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Spin the Globe Project

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Pura Vida: A Lesson from 70 days in Central America

updated on February 13, 2019July 16, 20181 Comment on Pura Vida: A Lesson from 70 days in Central America

About Me

Welcome! I’m Anna, a nomadic storyteller with an appetite for adventure and a passion for social justice and sustainability. Hence why I backpacked around the globe solo, traveled in a tiny home on wheels for 4 years, and now I’m based out of a small off-grid house building a sustainable farmstead.

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After 2 years of living off grid in the middle of

After 2 years of living off grid in the middle of nowhere on 5 acres in our 760 sqft house…we decided (for many reasons) it’s time for some more space. So, we bought this house on 40+ acres with my mom (who will be moving here in 2023). This house is about 1100 sqft (so a small upgrade that feels huge to us).

We love our original little house, and even though this new house is only a 5-minute drive away, it’s been emotional for me. We plan on renting out our old house for a bit and then selling it.

We’ve been wanting more space for some time, because we want to start a family, because we want room for guests, because my mom had been planning on moving to our land, and because living and working with your partner 24/7 in a tiny space can be tough, especially when you live at high elevation in a climate where it’s very cold 4-6 months out of the year, so you don’t spend as much time outside.

We’ve also been dreaming of starting a proper farm/animal sanctuary with larger animals, and we wanted more land for that. This new place is also the reason we foster failed and decided we could take on 2 more dogs (and became a household of 4 large dogs).

More details and a house tour coming soon…

We foster failed (again)!! 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏼‍♂️Welcome to our family Goose! 💛🐶 we’ve been calling him grey goose and silly goose as well, because he’s a goof.

Prior to these puppies, we already had 2 female mixed breed rescue dogs from the Navajo Nation (@novaandjuniper) who are 2 and 3 years old. So now we have a full house 🐶🐶🐶🐶

Don’t mind me, 🥶I’m just doing farm chores

Don’t mind me, 🥶I’m just doing farm chores at 8.8k feet in elevation in mid November.

In December of 2019, after a decade of visiting 50

In December of 2019, after a decade of visiting 50+ countries, I flew from India back to the states. I had no idea then that this would be my last international trip for 3 years and counting.

I had identified so fiercely with being a globetrotter, and vanlife easily filled that desire to wander.

But the pandemic really threw a wrench into my plans by forcing me to stay still. It thrust me into a bit of an identity crises and made me feel an intense urge to DO SOMETHING, anything new and exciting. I also had a deep desire for stability, something my life up until this point had severely lacked. Hence Ryan and I buying an off grid house in the middle of nowhere.

Now, the pace of which I achieve my goals is dramatically different, and so are my goals themselves.

But the slowness of my days has grown on me and it will never stop amazing me how many lifestyles can feel like a perfect fit.

My days have become pretty simple. In addition to

My days have become pretty simple.

In addition to managing 2 accommodations on Airbnb, I work on my computer and phone to create content here and there for my blog and social media.

But the amount of hours I work has dramatically decreased from my past 9-5s or the insane hours I worked when I first dove head first into becoming a freelancer over 5 years ago.

When I quit my non profit job in NYC, I wasn’t dreaming of this lifestyle by any means. I was trying to survive because my toxic work environment had manifested into physical symptoms. I had no clue where my choice would lead, but I knew I needed to make a choice. So I hopped on a plane across the world because it was cheaper than staying in the city. That eventually led me back to living with my mom and a bartending job while I converted a cargo van into my home. And that mobile home led me to learning how to make money online, and volunteering on organic farms where I planted the seed that I’d have my own farm one day. And that journey led me to a chance encounter with a man who wanted similar things.

Together, over the past 3 years, we’ve gained flexibility, a healthier work life balance, and now we dictate our own schedules and we’re focused on slowing down and savoring moments.

The key for us has been about lowering our cost of living, which comes with sacrifices. But they have been ones we’re happy to exchange for our freedom from the rat race.

Some call it running away from your problems, but

Some call it running away from your problems, but I stand by the fact that traveling is the most educational, empowering and healing thing I’ve ever done.

Oops we did it again…👩🏻‍🌾🚴‍♂️🐕🐕 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐶 introducing our newest family member, Bandit 💛

Somehow this was our only backpacking trip of the

Somehow this was our only backpacking trip of the year together. It rained the whole time, it was freezing, and because of the weather, we had to cut it short a day and a night. But looking back on it now, it makes me smile.

So much of my life has been an exercise in getting through something, and I wish I had taken more time in the uncomfortable parts to soak up the whole of each experience. Because even in the rain and the cold my life has offered me so many beautiful moments, but I’ve often been to distracted to appreciate them.

Merriam Webster—Off-grid: not connected to or se

Merriam Webster—Off-grid: not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (such as electricity, gas, or water)

Oxford Dictionary—1. not using the public supplies of electricity, gas, water, etc. 2. an off-the-grid house, independent of traditional utility services

Dictionary.com— “Off-Grid” (adjective, adverb): not connected to or using one or more public utilities, as for electricity or water.

Collins Dictionary—“Off-Grid”: 1. not using public utilities, esp the supply of electricity

Moral of the story: living off grid can look different for different people, because there is not one way to be off-grid. But ultimately it means not being dependent on a city/town public/private power grid supply (e.g. using solar electric or wind energy) and/or not being connected to a city/town’s water or sewage system. In the eyes of mortgage lenders, not having access to a power grid, water lines and sewage are what make a home off-grid.

For us it means we get our electricity from the sun, we haul and collect our water and we have a septic tank and grey water system for sewage and water waste. Oh and we stay connected thanks to the magic of satellite internet.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

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