32 Photos of Some of the Most Amazing People We’ve Met on our Travels

(part 1 of 2)

What made our experiences so special were the people we met, shared time & experiences with. Some we knew before but most we met on our travels, all of which we consider friends & family. This is part 1 of the “Friends” group.

These wonderful people were a source of inspiration to us, all living amazing lives. Some were volunteering, some were creating programs for high risk groups, some worked with children. Others simply lived from their inspiration and were found themselves exploring the world. All of their paths crossed with ours, and for that we are grateful. The one thing they all had in common was the joy they brought into our lives through our meeting.

Friendships on the road are usually more intense. I wrote a blog post about friendships and saying goodbye, some time ago, here.

These are our  1st 500 Days of travel  in pictures. Miro and I left on our journey on mid 2009 and (with the exception of  one trip back to the states for Burning Man a month later) there has been no turning back! Our 1st 500 Days span from July 1, 2009 to November 13, 2010. To commemorate the 1st 500 Days, Miro and I have pulled 500 of our favorite images from our journey  to share with you. We are releasing a new batch of photos every couple of days until we’ve shared all 500 of  our favorite moments. So please do check back often. We are not professional photographers and like many, the reason we take photos is to help preserve  memories of our travels. We invite you to peek into the moments that make our travels so special to us. Enjoy!

Here is Part 4 of The 1st 500 Days in Pictures – Some of the Most Amazing People We’ve Met on our Travels

Beautiful Roxanne, tempting us with a delicious cake.
Who could resist? (Roxanne is featured in Podcast Episode #1)

Josh was our first roommate in our apartment in Antigua.
He’s one of the founders of a volunteer tourism company called Encounter.

Chris and Katja in our living room in Antigua. We met Katja a year before in Costa Rica and Chris couchsurfed with us as his first stop when he officially moved to Guatemala .
Katja translates spanish to english in Podcast Episode #3, and Chris is featured in Podcast Episode #7.

Patrick, a beautiful soul, traveling Central and South America in pursuit of  spiritual community.
Patrick is from Germany.

Juanito, our wonderful friend from Zaragoza, Spain. We spent a month with Juantio in December 2009 and he became family to us, and yes, that’s a stuffed chicken on his head. (Grathias Compadre!)

Bree! A spunky Canadian couchsurfer who stayed with us in Antigua.

Diego, a Guatemalan who we traveled with a little in Guatemala.
2 things about Diego: He love firecrackers & his eyes turn into tiny slits when he has too much Indita.

Julian is an amazing photographer and a  wonderful playful spirit from Germany, we met through couchsurfing.

We met Reba and her beautiful family (the Gato Tribe) in Liberia, Costa Rica & couchsurfed with them for a couple of days. Her daughter Ama drew the Miro design on her mom’s arm so both mommies would have a Miro tattoo.

This Elana demonstrating how to suck the sugar out of the cane on her spice farm called Finca Amanecer in Costa Rica.

We met Natalia in Costa Rica, even though she was from Argentina. Infections smile and wonderful energy.

Eduardo and Calle, from Costa Rica. Miro and I couchsurfed with him twice!

Anto, Eduardo’s roommate. He’s a college professor and a great cook!

Iris was our first couchsurfer host in Costa Rica. She met us at the airport and her huge smile did not cease the entire time we stayed with her. Iris is originally from Austria. We love this girl!

Monolo in Cancun, Mexico. We mention him and Eric (below) in several posts
about Cancun and  in Podcast Episode #14

Eric, Monolo’s partner in Cancun, Mexico, mentioned  in Podcast Episode #14

Beautiful Cyndi, a woman who’s become a dear friend.
We met her through couchsurfing, stayed with her in Playa Del Carmen, then traveled
with her to Merida and Belize. We had such a great time together!

Another amazing photo of Juantito, in the pool in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Ingeborg!
We loved her so much from the moment we met her.
She is from Norway and couchsurfed with us in Antigua, Guatemala.

Jose is another couchsurfer, from Spain.

We also met Paul, through couchsurfing and we fell in love with his kind spirit immediately.
We interview him in Podcast Episode #14 about his adventures in Mexico.

Stijn, from Holland,  couchsurfed with us for a few weeks in Antigua while he finished up his thesis.
Carla is his lovely girlfriend from Costa Rica.

Joseph couchsurfed with us & contributed to some wonderful conversations.
He is a Canadian who studied philosophy.

Juan Pablo was like family to us, for the 8 months we stayed in Guatemala.
We met via a couchsuring post looking for travel companions.
We traveled around the country for 1 month and he is a large part of the reason we stayed in
Guatemala for as long as we did and we truly miss him now that we’re gone.

My beautiful mother and close, close friend sitting, overlooking the lake in San Pedro, Lake Atitlan.
I can’t wait for her next visit, where ever that may be.

Canadian Alex, our internet cafe buddy. We became friends during our two month stay in Granada.

Jay, an ex-hippy  from somewhere down south, Costa Rican transplant and riddled with a troubled past.
We met him in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and had a very intense friendship as he opened up his life to us.
Much love to Jay and hope our paths cross again!

Our friend Kyle Lapp from 42 Hitchhikers

Friend and fellow couchsurfing nomad Joe from
Episode #6,  – Modern Day Nomads, Nomadic People and a World of Travelers

Friend from LA at the brewery, actually, Ronnie. He traveled through Guatemala, and we spent time together in Antigua and Lake Atitlan. This picture was taken at a music festival in Santiago.

Lainie with Italian friend and volunteer Viola in Antigua.

There are more friends we’ve met and wish to honor. Please check back as we post more friends.