Life is crazy.  Good things happen every day but not so good things also happen everyday.  That’s why sometimes you have to be crazy right back.  For me, I find spending money super crazy.  I can’t comprehend working so hard to build a bank account and then just blowing that money away so easily.  Luckily my mother with her incredible voice of reason once told me DHB-don’t hold back.

Two weekends recently I have taken this advice in very different ways.  Primarily, right after my friends and I returned from a week of exciting but exhausting adventures we turned around the next morning bright and early and headed back out towards La Fortuna.  After a much longer bus ride than expected we reached a lovely little hostel nestled next to a volcano shrouded in clouds.  We spent that night lounging in public hot springs which was an experience with the strength of the hot springs and the various twigs, leaves, and other unknown items constantly floating by.

The next day we really treated ourselves.  We went to Baldí Hot Springs, the largest Hot Springs in the entire world.  These hot springs were more like a resort and spa than the natural ones we had happened upon the day before.  We gazed up the mountain that the hot springs were set upon seeing more and pools of sparkling blue with various slides, bars, and other attractions peeking out.  At the top of the mountain was a scalding hot spring that one could scarcely sit in for more than five to ten minutes.  Further down there were more people, more laughs, and more escapades.  We spent the day flying down slides that must have broken speed records, sipping on fruity cocktails that melted far too quickly, and exploring various caves that lead to sauna rooms and small waterfalls.  It was heaven.  The further we got into the day I could feel my shoulders sinking down away from my ears and my muscles loosening.

Then we got to the dinner included in the price of our stay.  We walked up a wooden walk way to a huge well lit room and in the center was row after row after row of buffet food.  There was fruit next to a chocolate fountain.  There was pasta with a whole array of healthy options to add.  Even the tea selection was outstanding.  We ate plate after plate of food, a mix of Costa Rican and American options until we were almost too full to go enjoy one last dip in a hot spring.  Somehow we made it and finished out the night watching the stars from steaming water.

This adventure was costly in my opinion, but the memories I have of it were worth every penny and more.  That spa may not have been the most “tico experience”, actually it was incredibly touristy, but I decided not to hold back and I adored every single moment of it.

The next time I didn’t hold back may have not been in terms of money so much but more in terms of journeys.  With my two closest friends going off to a class field trip to a wonderful beach I was left without my travel buddies.  I could easily have held back and stay in Puntarenas or gone on a trip to Tamarindo where over half of our USAC group was going.  Instead I sought out a smaller adventure not quite on my own but with a smaller group of friends that I didn’t know very well.  I found myself opening up to an adventure that I wasn’t very sure about.  I went to an Organika festival in Montezuma.

In Montezuma we checked into our hostel late the first night and then only hung out a little bit, consuming peanut butter in massive quantities for dinner, before going to bed.  The next day we arose early and went out to hike to a waterfall.  There I was in my element.  Not only was I the only one prepared with appropriate shoes but I also was able to help others afraid of heights to climb up and down steep areas as well as helping them to get up the courage to jump off of a small waterfall.  It was grand.

When we got back I was in their world at the Organika festival.  We were surrounded by people on all sorts of drugs, covered in tattoos, eating very natural foods without the additives found in food in the United States.  I loved every moment of it and didn’t hold back.  I met people, I tasted things, I experienced a new way of life.  I learned about petibaye, watermelon ceviche, cacao nubs encased in sun butter, and more.

For the rest of the day I used the energy high I had gotten from that day to keep up with the laughter and happiness all night long.  I tried avocado again and loved it!  There was something about tiny little town, that consisted of really just two main streets, with people who embraced each other in the street and beach dogs that guarded you from the waves.  This town has been hit with tourism but not consumed by it.

All in all, it is okay to hold back and stay in your comfort zone.  But in my opinion living is when you safely leave that comfort zone, when you allow experiences to affect you in the moment and perhaps change you for the rest of your life.