The Proposal

I was about to put up pictures of the beaches we went to in Costa Rica, but decided that our readers are likely far more interested in the proposal story/pictures!!

To begin, I did not think Edwin was going to propose in Costa Rica. Correction: I thought it was a strong possibility, but essentially ruled it out as soon as the trip started. I didn't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed!!!! Here is the story of our trip, part one (through the proposal).

On the way to the airport in San Antonio my car got a flat tire. It was completely ripped open. Thankfully Edwin changed the tire and we were back on our way within an hour. It could have been FAR worse- the stretch between the valley and San Antonio is DESOLATE and we could've been stranded for days before a car passed to help. Ok, a slight exaggeration. But if we had needed to get towed/have the tire replaced, we would never have caught our flight. Thankfully we made it to the airport on time... but still nearly missed our flight. The line to AeroMexico's counter was moving painfully slow. We checked in at 1:00 for our 1:30 flight. And we still hadn't gone through security. EEK. Thankfully we made it through and still had time to get food (Quarter Pounder with Cheese + fries for me, chicken sandwich + fries for Edwin) before boarding the plane.

We arrived at our hotel at 1:30 am on Sunday morning. We had JUST closed our eyes when the alarm went off (at 5:00 am). We were picked up by Exploradores Outdoors for an all-day rafting trip down the Pacuare River. It was an awesome day, but incredibly exhausting! Edwin was pegged as the "strong type", so he got the most work and was in front of the raft. I was in the middle with the only other female, in a role I'm sure can be equated to the duffer. I'm pretty sure I held my own. We had to leave our suitcases locked up at the base camp, which was one reason I didn't think Edwin was going to propose. (I later would find out that all day he was thinking about the safety of the ring!)

We made it to Puerto Viejo around 7 pm Sunday night. The van dropped us off on the side of the road because they "couldn't get down the street" due the soccer game going on. I think they just wanted to go home. So Edwin and I lugged our rolling suitcases down the unpaved gravel road, up a large unpaved gravel hill, to our hotel. We were exhausted and went to bed immediately!

On Monday Edwin and I had the super plan of going to Punta Uva, which was 6 kilometers away. It is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, and was at the top of my list of things to do. Our plan was to ride bikes- but Edwin does not get along with bicycles- so he decided to walk. Being the compassionate person I am, I also walked. NOT! I biked alongside of Edwin. It was great..... for the first 5 kilometers. By the time we arrived at Punta Uva we were VERY hungry, and Edwin's legs were VERY tired. THANKFULLY we found food close to the beach.

We enjoyed the beach for a bit, but then hit the trail home in order to arrive back before dark. On the way back Edwin made friends with a pint-sized dog.

I promptly jumped on my bike to get away from it.

Monday night we went out to a great dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. When I was getting ready for dinner I had a necklace on, but took it off before we left. Edwin said, "I didn't want to discourage you from wearing the necklace, but the Travel Department advises not to wear nice jewelry in Costa Rica." AKA I DO NOT HAVE A REALLY GORGEOUS DIAMOND RING IN MY SUITCASE!!!!!! Or so I thought. He's a tricky one, this future husband of mine.

Tuesday was another amazing beach day- only this time at a much closer beach (1 km away). The weather was perfect, we both swam, read, ate, sunbathed.... A perfect day. In the early evening we went to dinner- Edwin "wanted pizza" and had heard about a great restaurant called Amimodo that was on the beach. I would later find out the owner of our hotel had suggested it as a great place to go pre-proposal. So we went! The food was awesome. We were practically the only ones there and had our own grass hut. I ate stuffed gnocchi (which we are going to attempt to recreate) and Edwin had veggie pizza. Near the end of dinner, Edwin went to the bathroom. Now, we had already said we were going to walk on the beach after dinner. So I began to think. MAYBE, just MAYBE, he was going to reposition the ring in the bathroom. Or maybe he just had to pee. I would soon find out.

We walked down to the beach. The moon was bright and the sound of the waves was great. Edwin gave me a hug and said, "This has been the vacation of a lifetime." I agreed. Then he said something to the effect of, "Speaking of lifetime..." He got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his shirt pocket (I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE BATHROOM SWITCHAROO) and asked me to marry him. I said YES. He put the ring on my finger, and then we cried (at least I did) and hugged for a few minutes. Edwin told me he had talked to my parents on Friday and gotten their blessing, which melted my heart. After a few minutes I insisted we take pictures to remember the moment. And here they are!

This is the spot where Edwin proposed! The water is where it gets black.

This is the spot during the day, looking toward the restaurant. You can see the grass hut where we ate in the background.

And there it is folks!! I am SOO happy to be marrying Edwin :) I'm going to be Chelsea Ochoa!