The   Bella  Blog

Well, we did it! I finally went ON-AIR with my very first show!! I'm like a proud mama. Hope you were able to catch it. The Caribbean Coast and specifically the Puerto Viejo area has become a Mecca for black people who are considering a move to Costa Rica -- but not much is known about the area because, well, Costa Ricans (with little positive input from Costa Rica Tourism & PR) have a fear of going there - yes, sort of a fear of the dangerous "dark side". Y'all know what I m

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Good Morning As you may know, I have been working EXTREMELY hard (a big part of the reason I have been missing on this site) putting together our new internet radio station. I think you will enjoy the music mix as well as the talk shows we provide - many of which will be of help to those who are considering moving abroad. In the beginning we will cover, Costa Rica (our home base) as well as Mexico, Panama, and Tanzania E Africa. Our plan is to expand to include more location

Hello everyone - I know it's been a minute since I have posted but I wanted to stop in today and let you know that I am still around. With the whole "covid" situation, life has changed a bit for us here in Costa Rica, as I know it has for you in the states (and elsewhere). We have not done any travel outside of Costa Rica, which saddens me -- and our travel within the country (although allowed) has been curtailed due to driving and curfew restrictions. We've been doing a lot

Ok y'all, I'm back with a new video! Finally got access to my editing tools. This video is from our last visit to Puerto Viejo (June 2021). We went to Puerto Viejo to attend a wedding and stayed at the beautiful (new) Umami Hotel Garden Spa. In today's video we are on a walk to find breakfast on the beach and ran into a very knowledgeable local who taught us a thing or 2 about medical plants! Many of the them just looked like weeds growing along the road but turns out that th

Hope you are all doing well. Have you been, wondering where I've Been? The answer is, nowhere, yet. But, I have been working on a couple of exciting projects. 1. First project is - a "Jammin" trip to Morocco Morocco Jammin 2022 The Morocco Grand Tour An 11 day group trip to Morocco which we are planning for Sept 2022 The trip is to 5 cities, as well as an overnight stay @ a luxury camp in the Sahara Desert More to follow - *If you are interested please drop me an email and I

Please join us in beautiful Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica on May 13 - 16th for the 1st Annual Black Expats in Costa Rica Meet Up Bridging the Cultures is our Theme for this year All the info is below Please Click #thatbellalife #blackexpatsincostarica #retiredblackexpats #retiredblackexpatsincostarica #blackincostarica #bridgingcultures #blackexpatslivinglifeabroad

In an effort to begin moving around Costa Rica again (on a limited basis) we have been researching some of the restaurants in the area. All are following social distancing guidelines and are open air locations In today's video review Located - Just 20 minutes from San José! Located in the beautiful mountains of Escazú, San José's upscale suburb. In a farmhouse setting you can experience an authentic traditional Costa Rican ambience. The Views are Awesome!!! #thatbellalife #b

Just a quick post to say that the wrap up for our 4 day trip to Tamamrindo has been uploaded to Youtube Please check it out if you haven't already #thatbellalife #tamarindocostarica #blackexpatsabroad #blackincostarica #blackexpatslivinglifeabroad

Here are links for the last 2 days of our trip to Tamarindo Don't miss the gorgeous SUNSET on day 3 #thatbellalife #blackexpatsabroad #blackandretiredincostarica tamarindocostarica #blackexpatslivinglifeabroad

Video only #thatbellalife #blackexpatsabroad #blackandretiredincostarica tamarindocostarica #blackexpatslivinglifeabroad

We did it! We finally left our condo and ventured out on a trip! Four glorious days in Tamarindo. This was our first trip but will definitely not be our last! The weather cooperated and we have 4 very pleasant days. I was prepared for the oppressive heat and humidity but instead we had fairly hot days but cooling a bit toward the evening and a refreshing ocean breeze. Our condo had air (of course) but during the time we were inside I found it freeezing @ 72 and had to turn it

How many of you are on Clubhouse? How many of you know what Clubhouse is? Clubhouse is an invitation-only audio-chat social networking app launched in 2020 by software developers Alpha Exploration Co. As of December 2020, Currently available only to iPhone users. I was invited to participate as a speaker on one of the 1st Black Expat Relocation forums "Want to Quit America? Ask these Black Expats How" Are you interested in relocation to Costa Rica? Are you on Clubhouse? Join

Hey everyone! I know it's been a minute but it's been pretty quiet in our life and since we are staying home most of the time, I haven't had much to report -- but I'm back today with a few pics. Still loving our new city even if we rarely get out! The rainy season ended around the end of November and with it came the "dry" season and the wind! The winds can really get gusty during this time of year. Time to secure your plants and patio furniture!!! Its now offically summer

As I have often mentioned, Costa Rica is an excellent jump off point for travel to all of Latin America. We've had the opportunity to travel to several of the countries closest to Costa Rica, along with Peru. We have not yet traveled to Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay, which are also on our bucket list, once travel normalizes. I recently came across a powerful video (which has actually been around a few months) but it hit me hard because it is so closely linked with the struggle

Below is a recent interview we had with expats, Penny & Paul McPherson, as we sat down to discuss their travels and their life in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica!! Be sure to check Penny out on IG #plantbasedpennylife Big Thanks to Paul & Penny!!! #ThatBellaLife #BlackInCostaRica #BlackExpatsinCostaRica #BlackExpatsLivingLifeAbroad #PlantBasedPennyLife

Blaxit: 5 Black American Expats Share Their Experiences Living Overseas BTW - After the article was published we discovered that we happen to know 2 of the other couples who were interviewed for the article. Riley & His wife who live in Grecia and Michelle and her husband who we visited on our trip to San Miguel de Allende - Congrats to both!!! Please check us out (small error - Some of you may know, but the above photo is actually in Escazu) #ThatBellaLife #BlackExpatsLiving

Not sure, but did I mention it here, that we were interviewed recently for an article which will appear in a magazine very soon? Well, we were. It was a 2 day affair. They flew in photographers from the states to do the photographs y'all! How lucky were we?? The photo shoot was today and boy was it a lot of fun! I have never been on a photo shoot like this one. It was also very interesting being behind the scenes and appearing in the final product too. These are a few of the

Costa Rica is one of the most popular relocation spots for US expats, however you may not be able to watch all of your favorite TV shows! Things have changed a bit since we arrived 4 years ago. When we originally subscribed to Tigo, a local cable provider, they offered a package which included a decent # of US channels including 10 HBO channels as well as several CNN channels, (MSNBC was never part of the any package option). I generally watch CNN/MSNBC for the debates. I no

(That Was the Week That Was, or informally TWTWTW or TW3, a satirical television comedy program with David Frost from BBC Television ran two seasons in the US 1964-1965) Our Life in Costa Rica Year 4 What a week this has been!! Thought I would give you a glimpse of a day in our life here. Although as beautiful as it is, at times it can be very frustrating. Not complaining. No place is perfect. I feel it necessary to report the good and the not so good. Monday (We substituted