Colorful San José

I will never stop showing you the colors of a place.

I will always ask you to stop and smell the flowers.

Orchids  

Some journeys are long, hot, dusty and tiring. But if you lift your eyes, maybe you'll find a plant nursery next to the dirty high way; a place filled with orchids and whispers of life. And maybe that will make you smile again. 

San Jose  

As I've mentioned before, Few travelers enjoy big cities (unless that's their aim of the trip) and even fewer like the necessary visit(s) to Costa Rica's capital San Jose. Next time you come, why not stay in the old historic neighborhood Barrio Amón or Aranjuez. And when you're there, why not stroll around the old buildings, enjoying the architecture and the art covering the walls of this area. And maybe you'll find a secret world hidden within green walls and trees and maybe you find a new favorite cafe in the corner of a street you haven't been on before. And maybe you also find the way to mama earth's delicious gifts at Fería Verde.

And if you still haven't seen the arts, colors and flowers of San Jose, this oasis is the place to soak it all in. It is here where I ask you to stop and smell the flowers. And while you sip your Costa Rican coffee with cashew milk, enjoy the colorful smiles around you.

where do you find flowers in your city?  

Feria Verde

How To Travel Without Money in Sweden

Or How To Travel the World for Free

We got in to Luleå early in the morning, where we spent the day in nature together with yet a magic yogi friend. As the late afternoon came closer, we got on the local bus to Överkalix, where we were to spend the coming week in the mythical wilderness of the Northern forest.

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The saga-like Light shines its glitter over us where we stand in awe in the deep forest. Nowhere but in the North will you find endless forests, swamps and light like this.

From here our story takes a different route as we decided to buy a car and name it Björnen (The Bear)- bringing with us some of the medicine from the north! And even though traveling by car might be the cheapest way to get around (and most definitely the easiest!) Sweden and the North, it is part of another story. So, let’s summarize How To Travel Cheap in Sweden for ya:

Transportation:

Combine sightseeing and transportation Like we did with Inlandsbanan

Combine transportation and sleep There are few over-night travel options in Sweden, but in the North is where you can find them. Sleep poorly while transporting yourself and you save one night worth of lodging, like we did between Umeå and Luleå.

Use local buses Harder to find and time consuming but generally cheaper, offers a lot of fun through random countryside experiences and take you further than you might think. Even across county borders, like when we traveled Dalarna!

Hitchhike might be time-consuming and expensive in terms of buying shitty food and snacks in every gas station you end up at in between rides. However, when wanting to get around a certain area (i.e. shorter rides and without the heavy packing) I recommend giving it a go, like we did in Rättvik.

Drive freerider cars Especially good when you want to get from A to B quick and B is really far away, like the first part of our trip.

Food:

Travel with a portable kitchen, in that way you can cook your own food basically wherever you are and save in on a lot of money. Check out foodbymagie for tips and recipes on easy and cheap food to cook both indoors and outdoors!

Use Allemansrätten and the common fireplaces at resting areas near the roads and by the lakes. Just be mindful with the fire! Read more about how I used it and what it allows you to do here. 

Learn the local plants, mushrooms and berries and just like that you have free food all around you! I will write more about this topic, if you are interested? In the meantime, check out foodbymagie and coming events and workshops here.

Accommodation:

Forest Camping & City Camping Travel with a tent in Scandinavia and you always have a place to crash. Read more about Allemansrätten and how we camped in Umeå.

Staying with friends & Couchsurfing We actually didn’t camp all that much, staying with good friends and locals always offer great experiences!

Work exchange Psst, there are cool work exchanges too, not just for accommodation, like we did on Yoga Camp and at Läkegården.

Hidden Costs: You know what I’m talking about; toilets, Internet, and most definitely where to store the bags when you don’t have a hotel/car or the like!

Library hangout: Good place to charge your devices + use the Internet for free. I’ve used the library both in big cities like Malmö and small towns like Kalix, you might need a library card in some places tho!

Toilets: The church. Even if you can’t find public toilets, you will find a church- go check their opening hours! In addition, I like to hang out in the often times very beautiful old buildings.

Backpack storage: Can’t find any lockers? No worries, locate the tourist information and ask if they have any suggestions. Both in Mora and Umeå they let us store our backpacks and bags for free! 

Do you have any great tips about traveling without money you think I should add? Or a great idea you think I should try? Comment below!

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Next post: about the sacred waters and mountains of Arjeplog and how we ended up visiting a Samí family. 

Pura Vida!!

Summer Love Tour part IV (How To Travel Cheap in Sweden)

Part IV: BACK TO NATURE

Read part III                          Read part II                       Read part I

Free sightseeing: Holmön- the sunniest place in Sweden

After some time in the middle of Sweden, we craved to see Mother Ocean and, thus, headed straight to the coast and Holmön, just outside Umeå. The ferry from Norrfjärden is free and takes about 20 minutes. We truly enjoyed the quietness and openness Nature offers on this magic island by strolling around the forest, visiting a light house (that is also a hostel actually) and cooked lunch on the bare rocks, overlooking the wind stroking the waves. 

Free accommodation: Forest Camping

In the late afternoon, we caught the boat back and drove North East of Umeå to find a lake with a good camp site. During those days, we had a rental car- which is great when looking for a more quiet place to camp. It was beautiful to meditate with the sun dancing over the fresh water, swim in the warm lake and cook over the fire- much needed before heading in to town again. 

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Camping outside Umeå, Sweden

Staying with friends For the following nights, we stayed with another Sofia Magdalena- yet a very special Yogini who offered her love, her presence and Umeå's best view. Thank you -- much Love, always! <3

City Camping After having had my last Park Yoga in Umeå (for this year ;) ), we had a delicious Vegan meal at the-place-to-be 'Båten'. Following a tip I received from a piano-playing traveler, with eyes brown like the deer and deep like the forest, we wandered across a bridge through a residential area and down to the river (Umeälven), where we found a perfect place to camp. As the sun became redder (rather than setting), we sat watching kids play with their scooters in the water, the boat (Båten, where we just were) and listening to the ongoing Music Festival from a park on the other side of the river. Wahe Guru, magic light! When all was quiet, we put our tent up for a few hours sleep.

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Traveling TIPS on free stuff:

Camping according to Allemansrätten

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Allemansrätten rules

Library Hangout: To charge devices and/or use internet. In big cities you might need a library card (it's free to get one). 

Toilets: The church. Good because you can see it from anywhere you are and it is open for everybody. And they have free toilets (remember to check their opening hours!). 

Where do you store your backpack for the day? Keep in mind that most towns, especially the smaller ones, don't have lockers to store big bags at the town's station(s). However, try locating the tourist information office and ask if they have any suggestions. If you're only in town for a few hours (they usually close at 6pm), they'll most likely let you store the bag in their office for free.

Wahe Guru, Magic Light! By Umeälven in Umeå, Sweden

While in Umeå, we also dusted off a good ol' backpacker hangout: spending half the night at the train station. In Norrland during summer this is perfect 'cause it's never dark; it is warm and quiet. Add some quality company to that and you have some legit travellers' groove ;)

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Umeå Train Station, Sweden

Did I miss any essentials? What kind of tips do you want me to write about? Send me an email or write in the "comments" below! 

Love and Light

/OM

Studying Abroad in Costa Rica: this is all you need to know Part 2

Read Part 1 here

1. Flight tickets. Can I enter Costa Rica without a return ticket?

No, you cannot. All countries require that you can prove that you are going to leave before your visa expires. Upon check-in, the airline are ought to check your departure ticket. If you have bought a two- (or more) way ticket with them the computer says so, and they won’t ask you to show it again. If you have a one-way ticket, they are required to ask you to show your departure ticket or they won’t let you on the plane. Sometimes (most times, like always) we don’t know when we want to leave though.

So what are the options?

Get a student visa. With a student visa you don’t need to have your return flight booked within 3 months. Read more here.

Buy a student ticket with Kilroy or the like. They are more flexible and most times cheaper than their regular tickets. In addition, you can change the dates of the return flight for 500 SEK or less. Note that this option requires you to have an ISCI card.

Buy loose flights and cancel. Find a ticket on the same day you are leaving that you can buy and then cancel after 24 hours (after having entered the country) and get a refund. Look for cheap flights between Costa Rica and USA; there is a variety to choose from!

Buy a bus ticket. In some countries, and especially when walking across borders, it is enough to show a bus ticket that proves your departure from the country you are entering. I have never tried it myself in Costa Rica, but there are trustworthy companies driving to both Panama and Nicaragua. You might not be able to cancel the ticket and get your money back with this option though; then again it might be cheaper.

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Lovely Montezuma on Nicoya Peninsula Costa Rica  

2.             Home stay vs. Finding your own place

For the record, I have never lived with a family but always on my own. For me the choice is easy as I am an adult that likes to take care of myself. There might be a bunch of positive things about home stay that I yet haven’t heard of though, please share in the comments below!

Homestay You pay a set amount each month that covers your room, all meals and laundry, and the school hooks you up. Easy! Keep in mind though that you are part of the family you are visiting and have to stick to their rules, there are usually many people living in a small space and they expect you to sit down and have dinner with them unless you tell them differently. In other words, it is like living at home as a teenager. At least for Swedes that might be a huge challenge since we generally move out when we are 17 or 18 (not into dorms but apartments). My American friends told me that they found the food challenging and I don’t doubt that one second! If you have any allergies or eating differently from the Tico norm (such as vegetarian, gluten free or vegan): don’t choose this option! Traditional meals (and big ones) will be served. If I recall correctly, the cost is about 300 dollars per month. The upside with homestay is the inevitable language practice. Even though a lot of Ticos speak very good English nowadays, you get to meet the entire family where grandmothers, nephews and cousins don’t. It really offers a great opportunity to work your everyday language skills.

Finding your own apartment. Depending on where in the country you are, this might give you some extra work. As a rule of thumb, look on craigslist, Google and check with friends and the school even before coming to Costa Rica. While in the country, read local newspapers and ask locals how to go about finding a good apartment in your town. In San José it shouldn’t be a problem finding something fairly quick, depending on how picky you are with location, price and standard. In the smaller areas (unless touristy) I recommend trying to catch the suggestions the school might give you straight away! I did and I never regretted it. I paid 300 dollars a month plus electricity and food. Being able to do your own grocery shopping, cooking and coming and going as I want plus having my own space when I need it are worth maybe spending a little more (in the end I’m pretty sure I spent less than the others anyway since they ended up buying a lot of meals). This option too gives a great opportunity to practice your Spanish, should you choose so (as with homestay- you make the choice weather to practice or not). Your landlords will most likely speak Spanish, as your neighbors. Outside that, life is like anywhere else: i.e. you have to go out to socialize and meet new friends and people to talk to. Actually, I would say this option offers more language learning opportunities than homestay since you have to get to know people outside school in a different way. For instance, the grocery shopping- every week me and my roommate went to the local market to buy our veggies and we made time to stay and talk with the vendors about the fruits, vegetables and Costa Rican life. You won’t learn that in school!

Pura Vida Siempre and Good Luck!