Pura Vida in Costa Rica

The following post is an interview with Michael Sekerak. We enviously followed his incredible trip to Costa Rica from a very cold and very snowy Sailormade studio. When you can't getaway yourself you can live vicariously through someone else. 

Name: Michael Sekerak

Hometown: Northern California near Lake Tahoe. Currently living on the South Shore of Massachusetts

Instagram: @mjsekerak

Favorite Sailormade Piece: Brummel Link in Silver 

Most recent travel destination: Costa Rica 

Michael, your trip looked incredible. I can't tell you how jealous we all were watching your trip via Instagram while freezing our butts off in Boston. So, what brought you to Costa Rica in the first place? Tell me about the trip. 

I traveled to Costa Rica with a group of 9 other teachers from the South Shore during our week off in February.  The sun and warm weather was a welcome reprieve from the ongoing New England winter. 

We flew into San Jose, Costa Rica and immediately headed south to go white water rafting along the Pacuare River.  Ranked in the top five white water rafting destinations in the world, we spent two days on the river with a stop at the most incredible eco lodge along the route. There was almost no electricity at the camp so candlelights and card games carried us into the night.  We each stayed in open walled cabins that overlooked the river and awoke at the crack of dawn to the birds buzzing around the trees.

After our rafting excursion we headed North to the Arenal Volcano and the town of La Fortuna.  We hiked around the volcano, bathed in a natural hot springs, went on a zip line tour and hiked an unending staircase to the cascading La Fortuna waterfall.  We then took one last stop at the beach in Punta Arenas to enjoy our last sunset on the west coast before having to head back to the airport.

Wow, sounds like you really made the most of the time you had there. If you had to choose what were the top 3 things you did on your trip:

Oh that's easy:

1. Zip lining around the La Fortuna waterfall - An absolutely breathtaking view on lines over 1000 feet long.  We flew high over the canopies and even were greeted by a sloth along the route.

2. White water rafting along the Pacuare River - Warm water and beautiful rain forests accompanied us along our two day excursion complete with unparalleled lodging and nature.

3.  La Fortuna Hot Springs - Natural hot springs heated by the nearby volcano.  The rushing river held temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 

And #4 has got to be food. What was the best thing you ate on the trip?

The best thing I ate was some fried bananas and rice from the sweetest lady who owned a small store next to where we were staying.  Somehow she managed to keep their firmness while bringing out the flavor with a few spices. 

Sounds delicious. What was your biggest takeaway from Costa Rica? 

I was most floored by the generosity of everyone in the country.  Each new person we met along our trip was incredibly accommodating and friendly.  We made friends with some of the local store and restaurant owners who helped us with transportation and other recommendations.  We even ran into some car trouble along the way and a friend of the driver ended up seeing us stopped on the side of the road many miles from the nearest town.  The driver's friend took time out of his day to go to the nearest town, pick up the part we needed, and came back to help with the repair so we could get back on our way.

That's awesome. And finally, you have a growing list of Instagram followers. What’s is your favorite part or the most important reason why you share your travels?

Art has always been a large part of my life in many different capacities whether it be music, drawing and painting, or photography.  I love sharing my photos through Instagram because it is a way for me to create a cohesive piece of work from my daily life.  I focus more on the overall feed and less on the pictures which helps me see the interconnectivity of daily life.  Each new day leads into another and it is important to make the most of them.  The fluidity of my Instagram feed plays into my view of the world and how we affect those around us.  I hope that by sharing my photos others will begin to notice the minute connections in their own lives.