I arrived in Costa Rica

I arrived back in Costa Rica on Tuesday. I'll be here for five months this year. I always enjoy the time I spend here.

On Friday, I left the mountains of the central part of Costa Rica and drove down to Panama with some friends. That's where I am this morning when you're reading this (if you're reading it on Saturday morning when it went live).

I'll be back up in the mountains by Saturday evening.

Next week I plan to get back to work and be productive again. This is a fantastic place to write a book or work on any creative project that requires blocks of uninterrupted time.

My plans for while I'm here

My plan is to write a book and have it completed (including the editing, proofreading, and have the eBook, print book, and audiobook published within 90 days of when I start).

Writing the first draft in 30 days is easier than getting the other parts finished in the next 60 days.

If all of that works out as planned, that will still leave me two months of my five months I'll be here to maybe get a first draft of another book finished.

I also plan on spending time marketing and encouraging people to post reviews for my other books while I'm here.

I did some hiking up the mountain the first morning I was here. I was on a trail that I used to hike often the last time I was here. I found that I was way out of shape. Hiking on the flat trails in Florida for four months left me unprepared for hiking in these mountains.

Hopefully, within a few weeks, I'll have my stamina back and will be able to hike up the mountain trails at a brisk pace as I used to without being out of breath.

If I spend too much time sitting here looking out the window, the progress on my book and on getting my stamina back for hiking up the mountain may not be up to my expectations.

Here's another picture looking out the window from inside my apartment.

When you look at the pictures of my view, it's easy to see why I might get distracted and not be as productive as I would like to be.

The house is on the side of a steep mountain. I walk in the front door at ground level, but it's two stories down from the balcony on the backside. I have a great view of the valley 2,000 feet below. I can even see the airport, which is 30 miles away.

Bottom line: As always, I'm happy to be back in Costa Rica, and I have plans to write another book, work on another project, build my stamina for hiking up the mountains, and who knows, maybe I'll even make progress on improving my Spanish.