Nikki Solano

11 years ago, Nikki Solano boarded a plane to Costa Rica for the first time. Immediately, she fell in love: with the consistently warm weather, the landscape lined with beaches and waterfalls and the genuinely friendly people greeting each other with a smile. To her, Costa Rica is as close as it gets to paradise and she's felt at home ever since. One of her favourite things about living in Costa Rica is the pura vida lifestyle that encourages her to notice the little things: the sweet trill of a marimba instrument, the comradery that comes from "futbol fever" and the savoury crunch of chicharrones. What she loves most, though, is how much Costa Ricans love Costa Rica and how proud they are of their beautiful country.