Let me begin this with a small caveat. I’m what well-organized, responsible people would call a huge procrastinator. It’s part of my charm. If you ever get the chance to know me well, you’ll appreciate it.
As I type this post it is the end of my third day (second full day) in Heredia, Costa Rica. When I arrived in Costa Rica two days ago, within an hour of being outdoors and feeling the cool, tropical winds blowing against me, I knew that coming to Costa Rica was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. Everything here is fresh. No preservatives and certainly none of this “made from concentrate” garbage that we market as the real McCoy back in the States. They squeeze the juice from the fruit right in front of you, and cut slices of mango or papaya right after they pick it off the tree. Anything less would be blasphemy to a real Tico.
“What’s a Tico?” you may ask. It’s a good question, and one that has several answers. Short and simple answer: Ticos are the native people of Costa Rica. Long and convoluted answer: Ticos enjoy being alive more than anyone in the world. This is made obvious when you talk to a Tico (en español) and you hear them say “Pura Vida” about ten times in five sentences. Pura Vida literally means “Pure Life” but it can refer to anything. As a question, “¿Pura Vida?” can mean “How are you doing today?” to “Has the dog been fed?” and anything in between. As an exclamation “¡Pura Vida!” can mean anything from “Welcome to Costa Rica!” to “Get out of the road!”. Getting the idea so far? Good. Ticos live in a tropical paradise that stays around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit all year long. At the time of this post, it is winter in Costa Rica and it was about 82 degrees today with an excellent breeze to combat the heat. Ticos also are like other Latinos and take things a little less seriously. Time is relative and nothing is ever a pressing issue. They truly believe that their way of living is the purest form of life on Earth. Because of this near paradise climate, healthy foods, and a large helping of laid back, Latino culture, Ticos have every right to say “Pure Life” about anything and everything.
Word of advice though. If you plan to come to this Near-Heaven-on-Earth called Costa Rica, you better get into an adventurer mindset. What I mean by that is this: Come prepared to get hopelessly lost and not panic. Once it happens, you’ll be confident enough to do anything. Here’s why: I’ve seen a grand total of TWO streets with names or numbers or any kind of signifying marks during all of my outings so far. The ones with signs that I did see were such oddities that I had to take a picture of them. Even if you speak Spanish perfectly, no two people will give you the same directions if you’re lost. So asking for directions is kind of like administering a survey and just going with the most frequently given replies. A good example of what directions would sound like is this: “Take a right at the big lemon tree, go straight for 500 meters, keep going past the statue of St. Peter, take a left at the red house and the gray house with a green fence about 200 meters down that road is where you want to go.” I seriously can’t make this stuff up.
Let me end this with a small word of caution. During my time here, I’ve become what other upstanding, well-meaning people may call a Tico. It’s become part of my charm. If you get a chance to visit Costa Rica, it will happen to you too and you’ll appreciate it.
Pura Vida
-Travis Parker
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