Blogs from Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 508

Hola mis amigos! I am so happy to have heard from many of my friends from Texas! Now it's time for me to update you all on my first few days in Costa Rica. I arrived on Saturday in Liberia, which has an nice little primative open-air airport. The landing strip was short, which called for a very abrupt stop. And I've never stood in line for customs in 95 degree heat! I headed to Tamarindo for the night were I immersed myself in solitude. My first friends were two iguanas who greeted me on the beach. I did a little exploring in the town of Playa Langosta, and then returned to my B & B. I was the only guest at Casa Doble and since it rained that evening, I just bought myself a few ... read more

I think Sundays are really neat here. They reserve it as a day to do nothing but relax and spend the day with the family. Way of life here greatly contrasts the U.S., because in the Estados, one individual´s lifestyle can very much differ from another individual´s. There is great diversity in values, beliefs, and ideology. Here, people are individualistic also, but very similar in certain aspects of lifestyle. The society is very conservative, and there agreed-upon ideals of propriety. A kiss on the cheek. Respect for the elderly… When I went to the bank, I was puzzled in regard to the lines. Why was one man going before another, when clearly the other man had been standing there longer and was first in line? To satisfy my curiosity, I politely asked the man in ... read more

I'm drinking tang-quila and all is well with that. Still got some latent problems with my past, but I'm getting through them I think. Being away helps so much. Cariari is a definite: this Thursday. Oh yeah, read the first Potter book (Year 1) today. Have to say, I liked it. Good thing I got 4 more with me to be able to read. Between my outings I went right to the book. Today we went off the grounds to someone's property. The guy was deciding on whether or not to turn his property into a reserve or logging it. The latter would make him a lot richer. But he was cool and gave us a tour. I correctly identified a hognose viper (Porthidium nasutum) so that was cool. When we got back, there was ... read more

The first two weeks in Costa Rica have been good. We’ve had five guests and actually hit my revenue target for the month (okay, the target was mucho low) but all the same, it gives us hope for the coming months and in particularl the high season starting in December. This week was not as rainy as first week, thank God. While Beth doesn’t mind the rainy season (they call it the “green season” for “touristico” purposes), it is taking me a little bit to get used to it. On Thursday, we saw our last guests off until Sunday night when we inherit a family—parents and two teenage sons from the States. I’m meeting a friend in San Jose Sunday and staying there overnight so Beth will handle them. She’ll be fine I’m sure. Speaking of ... read more

Sunflower seeds!!! Got even more than that, it's great. So yeah if you haven't guessed the package arrived from my parents. Still waitin on the disc Chris is sending me (to catch up on tv shows I missed haha). The mail is so crazy unpredictable. Sometimes you get it in 10-12 days, other times it seems like a month or more. I think the more you send, the better/quicker the delivery. Hey I'm in major debt. My credit card calls were mad expensive. I found out that they charged me around 40$ just to dial out... sheesh. I'm really stuck since I said I'd pay the station cost for any visiting friends (which right now is C & J). Today Jose was asking and wanting to see what I got in my package. I held the ... read more