Meet the Paradise Catchers

Girl meets boy. They fall in love. They live happily ever after.

Really, that is our story!

But, you may argue, isn’t that the story of all (loving) couples? You bet! However, what differs from one couple to another is the definition of happiness.

For us, our “happily ever after” consists of delectable food, thought-provoking cinema and soul satisfying travel.

Hello! We are Pubali and Indranil. Welcome to our world.

Paradise Catchers in Uvita. A waterfall in the jungle forming the background of this couple, the man wearing a blue shirt and the woman
Happy faces, in Uvita

Paradise Catchers: What is this site about?

Paradise Catchers travel blog is our passion project where we share with you our findings about cool places to eat and amazing things to do in awesome destinations, often sprinkled with stories about interaction with local people.

You must have figured by now that we have a burning passion for travel. We wish to catch paradise on earth.

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

Susan Sontag

We do want to see the world but we are in no rush. At the moment, we are in the process of discovering more of Latin America and Caribbean, with a heavy focus on Costa Rica. Through our photos, destination guides and travel stories, we want to take you on our journeys and hopefully help you plan your trips in this part of the world.

Erstwhile a place for personal travel scribbles for family and friends, Paradise Catchers was formally launched as a travel blog in the year 2019.

Man wearing grey t-shirt, red cap and sunglasses, woman wearing blue t-shirt, beige cap and sunglasses, posing for a selfie on the hanging bridge at Selvatura Park, Monteverde.
Hanging bridge in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Where are we located? Where are we from?

We live in Costa Rica, a tropical paradise that features high on the travel bucket list of many around the world. See, our brand name already aligns with where we live, isn’t it?

But, we are originally from India. Born and brought up in Kolkata, we spent about a decade living in other major cities too, like Mumbai and Bangalore. Each of these three cities has a distinct character and charm of its own, and a pronounced culture which we immersed ourselves in while living in these cities. We think that explains why we have a tendency to analyze the inherent culture of all the places we travel to.

In May 2018, our exposure to new cultures shifted from national to global when we moved to Costa Rica. While living in a naturally exotic country like Costa Rica is an everyday fulfilling experience, its geographic location has also opened before us avenues of exploring other countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Paradise Catchers, at the top of Huayana Picchu mountain. Machu Picchu in the background.
At the top of Huayana Picchu mountain, Machu Picchu in the background

Paradise Catchers and Travel

When did we start traveling

Having been raised in Bengali middle class households, travel has always been an important component of our lives. To give you some context, most Bengali families aim to save every penny to go to mountains, beaches and jungles, even if they are struggling to make both ends meet. So, individually, both of us have been traveling with our respective families since early childhood.

As a couple, we have been traveling together for more than a decade now.

Paradise Catchers at the snowy Baralacha La, on the way from Manali to Leh.
At Baralach La, on the way from Manali to Leh.

Our Idea of Travel

When we say ‘travel’, we mean exploring new places. No matter the distance or the duration. We do not subscribe to the idea of only full-time travel or only international travel being considered as true travel experience.

Whether you spend a few days in a country like Cuba, or watch the super moon rise from behind the mighty Himalayas, all these moments will be stacked into your life memories. So, to us, every travel experience counts!

Full-time Travel or Full-time Job?

In case you were wondering, no, we have not quit our jobs to travel. At least, not yet. But, despite working high pressure corporate jobs, we have always found the time to explore new places, whether for a day trip or a weekend getaway or a few weeks at a stretch.

May be some day we will quit our jobs to travel, but believe it or not, we do like our jobs. So, not just travel, you can connect with us even if you want to discuss machine learning algorithms or probability concepts 🙂

2022 Update: Big change in our life!

Our Style of Travel

We go to the rugged mountains, thousands of feet above sea level, where population count may be only a three digit figure. We spend hours walking in scorching heat to explore the ruins of some kingdom that saw its hay days centuries ago. We hike in cloudforests and rainforests while admiring their majestic flora and fauna. We go to the beach to get inspiration in life and to get that tan.

As you can guess, we like to explore all kind of places. From soaking in natural hot springs to zip-lining over forest canopy, from seeing sloths in the wild to flying over mysterious geoplyphs, from driving on rugged roads to experimenting with food, we are usually open to all kinds of travel experiences.

But if we have to attach a specific name to our travel style, we would term it as ‘active’. We love our days to be filled with several memorable moments, whether we are hiking in the jungle or watching sunsets by the beach.

Sunset at Malpais beach. Man wearing red t-shirt, red cap and sunglasses and woman wearing red spaghetti top, pink hat and sunglasses.
Sunset at Malpais, Costa Rica

Why Paradise Catchers?

It was a fine summer afternoon in the year 2012. We were staying at a jungle tent in Kabini River Lodge. Heading for our afternoon safari, we came out of the tent to find a beautiful bird hanging out at the tree in front of the tent. The black and white bird had a crest and elongated central tail feathers.

Indian Paradise Flycatcher, a black and white bird, resting on the branch on a tree.
Indian Paradise Flycatcher at Kabini River Lodge, India

The bird is called Indian Paradise Flycatcher. The name stuck with me, and later became the inspiration for our travel blog name, Paradise Catchers.

Fun fact, seeing the Paradise Flycatcher for the first time also marked the beginning of our birding journey. Whether spotting a Summer Tanager in an old nature reserve or patiently waiting for a Resplendent Quetzal family, watching and photographing birds constitute integral part of our adventures.

Logo Design Acknowledgement: Thanks to our friend and colleague, Kenneth Alfaro, for giving shape to our vision and creating the logo.

Find us on Social Media

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Paradise Catchers: The Inner Circle

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Contact Us

If you want to know more about Paradise Catchers, if you have questions about traveling and living in Costa Rica or Latin America travel planning, or if you would simply like to connect with us directly, please feel free to write to us.

Paradise Catchers

We are Pubali and Indranil, an Indian couple living in Costa Rica and slow traveling Latin America and Caribbean.

2 thoughts on “Meet the Paradise Catchers”

  1. Hi,
    I am pleasntly glad to find Indian expats in Costa Rica.We are family of 4 and are expats in Zambia.
    I would love to know more about Costa Rica from Indian point of view.We plan to travel once this worldover lockdown is relaxed.My top concern is inability to find flights from Zambia to South America and language.Flights can be sorted but language…..do people understand basic English.I hope people connected to travel industry do but want an inside opinion. Also ,vegetraian food though I normally rent vacation rentals and cook atleast one meal a day but thats out of choice and not compulsion.
    Loved your blog and the beautiful photos espically Nazca lines.

    Reply
    • Hi Pragati,

      Glad to e-meet you. 🙂 Zambia sounds amazing, we hope to visit some day.

      Costa Rica is an awesome choice for a family vacation destination. Hope you can plan to visit once countries start lifting their international border restrictions and when it is safe to travel again.

      Although Spanish is the primary spoken language in Costa Rica, people in the tourism business at the tourist places do speak English. We would still recommend picking up some basic conversational Spanish before traveling here.

      You will get vegetarian options in Costa Rica, but limited, however the options are gradually increasing as vegan has started to gain popularity here.

      Please feel free to drop us an email if you have more questions about Costa Rica. 🙂

      Reply

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