A taste of Pura Vida

After 3 full weeks in Guatemala, it was time to pack up and move on to another Central American destination:  Costa Rica.

Pura Vida =  Pure Life

The famous catchphrase of the Costa Rican people. I'm not exaggerating when I say everyone, from tour guides to waiters, exclaim this phrase in every conversation you have with them. It means living a life that you love and loving the life you live. This statement is not only a touristy slogan or logo for attractions. It is the way of life in Costa Rica.

Monteverde Cloud Forest.

My teacher friend Pia met me in San Jose. Our first impression of Costa Rica was seen through the windows of our van on the 4 hour trip to Monteverde, and through our chatty driver, Minor.

Minor became our personal tour guide for the day as he would pull over at various stops along the way. He spotted howler monkeys on the road and taught us how to holler back. He pulled over an hour later and walked us down to a small stream that was so hot, it boiled within the rocks and people had left remnants of cracked and fried eggs on the rocks. He scheduled our canopy tour excursion for the next day and told us the best restaurants in Monteverde. 

Zip lining in Monteverde.

Suspension bridge walk through the Cloud Forest.

We drove along the seemingly endless bumpy road and saw the landscape change to hills and valleys completely covered in green. We saw a rainbow through the clouds. We heard about the Tico lifestyle and the pride people have for their country.

This place truly was Pura Vida.

What was interesting was I had more culture shock coming to Costa Rica than I had going to Guatemala. In Guatemala, I had known more or less what to expect of the culture and people. Costa Rica was pretty different from the other Latin American countries I had visited in the past. People and buses showed up on time. Everyone more or less spoke great English. We could drink the water out of the faucets. Good customer service was a value in most agencies and restaurants. People genuinely enjoyed talking to you and helping you a lot of the time.

Rappelling waterfalls in Monteverde.

Living La Pura Vida.

But mostly, I could tell the people we just...happy. Jolly even. This is of course observations from the very limited experience I had in Costa Rica. But, maybe there's something to be said about a country with no military, a 97% literacy rate, little history of war and violence, and a better economic standing than all of the countries surrounding it.

The Costa Rican people were truly living the Pura Vida. A life full of meaning, connection and simplicity.