Costa Rica: A Creator Expedition

Christopher Roche
2 days ago
3 min read

I've known what I wanted to be since I was little. An adventurer — fueled by Indiana Jones movies, inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, looking up to characters like Nathan Drake, Tintin, and Jack Sparrow. I knew I wanted to see the world, meet amazing people, and maybe find a little buried treasure along the way.

The Modern Xplorer is an extension of that childhood dream — a way to actually make it happen. Maybe there's no buried treasure waiting for me out there. But those stories were the biggest inspiration of my life, and they're the reason I've always been drawn to storytelling. Hence, The Modern Xplorer.

That brings me to this post — and to the next step in the adventure.

The Expedition

Roughly 2 hours from now, I'm heading to Costa Rica.

This trip marks the beginning of something I've been turning over in my head for a while: Creator Expeditions — a series of trips built around creative collaboration, storytelling on the road, and finding out what happens when you stop planning and start moving. The idea is simple: bring together people who make things, put them somewhere unfamiliar, and see what comes out of it.

For this first run, I'm going with two of the best people I could ask for.

Meet the Crew

Spencer is a podcaster, photographer, and drone operator. He's the guy who shows up with the right lens for every shot and the instinct to know exactly when to use it. If there's a story in the frame, Spencer will find it — and then he's going to fly a drone over it for good measure. Follow his work here: @spencer.is.a.story

Wynn is a videographer. He sees in motion, sequences, light, the way a moment unfolds on screen. If this expedition produces anything worth watching, a lot of that is going to be his doing. Follow him here: @wy_photo_video

The three of us have never traveled together. We've never worked together in the field. This trip is as much about figuring out how we operate as a unit as it is about Costa Rica itself.

That's the whole point.

Why Pavones

This isn't a pin I threw at a map of trendy surf towns. Pavones is personal.

My aunt and uncle have called it home for years, where they own and operate a sustainable fruit farm. I've been lucky enough to visit a handful of times. There's a whole story in that place — the farm, the people, the slow mornings that start with roosters and jungle birds — but that's a piece for when we're on the ground.

The Questions We're Going to Answer

Here's the honest part: I don't know how this is going to go. And I mean that in the best possible way.

Can three creative people make something better together than any one of us could alone? Does the Creator Expedition idea actually hold up in the field — or does it fall apart the second the wifi drops and the heat sets in? What does our gear really do when it's wet, sandy, and exhausted, instead of sitting pretty on a desk back home?

And the big one: what's the story that shows up when you finally stop planning and start moving?

I don't have the answers yet. That's why we're going.

What's on the way

If this works — and I think it will — there's going to be a lot to share. Gear reviews from the field. Reflections on the trip itself. Stories from the people we meet. Pieces about the food that shaped the experience. Interviews with Spencer and Wynn. "What's in our bags" breakdowns. And, hopefully, a promise: that this is just the first of many.

More than anything, this is me getting back in the saddle — moving toward that childhood dream again, one step at a time. And none of it would mean much without you.

So to everyone who's stuck around this long: thank you. Truly. You are the reason I get to do the thing I love.

Let's get exploring. More soon.

— Chris

Follow the crew: Spencer · Wynn · The Modern Xplorer