This week’s Wylde blog is brought to you all the way from tropical Costa Rica – the land of “Pura Vida” directly translated as the Good Life. And a good life it is; Wylde girl Harriet has yet again found herself in the most biodiverse country in Central America painting murals and enjoying the beaches and jungle. Whilst 40C heat certainly isn’t for everyone, it does make for great remote working windows in the middle of the day where it’s too hot to do anything at all. As you know, at Wylde we are huge advocates for hybrid and remote working as we believe not only is it a convenient way to work but actually it facilitates productivity, lowers employee ‘churn’ and promotes ambition!
The nature of being a mural painter means there’s a large amount of travelling… the walls do not come to you – you go to them. Our in-house graffiti artist is eternally grateful for the flexibility and trust we give her when it comes to work travel, but in turn we don’t have to worry about the work being done. Harriet has been working with Wylde for almost 10 years and we can’t imagine a permanent return to the office happening anytime soon! However, for those of you stuck in a more mundane workplace setting, who might be in need of a touch of escapism, here’s some Costa Rican travel tales to whisk you away from your desk!
The trip started as the flight touched down into a 38C Liberia airport – to the north west of the country, fairly close to the Nicaraguan border. The area is significantly drier (and hotter) than the rest of the jungle-covered country – with wildfires becoming a significant problem with rising temperatures and climate change. The first stop was a small town called Villarreal near to the popular beach town Tamarindo. The initial mural project was for a holiday rental called Cabinas Corazon – big leafy mural in brand colours for the side of the cabinas.
Aerosol paints are notoriously difficult to find in jungles and are particularly hard to transport (especially when most of Costa Rica doesn’t have formal addresses!) so it was decided that this mural would be painted with masonry paints. All the tones were mixed from primary colours, black and white – using colour theory knowledge and a small smidgeon of trial and error. The client was thrilled with the on-brand, colourful leafy wall welcoming visitors into their accommodation as soon as they arrive!
Between this mural project and another nearby, Harriet visited the surf hotspot Sàmara for a few days. This beautiful beach destination did not disappoint – rugged landscapes, dramatic coastline and a beautiful beach with the perfect daily tide for surfing. Temperatures soared into the 40s leaving very little to do but sit in the shade and work much days – it’s a hard life!
Check out some of these snaps from her Pura Vida travels!
