We spend Christmas and New Year’s in the Caribbean for the first time! On Christmas Eve, we were very lucky to be invited by the parents of our Airbnb host for an authentic Costa Rican Christmas meal. It was a great experience, the family is incredibly warm, and the house was decorated better than a Christmas museum. On December 25th, our Christmas present arrived from Bousbecque, and it wasn’t other than Nicolas’ parents joining us. We prepared a meal for them along with our host and another traveler, before leaving for our road trip: 2 weeks in Costa Rica.
Road trip in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the paradise for animal viewing! The beautiful toucans and the fascinating sloths have won our hearts. Clémentine also made unfortunate encounters: a tarantula in her shower (her worst nightmare), a cockroach in her suitcase and a monkey who stole her snacks (the worst time of the day). The monkey had a cute baby on its back so it was forgiven. Nevertheless, the tarantula was a shock and Clémentine now takes care to check each new place (and shake her shoes before putting them on). The landscapes were also incredible: mountains, beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls… More information on our article Road trip in Costa Rica.
After Nico’s parents left, we took 5 days to work on the blog and plan our trips to the Pacific islands. We had the chance to stay in a luxurious apartment thanks to our new professional blogging skills (the blog’s importance is starting to grow and now we need your support more than ever)!
Weekend in Los Angeles
We took advantage of a stopover in Los Angeles to spend the weekend with a friend we met during our time as expats in San Francisco. It was an absolutely magical weekend! Our friend is a talented magician who has entered the prestigious Los Angeles Academy of Magic . He was able to take us on an out of the ordinary evening at the famous Magic Castle (frequented by Hollywood stars). The photos are forbidden inside, but we can tell you every corner was enchanted in a very glamorous atmosphere. The next day we experienced another kind of magic by visiting the very first Disneyland Park.
Honeymoon paradise in French Polynesia
We then flew to the destination we were the most looking forward to: French Polynesia! In total, we visited 5 islands (out of 118, we still have a lot to explore): Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea and Bora Bora. We really felt like we were in paradise: anywhere we looked was wonderfully gorgeous, the sun caresses the skin and it smelled so nice thanks to the beautiful flowers. There was also an abundance of delicious fruits everywhere. Tahitians are very welcoming and the culture is very rich. To balance the high prices of inter-island flights and accommodations we were eating sardines (when divine meals are not included in the pensions) and we got around by hitchhiking, which was very pleasant.
Our program for 3 weeks (which we would have loved to extend) was: 2 dives, a 3-day catamaran cruise, 3 expeditions inside the islands, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming with sharks, turtles, dolphins, rays and millions of colorful fish in the middle of the coral. We were also bitten by mosquitoes and got a cold but we do not complain. We really felt at the end of the world here. Especially when kayaking to deserted motus, it woke up our Robinson Crusoe soul.
What’s next ?
We are now flying to New Zealand for more adventures in the beautiful Polynesian cultures. We will spend a month in Middle-earth for a new epic road trip.
