"Pura Vida" in Costa Rica

Anyone writing about Costa Rica has to try to explain pura vida.  The problem is, it's untranslatable. It would seem to mean "pure life," or more broadly, "enjoy life."  A better approximation is "appreciate life." The reason the phrase is important is that it is a unifying principle for the people of Costa Rica, who call themselves Ticos.

Think of the moment on Thanksgiving Day, right before you start to eat, when you focus on what you have to be grateful for. Family. Friends. Life itself.   The chance to do things you enjoy. It is a moment of pura vida.  Now imagine living almost every day pura vida.

Pura vida smooths human relations with clients and strangers, as well as with family and friends. A nice response to gracias in Costa Rica is simply pura vida.

The words don't always have to be said -- just lived. Here's an example of an experience in the town of La Fortuna, which was named for having been lucky enough to have survived a volcanic eruption from Mount Arenal...  On one edge of the town square there is a small shop that sells ice cream and chocolates -- a good combination anywhere. Slava and I went inside to get some ice cream. My husband is loyal to vanilla, and to his distress he saw that the carton  for vanilla was empty. The guy behind the counter saw that vanilla-with-chips, or vanilla-with-nuts wouldn't do, so he offered to scrape whatever he could from the carton -- and wouldn't charge for the cone. Slava ended up with a satisfying tower of his favorite flavor.  He didn't pay the man directly, but he made a donation to the charity box on the counter set to benefit poor children in the area. In response to the shopkeeper's generosity Slava was moved to participate in pura vida. I can tell you that the shopkeeper was pleased.

After the morning visit to the ice cream shop we strolled down the street to scope out the place we expected to have dinner that night. It was a Costa Rican soda, a common kind of inexpensive eatery that is set up with tables and chairs under the protection of a roof, but without the frivolity of walls.  Well, Soda Vaquez turned out to be a good place for casado, a typical Costa Rican dinner. (According to the helpful website Wikipedia, casado means "married man" and may refer to the homestyle eating of a married man -- rice and beans, plantains, salad, tortilla, and maybe some meat.  Or it may refer to rice-and-beans, a joined dish that is essential to casado.) 

As we were perusing the menu at Soda Vaquez and talking with the proprietor, she asked our names. Chatty and friendly. But we were startled when we came back that evening, and from the back of the place the proprietor called out when she saw us, "Slava!  Shirley!" The rest of the guests must have thought that we were old friends of hers.  We were certainly treated that way.

In Puerto Viejo we stayed at a small place called Blue Conga, run by a French-Canadian couple, Marisa and Pierre.   These ex-pats thoroughly understood and embraced pura vida.  Marisa made us breakfast each morning. Pierre offered to take us on an excursion to Cuhuito National Park, a 30 minute drive away. He took us in through the entrance for locals, which did not require an entrance fee, just a donation. Pierre made a donation for the six of us he had brought along, and he spent four hours taking us through the seaside forest, pointing out birds and spiders and frogs and monkeys.  We knew he wouldn't take any payment or tip for his services. Another couple tried unsuccessfully to get him to take money for gas.   In the spirit of pura vida Slava and I gave money to be donated to Cuhuito National Park on his next visit. That Pierre and Marisa accepted.

Note that the spirit of pura vida was shown by a French-Canadian and a Russian-American, as well as by native Ticos.  Around the world it's possible to find lots of people who show compassion, gratitude, and a real appreciation for nature.  What I love about  Costa Rica is that pura vida is the unifying national idea. If more international tourists visit Costa Rica, then maybe the spirit of pura vida can spread around the globe.

Adventure Tourism in Costa Rica

There is a wide variety of adventure tourism possibilities in Costa Rica. Young people can go ziplining and do who-knows-what.   I thought that a sedate gondola ride at tree-top level would be about my speed.  Well, on a trip organized by Gecko Trail Adventures, I found myself white water rafting.

National Geographic calls the challenging rapids and the stunning scenery of the Pacuare River one of the ten river trips in the world.  It goes through a virgin tropical rainforest and features rapids with such ominous names as "Pin Ball," Double Drop," and "Magnetic Rock."

 Well, I made it through the Pacuare rapids only slightly bloodied. I bit my lip at an appropriate time when I didn't have anything constructive to do. And I bloodied my leg on one of the few pieces of metal on the raft.

When we approached our first rapids I decided that my best way to get through it all was to keep my head down and not even look at what was coming. I only had to listen to the commands of the guide and paddle forward, paddle back,or lean in as directed. But with success comes confidence, and after going through a few easy turns I started peeking. Then I started trying to guess which channel he'd have us take. We were the lead raft. There were four behind us, and only occasionally did I see how they fared. Our guide seemed to have confidence in us, because twice he had us do 360 spins as we went through easy rapids. I didn't see any of the other rafts hotdogging it in white water.

There were 48 rapids in all. How many we're Class III and how many we're Class IV I don't know. But the important thing is that I survived. And I did have fun!

Vacation Get-Aways in Costa Rica

Here is a topic on which I don't have much to say. For relaxation on a beach most tourists head to the northwest Pacific coast. We didn't do that.   But we were lucky enough to spend some time at Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort.

Tabacon has cascading waterfalls of hot springs from Arenal Volcano. There are 12 pools on the lushly landscaped grounds, and the pools vary in water temperature and style. For sybaritic pleasure nothing could beat a day at Tabacon.

Wherever you go in Costa Rica there's a possibility for a massage. Slava took advantage of that twice. The first time, at Arenal Volcano Lodge, he came back glowing. The second time, in Puerto Viejo, he came back grumpy. The problem was that he smelled like coconut, augmented by ylang ylang.   Now, ylang ylang is a tiny flower that happens to have the predominant note in the perfume Chanel No. 5.  Slava felt better after he took a shower.

If price is not a consideration then a winter time get-away to Costa Rica is perfect for regeneration and renewal. The temperature is mild, and there's not much rain. Our trip was during what is euphemistically called "the green season."  We outfitted ourselves with rain ponchos and umbrellas. But as we found out, a little rain in paradise is perfectly fine.

Ecotourism in Costa Rica

There are many reasons to visit Costa Rica, but ecotourism was the draw for me.  Having been a biology major in college I find it appealing that Costa Rica has chosen to preserve its biodiversity by setting aside 25 percent of its territory for nature preserves.  There are tropical forests, cloud forests, central valleys, Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, and even underwater preserves.  Luckily I'm the kind of person who likes snakes and spiders and sloths and other things that creep and crawl.  We saw large termite nests, ant metropolises, gorgeous butterflies, and more.

As we traveled to different locations we had excursions with well-trained guides who were certified naturalists.  At Manuel Antonio National Park each guide took no more than six people on a two-hour exploration of the rainforest, stopping frequently to point out wildlife hidden from casual view, but discernible once the guide set up a high-powered scope trained in the right direction.

The golden silk orb weaver was easy to spot, with a web that could be 3 feet across.  The thread is strong enough to be a fishing line, and may one day be used in bioengineering for guiding peripheral nerve regrowth.  Human beings have much to learn from invertebrates.

At Playa Chiquita, near Puerto Viejo, we were privileged to visit the Jaguar Rescue Center. It's an NGO that grew from the backyard of a couple from Spain, Encar and Sandro, who came to Costa Rica to retire. One happened to be a primatologist from the Barcelona Zoo,the other, a herpetologist.   It seemed natural for local people to bring them native animals that had been injured, mistreated, or confiscated, seeing that the couple worked to rehabilitate and then reintroduce the animals to their natural habitat in protected areas.    The Jaguar Rescue Center was established in 2008, named after an orphaned jaguar that the couple tried to save but couldn't because it was too weak when they got it. Encar has remained dedicated to helping orphaned animals, recognizing that they need more than food and a safe environment. She mothers baby monkeys by having one or another clinging to her until it is ready to explore the world on its own.

Based on our experience on a snorkeling expedition near Manuel Antonio  I can report that sergeant major fish don't like fresh pineapple.  We had gone out on a day of murky water conditions, and we couldn't see much other than fellow snorkelers. Our guide threw bits of leftover lunch in the water, and sergeant majors swarmed in to investigate. The general rule in ecotourism is to not feed wild animals, or in this case, fish. Pineapple was the perfect choice. Sergeant majors investigated but found our food to be uninteresting, and the biodegradable bits sank slowly to the bottom, which was some unknown depth beneath us. Meanwhile we had the fun of swimming with sergeant majors and seeing dolphins in the distance.

Two of our most appreciated ecotourism experiences occurred with Ticos who were not trained as guides.   Diego was the driver of the shuttle van that took us from La Fortuna to Siquirres, and although he had a schedule to keep he stopped on the road to let us out and get close to a sloth in a nearby tree. It was a three-toed sloth, a relative of the anteater.  We did see other sloths when they were pointed out to us, but I never spotted one on my own.
The second fabulous experience was in Cahuita National Park, when Pierre, our host at Blue Conga Lodge,  pointed out howler monkeys in the tropical forest, and challenged the alpha male in an argumentative exchange. For a while I thought Pierre was winning the howling contest, but he said that once we moved on, the alpha male would brag to his two females and two offspring that he had frightened us away.

Ecotourism also took us on adventurous hikes, such as near Arenal Volcano.  We saw the differentiation in plant life that marked the land affected by the last eruption in 2010.  I'm glad to report that we escaped without having to run for our lives.