger and fries go to Great Escape)!

Welp, there’s not much to say about that pool you see Mr. Brooch swimming in except that it was one of our favorite things about Oxygen Jungle Villas. The gorgeous infinity pool was so wonderful to come ’home’ to each day! Oh, and those pancakes? Just another favorite thing about our resort. They had the most amazing breakfast menu!

THE LIZARD IN THAT PHOTO IS NOT DEAD! I SWEAR! But it is playing dead! During our nature hike before zip lining, we learned a lot about the Costa Rican jungle and apparently, these little lizards will play dead to protect themselves from predators! So cool!

We also took a day trip to Manuel Antonio beach nearby Manuel Antonio Park, which was beautiful and a lot of fun. We are at one the many resorts on the Manuel Antonio mountainside in the photo below. THE VIEW WAS STUNNING!

Manuel Antonio park was definitely worth the trip because you will hear a lot of people talk about the beaches there, but be warned: it was very crowded, very touristy, and nothing like the quiet and serene settings of Oxygen Jungle Villas.

Oh! I should also mention there were gigantic iguanas on the beach, too!

Ados is a quaint coffee shop near Oxygen Jungle Villas and by far our favorite stop in Costa Rica! See that delicious-looking (Oreo-cookie flavored) iced coffee? Yum! Please believe, Ados ice coffee puts Starbucks’ frappaccinos to shame. When we go back, this will definitely be our first stop. We actually made good friends with the owner, which wasn’t hard since we were there three days out of the six we were in CR!

The food, the food, the food! You guys! Seriously, if you’re ever in Uvita, please go to Tallengerua, our other favorite place in Costa Rica. It’s a great local restaurant that sits on a beautiful hillside with gorgeous panoramic views of the water. The menu is very simple, but the food is great! It’s breezy, laid back, and they play excellent music. We went there twice during our trip. That’s also where we are in the video below.

Can I please be back there right this instant? PLEASE! Right this instant!

Mmm… Did I mention the Ceviche from Tallengura? Tell me why we ate it without any clue that it was raw fish! HELLO! The funny thing is that we loved it! It wasn’t the only new food we tried in Costa Rica and loved. Since food was a huge part of our trip, I had to put together another collage showcasing a few of our favorite meals. My mouth is seriously watering right now. From the left to right: Coconut-curry shrimp from Exotica (another GREAT, GREAT restaurant), fish tacos, patacones, and a chicken and rice platter.

Did I mention Exotica yet? Please got there at least one of the nights you are in Uvita. The sweetest, most darling French woman owns it, and trust me, one time won’t be enough! We went there two nights in a row.  Here is a photo from our second-to-last night in town. I still can’t get over my tan!

We had a lot of wonderful drinks too! From left to right: Great coffee and fruit smoothies, strawberry daiquiris, and our personal favorites: the beer of Costa Rice, Imperial (so refreshing and delish!) and bottled Canada Dry! All the sodas are in glass bottles.

Oh, and I can blame the post-wedding weight on these desserts. Needless to say, we ate well!

As you can see, the food was probably our favorite part of the trip, but the views were something to be missed as well.

Sigh.

I seriously cannot wait to go back. When we do, we’ll definitely stay at Oxygen Jungle Villas in the little town of Uvita again. There is no doubt about that. If you’re interested in hearing more about this vacation, check out Mrs. Lox’s posts here and here. She honeymooned there as well!

Have you been to Costa Rica?

What are your favorite memories?