[Mikael in Transit] Costa Rica:The storybook ending

This is the third of my series about my travels, published on Rappler. There are so many beautiful things to see, interesting cultures to experience, and 6 billion other people to meet. I think that the best way to make the most out life is to get to know this vast world that we live in. I’d like to share my experiences and hopefully pass the travel bug on. Read on and get ready to pack your bags!

Monteverde is one of the higher altitude regions of Costa Rica. This was memorable to me because we went on my first ever coffee tour. If you don’t know, I absolutely love coffee and it was great seeing the process from harvesting the coffee beans to seeing them roasted, packed and shipped to the coffee shops.

They elaborated on what makes a good coffee bean and I’m strongly resisting the urge to explain what I learned in this entry. I’ll save it for another date. 

As we reached the tail end of our trip, we were finally treated to a little sand and surf. If we have Boracay, Costa Rica has Manuel Antonio.

And just to get it out of the way, I think Boracay is so much more beautiful BUT – and this is a huge one – we can learn so much from the way they treat their most prized beach. (READ: Adrenaline rush, eye candy in Costa Rica)

The conservation practices of Costa Rica were miles ahead of what we have here. There were strict limits to protect the area from commercial establishments and how much people could go into the beach at any one time. As a result, the island felt so untouched and fresh, which is a testament to the effectiveness of their conservation efforts.  (READ: Saving the sea turtles on the other side of the world)

Overall, I think the itinerary of our trip was so well planned and finely executed as epitomized by our final destination in Jaco. It was grueling going through our condensed itinerary. Basically, we did a 12 day tour in 8 days so to end it on a catamaran cruise in the middle of the ocean as we watched the sun set was a perfect way to close it.

We soaked in the sun, had an early dinner and just took the time to absorb what was a whirlwind adventure.

This experience would not have been the way it was without my fellow storytellers. We were a random group of photographers, writers, videographers, professional Instagrammers and YouTube personalities. We all got along and took our work seriously, but we also shared what we knew.

Personally, I think sharing in the experience magnified how we felt about the whole trip. We would bond by getting know each other’s personal and work stories while, at the same time, we made new memories along the way.

I can honestly say I learned so much from them, and you can see a little bit of what they shared with me in this travel series. I guess it also underlines how much traveling with others can enrich your experience. – Rappler.com

Mikael Daez is passionate about making the most out of life. Food and travel makes his world go around and he will stop at nothing just to search for new experiences. At the same time, he loves getting everyone around him involved, and shares his passion by telling stories of his adventures. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram 

Editor: Abby Alcanzare
Graphics and animation: Kookie Santos, Luis Kintanar

Concept by: Mikael Daez and Nicky Daez