It’s February 17th, time to wish my blog NY to Costa Rica a happy first birthday! Today is also the 35th anniversary of my first having set foot in Costa Rica. I can’t wait to continue this adventure!
Let’s take a brief look at what’s happened with NY to Costa Rica during its very first year!
Year One of Blogging
My first year of blogging has been one of trial and error. With zero experience when I launched last February, I’ve learned a ton of new things (and still have a ton to go). NY to Costa Rica now has a Facebook page and an Instagram feed.
Blogging has been a bit more overwhelming than I thought—so many concerns! Trying to find the right image, making sure it’s optimized, watching my spelling, trying to put my ideas into words, and then what about the damned SEO?
Every day I wonder if the blog design is really what I want, and how can I change it to look more palatable yet minimalistic—ay yay yay! It went right from Pura Vida to Pura Worries! I needed to put on the brakes for a second.
According to Google analytics, I’ve been fortunate enough to have people all over the globe stop by. It seems like the whole world is interested in Costa Rica! So, instead of worrying about numbers and SEO, I just decided to have more fun with my articles and tell you what I know in my own voice. I’ll let the stats take care of themselves.
What’s Happened in the Last Year?
2018 was a year full of wonderful things and a couple of bad ones, as well.
Besides traveling to Costa Rica, I was fortunate to travel to Mexico for the very first time. Mexico was a pure delight! The people were lovely, and you’ll read about it in an upcoming article.
On a personal note, in August of 2018, my Dad passed away. Obviously, it was a difficult time for the family. After Dad’s passing, it took a long while to get things in order since he was a man of many, many (did I mention many as in “a lot of”) material possessions. It was a journey of the likes I’d never wish on anyone. However, if you know me, then you know I believe any journey is important. There were a lot of memories, and a lot of times for reflection.
At one time, my Dad expressed a possible interest in seeing Costa Rica with me. Although it never happened, I appreciated the fact that he wanted to know more. Dad traveled a good portion of the world while he served in the Navy—Singapore, the Philippines, Ceylon, Pakistan and an extended stay in Japan. He never forgot those memories. As a matter of fact, he talked about them quite often. He described them in such vivid color, I could almost see what he was describing. I’m pretty sure he considered those times some of his greatest accomplishments. This only further validates my belief that travel (and seeing what’s out there) is one of the most important things you can possibly do.
Thank you, Dad, for getting it.
What’s Coming Up on NY to Costa Rica?
Now that things are settling back down, it’s time to get writing. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so we best get started.
In our first year, we covered a lot of topics. I had an absolute blast telling you about some of Cartago’s landmarks like the Ruinas and the Basilica de Los Angeles, and of course some of my very favorite places like the Mercado Central. We’ve chatted about shopping, fast food, arriving and departing the airport and even adorable Costa Rican squirrels.
And of course, sexy dish paste.
Coming up, I’d like to tell you about even more food, restaurants & destinations, funny stories and introduce you to some pretty special people.
So, let’s get cooking. Let’s get rocking. Let’s get going.
Let’s get this show on the road.
Thanks for reading.