Pristine Costa Rica beach with no footprints, illustrating the idea of a clean slate ready for a New Year's resolution. (Image © Robert Long)

A beach with no footprints is like the start of a New Year.
© Robert Long

Unburied on a Costa Rica Beach Walk

Travel busts up routines and sends you off in new directions. Travel over the New Year does even more: it inspires you to set a new direction back home.

My New Year’s trip took me to Costa Rica—a democratic country with no standing army, a 79.9-year life expectancy (higher than the US), and an environmental record unsurpassed in the hemisphere.

Map of Costa Rica, showing its extensive coastlines and beaches. (Image © Peter Hermes Furian/iStock)

Costa Rica, smaller in size than West Virginia, has 933 miles of coastline and beautiful beaches for finding insights to treasure.
© Peter Hermes Furian/iStock

And there’s more—Costa Rica has a free and mandatory education system with a literacy rate over 96%. I was sure to learn something!

I did. All the adventures of the week came together in the world’s best New Year’s resolution. It occurred at the end of the trip as I walked down an isolated, untouched Costa Rica beach on New Year’s Day.

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\"Pristine

A beach with no footprints is like the start of a New Year.
\u00a9 Robert Long<\/p><\/div>\n

Unburied\u00a0on\u00a0a\u00a0Costa Rica Beach Walk<\/h2>\n

Travel busts up routines and sends you off in\u00a0new directions. Travel over the New Year does even more: it inspires you to set a new direction back home.<\/p>\n

My\u00a0New Year’s trip took me\u00a0to Costa Rica—a democratic country with no standing army, a 79.9-year life expectancy (higher than the US), and\u00a0an environmental record unsurpassed in the hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>

Costa Rica, smaller in size than West Virginia, has 933 miles of coastline and beautiful beaches for finding insights to treasure.
\u00a9 Peter Hermes Furian\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

And there’s more—Costa Rica has a free and mandatory education system with a\u00a0literacy rate over 96%. I was sure to learn something!<\/p>\n

I did. All the adventures of the week came together in\u00a0the world’s best New Year’s resolution. It occurred at the end of the trip as I walked down an isolated, untouched\u00a0Costa Rica beach on New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n

But before I get to that, consider\u00a0the inspiration . . .<\/p>\n

The Audacity of the Howler Monkey<\/h4>\n

This big guy’s got no problem speaking up.<\/p>\n

\"A

A howler monkey sounds off in the Costa Rica forest.
\u00a9 Sheron Long<\/p><\/div>\n

His cry travels\u00a0three miles across the canopies. The\u00a0howl is bold, deafening. It curls your eyebrows and makes your skin run off.\u00a0I double dare you to take a listen<\/a>!<\/p>\n

For anyone trying to find a voice,\u00a0a howl like this is resolution inspiration. And the way the howler\u00a0takes hold of things with its tail and stretches out for a looonnng reach—well, that’s to be admired, too.<\/p>\n

\"A

Reaching out, taking risks—all in a day’s work for the daring howler monkey
\u00a9 Sheron Long<\/p><\/div>\n

Avian\u00a0Determination<\/h4>\n

So many New Year’s resolutions are for the birds. There’s no way will power can outlast a desire for beer and chips. But the birds of Costa Rica help you think bigger. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” they seem to say.<\/p>\n

They spread their wings and chart their course.<\/p>\n

\"A

A blue\u00a0heron takes flight.
\u00a9 Sheron Long<\/p><\/div>\n

They step out.<\/p>\n

\"A

This great egret finds its stride—it has places to go!
\u00a9 Sheron Long<\/p><\/div>\n

The go forward with determination.<\/p>\n

\"A

“No stopping me!” says this bare-throated tiger heron.
\u00a9 Sheron Long<\/p><\/div>\n

These high-flyers know where they’re going. Are they following a New Year’s resolution or have they found the inner determination that points the way\u00a0no matter what time of year it is?<\/p>\n

The Vigilance\u00a0of the Iguana<\/h4>\n

Even more\u00a0fascinating than Costa Rica’s smiling crocs are its\u00a0Ctenosauras, or black spiny-tailed iguanas. As\u00a0the world’s fastest lizard, the Ctenosaura clocks in at 21.7 miles per hour—fast enough to\u00a0get a speeding ticket in a school zone!<\/p>\n

It’s the iguana’s alertness, however, that helps it regulate everything from its speed to its temperature to its color. In\u00a0this 33-second video, the vigilant Ctenosaura says, “No danger today. Let’s just be\u00a0meanderthals.”<\/p>\n