the february cocktail hour: witnessing wedding vows, a visit from our daughter & mike’s birthday

February 28, 2026: Welcome to our February cocktail hour. Let’s have vodka tonics with lime to celebrate what Mike calls the most exciting month of the year. He says that, after all, February has Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and his birthday. Of course, I beg to differ as the weather usually sucks; in my eyes the best month is October, with Indigenous People’s Day, my birthday, Halloween, and the perfect crisp air and fall colors.

We can stay inside to keep out of the constant rain and wind, or we can venture out to our balcony on the rare sunny day; maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see rainbows or the Snow Moon. You can even come along as we witness some wedding vows, show our daughter Sarah around Costa Rica, and celebrate Mike’s 72nd birthday. Sunset is is now at around 5:50 every night and if it’s not raining, we can enjoy some magnificent painterly skies at sunset.

I have a variety of soda, seltzer water, or bebida de aloe for those of you who don’t drink. Mike can also whip up some excellent smoothies. Thanks for joining us in our escape into a peaceful corner of the world.

February marked our ninth month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We now have 3 months remaining in our Costa Rican year. I look forward to whatever adventures await us next.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., the country continued its decline into fascism. Our despicable president posted a vile video showing himself as King of the Jungle, while showing the Obamas as apes. He claims he has been exonerated by the release of the Epstein files, but that is another one of his vast history of lies. On the last day of the month, Trump, along with Netanyahu of Israel, launched combat operations against Iran without the approval of Congress and despite little public support. To me, and many others, it looks like another “wag the dog” situation, in which he is trying to distract from his declining poll numbers, the sluggish economy, and the Epstein files. He is such a childish man who is a virulent racist and criminal in every sense of the word. How people can wrangle themselves into knots to justify continuing to support him boggles the mind. I hope the entire fascist administration, all the Nazi ICE agents, and all his supporters are locked away or, at the very least, forever shunned by society for the rest of their sorry lives. All of these people are the dregs of the human race.

Here in Costa Rica, things don’t seem they will go much better as the country just elected far right candidate Laura Hernández for President; she plans to implement policies similar to El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele. She has said she plans to finish construction of a prison similar to El Salvador’s high-security CECOT, into which criminals go with no chance of rehabilitation or release, and which is known for its abuses. She won on her “tough on crime” stance, as Costa Rica has experienced a surge in transnational criminal gang activity in recent years. She is also an ally of Trump’s.

That’s all we need in the world, another far right leader.

The new president will be sworn in on May 8, and shortly after, we’ll be leaving the country for good (we had planned to leave by May 31 from the beginning).

Homebody stuff

This month, probably more than in any other month since we’ve been here, we mostly continued our hum-drum daily existence. We went to Monster Gym, walked when possible, and worked on (& completed) our “Multiple Parrots” puzzle. We played Scrabble four times and Mike beat me in three of those games. I guess February is HIS month after all. I enjoyed a Zoom call with my siblings. I also spent time editing and culling my huge numbers of pictures; doing this took me on a trip down memory lane, especially my time in South Korea, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, India, Jordan and Oman. 

Mike got two new tires for our Mitsubishi one day. At the end of the month, we dropped the car at Taller Enderezado Pinturas Chupi (Body Repair Shop Painting Chupi) for two days to have the dent fixed from when Mike backed into a tree in Samara.

On the 25th, I got lowlights in my hair with stylist Sofía Barrientos. They turned out darker than I would have liked, so hopefully I’ll get used to them over time!

I finished 6 books in February bringing my total to 10/48. I especially enjoyed The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley, which took me to Morocco; In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende, in which one of the characters had escaped a dangerous situation in Guatemala; and The Woman in the Photo, a fictionalized story of the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889 in Pennsylvania. We watched one movie while Sarah was visiting: The People We Meet on Vacation. On my pajama day, Tuesday, February 24, a day in which the 17th cold front of the season hit Costa Rica with gale force winds, a drop in temperatures, and rainfall, I watched two movies, a favorite standby, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and a new movie Song Sung Blue. We started watching a couple of new TV series: Ponies, in which two secretaries in the American Embassy in 1970s Moscow become CIA operatives when their husbands are killed, Leanne, Shrinking (S3), The New Adventures of Old Christine (again), and Grantchester (S4). We finished watching The Manny (S3), all 9 seasons of Seinfeld, His & Hers, and Untamed (S1). We continued watching Younger, Emily in Paris (S5), Families Like Ours (Familier som vones), Ripple, The Upshaws (S7), and Between Lands (Entre Tierras).

Returning home from Manuel Antonio & Uvita

The first day of the month, we checked out of our hotel in Uvita, Alborada Boutique Stay, and drove five hours home to our condo on Lake Arenal. We returned home to cold, wind and rain, the same weather we had when we left for the beach.

During our Sunday drive home, we witnessed the voting for a new president taking place at elementary schools all over the country. It turned out that the far right candidate Laura Hernández won with 48% of the vote, meaning there was no need for a run-off.

Witnessing Anne & Jack’s wedding vows

On Thursday February 5, we met our friends Anne and Jack at their attorney’s office in Nuevo Arenal so we could witness their wedding vows. They met each other online about 2 1/2 years ago, and at close to 80 years old, they insist they are soulmates. We had witnessed their will signing back in August.

There are several ways to get married in Costa Rica and one of them is to have the vows exchanged in an attorney’s office. The attorneys, a husband and wife team, Gonzalo Murillo Álvarez and his wife Sharon, had the documents ready for the signatures and performed the “ceremony.”

Gonzalo read the document in Spanish and then Sharon read it aloud in English. It was a simple but moving ceremony and it was obvious that Anne and Jack were full of joy and love as they entered into their marriage.

After saying the vows, the husband and wife kissed and signed the document. Mike and I signed as witnesses.

After the ceremony, Mike and I joined the newlyweds, along with Sharon and Gonzalez, at Casa Italia for an early dinner. I had truffle ravioli and Mike eggplant parmesan. I enjoyed a Prosecco, and we all toasted the newly married couple.

Dining Out

Saturday night the 7th we went out to dinner at Guadalupe Hotel because it’s one of the few restaurants that are enclosed and not open to the elements. It had been cold and windy again after a brief respite, so we didn’t feel like shivering while eating.

On Sunday the 8th, Mike and I met Darrell at a new place for us called Cafetería Toscana in Tilaran. We were hoping to get lunch, but all they had on Sunday was brunch. It was nice to see Darrell as he hasn’t been at the gym for a while and Farida has been in Kenya since we were in Nicaragua in mid-January. She doesn’t plan to return to Costa Rica until sometime in March. The food at this place was mediocre, so it’s doubtful we’ll return there.

We gave our friend Eden some love by going to her Lava Lake Café for lunch on Thursday the 19th, and on Saturday night we met our friend Carol for dinner at El Corral BBQ Restaurant. And on the last day of the month, we went to TilaTacos, owned by Mike’s swimming buddy Ivan. He just lost his mother to cancer in Guatemala, after months of him traveling back and forth there for her final months, and we gave him hugs and lots of love.

A too-short visit with our daughter Sarah

We picked up our daughter Sarah in Liberia on Wednesday, February 11, at which time she informed us she had just quit her job on Monday. We took her directly home to our condo, where we toasted her arrival and made a big pot of White Chicken Chili. Sadly, it rained almost the entire time she was here, except when we went to the beach for the last two days. We found a tiny bit of sunshine on Thursday in Tilarán, where Mike and I walked, and Sarah ran, up the hill to Cerro Tovar, a cross at the top of a hill at Parque del Viento. We gave Sarah a grand tour of our lives in Costa Rica, taking her to Monster Gym, Soda La Macha (a Costa Rican family-run place that serves comida tipica, or typical Costa Rican food that consists of rice and beans, beans and rice), Tisú Farm and Sabalito, Buena Vista Condos where we lived our first 6 months, as well as the rainbow-covered cove where Mike often swims, and two markets where we shop in Tilarán. At Restaurante Las Brisas, we ran into our friend Bruce dining with Rand, who sold us our Mitsubishi when we first arrived in Costa Rica.

On Friday, we took off for La Fortuna in the rain. We saw a band of coatis scavenging for food along the road. We race-walked through Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park in foggy conditions, with Sarah braving, with some trepidation, the 5 hanging bridges that were open. After that, we ate sushi at Kappa Sushi and shopped in Wandering, where Sarah found a bunch of goodies to take home. Mike and I each bought things too. We spent the rest of the day at Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort, taking advantage of the resort’s 8 hot thermal springs, topped off with drinks at the swim-up bar. We enjoyed Indian food at Sunny’s Indian Restaurant.

On Saturday, we went to La Fortuna Waterfall in the rain; because the falls were so powerful and the current so strong, swimming in the pools was prohibited. We returned to the resort, where Mike and Sarah dipped into the hot pools one last time, and soon we headed back home, stopping at Moya’s place for lunch; Sarah picked up a book, The Flavor Thesaurus, from the lending library. We relaxed at the condo and then went out for drinks at Paseo del Viento as the sun finally showed its face then dipped below the horizon. Later, we ate leftover chili and watched People We Meet on Vacation.

On Sunday the 15th, we drove to Playa Hermosa; this was Sarah’s first time setting foot in the Pacific Ocean. We walked, lounged and read on the beach to pleasant breezes and the gentle sound of waves. I finished my book, The Saffron Trail, which left me dreaming of Morocco. We enjoyed drinks and sunset at Hotel El Velero, chatted about the small hills we’d die on, and then enjoyed Asian-inspired tapas at our favorite Playa Hermosa restaurant, Ginger Restaurante y Bar.

On Monday morning, we took walks on the beach, enjoyed our last breakfast at the beach, and headed to the airport. We stopped for tacos at Little Lucha, dropped Sarah at the airport for her 3:15 flight, and headed back to our condo. She arrived back in Norfolk, VA at 1:30 a.m. due to a 1-hour flight delay leaving Miami. When we arrived back at the condo, we saw our first view of Volcán Arenal in nearly a month.

Drives, walks and local explorations

Because of cold, rainy, and windy weather, we were only able to walk a few times this month. On Tuesday the 3rd, we walked around Tronadora and on Saturday morning the 7th, we walked uphill from Sabalito toward the ridge, past the dairy farm and to amazing views toward the Pacific coast. The wind was blowing like crazy and we could barely keep our hats on. But for once, we enjoyed a gorgeous blue sky. Once Sarah left to return home, we walked on the gravel road near the pickleball courts.

On Sunday, the 22nd, we drove southwest of Tilarán to the tiny town of Libano. The landscape looked like high chaparral, quite a difference from the tropical vegetation just a few miles north of Tilarán, where we live. Then we discovered the Cementario de Tilarán, which we had somehow missed in our nine months here. Later, it was sunny enough that Mike went to swim in the cove at Puerto San Luis; while he swam, I walked my normal loop around Tronadora.

Mike’s 72nd birthday

Since we’re going to Guatemala and Belize the first week in March, Mike didn’t want to go anywhere special for his birthday on February 26. Instead, if the weather was nice, he wanted to go for a walk and then go to Restaurante Tinajas for lunch. The day started out promising.

After getting birthday calls via WhatsApp from both Sarah and Adam, we walked up near Sabalito where we watched the dairy cows lining up to be milked. It was breezy and sunny, and the scenery was magnificent.

We drove to Nuevo Arenal where we had a lovely lunch at Restaurante Tinajas overlooking the placid lake. Mike had a Segua Red Ale and I had a Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, and we toasted to Mike’s 72nd birthday. Mike ate a delicious Angus & Eggplant Burger (without bread – the eggplant slices served as a kind of bun), and I had Spicy Thai Chili Shrimp with oven bread. We sat on the special platform with sweeping views of the lake; we could even see our condos directly across the lake. I had sneakily asked the waitress as we walked in to bring a chocolate cake for his birthday, and the waiter, Nixón, brought the cake when he brought us a carry-out box. What a pleasant birthday celebration!

Mike said he felt young and energetic on his birthday, but on Friday and Saturday, after working out at the gym, he has had a headache, back pain, and general lethargy. He has come to the depressing conclusion that he has finally reached his 72 years.

My Winter BINGO card

This month I checked off a few more items on my Winter BINGO card:

• Made hot soups: chorizo, potatoes and green beans and another batch of White Chicken Chili.
• Finished our “Multiple Parrots” puzzle.
• Finished my 30-day New Year’s Journaling Project with Suleika Jaouad.
• Sarah visited February 11-16.
• Spa (hot springs) day at Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort in La Fortuna with Sarah (& Mistico Park Arenal Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall).
• Playa Hermosa with Sarah.
• Start a gratitude journal.
• Got a dark purple pedicure.
• Made comfort foods: Lasagna soup & Creamy One-Pot Broccoli Cheddar Orzo.
• Had a PJ day with a movies “marathon” (well, I watched two movies: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel & Song Sung Blue).
• Celebrated Mike’s birthday by taking a walk from Sabalito and having a lovely late lunch at Restaurante Tinajas.
• Finished 6 books: The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley, In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende, The Woman in the Photo by Mary Hogan, The Fellowship of Ghosts by Paul Watkins, Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall, and Lonely Planet Finland.

Family Happenings

Adam sent some pictures of the Andrea and Mikey and a night of face-painting. Allie celebrated Valentine’s Day and was inundated with hearts galore. She attended a superhero birthday party on the last day of February. The girls in Nicaragua had a face-painting extravaganza.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of February:

• witnessing wedding vows & preparing for our daughter’s visit {week 36/52}
• sarah’s whirlwind visit to costa rica: a peek at our daily lives, rainforest and beach days {week 37/52}
• seeing our daughter off & six lazy days {week 38/52}

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the remainder of winter and an ebullient spring.

How did your February go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family?  Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any winter or holiday getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you created a Winter Bingo Card or dream list? Have you made any new friends? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your February with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.