Pura Vida!

Friday, March 7

I’m not sure if I’m so glad to be getting away because it’s been a typical Ottawa winter this year (i.e. very cold and very snowy) or because of the political drama acting out on the world stage (unfortunately with Canada in a principle role) at the moment. But let’s just say that I’m glad to be away from both.  

To address the elephant in the room, no, I’m am not travelling to the U.S.  I am once again going on a cruise with my favourite cruise line, Windstar.  However, sadly, this year’s trip on Windstar will most likely be the last. I have just found out that Windstar is owned by an American billionaire who financially supports a certain political party to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as its leadership and I can’t in all conscience book a trip with them for next year. I booked and paid for this trip long before the current President was sworn in and the subsequent trade war broke out and since they don’t have insurance for that I have decided not to waste my hard earned dollars. I have written the president of Windstar to explain how insulted I am that the President of the United States of America has continued to press this notion of Canada becoming the 51st State and to call our Prime Minister “Governor” not to mention his decisions on the trade file and his indecent treatment of Zelenskyy.  

So, now that I have that off my chest, on with the start of what I hope will be a relaxing and fun trip in the warmth of Central America and the Caribbean.  

Here is the map of our 18 day trip starting on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, travelling south east toward Panama, through the canal (still owned by the Panamanians as I write), across the north of Colombia and Venezuela, with various stops in Colombia and some islands along the way and on to disembark in Barbados.  

This will be my third trip to the friendly, green and inviting country of Costa Rica. The first trip was actually a business one, to attend a sales meeting and plant tour of one of the electronic suppliers our company represented for many years. We learned a lot but had some fun along the way as well. Then, in 2011, I took my first G Adventures tour, and did a 10 day land tour which touched on both coasts and the central region of the country. It was my first real travel on my own and I threw all caution to the wind and did all the adventurous things one can do in Costa Rica such as zip lining, canyoning (rappelling down waterfalls, and wading through creeks), and white water rafting as well as viewing (or trying to, it was fogged in) Arenal, an active volcano, soaking in hot springs, and exploring the canals of the Tortuguero region.  We finished up hiking trails and loving the beautiful white sand beaches in Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast.  

Yesterday I flew through Montreal and on to the Costa Rican capital city of San Jose for two nights and will embark the Windstar on Saturday to start the cruise. I got notice as I arrived at the Ottawa airport that my flight was going to be slightly delayed due to fog slowing things down on the incoming flights but no worries as I had lots of time in Montreal. But I managed to immediately get on to an earlier flight to Montreal so I had a longer layover in Montreal but it’s a larger airport and better to get comfie only once.  

After a bit of confusion (I was early, my driver was late and the G-Adventures rep helped us find each other) I was met by a Windstar representative at Juan Santamaria International Airport and whisked away to the hotel for the first of two nights. I allowed for an extra night just in case of bad weather or other delays.  The hotel is really comfortable and has a beautiful pool area where I am encamped for the day. 

I met friends from Denver who I had met on a previous cruise at breakfast this morning and we had a gab fest to get caught up. We will spend the day chilling at the hotel and will be transported to the cruise ship port tomorrow morning.  

I’ve been to many of the spots on this cruise before and so will not do much of a blog (or maybe cut and paste from a previous one :-)), but I’ll start with a bit of general info on Costa Rica.  

Visitors come to Costa Rica for three main reasons.  The sun/sand of the resorts on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the abundant flora and fauna, and outdoor adventure. They often return for the Pura Vida lifestyle. The phrase pura vida (meaning “pure life”) is used to say many things, such as “hello,” “goodbye,” and “no worries.” When we had successfully managed our way through a difficult rapid when whitewater rafting on a previous trip, the guide had us all touch paddles over our heads and yell pura vida, so I think it also means, “thank god we made it”.  But it’s more than that. It’s a way of life that embraces a more playful, flexible and laid back life style than other places. And one of the top five Blue Zones in the world (where inhabitants tend to live actively even past the age of 100) is in a town called Nicoya is located on the western coast.  So maybe they have it right!  

I found this BBC article regarding the pura vida catch phrase interesting.  https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240227-pura-vida-costa-ricas-uniquely-positive-outlook-on-life

So if you’ve read my previous blogs on my trips to the Caribbean you’ll know that Christopher Columbus was prominently featured, and the history of Costa Rica holds a place for Chris too. He first visited in 1502 but Spanish colonists didn’t establish a permanent settlement until 1563. In 1949 after a short-lived civil war, Costa Rica’s constitution was passed. It has a stable, well functioning democratic government with an elected president and two vice-Presidents and a legislature with a multi-party system..

Costa Rica dispensed with an army in 1948 to instead pay for an army of teachers with a view to make their population as close to 100% literate as possible. Today the literacy rate ranks among the highest in the world. Spanish is their mother tongue but a large part of the population of 5 million or so, speak English and French as well, making Canadians feel so welcome that many of them are snow birds to Costa Rica or have permanent homes there.  

Among the cultural taboos in Costa Rica is placing your feet on furniture which is seen as disrespectful, and pointing is also considered rude. One is advised to use the whole hand to gesture and not point it directly at another person.  Also it’s considered bad form not to sustain eye contact during conversations as it’s seen as dismissive. Despite the pura vida lifestyle where tardiness is acceptable in social settings, being on time for business and professional meetings is considered a matter of courtesy. Haggling is considered disrespectful in Costa Rica, however asking for a discount for multiple purchases or cash payment is acceptable.

Some fun facts about Costa Rica:

• Costa Rica is incredibly biodiverse – only .03% of the earth’s surface but approximately 5% of the world’s biodiversity with over 500,000 species of flora and fauna.  (900 are birds including 50 species of hummmingbirds
• Costa Rica’s 200+ volcanoes date back over 65 million years.  100 of them show signs of activity and five are considered active, including Arenal which was considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world
• Costa Rica has ambitious plans to become carbon neutral by 2050 and it already generates more than 99% of its electricity from renewable sources (hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, biomass and wind)
• It is also a leader in sustainable tourism with tour operators, wild life preserves and lodges committed to minimizing their environmental impact
• Coffee is a staple or the culture and economy of Costa Rica for over 200 years and it’s Arabica beans are popular around the world. I visited a coffee plantation and actually helped pick coffee beans as part of my G Adventures tour back in 2011.
• Locals affectionately call themselves Ticos and Ticas, because of their linguistic habit of using tiny suffixes such as tico and tica. (For example, “perro” (dog) is known as “peritto” (little dog), no matter its actual size).
• Patriotism is running rampant in Canada at the moment (for obvious reasons) but the Costa Ricans beat us hands down with their daily playing of the national anthem on radio stations around the country every morning at 7 am! 
• Visitors are warned not to mistake short distances for short trips. The roads conditions and weather can often lead to delays
• Street names are not regularly used in Costa Rica and instead addresses are given in terms of distance from a local landmark. For instance the address of my hotel is Costa Rica is: “700 Meters West of Firestone/Bridgestone”

As always, thanks for coming along with me!