https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 08 May 2026 13:41:18 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-931578 Mon, 13 May 2013 23:32:28 +0000 catgirl 931578@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Fun and enlightening! &nbsp;Look at that little girl - there is something timelessly beautiful about her. &nbsp;<br /><br />Coatis are so cool - my brother lived in Brazil for a year and called them the "Swiss army knife" of animals because they are so versatile. &nbsp;<br /><br />You are making me HUNGRY! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-931573 Mon, 13 May 2013 23:28:05 +0000 Suz 931573@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What a fantastic trip report, and such beautiful photos. You look glowing, and Jimena is so crisp and sweet in her vivid blues!&nbsp;<br /><br />Your careful planning shows! Even the photo of your trip capsule is quite telling -- a nice variation of compatible colors, a mix of patterns and solids. And those Frye sandals look fantastic! No wonder they were workhorses.&nbsp;<br /><br />I'll bet you learned a ton and even if you are losing it a tiny bit since you've returned, you've laid an excellent foundations. For the next trip, heh heh!!&nbsp;<br /><br /><br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-931540 Mon, 13 May 2013 22:54:16 +0000 rachylou 931540@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You know, for some reason I have always liked the school uniforms kids wear in tropical countries.<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930509 Sun, 12 May 2013 04:41:09 +0000 Adelfa 930509@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Lyn, my Spanish seemed to grow quite a lot.... but now here, even with colleagues to talk to, I can tell already I'm not keeping it up. &nbsp;Need to start studying! &nbsp;I want this to be an ongoing labor of love!<br /><br />Joy, my tote and rollie were bulging. &nbsp;But two years ago I wouldn't have imagined I could pack for three weeks in a foreign country with only carry on luggage. &nbsp;So maybe someday I can do it without bulging!<br /><br />abc, thanks for the encouragement about the Keens. &nbsp;It was really bugging me that I took them, even though for that one day I was so glad to have them.<br /><br />Krista, people ask to see my pictures and I say they're all of the food. And I'm not sorry!<br /><br />Also, glad to hear I'm not the only one with these thoughts about bright handbags abroad. &nbsp;One of those live and learn things I guess! I had to concede that cloth backpacks were very practical. &nbsp;Think I'd try not to do that though, if I went again. &nbsp;When I go again! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930495 Sun, 12 May 2013 03:20:39 +0000 Anonymous 930495@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip.&nbsp; It seems like I always&nbsp;pack too no matter how much I take out.&nbsp;&nbsp;At least you were prepared for cool evenings and such. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930346 Sat, 11 May 2013 22:01:37 +0000 lyn* 930346@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip!! I encountered the same problem with my bright lemony purse last time I travelled - I'm glad your string bag served you well!!!<br /><br />How is your spanish? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930336 Sat, 11 May 2013 21:52:14 +0000 Anonymous 930336@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm glad you had such a wonderful trip! &nbsp;Thanks for breaking down the packing for us, too. &nbsp;<br /><br />Off to Google "coati." https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930234 Sat, 11 May 2013 18:49:25 +0000 abc 930234@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I honed in on the sentence pil quoted, too. &nbsp;How wonderful you achieved this goal and the trip was so great.<br /><br />It is nice that your planning paid off. &nbsp;And even though the Keens took up space, imagine if you didn't have them? &nbsp;I think you made the right choice.<br /><br />I love colorful bags too but sometimes I have to revert back to a plain black or brown cross-body for the same reasons you quoted here, trying not to draw attention to oneself.<br /><br />I like your Frye sandals and it is awesome you proved the gear-heads wrong &nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930070 Sat, 11 May 2013 11:51:16 +0000 Krista 930070@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Beautiful post and pictures, Adelfa! I have visited Costa Rica (and have done many of things you mentioned) and I briefly lived in Colombia as a teacher - as soon as you mentioned the food you ate, I was immediately transported back into many happy memories!&nbsp;<br /><br />Your analysis of your wardrobe was really insightful and I agree with pil that the planning must have helped you focus on why you were there. &nbsp;You are just glowing in all of your pics! I'm glad it was a wonderful trip. &nbsp;And isn't Jimena a little gem! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930066 Sat, 11 May 2013 11:31:03 +0000 pil 930066@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>"I dreamed of this trip for years and it was everything I hoped."</p> <p>Adelfa, how wonderful for you, it makes me happy to read this. Your wardrobe successes/planning must have helped free your mind to focus on WHY you were there. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930037 Sat, 11 May 2013 06:40:51 +0000 anne 930037@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thanks for sharing the outcome of your travel dressing Adelfa, and those lovely pictures!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/costa-rica-packing-debrief#post-930025 Sat, 11 May 2013 05:40:12 +0000 Adelfa 930025@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Okay, so I packed for three weeks of Spanish immersion&nbsp;in Costa Rica in a carry-on roller bag plus tote. &nbsp;Yay! I did not have access to full length mirrors while I was there, so I have no outfit posts to speak of. I just wanted to share my thoughts on what worked and what didn't work.<br /><br />What I brought:<br />1 denim jacket<br />1 cobalt jeans<br />1 denim bermudas<br />3 print dresses<br />1 black silk&nbsp;crinkle skirt<br />1 black pashmina<br />1 white tissue wool large square scarf<br />1 black nylon knit zip-up jacket<br />1 pair black Frye sandals<br />1 pair Feiyue lace-up shoes in black<br />1 pair royal blue Toms<br />1 pair Keens<br />black flip flops<br />tees in pink, purple, cobalt, b&amp;w stripe, blk &amp; multi stripe<br />tanks in black and magenta<br />1 bathing suit + skirt<br />Missoni for Target tote<br />apple green leather hobo bag<br />cobalt string bag<br />blue plaid pajama pants<br /><br />The analysis:<br /><br />First, for what I didn't need much:&nbsp;I only wore the denim jacket on the plane. I could have done with the black zip-up jacket, but not as stylishly. I did not wear the pashmina or the big white scarf--it was not as cool in the evenings as I thought it would be. (My black pashmina saved a cold fellow-passenger on the flight back.)&nbsp;I way overpacked on shoes because I couldn't make up my mind. Although I wore them all,&nbsp;I could have done without the Toms and either the Feiyue or the Keens (needed one or the other for the rain forest--actually really needed the Keens, footing was slippery,&nbsp;but they took up a lot of space for only being used once).<br /><br />I wore the cobalt jeans on the plane and on trips to the rainforest and to the volcano. I wore the black zip-up jacket on the trips too.<br /><br />I wore the dresses and skirt each once or twice a week all three weeks, and felt comfy and pulled together, even though nobody else was really wearing skirts or dresses. I wore the shorts for long hot bus trips and a couple of other times. I wore the tees and tanks whenever I wore the cobalt jeans, the shorts, or the skirt.<br /><br />The Frye sandals were my workhorses. They worked for the walks to and from school and always looked pretty. They worked even when my feet swelled, which for some reason was often, with no chafing whatsoever.&nbsp;I was trying to avoid wearing gear type stuff unless it was necessary. Two fellow students (gear-clad at all times)&nbsp;dismissed these as not being okay for walking, but they were wrong.<br /><br />I loved my apple green bag and loved how it went with all of my outfits, and it was just the right size,&nbsp;but I miscalculated. &nbsp;I thought it would be casual and tropical. But nobody else was wearing a bright purse and I felt uncomfortable with how it stuck out, especially in situations where I was supposed to be guarding against getting purse snatched. &nbsp;The Missoni tote was even more eye-catching so I never used it except on the plane. Also I forgot that I'd be walking to and from school with a notebook, index cards, and school books. I ended up using my string bag for these. Costa Ricans complimented me on this, which I had crocheted myself in memory of the bags I remembered from being a little girl in Colombia. &nbsp;Nobody seemed to use them anymore, just plastic shoppping bags.<br /><br />After much thought, I packed a blow dryer, straightener, and full sized round brush, because I feel so much more comfortable in my normal bob. However they wouldn't plug in to the antiquated plugs I found, so I ended up doing the product-and-scrunch thing (and 4-year-old Jimena asked me after two weeks, "Don't you have a brush?")<br /><br />The food my host mamas cooked me was like soul food. &nbsp;Just like the food I remembered in Colombia 45 years ago: fried plantains, empanadas, soup with yuca and yami floating in it. And all the mango, papaya, and pineapple I could eat along with some more exotic fruits.<br /><br />I dreamed of this trip for years and it was everything I hoped.<br /><br />Pics:<br /><br />1. Clothes laid out on bed.<br />2. Frye sandals.<br />3. On the way to Volcan Irazú.<br />4. Little Jimena, brushed and ironed and ready for school.<br />5. A coati!<br />6. In the rain forest after ziplining.<br />7. Sopa.<br />8. El atardecer.