Team Trip · Behind the Scenes

Pura Vida & Plot Twists

the real story

Behind the Scenes of Our Costa Rica Content Trip

11 travelers, 2 vans, 1 baby, and more river crossings than we planned for. Here's what really happened.

This spring, our team packed up and headed to Costa Rica to capture some of our favorite content yet. What started as a simple content trip quickly turned into an adventure none of us will forget.

From jungle backroads in the dark to beaches, boats, waterfalls, and surf breaks — every single day brought a new story. Here's how it all went down.

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Day One

Travel Day: a strong opening scene

The adventure started before we even left Salt Lake — a little car trouble in the airport parking lot set the tone for the week ahead.

Before the trip, we'd been told to rent 4x4 vehicles for Costa Rica's terrain. We decided the vans would be just fine. (This got funnier as the week went on.)

After a layover in Atlanta, we realized one of our travelers' baby car seats had been left at the airport. Every other bag made it to Costa Rica — that one didn't. Lucky for us, the rental company had a backup waiting.

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The Drive

The Great Route Mix-Up: two vans, two very different nights

After a great Mexican dinner, we split into two vans for the Airbnb. One van took a normal paved road. The other got sent through deep jungle backroads — in the dark.

Meanwhile, the other van just kept waiting for the chaos to start. It never did.

Somewhere along the way we learned an important local safety tip: don't walk in the rivers, there are crocodiles. Helpful information. Slightly late.

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The Airbnb

The Crab Era: a true jungle experience

Our first Airbnb fully embraced the jungle experience — several rooms had unexpected nighttime visitors. Crabs skittering across floors, under beds, and (in one unforgettable moment) crawling straight out of a shower drain. Twice.

Sleep quality: varied.

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On Set

Shoot Days: the highs and the curveballs

The kids shoot was a success but a lot to coordinate — outfits, schedules, gear, and tiny humans all at once. Lesson learned: next time, bring extra hands or split it into its own day.

Our underwater housing broke mid-trip, which meant getting creative on the fly. We didn't end up with the underwater shots we hoped for, but the rest of the week more than made up for it.

The surf shoot was a clear highlight — great conditions, strong models, gorgeous scenery, skateboards, surfboards, rain, and pure beach energy. We even spotted a model on the beach mid-shoot and recruited her on the spot. She killed it.

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On The Water

Boat Day: lessons learned the hard way

Boat day taught us a few things fast: too many people on a boat makes shooting nearly impossible (we made the smart call to cut some folks last minute), and boat shoots are draining enough that they shouldn't be paired with a second shoot the same evening.

We also learned the hard way how close some swimsuit colors look in person — double-checking bottoms ahead of time will save a lot of confusion next time.

And yes, we hit a small bump with one of the rental vans, which came with some unplanned costs. By this point, we'd fully accepted that the vans were their own character in this story.

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A Fresh Start

New Airbnb: instant morale boost

Our second Airbnb brought two major upgrades: no crabs, and peaceful showers. Morale improved immediately.

The jungle around us stayed incredible all week — nights filled with wildlife sounds and howler monkeys echoing through the trees made the whole trip feel fully immersive.

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Recharge

The Rest Day: we didn't know we needed

By day three, the sun, the travel, and the nonstop shoot days had caught up with everyone. A built-in reset day gave the team a chance to recharge — some surfed, some relaxed, some explored. Surf lessons were a highlight, even when the waves humbled a few of us quickly.

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The Heart Of It

What Made It special

Beyond the shots and the chaos, the best part of the trip was simply being together — the meals, the inside jokes, the constant checking-in on each other. Having owners, creatives, and photographers all in one place at once doesn't happen often, and it made the whole week feel different in the best way.

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Wrapping Up

Final Night: sunsets and slow mornings

We wrapped the trip with sunsets, monkeys in the trees, ferry rides, and everyone finally slowing down enough to soak it in. The private chefs crushed it all week — tuna, steak, ribs, chicken tacos, fresh salads, banana bread, and a passion fruit cheesecake nobody will stop talking about.

A few more moments we won't forget:

• Baby Roe stealing the show with his giggles (and his first foods)
• A frog landing directly on someone's head at the Airbnb
• Sunset by the pool with howler monkeys as the soundtrack
• 1am In-N-Out the second we landed home
• Jumping into a lake off a rope swing, waterfalls and all
• Nonstop debate over whether the vans would survive one more road

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Looking Ahead

What We're Taking Into the next trip

• 4x4 vehicles. Non-negotiable now.
• Extra hands on kids shoots
• Smaller groups for boat shoots
• A built-in rest day after the first few shoot days
• More backup gear for underwater equipment
• And hopefully — fewer crabs in the bathroom