Hi! I am Maria from Costa Rica.

I love traveling, learning languages, cooking and doing yoga. I have been traveling and I've been part of this community for over 10 years. I work online and can basically travel all the time. I use Couchsurfing because I like to make friends with interesting people, share my culture and exchange points of view. Please do not send me a request if your goal on Couchsurfing is to extend your trip/save money/have a free place to stay.

Hola! Soy Maria de Costa Rica.

Amo viajar, aprender idiomas, cocinar y hacer yoga. Llevo más te 10 años viajando y siendo parte de esta comunidad. Trabajo desde mi computadora, lo que me permite viajar todo el tiempo. Uso Couchsurfing porque me gusta hacer amistad con gente interesante, compartir mi cultura e intercambiar puntos de vista. Por favor no me envíes una petición si tu objetivo en esta comunidad es extender tu viaje/ahorrar plata/conseguir un lugar para pasar la noche gratis.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have both surfed couches and hosted people.
I have had too many perfect CS-experiences in many countries!

CS has allowed me to travel more than I ever thought I would and thanks to this community I have met some of my most important and beloved friends.
It's just soooo much fun!

Interests

In order of importance:
1-OF COURSE TRAVELING!
2- FOOD!!! and cooking: teach me any recipe, or tell me about anything unusual you eat in your country and I'll love you.
3-Languages
4-Fitness (although I can't devote as much time (and discipline) as I'd wish to)
5-Dance
6-Nature (I love the outdoors, how not to when I am from Costa Rica?!)
7-Music (besides all Latin music, I have been obsessed with Bollywood music for like 8 years
8-Latin American literature

• literature
• festivals
• dancing
• bachata
• cumbia
• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• running
• walking
• shopping
• flowers
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• snorkeling
• swimming
• history
• languages
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
At the moment my favorite music besides almost anything Latin American is Hindi/Bollywood music.

Books:
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
The Odyssey by Homer
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Myth of Sysiphus by Albert Camus
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Mal de amores by Angeles Mastretta
Pantaleón y las visitadoras, Mario Vargas Llosa
Del amor y otros demonios by Gabriel García Márquez

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well, every day alive is amazing enough, don't you think?

Besides, I feel privileged to have seen, tasted or done the following things:

-Enjoyed the amazingly beautiful Jiuzhaigou
-Got lost in the winding alleys at Lijiang Old Town
-Climbed Huangshan in the middle of winter, it was like a dream really.
-Saw Zhangye, the multicolor hills in Gansu province.
-Discovered the amazing Chinese tea culture, and learned how to tell 龙井茶， 白茶， 乌龙茶 and 红茶 apart.
-Being paid to swim with whale sharks
-Working at RIO SECRETO!
-The festival of Guelaguetza 2008 in Oaxaca
-The fairy-tale city of Guanajuato and its
rare mommies
-Tikal ruins from dawn till dusk and the view from temple V
-The kaluts in the Kermani desert
-Hiking up to the youngest volcano in the world,
the Paricutín in Michoacán, Mexico
-Snorkeling in the out-of-this world cenotes
in Yucatán
-Iran's many gardens, flowers and greenery
in the middle of the harsh desert.
-The most beautiful city I have ever seen,
Esfahan in Iran.
-Turkey's Cappadocia and Iran's Kandovan, UNBELIEVABLE
-Eating in the fanciest restaurant I have
ever been in my life in Damascus, spending
less than $US5 for 2 people and getting free
dessert of chocolate crepes, ice cream and fruit.
-Aleppo's 25 SYP ice creams and pistachio sweets,
the absolute best best best in the world.
-Eating the dirtiest food cooked with cowshit and drinking the riskiest shakes in India and never
getting sick.
-Walking the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu
-Being blinded by the mighty reflections of
the white Uyuni Salar in Bolivia and seeing
the tallest cactai ever.
-The GORGEOUS island of Bali, Indonesia
-Borneo's gorgeous nature, caves and beaches
-Feeling what paradise is all about at these beaches:
>The beach at the back of Pandan island in
Honda Bay, Palawan, Philippines
>Tulum beach on the Mayan Riviera
>Playa Norte on isla Mujeres also in Mexico
>Balos Lagoon, Gramvoussa Island and Elafonissi in Creta (WOOW)
>Long Beach on Ko Phi Phi Island, Thailand
-Being less than a meter away from blazing hot
lava up on Pacaya volcano in Guatemala.
-Angkor Wat, cliché of course, but how incredibly beautiful it is!
-I guess eating a giant cockroach and beetles in Thailand, ant-eggs in Mexico, tamiloc and balut
in the Philippines and saffron milk cooked and
smoked in cow shit in Jaisalmer, India.
-Eating: THE MANGOS from my garden in Costa Rica, the peaches in Turkey, the cherries in Bulgaria, fresh pistachios and grapes in Syria, doogh, plums, pomegranates and blossom jam, the wine and apricots in Georgia, salaks in Bali's, mangosteen and lychee in Thailand, great cheap cheese and joghurt in Kosovo's, papayas in Cuba, quality Müsli in Germany, Malay hokkien mee and Thai Tom Yam!
(did I make clear that I love food?)
-Montenegro's Moracha canyon with a beautiful turquoise river.
-Cretan sunsets, how can the sky turn into one giant rainbow?!
-Seeing quetzales and hear them sing, they are my favorite bird and their chant is like no other
.

In COSTA RICA:
-Hiked to the summit of Mount Chirripó, our highest peak.
-Explored Rincón de la Vieja National Park
-Went on a 750m long zip line upside down
-I have seen the beautiful jungle in Corcovado National Park
-The turquoise river appropriately named Río Celeste
-Cruised pristine channels in the middle of the jungle while watching the teeming wildlife at Tortuguero National Park

And there is still so much I want to experience, please help me!

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: SPANISH

I look forward to learn:
-Any Indian dance
-Languages: right now I'd love to learn/practice Hindi, Arabic and Farsi
-Recipes from your country

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Costa Rica, Mexico, Russian Federation

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