June 13 // 3:10PM
Punta Uva // Costa Rica
I’ve talked about Costa Rica a lot over the years. Culturally it was a smash in the face for me. This photo was shot many years ago, on my first trip outside of the U.S.
I remember thinking that the country was such a beautiful, authentic, version of itself. There are strict rules on conservation here, and so you won’t find many instances of huge resorts lining the coastline. About 25% of the country has been designated as “protected”.
What you’re left with is an unspoiled place where the rainforest you’ve seen on National Geographic TV shows meet the completely perfect beaches you’ve seen on postcards. It’s hard to get your bearings. Until this point, every beach I had been on was lined with huge buildings towering over it, just in front of a busy highway. Not to mention that you shared the beach with a few hundred other people, at least. I still make those pilgrimages every summer, to the busy beaches with friends- and I absolutely love it. But, this was a different kind of trip, one that changed things for me.
Here, I was staying in what I could best describe as a hut in the rainforst for the week. It was simple, with holes in the walls for windows, no hot water, and mosquito nets lining the bed. It was perfect. The air here, on many days, is so moist that it feels like you’re doing something between swimming and breathing. Everything seems to be damp, and there’s almost no escape from the heat.
But, once I walk outside the hut, and down a 50 yard path through the thick forest, it opens up to this beach. Evertime I would go, it was like a new experience. Once on the beach, the hot, humid air would end and the cool tropical sea breeze would hit you in the face. It’s like two worlds meeting at the sand. Sitting on the beach, with tropical birds flying around you, and monkeys yelling behind you in the forest is a very surreal experience. But I assure you, it’s quite real.
I don’t think it was a typical first timers trip outside the country. I suppose I dove right in. I was, after all, there with a couple who decided to get married, just the two of them, on the beach in this fairly remote corner of Costa Rica. If it weren’t for them, perhaps my first trip would have been to a resort, or a big city in some very western style country. Perhaps my travelling habits would be very different today.