Pura Vida

When I lived in Buenos Aires 'Pura Vida' was a juice bar across the street from my apartment - my near-daily relief from the endless supply of meat and starch that constitute so much of the Argentine diet.

Here in Costa Rica, 'pura vida' is the national saying. While its literal meaning is 'pure life' it's generally used to mean something like 'cool' or 'great':

Como estas?

Pura vida, por dicha.

But Pura Vida is much more than just a phrase...it's a way of life. To live la pura vida is to really and truly live, to be healthy and happy.

Well, I'm leaving Costa Rica in a few hours. Pura vida!

I noticed that many of the local workers here still keep Bill Clinton's portrait in their offices. I haven't seen a single one with George Bush. I asked someone about that - what happened to all the Bush portraits? -and he said 'We can't vote in the American elections, but we can express our opinions in other ways" and he pointed to the wastebasket.

Volcan Poas

Some people might think it's dangerous to live in the shadow of several active volcanoes. These people are paranoid lunatics who wear raincoats in the shower so as not to catch cold. Nothing is wrong with unless you have some kind of crazy allergy to thousands of tons of ash falling on you.

At all other times (the non-erupting times), the volcanoes make a lovely natural park. The trick is to get there just as the mist is receding...

But before it comes back...

Also there are some waterfalls, but these aren't a patch in Iguazu.

Culture War, Why Not Culture Peace?

Went to a beautiful exhibition of Da Vinci in the old Customs building last weekend. Rather short on actual Da Vinci works, but they had reconstructed some of his more ingenious gadgets and that was fun (especially his attempts to build tanks made of wood).


By chance, across the street was the annual Graphic Design Show put on by one of the local universities. One of the themes this year was Costa Rica-Nicauragua Friendship:

There are 500K Nicauraguans living in Costa Rica, representing about 10% of the total population. Obviously this creates some tensions; it's good to see some creative responses.

Later, I mentioned this to a Tico cab driver. He grumbled:

"The thing about the Nicas - it's like you're going somewhere, and a friend says 'hey, I'm going the same way' but he never pays for gas or offers to drive or anything. In the States you have a similar problem with the Mexicans, I think".

"They're absolutely essential to the economy. I believe the Nicas are too, working in agriculture and construction etc."

"Yes, well - the Nicas work hard but it's not enough. Plus some of them are quite dangerous. Why, just the other day they arrested a whole criminal gang."

"How many people?"

"Uh...three."

"All Nicas?"

"Two of them. That's still a majority."

It's Alive!!!

Kind of prehistoric, huh?

Lluvia, Lluvia, Go Away...

Is ten hours of rain a day enough?

Life's a Beach

Last weekend I took my first overnight trip in-country and went to Manuel Antonio, a strikingly expensive (and beautiful, when the weather is fine) national park and beach resort about 3 hours from San Jose on the Pacific coast.

Not too much to say about it, really - a beach is a beach. Sand, water, sky. Hot and muggy during the day, thunder and lightning all night long. To be honest I'd rather visit a volcano or rainforest.
I DIDN'T GET SUNBURNED. For anyone who knows me, this is a major achievement.

Back to Nature

Wheh. Now that the 4th of July is over, I can relax a little.

Step 1: get out of San Jose. I took the long weekend (American holidays apply to US citizens but not the local staff, alas) to take a '3-in-1' tour. Those 3 were:

- A slow ride down the Saripiqui River. We saw (but mostly heard) howler monkeys, numerous birds, lizards, and even a crocodile.

- A walk through the rainforest to admire all the flora (mostly primeval ferns and flowers) and fauna (including butterflies, frogs, and a number of snakes of varying deadliness)


- A 'conapy' tour in a gondola above the same rainforest.

Yes, it did rain in the rainforest. I was seated in the front row of the gondola so I got somewhat more rained-on than everyone else.

Costa Rica is one of the few places where eco-tourism is profitable enough that they make more emoney, even in the short term, by preserving the rain forest instead of tearing it down.

The Theater that Coffee Built

No blog report from me would be complete without a discussion of the opera in that country.

The stately Teatro Nacional, flanking one side of San Jose's Plaza de la Cultura, is home to Costa Rica's classical music scene (such as it is). it was built at the end of the 19th century, when Costa Rica was riding high on coffee exports.

The interior is just as beautiful as the outside (pictures to follow). Even orchestra-level tickets are fairly cheap (about $20 at most) and a charmingly French cafe offers coffee and pastries to concert-goes and the simply hungry alike.

Alas, like so many cultural institutions, the Teatro Nacional is neglected by its public, as I saw when I attended an aria recital last Sunday. The quality was generally good (the women outdid the men) but the galleries were perhaps half full, while the orchestra level was almost completely empty. True, this was a concert on Sunday night in summer, but I can't help feel compasison for any artist who has to perform in front of what appears to be an empty theater.

Comidas Criollas

In the right context, it's a magical phrase.

Costa Rican food has something of a bad reputation. Among all the various guidebooks I read before flying down here, about the nicest thing anybody could come up with was that it's 'unpretentious'.

And that it certainly is. Chicken, fish, and beef fried or grilled. Tropical fruits. Stews. Juice drinks of fruit pulp mixed with ice and sugar. The national dish is gallo pinto (painted rooster) which is a confounding name for a simple plate of rice and black beans.

Also, food in CR is not as cheap as you'd think. Especially when it comes to exotic (that is, non-western) cuisine prices can rival those in the United States.

When it comes to the local fare, however, there is hardly a better bargain to be found than the soda. These informal diner-type things serve the classic casado lunch. A typical casado ('married person') will contain:

-meat
-some sort of potato dish (mashed or sauteed)
-rice
-beans
-green salad
-plantains

You certainly won't leave hungry, and all for about $4. Not a diet for the Atkins-lovers, but no matter.

So my internet was having trouble the other day, and I called Amnet (the local internet service) to have them come and deal with it. After they arrived they started hunting around for the cable box. In the process, THEY DISCOVERED A FOURTH BATHROOM I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD.

Do you know the way to San Jose?

So I finally made it into downtown San Jose.

Most of the complaints about it are true - it is crowded and dirty and lacks character. There are a profusion of people selling lottery tickets and those selling other things - fruit, mostly - cry their wares from every corner.

Even so, the center of town is impressively pedestrianized, and I made my way over to La Plaza de la Cultura:


Grr, the Gold Museum was closed - for how long, they didn't know. So I made my way over to the Costa Rican Art museum:


Which happens to front the city park, La Sabana:


The museum itself was quite small and not terribly interesting. The Modern Art Museum is said to be better.

What gets me is how very similar it is to downtown Cebu City (although less dirty and not so damn hot). I guess that really is the Spanish colonial style.

By the way, I should probably mention something about Costa Rica: they don't believe in addresses. Everything is notated in relation to other things. Instead of saying '120 Avenida Central' they'll say 'Avenida Central 100 meters south of the Iglesia de San Martin and 50 meters east of the bus stop etc.'. It's gets very confusing very quickly. Even though central San Jose is laid out on a grid pattern, I couldn't use the street signs because there weren't any. Well, preguntando se llega a Roma.

City of Witches

Too bad I haven't seen any witches yet. That crest is probably the most exciting part of the whole neighborhood.

Rich people have always confounded me. Especially in their choices of where they decide to live. Why the isolation?

Security is obviously one thing. The desire for peace and quiet is another. Yet isn't it possible to have those things without sealing yourself into an over-sized condo with nothing but the TV for company?

Why is it that the world's oligarchs never live in communities? Why do they always drop themselves beside what are basically highways, with no schools, shops, parks, cafes, or anything else within walking distance - not as if they could walk, because there are almost never any sidewalks?

Of course, it is assumed that rich people have cars, and often drivers as well. Personally I find that a little indecent. I can't demand that somebody else devote the major part of his day to ferry me to get a croissant or to see a friend. That's the kind of thing I only ask of family members.

The Tico Times (local English-language newspaper) just ran a story about the recent census, where local census-takers complained about the difficulty of navigating winding streets, endlessly barred gates, guard dogs, and complex security systems just to ask basic questions of the residents within:

In light blue vests, four student census workers and their 22-year-old supervisor wandered through Escazú, west of San José.

The fivesome walked up steep roads, skipped over rocks to cross streams, dealt with barking dogs – and got lost.

Student census workers heeded a last- minute call of duty to assist in the task of surveying an estimated 1.3 million households. Approximately two dozen were sent to Escazú, where they encountered many obstacles. But none were more daunting than the area’s numerous condominiums. Security guards denied access to many census takers, as the upper-class neighborhood presented a challenge to the young pollsters.

...

It’s been complicated,” Sura said. “Not everyone is here and I’m going to have to keep coming back.”

It’s 1 p.m. already. She figured her day could go until 8 p.m.

At the nearby Paco Center, in downtown Escazú, some of the student enumerators hail taxis looking to grab some lunch. Sura seemed to have the best luck of all of them so far. Many never made it past the security guards, and had to leave forms with them to pick up later. One worker held up two fingers, when asked if she was able to talk to any residents. García herded her colleagues into a taxi. She waited for another one. The morning had been both tiresome and baffling. That wasn’t the worst part.

“We spoke to nobody,” García said, “We kept going around and around didn’t get to speak with anyone.”

Why be rich if you have to hide away?

Costa Rica - La Primera Vez

Naturally, my first blogpost about Costa Rica ought to be an 'impressions' kind of thing, so here goes:

The Living

Many years ago, when the Savoy Hotel was being built in London, it had the unprecedented luxury of a bathroom in every suite. The builder was much bemused, and asked 'Who's gonna be livin' there, amphibians?'

My apartment has three. I ASSUME it was meant for more people, but maybe it's just for the sake of variety.

The People

Affectionately known as 'Ticos'. Spanish-speaking. The CR accent tends to swallow the last consonant, so 'incomodo' becomes 'incomo' etc.

The Barrio

Fairly dull. Lots of well-off expats and gated condos. To the north is a busy street (actually more of a small highway) lined with strip malls which the Costa Ricans call plazas. Alot of chains and car dealerships. Many off the menus, signs, etc. are in English.

To the south is 'downtown', but this is tame stuff - I was there last night at 8PM and I hardly saw anybody about.

Prices

High - hardly much less than what you would expect in the US. Maybe its a function of the neighborhood.

What IS really cheap are small restaurants called 'sodas' (more on these later) which serve quite filling meals for $3-4.

Also, the money has sharks on it.

Weather

Warm, but even during the day its not unbearable. At night it is cool enough that I don"t even need the AC.

Work:

I have a small office in the basement. Not much sunlight, but close to the cafeteria.

Right now many of people are on vacation, so it's taking a while to get everything organized for me - I'm still waiting on my cell phone and ID badge.

Water

Potable.

Until next time...

Well, It Got My Attention

I suppose that was the idea.