How does someone up and move to Costa Rica?  We get that question quite a bit, so I’ll address one big part of it here…shipping your stuff.

We tapped Great Sunrise Enterprises in CR for our residency and relocation needs, and owner Kevin McNamee was our point person.  We hired a crew to pack the shipping container, but all other arrangements were made through GSE.  Kevin’s made everything as easy as possible up to now, and he gets our highest recommendation.

The day before the 40′ shipping container was set to arrive, the packing crew began boxing items up and readying everything for shipment.  Around noon yesterday, the truck and shipping container arrived and parked at the street.  Our packing crew was Pack & Go Moving out of Sanford, NC, and owner Vernon Jones led an efficient team of 3 guys.  For the next few hours it was like watching giant ants, with box after box getting moved onto our trailer then into the shipping container.  We opted to take our fridge, stove and washer/dryer, so those also went into the ocean bound crate.

After our household items were loaded, attention shifted to my Jeep Liberty CRD.  A Durham towing company took the point on this project and deftly transferred my diesel baby into the container.  With the vehicle securely strapped, battery disconnected and fuel tank near empty (fires onboard the ship are bad), the doors to the container were closed and a bolt seal was locked in place.  The truck pulled away around 5pm, and that’s the last we’ll see of that stuff for about a month.

The packing guys joined me for a well deserved cold beer, and that’s when I learned the Pack & Go crew has some sick musical skills, and member Brandon Maynor (white t-shirt) is one heck of a singer!  I have never seen so many women on a guy’s Facebook page…the dude will be famous one day.

On arrival in Costa Rica, our possessions will be checked against our packing list by a customs agent and duty will be determined.  Once the bill is paid, our household items get loaded into a truck and delivered to our new home in the southern Pacific mountains.  Part of what will arrive…our new wood fired hot tub!  (When did you say you want to visit?)

The Jeep Liberty will be made street legal for Costa Rica…part of the services provided by Kevin McNamee’s GSE crew.  Once declared “road ready”, she can be picked up in the capital city of San Jose.

For the next month, we’re living light with mini fridge, hot plate, microwave and gas grill, and we’ll tap our neighbor for the occasional load of laundry.  A temporary hassle, but a small price to pay for paradise!