Wicked Travels Fall, 2013 | Page 32

It’s 6:30am and sunlight is streaming in through the windows. I’m not usually a morning person but the jungle comes alive at sunrise and the sounds rouse me from my hazy slumber.

You might think that I am perhaps on holiday in a glamorous resort or on an eco-vacation, maybe even a yoga retreat. Well although all of the above do sound very appealing I am actually house sitting on a cashew farm in southern Costa Rica.

In my opinion, this is a far more enjoyable alternative. I’ve been charged with caring for a hillside property overlooking the Pacific Ocean, along with the owner’s boisterous golden Labrador Jack, who has a penchant for tennis balls and an insatiable desire to play fetch. I’m in heaven!

Each morning we head out for a walk around the farm and Jack bounces ahead of me absorbing the many smells wafting up the mountain from the village below. As we make our way down to the beach Jack disappears into various driveways and returns with some of his four legged friends who have made it a routine to join him for his daily constitutional.

You might think I'm on holiday

in a glamorous resort,

but I'm actually

housesitting in Costa Rica