Great People

Here are some of the fantastic travelers I met in Costa Rica. Tessa on the right is one of the funniest people in the entire world. I met her and Krista (left) in the waves on one of my first days in Mal Pais. They are both from Washington State. We were all planning on staying in Mal Pais for a few days, Krista stayed two weeks, Tessa stayed three months and I stayed four months. Mal Pais is the kind of place where no one wants to leave. The guy in the middle is one of their friends, Paul. He drove down from Cali with his dog, a black lab named Chopper. Chopper had his own passport and it was stamped at every border on the way down.




Here's Chopper, Paul would even take him out to the bars.



This is Brett on the left from Jersey and Ben from Colorado. Taken at Tabu, the beach bar where I occasionally worked as bartender or DJ.



Some of the people staying at Tranquilo, the hostel in Mal Pais where I stayed for about two weeks. From left to right the nationalities represented are USA (me) Germany, UK, Canada, France, USA, Israel and the kneeling girl is from Holland.



In Mal Pais you have the tourists (those that stay for about two weeks or less) then you have the long term tourists (like me, those that stay for a few months) then you have the foreign residents (like Ben and Brett, they have jobs or own property and stay indefinatley or come back every year) then you have the actual locals, the Ticos. In this picture there is a mix. The two girls to the left of me are Yeleelay and Hazel, the Ticas I became closest to in my time there. They are both adorable and helped me speak spanish much better, mostly because they wouldn't let me speak English to them although they understand english just fine.


The people who make great travelers are those that can adapt, be uncomfortable, enjoy the simple things and have a great desire to see other modes of life. I have been fortunate enough to meet many on my travels and I look forward to meeting more the next time I venture to another country.