Room2Board Hostel and Surf School

Border Runs: Nicaragua Style

31 Aug 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in BorderRuns, Traveling

Border runs to Nicaragua are not uncommon in these parts for travelers looking to stay in Costa Rica for over 90 days. So I hop on the bus from Jaco to Puntarenas and then into Liberia to meet up with my buddy Chappy. First thing…

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Bahia Drake: A Slice of the Rich Coast

22 Aug 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Tours, Traveling

About a three hour drive south of here, on the only road that leads south on this side of the country, is a little town called Sierpe. After Palmar Norte, a decent sized town (in terms of Costa Rica) with grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants…

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The Life of a Traveler: Central America

08 Aug 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Traveling

Waking up at unruly hours, you pack your bags and saunter over for the bus that you are probably about to miss. The sun has barely woken up. You pray that you’ll be able to snag a seat, and that the seat you get reclines….

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Los Ticos on the Big Stage: 2014 World Cup

05 Jul 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Pura Vida

So Costa Rica made it to the quarter finals of the 2014 World Cup. It was the biggest world cup story of the year by far. I mean, who could have predicted this? To answer that question, no one could have predicted this. Not only…

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Surf Mecca of the Central Pacific

13 Jun 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Surfing

Playa Jaco is definitely the surf mecca of the Central Pacific coast. Jaco, being less than 2 hours from San Jose, is one of Costa Rica’s most visited beaches. It is over 3 miles of dark sand beach with great exposure from swells coming from…

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A Traveler’s Oasis: Life at a Costa Rican Hostel

01 May 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Traveling

I’ve been living at Room2Board, in Costa Rica for over 3 months now, and it has been an exciting time. While living in Jaco, which is a small town, but bigger than most others here in Costa Rica, you can really get a feel for…

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The Building of our Costa Rica Hostel, Room2Board, Part 1

14 Apr 2014 Posted by Susan in Architecture, Pura Vida, Traveling

“Form follows function”, this quote is from the great architect Mies van der Rohe and was the motto for design in the 20th century. Room2Board was designed to meet the demands of young international travelers and how they want to engage the world as they…

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Journey into the Cloud Forest

10 Apr 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Hiking, Pura Vida, Spiritual, Tours, Traveling, Zipline

After over 2 hours of dirt roads on the chicken bus, which followed a previous 3 hours excursion, we arrived in Monteverde. It didn’t take long before we understood why it is known as the cloud forest. After a few months on the arid coast…

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Pura Vida Living

02 Apr 2014 Posted by Kevin Baranello in Pura Vida, Spiritual, Traveling

A common phrase here in Costa Rica is Pura Vida. This saying itself embeds the soul of Costa Rican culture. The phrase holds a far deeper meaning than what lies on the surface. So for those of you who don’t know, Pura vida means no…

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The Best Purchase a Traveler can Make: Anecdotal Musings on Journaling

14 Mar 2014 Posted by David Cynman in Traveling

Before reading even any further, I feel this authorial guilt to warn you that I am one of the most sentimental people out there. Yes, I have a 7th grade photo of an unrequited crush and yes, my room is covered with maps of cities…

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