DESTINATIONS COSTA RICA | LATIN AMERICA


therapy m


ichelle Obama famously likes to go high when others go low – in more ways than one. Speaking


on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast in April, she shared how she has turned to therapy to help her transition into being an empty-nester. I can relate. My daughter, Maya, left home to


study French at the University of Manchester two years ago then moved even further away – to Paris for her year abroad. Rather than take to a therapist’s couch, I chose a different approach, opting for a return to Costa Rica where, fittingly, I spent my university year abroad.


travelweekly.co.uk 19 JUNE 2025


Learning to surf – and slow down – on a wellness escape to Costa Rica offers the perfect antidote to an empty nest, finds Jo Fernández


Revisiting a place where I was blissfully free of


responsibility and mid-life money worries was therapy enough. It’s a beachy and biodiverse country where hiking, yoga, surfing – I had a fantasy of learning to surf in my 50s – and farm-to-fork food wrap you up in a wellness embrace. With so much to offer, it’s small wonder the peaceful nation is many travellers’ first option for a Central American adventure.


GOING GREEN After a direct flight to San José, the compact capital city in the Central Valley, and a one-night reunion with a ‘Tica’ friend (as Costa Ricans call themselves)


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PICTURE: Joan Vendrell


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