American Laura befriended fellow traveller Adrian, from Costa Rica, while hiking the Inca Trail. When Adrian spontaneously came to visit Laura in the U.S., sparks flew.
They met hiking Machu Picchu but didn't swap details and never expected to meet up again. That's not how it worked outThere’s a photograph of Laura and Adrian on the day they met. It’s a group shot, taken on the outset of an Inca Trail trek in the autumn of 2010.
It was Laura’s close friend, Liz, who persuaded Laura to hike Machu Picchu – exploring the spectacular Inca citadel was Liz’s dream, but Laura was readily talked into it. Before beginning the hike, the travellers had lunch together, making their introductions. In Liz and Laura’s group, there were a handful of other travellers from the U.S., a few from Brazil, a few from Argentina and one guy from Costa Rica: Adrian.
As they began the trek, walking through the farmland of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Laura started talking to one of the South American travellers about her job. She soon found herself struggling to explain risk management and insurance in her then-subpar Spanish.“He walked up to us, and in English was like, ‘Okay, this is what he is trying to tell you.’ And then summarized in Spanish and was like, ‘Okay, this is what she is trying to tell you.’ He served as a translator for both of us.
Later that evening, as the group set up camp at their first campsite, the porters pitching tents and heating up food on portable stoves, Adrian and Laura “talked a little more,” as Adrian recalls it. While Laura liked Adrian’s company and enjoyed learning more about him, and Adrian found himself increasingly drawn to Laura, their dynamic on the Inca Trail was friendly rather than romantic.
“Seeing it live was, to me, way more impressive than all the pictures and documentaries I had seen,” he says. “I remember thinking, should we exchange information or not?” recalls Laura. She remembers turning this thought over in her mind as she and Liz hugged Adrian farewell. The two friends sat on a table outside, chatting about the Machu Picchu experience and watching the world go by as evening descended.
Adrian had intended to head straight to the train station to travel from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco. Instead, he spent the next few hours drinking and chatting with Laura and Liz.They also talked about their respective home countries, and Adrian – only half joking – told the Americans all the things he didn’t like about the U.S.
For Laura, randomly seeing Adrian again “felt a little prearranged, or a little celestial,” she says. She didn’t want to miss the moment again.When Adrian got back to Costa Rica, he immediately sent Laura an email, saying how great it was to meet her. The two started sending messages back and forth, then they switched to phone calls.
Laura had spent most of her money on the trip to Peru. She didn’t have any vacation time left. She wasn’t sure she and Adrian could see each other again any time soon.But then, one day in December 2010, Adrian booked a spontaneous trip to the U.S. He planned to fly into Chicago and visit Liz and Laura over New Year.“I was very excited to see Adrian,” she recalls.
“It was fun,” says Adrian. “I love travelling, so it was just fun to go and do some travelling - and then to be with someone so great.” “He loves Costa Rica, he’s so proud of the country,” she says. “And it was really beautiful to see, from his perspective, what a jewel the country is.” “They were excited for me,” says Adrian. “They know that I love travelling and adventures. So, they were just thinking that that was just another adventure.”
“It felt like Adrian really could see me for who I was,” she says. “And I felt so appreciated by that.” In December 2013, the couple threw a weekend-long wedding party in Costa Rica, featuring a bilingual wedding ceremony and a party that concluded in a traditional carnival – a Costa Rican wedding tradition that turns the last hour or so of the reception into a riotous, colourful celebration.
“It felt so good to be able to, finally, just live in that moment, and feel so much more at peace,” says Laura.Laura started working with Adrian at his father’s insurance company.It was an exciting period, but for Laura, it was also an adjustment, and there were changes to navigate – she was used to living in a U.S. Midwest city, now she lived in a small town in Costa Rica.
Laura and Adrian lived together for several years in Costa Rica, before they made the decision to move to the U.S. There were a number of reasons why they made this decision – not least the desire of Adrian, who still fantasized about snowy Midwestern winters, to experience living in a cold climate. They relocated close to Laura’s family, in Milwaukee.
“Even though we’re raising her in the U.S., we want her to know and love Costa Rica, not only because that’s where Adrian’s family is, but also just because it’s an amazing country,” says Laura. “I want her to feel empowered to be able to go there and be able to feel like she fits in.” During those first few years, Laura’s parents were also an invaluable support and became very close with their granddaughter. Then, in 2023, Laura’s father was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He passed away earlier in 2024.
Adrian thinks this sense of teamwork stems from the strong foundations they established at each stage of their relationship – from their early days as friends, phoning one another from afar; to their period navigating growing a relationship long distance; to Laura’s years in Costa Rica; to Adrian’s move to the U.S. to today, raising their daughter together and navigating life’s ups and downs as a couple.
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