I came to the Costa Rica party late. Costa Rica, as I saw it, was the place where Americans who never traveled went, then returned feeling as if they were Indiana Jones, the Promised Land of sloths and colorful birds and pura vida I always knew was overhyped—certainly for anyone who’d actually seen a double-digit percentage of the world’s countries.
My first trip to Costa Rica, which was only late last year, seemed to confirm this. Although, to be fair, I hadn’t even come to see the country itself, but rather a charming tico I’d met online and subsequently fallen in love with. This love was the only reason I made a second trip to Costa Rica. Or a third or a fourth. Or a fifth.
And what I realized over the course of these trips, during which I saw almost every region of the country, is that Costa Rica really has a way of growing on you.
When I look back on all the photos I’ve snapped in Costa Rica over the past six months, it puzzles me that my love for the country wasn’t at first sight, like it was with the man who held my hand as I explored it. I can’t postulate as to how long it will take you to fall in love with Costa Rica, but I do imagine these pictures will make you want to see for yourself, if you haven’t already.
Robert Schrader is a travel writer and photographer who’s been roaming the world independently since 2005, writing for publications such as “CNNGo” and “Shanghaiist” along the way. His blog, Leave Your Daily Hell, provides a mix of travel advice, destination guides and personal essays covering the more esoteric aspects of life as a traveler.
