My New Travel Must-Haves

Everyone has those travel items that they just can’t go anywhere without, and I have two things to add to my list that already includes items such as a good travel purse, my linen pants, comfortable shoes, and an umbrella.  These two new items are Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard and (sorry, this is probably TMI but I feel I must share this with the female population) the Diva Cup.

Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard: Once upon a time, my mom heard about Avon and the Skin-So-Soft product that was apparently an amazing bug repellant.  This was good news because I am one of those unlucky people who mosquitoes have always seemed to love.  Unfortunately, we could not find it, but then, last Christmas, one of my presents from my mom contained two bottles of this rumored miracle bug spray.  I didn’t have a chance to try it before I came to Costa Rica, so I also brought some DEET with me.  I don’t know about everyone else out there, but I don’t like DEET.  It makes me nervous with all the rules about when and where you can wear it and how you have to shower it off as soon as you are indoors.  Since I get bitten just about everywhere (both where I am and where on me), DEET just doesn’t quite work for me.  Luckily, Avon (and my mom) has come to my rescue!  This product does not smell like a mass of chemicals AND you do not need to wash it off immediately.  It also contains SPF 30 sunscreen.  And did I mention it works?  I have worn this during a canopy tour, rappelling down waterfalls, and hiking right after sunset and it protected me every time.  Yes, I am still getting devoured by mosquitoes, but only during those times when I decide there shouldn’t be mosquitoes around and I don’t bother spraying myself.  The only downsides I can find are that it is pretty oily and it cannot spray upside down, but its effectiveness makes it completely worth it!

Diva Cup: This is when anyone who does not get a period and/or doesn’t like talking about them should probably stop reading.  Consider yourself warned.  The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup that is used to catch menstrual blood.  Unlike a tampon, it does not absorb anything so it does not cause TSS.  Therefore, it can be inserted before your period even starts and can be used until the last bits of spotting are done.  You have to empty it and clean it with mild, unscented, Ph balanced soap (such as the Diva Wash) twice a day when you have access to potable water and the rest of the time, it goes unnoticed.  This is great all the time, but especially while traveling.  I do not have to lug around tons of pads and/or tampons and I don’t have to worry about changing pads/tampons every __ hours.  Since I am sleeping in places with potable tap water, it is easy to wash it every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed.  For travel in third world countries, I believe there are methods to make it work.  I was on my period while in Arenal and it was not a problem at all, not even with rappelling down waterfalls or hiking and swimming everyday.  For more information, google “diva cup” or “menstrual cup”.

The Rainy Season

The view from my room in San Jose.  There are usually a LOT more clouds.

When they named this season, they were not kidding.  It has rained almost every day that I have been here for at least a few hours, if not all day.  Most days, it is dry in the morning, sometimes even sunny, and then it rains in the afternoon and/or evening and/or night.  However, it was really bad last week, when I think it rained for two days straight.  From what I have heard, this year has been especially bad, and last week there was a tropical storm passing nearby.  Many roads were and are closed due to mudslides and flooding, and I believe two major roads (one of which is less than a year old) collapsed.  This meant that our planned excursion to the Monteverde cloud forest was switched to a trip to Tamarindo beach.  While I had read that traveling during the rainy season was not too bad since it means there are fewer tourists, the effects it can have on travel have been significant this year.  Usually, only smaller roads are closed due to flooding, but this year, two of the largest roads have been closed because they collapsed in parts.  Every night last week, the news was about the rain.  More floods, more mudslides, more collapsed roads.  It may not be like this every year, but I think the rain is definitely worth taking seriously when planning to travel here.  Fewer tourists and cheaper prices don’t mean as much when you can’t get where you want to go, when you want to go.  At the least, bring a waterproof jacket and shoes (but be ready to stand out by actually wearing them) and a good umbrella.  Luckily, I will be here for three months so I plan on going to Monteverde another weekend.  After all, this is supposed to be the last really wet month of the rainy season.

View from the hotel balcony in Tamarindo.

As for Tamarindo: Beaches were nice, canopy tour was fun, nightlife was decent, but I don’t think it will be one of my favorite places.  I am sure there are better beaches elsewhere, I have heard that the canopy tour in Monteverde can’t be beat, and while the nightlife was fun, it was definitely pretty sketchy.  Let me just say, I was very glad that the tour company ISA uses had us in a nice hotel with a gate and security.  Also, while the canopy tour in Monteverde may be better (I’ll let you know), I was pretty sure it would be the kind of thing I would love to do more than once and I was right.  It was awesome and I cannot wait to do it again :)