As someone who spends most days glued to a screen—curating content, chasing deadlines, and obsessing over click-through rates—I recently decided it was time to unplug. For the first time in years, I took a full week off work and traded my laptop for a backpack. My destination? The misty, wild, and utterly transformative rainforests of Costa Rica.
Why Costa Rica?
I’ve always been drawn to places that promise adventure and serenity. Costa Rica, with its “pura vida” philosophy, felt like the perfect antidote to my tech-saturated routine. Plus, as an eco-tourism hotspot, it offered guilt-free exploration—something my sustainability-obsessed millennial heart couldn’t resist.
Day 1-2: Arrival & Adjusting to “Tico Time”
Landing in San José, I immediately felt the shift in pace. My Airbnb host, Maria, greeted me with a smile and a firm warning: “Leave your watch in your suitcase. Here, we move with the sun.” The next morning, I boarded a rickety bus to Monteverde, a cloud forest region famed for its biodiversity. The journey was bumpy, slow, and utterly magical—like stepping into a Jurassic Park set, minus the dinosaurs (though howler monkeys did their best impressions).
Day 3-4: Hiking, Zip-Lining, and Facing Fears
Monteverde’s trails were a sensory overload. Giant ferns, neon-bright orchids, and the constant hum of cicadas made my daily Zoom backdrop seem laughably artificial. I joined a guided night hike, where our flashlights caught the glowing eyes of tree frogs and sleeping toucans. By day, I zip-lined through the canopy, screaming my lungs out while soaring over 300-foot drops. Terrifying? Yes. Empowering? Absolutely.
The real highlight, though, was the Selvatura Park suspension bridges. Walking 200 feet above the forest floor, I felt oddly grounded—a reminder that perspective shifts when you’re surrounded by something bigger than yourself.
Day 5-6: Waterfalls, Hot Springs, and a Digital Detox
Next stop: La Fortuna, home to the iconic Arenal Volcano. I spent a day chasing waterfalls (yes, that Instagram-famous one) and soaking in natural hot springs under a star-drenched sky. My phone stayed in my bag. For once, I didn’t care about capturing the “perfect shot”—I just wanted to be there.
A surprise rainstorm during a hike led to an impromptu coffee break at a family-owned soda. Over cups of rich Costa Rican brew, the owner, Carlos, shared stories about his grandfather farming the same land decades ago. It struck me how disconnected I’d become from the stories behind my daily comforts—the food I eat, the coffee I drink, even the content I publish.
Day 7: The Reluctant Return
Packing my damp, muddy clothes on the final morning, I felt a pang of resistance. Could I really go back to fluorescent lights and Slack notifications? But Maria’s words echoed: “Pura vida isn’t a place—it’s a mindset.”
The Takeaway
This trip wasn’t just about monkeys and waterfalls. It was a reset button. I returned with a sunburn, a hundred bug bites, and a renewed appreciation for slowness. My inbox was chaos, but for the first time in ages, I didn’t panic. Instead, I tackled tasks with clarity, even sneaking in a 3 p.m. “coffee break” à la Carlos.
To anyone feeling burnt out: Disconnect. Go somewhere that demands you pay attention—not to metrics, but to the moment. Your creativity (and your readers) will thank you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to convince my boss we need a “remote work” policy… preferably one that includes howler monkeys as coworkers.
Pura vida, amigos. 🌿✨
