Married to Paradise by Lana Wedmore & Lesley S. King

Author:Lana Wedmore & Lesley S. King [Lana Wedmore & Lesley S. King]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WriteLife Publishing
Published: 2020-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

I worked relentlessly selling tours, but it was hard to sit at a desk because I wanted to be out exploring my new home country. Between clients I gazed at the posters for the trips we were selling, especially the one of the ocean and rainforest in Corcovado. The coast there looked untamed, with black sand, gnarled driftwood, and huge waves that I could almost hear in my imagination. Something about that lush wildness captured my attention and wouldn’t let go.

Still, dedicated worker that I was, I put my heart into the job and sold hundreds of trips.

One day my boss called me into his office and asked me if I wanted to be a guide. Joy bubbled up inside me, and I beamed a big smile at him as I told him I’d love to.

He sent me out on single- and multi-day trips. Sometimes, I took people to the dock where they caught the boat to Tortuguero. From there, they headed off on their adventure. Other times I accompanied them and took visitors up into the cloud forest at Monteverde, explaining the history of the area as we traveled. Tourism was just starting in Costa Rica, generating a great deal of excitement. Travelers experienced an unspoiled land, and I got to do it with them.

I was so full of delight I could hardly contain it. I loved meeting people and getting to know them. And as I traveled, I imagined my own lodge. At each hotel we stayed in, I evaluated the experience and picked up ideas about what to do and what not to do.

One day we were in a bus on the winding mountain road that led to Monteverde. I stood at the front and faced the passengers as I explained the history of the area. After I finished my talk, I sat next to a couple from Minnesota. I asked them about their lives, and they asked about mine. I said directly to the man, “Someday, I’m going to have my own hotel here in Costa Rica.”

“Really?” he said.

“Yeah, I want to share this amazing place with others.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. I’m really sure. This is my goal.”

“Okay,” he said. He sat up taller, and I saw him owning some identity, his super-businessman self, with his finely clipped hair and neat fingernails. “I just want you to know, Lana, that it’s going to be the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning, and the last thing you think about when you go to bed.”

I nodded. I was already doing this.

He looked me straight in the eye. “Hire the least number of employees you can have, because they’re a pain in the bum.”

Again I nodded, hungry for his wisdom.

“When you build, it’s going to cost five times more than you ever thought.”

This warning did not deter me. I didn’t care. This was my dream. I thanked him for his sound advice.

We arrived in Monteverde, and I was more determined than I’d ever been.

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