Finding the world’s happiest person
National Geographic once called me the world’s happiest person.
Well, not me, per se, but somebody else named Alejandro Zúñiga who also lives in Costa Rica.
In the November 2017 issue of National Geographic, the magazine’s cover story began with the following paragraph:
“Who is the world’s happiest person?
It may be Alejandro Zúñiga, a healthy, middle-aged father who socializes at least six hours a day and has a few good friends he can count on. He sleeps at least seven hours most nights, walks to work, and eats six servings of fruits and vegetables most days. He works no more than 40 hours a week at a job he loves with co-workers he enjoys. He spends a few hours every week volunteering; on the weekends he worships God and indulges his passion for soccer. In short he makes daily choices that favor happiness, choices made easier because he lives among like-minded people in the verdant, temperate Central Valley of Costa Rica.”
I’m not a father, and I probably eat six servings of fruits and vegetables total each month (sorry, mom), but it’s been my goal to meet Alejandro Zúñiga for the last two years.
In the final week of 2019, I set off to find the other Alejandro Zúñiga. Here’s how it went:
Click here if you can’t see the embedded video.
We’ll have more from the world’s happiest person in the coming days, so stay tuned!
You may be interested

Immigration to headline talks between Biden, Lopez Obrador
AFP - March 1, 2021The flow of migrants and trade, legal and illegal, across the US-Mexican border will be the focus Monday when President…

Costa Rica has administered nearly 150,000 vaccine doses
Alejandro Zúñiga - March 1, 2021Costa Rica has administered 149,812 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Presidency said Monday. The nearly 150,000 jabs mean…

Bikes have a right to the road, MOPT reminds
The Tico Times - March 1, 2021The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) is reminding drivers that cyclists have a right to the road. In a…