AlmostFearless.com

You go to Mal Pais for the surfing.  A single dirt road runs along the stretch of ocean, dotted with surf shops, outdoor restaurants and a single grocery store.  There are iguanas and beach dogs, squirrel and howler monkeys and the bananas cost 10 cents each.  But you’re not here for that, you’re here for [...]

If you go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico it’s much more developed then nearly any coastal town in Costa Rica. Yet, before visiting Jacó, everyone warned me: it’s overdeveloped. Well, if you’re expecting palm frond beach huts and locals catching fish in the low tide, then yes, you’ll be highly disappointed. But since my time in [...]

I left Puerto Viejo on the rainiest day so far, the back of my pants covered in mud from the 20 minute walk to the bus terminal.  By ‘terminal’ I mean two benches next to a food stand that sold patties–delicious savory pastries with a spicy filling.  I was drenched, but ate two patties before [...]

I crossed the border from Panama and found myself in the beach town of Puerto Viejo, on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.  The shuttle dropped me off at Rocking J’s, a sprawling hippie-surfer-backpacker compound that offers $5/night hammocks and $7/tents (private rooms started at $20). The walls are covered in a collage of [...]

My husband thinks I should name this post, “Nobody cares if the writer is really good at Excel.”  That will be more clear in a moment, but first I want to talk about what I’m good at– really really good at– and that’s starting new projects.  It’s what made my short ascent into the corporate [...]

Sometimes I get emails from people who’d like to be a writer.  My advice, and probably the advice of any writer is this:  If you want to be a writer, then write.  It doesn’t really matter about what, you’ll have to battle it out like the rest of us– over many years.  Might as well [...]

After Bocas del Toro, I wanted to head north into Costa Rica.  I had vaguely planned to head to San Jose, but I had no idea where to go.  Someone told me about Puerto Viejo, a surfing town just a few hours north.  It’s one of the cheapest places to learn how to surf, great [...]

I celebrated my 32nd birthday on Isla Colon, the largest island of Bocas del Toro in northern Panama.  It rained in spurts and fits, then the sun would pop out like nothing ever happened.  I rented a bike, traveled to a deserted section of beach, and sat on the towel that I draped over a [...]