Day 7: A day of tranquility and gratitude

 2/5/22 Tamarindo, Costa Rica

    In the morning, I hung out with a younger traveler I had met at the hostel. A great guy on his own journey and searching for his flow. The state of mind where you feel like your best self. The state of mind when you feel you are in "the zone". He was telling me about the upcoming retreat he was going on to learn more about staying in this state. Him and I explored the beach further past the cliff. We found a really tranquil spot with a few other people that had a lot of fish and the water was just right. There were rocks where the fish swam through and they kept the waves nice and calm where we sat. We had great conversations about our lives as we soaked in the sun. 

    In the evening, I watched the sun by the cliff. The cliff is off to the left from the entrance of the beach and takes about 20 minutes to walk to but the view was spectacular. Out of a movies watching this giant orange sun setting over the water of Costa Rica. It had me thinking, "Is this really my life now?" The aura I felt watching that sun set brought so much peace and joy into my life. I couldn't stop thinking this is really happening. I am living my dream. I am blessed. I am grateful. 

   

Day 1: The Woman with Cancer

1/30/22 Costa Rica

    I boarded the plane to start my journey around the world. I took a seat next to a woman with a blue bandana wrapped around her head. She was super friendly and we immediately started to have a conversation. She told me she did have cancer and that it went into remission but she had to finish with her chemo. I asked her where she was going and she told me for the first time in her life she was traveling abroad to see the world. With death so close to her she wanted to realize her dream of traveling outside her country. 

    She was going to fly into Costa Rica and then be driven to Nicaragua to meet her friend that was living there now. I felt it was a sign that we had met on the plane. In my backpack was a book very dear to me. A book called The Alchemist that told the story of a man traveling the world in pursuit of his personal legend. I could see that this was the start of hers so I gave her the book and wished her every blessing on the journey. 

    When we landed I helped her with her suitcase to immigration. Immigration let me accompany her and expedited me through the 3 hour line. A sign of good karma to me. I helped her to the shuttle she had for Nicaragua and we hugged and said goodbye. Her cancer made me think, what would I be doing if I had the same? And I realized I wouldn't be doing anything different.

Day 5: Yoga, surf, new friends, and cancer

Tamarindo, Costa Rica 2/3/22 

    Still have a lot of routine to work out. Even while traveling having a daily routine is important. I have been doing yoga two days now. The hostel Selina I am staying at offers sessions so it has been nice. I've had neck pain for a while from the gym. I tense my neck doing certain exercises. I can feel the tension releasing with the yoga so hopefully this makes more progress. 

    I've met a lot of people so far being here. This hostel is very social and it is known in Tamarindo as the Sexelina so that's fun. Already I have seen it is true to its name. 

    I met a couple of guys from the Dominican Republic living in New York and Pennsylvania now. They are great guys. Dominican's are funny as hell.

    I watched the sunset in Tamarindo today. It's an incredible experience seeing the vibrant colors and a massive orange sun set over the water while you watch on the sand. And it happens so fast you can see the sun dropping from the sky behind the water like it's racing the moon. 

    One of my best friends called me to tell me he had cancer. He's my age and it made me think a lot. He's an incredibly strong person so he was super positive talking to me about it. He has steps he's taking and is going to go through chemo. I'm hopeful for him as well. 

Note: I'd like to wake up early and hash out dream logging, manifesting, meditation, and my work schedule.

Day 4: the surf of Tamarindo & relearning nightlife sober

2/2/22 Tamarindo, Costa Rica

     Today is a very spiritual day. It's fitting to make this the day to start journaling this experience abroad. So far I've met many travelers that are solo as well from all parts of the world. Because of COVID restrictions the entire world is here except the Australians since they're still locked up. 

    I have been surfing every day enjoying the waves, the journey, and the people I meet. The surf is alright in one spot of Tamarindo by the rocks during high tide. The only problem is everyone is fighting for the waves in this spot. From what I hear there are other beaches where the surf is much better.

    I didn't feel comfortable at the reggaeton club last night so I'll go to the salsa place instead to feel better about dancing. In October I lost the desire to drink alcohol. I chalk this up to the journey of getting to this point in my life. The urge to drink in order to socialize at the clubs and bars is gone but I do have to relearn how to socialize and meet women sober now. 

Day 1: Costa Rica - The start of traveling the world

 1/30/22 Florida

    Today is the day. Everything I've been working for for the last 6 months is finally coming to fruition. I have finished my lease. I have sold my car and other belongs. Now I have a single backpack filled with everything I need.

    Dad drove me to the airport and we said our goodbyes. I flew from Orlando to Miami, and then Miami to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I had been in Costa Rica once before but this was my first trip completely by myself the entire time. I found a shuttle that would take me to Tamarindo for a decent price.

    Arriving I checked into a hostel called Selina, a chain of hostels in multiple countries. I had stayed at the Selina in Jaco, Costa Rica and I really liked it there so I figured I'd book it again. 

    Now to meet some backpackers and get settled in. To my surprise there were many solo traveling backpackers from all over the world.