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How Costa Rica Taught Me to Embrace Life’s Simple Joy

The best souvenir you can bring home from a trip

Victoria Z.
Globetrotters
5 min readJan 13, 2025

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Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, all photos in this story taken by the author

On a crisp morning following a night of storm, I stepped into my sun-drenched garden. The yellow Argyranthemum blossoms swayed gently in the breeze. Raindrops clinging to the pittosporum leaves sparkled like tiny jewels. Sparrows chirped cheerfully. Bees buzzed from bloom to bloom in the sage bushes. Two hummingbirds circled each other before darting to the birds-of-paradise, their long beaks sinking into the hearts of the vibrant orange flowers.

“What a beautiful day, “ I thought. Then I whispered, “Pura Vida.”

This is a phrase I learned when I visited Costa Rica last year. I first noticed it on a poster in a small rustic restaurant in Monteverde:

Then I saw another piece of wall art with an explanation of what it means:

Afterward, I saw it everywhere in this beautiful country. I brought it back like a souvenir. Now I use it in my daily…

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Victoria Z.
Victoria Z.

Written by Victoria Z.

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