🌿 Dispatches from the Jungle 🌿

A Queer Expat Blog for the Bold, the Curious, and the Deeply Alive

Welcome to Dispatches from the Jungle — a lifestyle blog at the intersection of queer identity, creative freedom, and midlife reinvention. I’m Waymon Hudson: a late-deafened writer, Broadway musical creator, and marketing futurist living loud in the jungles of Costa Rica.

This isn’t just a blog. It’s a digital campfire — a place for stories about joy, grief, surf sessions, messy growth, and gorgeous resistance. Whether I’m writing about life as a queer expat, the behind-the-scenes of building a Broadway show, or what it’s like to rewire your life at 45, you’ll find it all here. Raw, real, and radically hopeful.

Subscribe to read about:

🌈 LGBTQ+ life in Costa Rica and beyond

📖 Memoir-style reflections on healing, identity & reinvention

🧠 Marketing insights and brand storytelling with soul

🏄 Jungle living, dogs, and imperfect adventures

✨ The creative chaos of art, activism, and starting over

Ready for a blog that doesn’t just inform — but connects, uplifts, and sparks something real?

👉 Subscribe on Substack or explore the latest dispatches below.

🌟 Featured Posts🌟

Miss Addie stands center stage in the Velvet Boot nightclub set, hands raised as she sings with power and vulnerability, surrounded by the queer community she is finally stepping into.

I Carried the Sound: When Broadway Passes the Torch of Legacy

How Miss Addie becomes the Velvet Boot’s new heartbeat... and how queer survival becomes triumph in Broadway's Speakeasy: A New Musical.

Close-up portrait of Waymon Hudson with soft snowflakes in his hair, looking off-camera with a calm, introspective expression. Shot outdoors in winter. Image highlights the emotional, intimate tone of his holiday single “Christmas in the Quiet,” an orchestral ballad about grief and quiet Christmas moments.

🎶 Christmas in the Quiet: The Holiday Song for the Empty Chair

“Christmas in the Quiet” is the holiday song for the years we don’t talk about—the ones filled with memory, grief, and the ache of an empty chair. Here’s the intimate story behind Waymon Hudson’s newest winter ballad.

The Watchers: Broadway’s Anthems of Witness

“The Watchers” is the queer spiritual core of Speakeasy — a sacred Broadway anthem about survival, chosen family, and the power of witnessing each other.

🌍 Travel & Jungle Life

Tropical adventures, expat insights, and the wild beauty of life off the beaten path. These posts offer travel stories, Costa Rica living tips, and reflections on home, nature, and reinvention.

Two smiling men exploring the city together, representing LGBTQ travelers enjoying Costa Rica’s safe and welcoming atmosphere.

LGBTQ Costa Rica: The Real Queer Guide to Paradise

From marriage equality to rainbow beaches, discover what life is really like for queer and trans travelers in Costa Rica — where Pura Vida means everyone belongs.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Nov 125 min read

Costa Rica Expat Challenges: The Hard Stuff No One Posts on Instagram

Living in Costa Rica isn’t all sunsets and smoothie bowls. From driving chaos to missing Amazon Prime, here’s the truth about expat life — and why it’s still worth it.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Nov 54 min read

Person using a laptop on a wooden table near turquoise ocean water in Costa Rica, symbolizing digital nomad and work-from-paradise lifestyle.

Remote Work in Costa Rica: Jungle Wi-Fi, Time Zones, and the Digital Nomad Life

Thinking of working remotely from Costa Rica? It’s absolutely possible — if you plan for more than sunsets. From reliable jungle Wi-Fi and coworking spots to the Digital Nomad Visa, here’s how to make remote work actually work in paradise.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Oct 295 min read

Green sign reading “Se Habla Español,” symbolizing Spanish language learning and communication in Costa Rica.

Learning Spanish in Costa Rica: A Fun (and Honest) Guide for Expats Who Aren’t 22 Anymore

Learning Spanish in Costa Rica isn’t about grammar drills — it’s about connection. From affordable local tutors to slang like pura vida and tuanis, here’s how to learn the language, embrace the culture, and stop pointing at menus in panic.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Oct 224 min read

Three friends playing under a massive waterfall in Costa Rica, smiling and throwing peace signs while standing on the rocks.

Building Your Jungle Crew in Costa Rica: How to Make Friends, Find Community, and Actually Live the Pura Vida Life

Costa Rica gives you sunsets and surf… but the real magic? The people. 🌴 From neighbors with fruit to drag shows in San José, here’s how building community in Costa Rica makes expat life joyful, easy, and pura vida.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Oct 155 min read

Culture Shock in Costa Rica: Why It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me (Pura Vida, Baby)

Culture shock in Costa Rica isn’t about struggling to adapt — it’s about unlearning toxic hustle habits and embracing pura vida. From long dinners to daily greetings, life here runs on connection, not speed. It slowed me down, made me present, and taught me to live in a way that actually feels human.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Oct 84 min read

Pets in Paradise: Bringing Your Dog or Cat to Costa Rica — and Why You Might Adopt One Here

Pets in Costa Rica are part of the pura vida lifestyle. Bringing your dog or cat is easier than you think — no quarantine for healthy pets from the U.S., Canada, or Europe. Affordable vet care, friendly landlords, and a vibrant rescue scene make this a true pet paradise. I brought one dog with me and adopted three rescues here (Daisy, Rose, and Iris). Here’s everything you need to know about importing pets, living with them, and maybe meeting your next best friend in the jung

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Oct 15 min read

🌴 The Pura Vida Diet: Farmers’ Markets, Fresh Food Culture, and What to Skip at the Grocery Store in Costa Rica

Costa Rica food culture is fresh, affordable, and pura vida. Shop at ferias for fruit that puts the U.S. organic aisle to shame, eat $5 casados at local sodas, and stock up on Lizano sauce and tortillas. Skip overpriced imports and embrace gallo pinto, fresh coffee, and plantains as staples. Here’s how to eat like a local in Costa Rica.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Sep 245 min read

How to Be a Good Immigrant in Costa Rica (a.k.a. Don’t Be “That” Expat)

Moving to Costa Rica? You’re not just an expat—you’re an immigrant and a guest. From respecting pura vida to paying into Caja, hiring locals, shopping at the feria, and learning Spanish, being a good immigrant means giving back as much as you get. Do that, and Costa Rica won’t just welcome you—it’ll love you back. 🌴

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Sep 175 min read

Healthcare in Costa Rica — Public vs Private & Everything In Between

Costa Rica healthcare is one of the best in Latin America — affordable, reliable, and inclusive. From public care (Caja) to private hospitals, here’s how the system works, what it costs, how to access medications, and why many expats use both. Plus: LGBTQ inclusivity and why residency means paying into the system that supports you

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Sep 103 min read

Residency in Costa Rica: How to Stay Legally (Without the Border-Run Headache)

Residency in Costa Rica isn’t just paperwork — it’s the key to living here sustainably. From digital nomad and retiree visas to LGBTQ protections, here’s how to stay legally, pay into the system that supports you, and trade border runs for pura vida runs.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Sep 35 min read

Thinking of Moving to Costa Rica? Cost of Living, Rent & Reality Check

Thinking of moving to Costa Rica? 🌴 It’s paradise — but not without a price tag. From rent in San José to beach town budgets, utilities, and even $8 peanut butter, here’s what expat life really costs. Before you pack your bags, get the real breakdown on living the Pura Vida lifestyle.

The Pura Vida Diaries: Costa Rica

Waymon Hudson

Aug 275 min read

Swimming under El Pavón waterfall in Costa Rica — jungle plunge pool meets queer joy in the tropics.

Moving to Costa Rica: Why I Chose Here Out of Anywhere in the World

Costa Rica wasn’t my escape. It was my alignment — a country that chose peace, protects nature like it’s Beyoncé, and lets me live openly as a queer expat. If you’ve ever wondered ‘Could I move to Costa Rica?’ …this is your sign.

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Expat Life

Waymon Hudson

Aug 206 min read

The Dogs, the Jungle, and the Joy: My Costa Rica Queer Expat Life Reboot

What do burnout, a jungle surf town, and three small rescue dogs have in common? They saved my life. This is the story of how I left corporate chaos behind, rebooted my queer joy, and wrote a Broadway musical with parrots screaming in the background.

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Expat Life

Waymon Hudson

Jul 143 min read

Queer man standing shirtless at the base of a lush Costa Rican waterfall, surrounded by jungle — symbolizing queer freedom, anti-hustle living, and expat joy.

The Anti-Hustle Queer Expat Life: How I Left Burnout Behind and Found Joy in the Jungle

After burnout, political exhaustion, and being harassed for being gay, I left the U.S. and moved to Costa Rica. I didn’t quit working — I quit the grind. What I found was queer joy, jungle stillness, rescued dogs, and a life that finally made space for me to breathe, create, and be fully myself.

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Expat Life

Waymon Hudson

Jul 113 min read

Collage of historic LGBTQ+ protest photos, including signs reading “Gay Power,” “Stonewall Was a Police Riot,” and “Gay Riots Now” — representing Pride as protest and the radical roots of queer activism.

How Queer Joy Became My Protest (and Why It Still Matters Today)

Queer joy is protest. It saved my life — and now I write stories that use it like glitter-covered armor.

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Expat Life

Waymon Hudson

Jun 273 min read