Mi Amor! - Confessing Your Love, Costa Rican Style

If your planning a Costa Rica destination wedding, now is the time! Now, more than ever, we have so much reason to celebrate the love we share with our partner. Life has been tumultuous to say the least over the last year and a half, thanks to COVID, the lockdowns, and political unrest. As the light at the end of the tunnel comes into sight, many people are looking to finally celebrate their union by making their honeymoon destination Costa Rica an enjoyable experience.

Beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, cornucopious cuisine, these are just some of the things that should make your honeymoon destination Costa Rica memorable! Although that isn’t all Costa Rica has to offer, the culture and language are among many of its celebrated features. So why not indulge your loved one with some of that beautiful culture and style?

Costa Rica has a lot to offer, especially in its culture and language. Here’s how you can utilize those two things to confess your love, Costa Rican style!

As you may already be well aware, the main language spoken in Costa Rica is Español, or Spanish. This beautiful language has long been considered one of the languages of love and passion, due to its rhythmic use, and spicy intonation. If you’re one of many American students who learned Spanish at high school, picking up a few phrases to share with your love may be easy. For those with no formal background in Spanish, you may want to confirm pronunciation with Youtube videos or with a friend or colleague.

There are plenty of simple phrases which can accurately express your love to your partner. Such as:

• Te amo / te quiero - used to say “I love you”, literally translates as “you I love”
• Mi amor - used to say “my love”
• MI vida - used to say that someone is your life, literally translates as “my life”
• Acurrucado - used to say “snuggle up” or “cuddle”
• Apapachado - despite it’s Mexican origin, this word is popular in Costa Rica and means “to embrace with the soul”.

While the last two may take some practice to say, the first four are relatively easy and have plenty of pronunciation guides online.

If you’re out in a restaurant and want to surprise your lover with something, ordering it in Spanish may be the perfect way to keep that surprise until the last minute.

Try these phrases in the restaurants:

• Discúlpe - used to say excuse me when you need to get someone’s attention
• Quiero… - used to say “I want…” (Quisiera means “I would like…” if you want to speak more politely, although most staff won’t mind the difference)
• Necesito… - used to say “I need…”

Now that you know how to say excuse me and request in two (or three) different ways, here are some relevant nouns.

• Vino - used to say “wine”, vino tinto is red wine, and vino blanco is white wine
• Menú de cócteles - used to say “cocktail menu”
• Menu de postres - used to say “dessert menu”

The culture of Costa Rica is unlike the other Latin American countries, with a much higher emphasis on not taking things seriously than most other cultures worldwide. What has come of this is people that are kind, humorous, and welcoming. Within such a culture are a few peculiarities that absolutely have to be experienced to make it the unforgettable honeymoon destination Costa Rica is.

A bomba is a kind of limerick which consists of four rhyming lines. They are used to express happiness, a witty joke, or even romantic love, and always have an impact when ticos (Costa Rican locals) shout “bomba!” at the beginning. While learning a bomba in Spanish may be a stretch, especially without any Spanish training, there are classical examples, such as:

Dicen q’el amor es ciego - They say love is blind

Hay q’ser realista - Let’s be realistic

Si el amor es ciego - If love is blind

El matrimonio le devuelva la vista - Marriage returns one’s sight

Getting that exactly right in Español pronunciation may be a stretch, so try making your own English bomba instead. Remember they consist of four lines, and abide to the rhyming pattern 1-2-1-2.

Finally, if you’re wondering what to buy that will act as both a souvenir of your time in Costa Rica, as well as a souvenir of your love, check out the local markets. Not only will you be supporting a family by making a purchase at one of these markets, you can also find a variety of indigenous creations unlike anything you can find anywhere else in the world. If your ready to take your love to the next level checkout our Costa Rica elopement packages.