I have been staring at shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico for the better part of three months now in an attempt to develop a more accurate way to represent the data. I have had my plane ticket to Costa Rica booked since April and the months have slowly crept toward August 10. One beautiful thing about South Florida are the much cheaper flights to Latin America. For under $300 round trip, with my first checked bag free, this so called "Gateway to the Americas" has perks. By the way Puerto Rico is even cheaper at less than $200. But over the last two or so weeks, seemingly stupid things like a bicycle shop overcharging me, a waiter that ignores you, and my health insurance premiums skyrocketing, and the general feel of Miami have all just compounded in one big need to leave.
So I am. To arguably the most tourist friendly Latin American country and one that annually ranks highest in the Happy Planet Index. This time next week I will be walking out of my hostel on the beach with my surfboard for a morning session. But more relevant, I am viewing this as an opportunity. I will be testing three years of self- taught Spanish, backpacking and utilizing the same public transportation as the locals, and the need to just be somewhere and not have any responsibility other than not screwing this trip up. All of which I feel very confident in. There is still this feeling of something more that this trip will represent.
For each of the last three years, I have made an effort to leave the country, and to get away from the typical American experience. First, a long desired surf trip to Southwest Nicaragua, solo. Though, I was picked up at the airport and had a guide surf with me the whole week. I got brave and asked the bartender if I could pay for the round of drinks con dolores (with pains) instead of con dólares (with dollars). My guide rescued me. Then a week long road trip through Puerto Rico with some good friends. This was one of the best experiences of my life. I can still hear the rain in El Yunque and see the colors of the bio-luminescent water on Vieques. Now it's Costa Rica's turn. I am going with my girlfriend who has convinced me to spend more time surfing (though it didn't take much effort) and is also more than willing to take the easy approach and to stay at cheap hostels. Side note here, for us together, we have booked most of our places and expect to spend around $325 for two people, for 12 days. Most of which are on the beach or a block or two away. One is nestled in a cloud forest meters away from one of the largest national parks in Costa Rica.
Looking at this, I see this as a perfect launch into the "Fall" season; a bridge between the awkwardness of August and the relaxed nature of September, when many of the tourist leave. Do the tourist ever leave Miami, though?
But I also see this as something bigger, for the first time in my life I can see a defined career unfolding before me. Not just some dream of one day I will do this or that. And with a realistic life ahead, I get to start thinking about opportunity and the bigger picture of my role in this. All of which will take a lot of hard work and a few lucky breaks. But I can't think of anything else really. I see this trip as a launching pad to those things. Not that the trip itself will bring about these opportunities. But that this trip will re-align my priorities and keep me fueled for the time being. Hopefully I will get a chance to write, think, and spend an hour trying to photograph one flower or have the patience to sit on the beach videoing Jess surf for an entire session. But mostly, I hope to come back able to be OK with being over charged at a bike shop, realizing that having health insurance is a good thing, and being able to live a more, pure life.
~B
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| From a Previous Adventure, El Astillero, Nicaragua. |
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