How meeting one abandoned dog flipped my life upside down.

Tomáš Petr Start Date: Jul 31, 2023 - End Date: Jul 30, 2024
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My Travel Story

by: Tomáš Petr Start Date: Jul 31, 2023 - End Date: Jul 30, 2024
Hello there! Please allow me to share with you my story from Costa Rica.

I admit, that visiting Central America was my dream came true and I had worked incredibly hard to make it real. So right after I graduated from Zoology I did all I could to earn money needed for the travel. I arrived to this tropical paradise on beggining of November 2022.
During my 9 month trip I've decided to participate in two volunteer programs. The first experience was in overpopulated animal shelter in San Lorenzo with mainly dogs, cats and other animals, taken care by incredibly hardworking people. The second volunteering experience was a conservationist project for endangered Great Green Macaw parrots in northern Costa Rica. We were climbing mountain almond trees and checking a state of local population of parrots and ensuring their chicks in cavities are safe.

All changed one day of the fieldwork just when we were returning to a car.
Along a deserted road near the old abandoned  farm on the edge of the forest, I saw a dog lying in the grass while friendly wiggling with his tail. I came closer because animals of all kind attract me so much. On the first sight it was extremely skinny female and had coat full of parasites. I told the two other colleagues  that we must not leave her on this remote place, because apparently she had no more than few days left if not getting any food.
Thus, we took her with us and named her Maya. She is so senstitive and lovely soul. I wonder how much suffering she had to endure in order to survive on her own. With my friend Alex, we payed her all the veterinary appointments and she got tremendously better. But then my finances went low. In fact they would have gone otherwise, it was a toll of travelling and paying my own bills while volunteering. We had Maya in our house for another two months and my bond with her has grown into a firm one.
Eventually the parrot project ended earlier than it should have, and I stood between decision to use my last money for buying flight ticket home as I planed long time ago or to stay with Maya in Costa Rica and continue with extremely tight budget and with no sight of getting a payed job. I had decided I will follow my heart that day. I bought a tent and started with Maya a journey to Southern Caribbean area of Costa Rica. This area is perfectly suitable for camping and is known for its warm climate. I'll skip the details for this post, but overall it was quite exhausting and super difficult with an extremely tight budget of money to get anywhere.

Nevertheless, we made it. Here we are. We are happy, we are healthy, we are together. Every night we sleep in our tent on the beach, and regularly access nearby camp for shower and electricity. The only substantial thing we miss right now are funds for the next weeks of travel. I am unable to obtain a job legally in this country as I lack working permit. All I can do is to look for another volunteering job, but I am not able to obtain any work position I could gain money from in order to be able to continue my journey.
To be honest I am very worried about the day I will run out of money completely and gonna have to flight back. I don't want to leave Maya here. The bond we have together is way too strong now.

And so through this site I would ask you for any finacial help so I am able to continue on my journey with Maya. I would be so grateful for any amount of money as it can add more days / weeks for my travels. Cost calculator includes potential expenses for another 3 months, while taking into account local cost of living in Costa Rica & insurence in my country.
My current milestones are:
1. to be able to afford to move from a tent to a house for rent & have place to cook and acces to a wifi
2. to be able to afford to buy a laptop for accessing the virtual job market
3. start to earn my own money
4. and ultimately save enough money to continue freely without a fear of falling into financial trap again

Thank you from bottom of my heart  for your potential help and also for reading all the way to the end of this letter. 
Tomáš

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