My friend Mary calls Costa Rica opposite land.
It’s a good description because often the way things are done or happen are completely contrary to the way you’d expect.
For instance, if a Tico has his house for sale and has not had a nibble in a year, he will raise the price rather than lower it. [...]
Archive for the ‘Self discovery’ Category
Opposite land
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, tagged banking in Costa Rica, opposite land, Scotiabank in Costa Rica on April 9, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Random thoughts
Posted in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Self discovery, tagged bilingualism in canada, guns in costa rica, guns in nicaragua, learning spanish in costa rica, problems with Continental Airlines, seasons changing in costa rica, winter in costa rica on April 1, 2009 | 4 Comments »
While cruising the CR classifieds on a Yahoo group the other day it was a bit jarring to see a ‘for sale’ ad for a Glock, as in the gun preferred by most North American law-enforcement agencies. It is apparently legal to pack in Costa Rica but like most things, nobody can be bothered with the paperwork. [...]
Old habits die hard
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery on February 27, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I need an intervention. Maybe even rehab. I’ve fallen off the wagon, and in a big way.
The boots called out from the window of the store, begging me to try them on and taste again the sweet but fleeting feeling of wearing something sexy and new.
I’ve written multiple times about the importance of the concept [...]
A day at the beach
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, travel, tagged beach lifestyle, Costa Rica, crazy, crime, dengue, drugs, marijuana on February 25, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Welcome to dysfunction junction, where the abnormal and the aberrant meet.
It’s also known as beach life, where motivation goes to die and inspiration is sparked with a spliff.
On the continuum of Costa Rican weirdness, the beach is at one extreme. And I’ve learned that I’m not, at the extreme of weirdness, I mean. Just resting comfortably somewhere between [...]
Beer and minding your business
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, tagged atenas, Costa Rica, imperial, stepford, tope on February 16, 2009 | 5 Comments »
More than 10 million cases of Imperial beer are sold annually in Costa Rica for domestic consumption. I’m not sure how that stacks up against other countries but it sure seems like there’s a lot of suds sucked down in a country that boasts a population of about five million.
Ticos like a good party. The [...]
Goodbye Casa Roach
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, travel, tagged Calgary, Central America, Costa Rica, drug cartel, earthquake, santo domingo on November 30, 2008 | 4 Comments »
After four months living outside San Jose, the seedy capital of Costa Rica in a typical Tico home in a typical Tico community we’re ready to say goodbye.
It has been a wild ride here, full of interesting people, times and experiences. Not quite what we had imagined for our life in this tropical destination in Central America, but [...]
Luck and opportunity
Posted in Self discovery, housing, tagged atenas, Costa Rica, luck, poco cielo, serenipity on November 29, 2008 | 5 Comments »
There are those who believe there’s no such thing as luck, that serendipity is what happens when planning meets opportunity.
Then there are those who believe there are no coincidences in life, that everything happens by some cosmic design or that we subconsciously create the lives we live, even those aspects of it we think we don’t [...]
A moment for meme
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, tagged bloggers, kandahar, meme, prostitute, reporter on October 25, 2008 | 4 Comments »
This blog was started as a sort of on-line diary about my family’s escape from urban chaos and the consumer culture that drives North America. Its inention was, and is, to share our journey for perspective, and maybe inspire a few adventurous souls along the way.
But an interesting thing has happened. I’ve found myself inextricably linked to [...]
Looking in the mirror
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, travel, tagged Canada, Costa Rica, friendship, garbage, recycling, reflection, santo domingo, waste on October 19, 2008 | 5 Comments »
To view the text that goes with these photos, visit: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=f26d29e4-4a75-4860-8bd2-8d57156abd1d
Defining moments
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, travel, tagged border, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur, Villa Isabella on October 8, 2008 | 6 Comments »
With brains in your head and feet in your shoes, if you saw this what would you choose?
Paying heed to Dr. Seuss and his wise words, we faced up to our fears and headed to Nicaragua.
It was with some trepidation that we opted to do our visa run to the small fishing village of San Juan [...]
