"Cold beer, eccentric expats, and eavesdropping howler monkeys—you might just buy a one-way ticket to this gritty little tourist town in Costa Rica."
—Nadine Hays Pisani, author of Happier than a Billionaire
About Willa
Willa Goodfellow likes to travel. In college she hitchhiked through Germany and cleaned hotel rooms in Liechtenstein. She comet gazed in Australia and camped in Arches National Park. She gambled in Mexico and won a pasta-making contest in Tuscany. She swam in the Irish Sea. No, she jumped in, screamed, and jumped out. It was cold! She also likes to write. Some of her best stories come from sitting still and listening at the Pato Loco, her sister’s bar in Costa Rica. But today she listens to pub tales in County Kerry, Ireland, where she lives now. There's more to come!
About A Gritty Little Tourist Town
A gritty little tourist town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica is the setting for daily gatherings of expats who came looking for paradise, or at least cheap beer. Meet Mama—the blind 72 year old co-owner of the Pato Loco (Crazy Duck) along with her daughter and partner Mary—the bartender and installation artist, Richie—an aging hippie who speaks seldom but you always want to hear it, and more. Humor, adventure, pathos, family—strangers who become a community by telling one story at a time.
Praise
"A delightful tour with characters sketched in such detail you feel you know them, you've met them, and you want to join their next episode."
—Sue Katein, co-author, Cakewalks
Willa Goodfellow did a magnificent job of giving readers insight to people who’ve forged lives and experiences in out-of-the-way beach communities in Costa Rica.
—Rose Alston, CTC, Owner of Rose Alston Travel, Platinum Agency Affiliate of Travel Planners International, Inc.
"With humor and pathos, the author gives detailed descriptions of the human and animal residents, food, and locale, that make one yearn for a laid-back lifestyle."
—Evelyn LaTorre, Author, Between Inca Walls and Love in Any Language
Also by Willa
“Brilliantly written, engaging from the first page... like a great evening at a first-rate comedy club… except that it is deadly serious.”
—Ellen Frank, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburg School of Medicine
Latest Substack Articles
What's Next
- The Irish Tea Ceremony - Four Offers RequiredMe: Hello!
- Publicans and Priests - On Holding a CommunityMary always said that she and I had the same job, just different locations.
- It's Here! The Advanced Reader Copy of A Gritty Little Tourist TownTo follow my progress: