Insert "mile high club" jokes hereI know I kinda beat the whole "I learned three things, somebody give me a gold star" theme into the ground. But for this series of blogs, I earned it. Especially since this was my first trip out of the country, ever. Ten days of delicious fresh fruit, super-caffeinated coffee and some of the friendliest people on Earth, I took back more than great mental (and photographic) images...and insect bites. So, let me re-jog my memory and point out finer points of the my vacation to the number one producer of semiconductors in the western hemisphere, Costa Rica.
1) For the geographically-challenged, Costa Rica is bordered by two oceans and owns part of the Continental Divide. We didn't grace any beach, though we were prepared for water and sun. We (The Lovely and I) took the high road...the very high road...6,000 feet high. So, in the mountains, regardless of if it's the "dry" season or the "opposite-of-dry" climate, bring a damn jacket! Altitude gets cold no matter how hot it is during the day. Also, it's a really bad idea to just bring one pair of shoes. Wet Vibrams squishing around a nice restaurant just plain sucks.
2) If Virginia is for lovers, then CR is for NERDS!!!. This was supposed to be a romantic getaway for The Lovely and I. This was supposed to be our true honeymoon. But no. We had to nerd it up. It really wasn't our intention. We initially rolled our eyes every time we caught the 100-power scope and notepad bookmarking the Birds of Costa Rica in the finches section. But the siren's song of the migrating nerd was far too powerful. We were bird watching with the other retired biologists and 12 year-olds before we could say "quetzal". Fred Palowakski can kiss my ass.
3) Costa Rica is an exercise in duality. One hand, vendors accept US Dollars. The other hand, they will tell you the price in CR colones. Some areas, it's about as touristy as it gets. Other areas, the rural beauty scoffs at the encroachment. The modern world descended upon the sovereign state with Intel and Microsoft setting up shop, while the big city has struggled with the identity crisis of population sprawl and immigration problems. Ah, the complexity of the global economy.
4) Brushing up on the Spanish is one thing (more on that later). Brushing up on my German and French freaked my ears out a bit. Outside of the flight to San Jose, our first spot was Monteverde. This was the nice little town that lied on the west of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Our lodge was so accommodating they accepted Euros. The story goes, the Arco Iris Ecolodge was bought by a nice German couple in the late nineties that made massive improvements to make it a wonderful place to rest one's head. Apparently, the whole EU heard about this place that one minute you here gracias, and the next your here merci and dankschen in the next breath. Neat and unexpected.
Okay, enough education for now. Plenty to degauss about within our four-part series. Stay tuned for part two - when I explain why una via is merely a suggestion in CR. Talk later.
1) For the geographically-challenged, Costa Rica is bordered by two oceans and owns part of the Continental Divide. We didn't grace any beach, though we were prepared for water and sun. We (The Lovely and I) took the high road...the very high road...6,000 feet high. So, in the mountains, regardless of if it's the "dry" season or the "opposite-of-dry" climate, bring a damn jacket! Altitude gets cold no matter how hot it is during the day. Also, it's a really bad idea to just bring one pair of shoes. Wet Vibrams squishing around a nice restaurant just plain sucks.
2) If Virginia is for lovers, then CR is for NERDS!!!. This was supposed to be a romantic getaway for The Lovely and I. This was supposed to be our true honeymoon. But no. We had to nerd it up. It really wasn't our intention. We initially rolled our eyes every time we caught the 100-power scope and notepad bookmarking the Birds of Costa Rica in the finches section. But the siren's song of the migrating nerd was far too powerful. We were bird watching with the other retired biologists and 12 year-olds before we could say "quetzal". Fred Palowakski can kiss my ass.
3) Costa Rica is an exercise in duality. One hand, vendors accept US Dollars. The other hand, they will tell you the price in CR colones. Some areas, it's about as touristy as it gets. Other areas, the rural beauty scoffs at the encroachment. The modern world descended upon the sovereign state with Intel and Microsoft setting up shop, while the big city has struggled with the identity crisis of population sprawl and immigration problems. Ah, the complexity of the global economy.
4) Brushing up on the Spanish is one thing (more on that later). Brushing up on my German and French freaked my ears out a bit. Outside of the flight to San Jose, our first spot was Monteverde. This was the nice little town that lied on the west of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Our lodge was so accommodating they accepted Euros. The story goes, the Arco Iris Ecolodge was bought by a nice German couple in the late nineties that made massive improvements to make it a wonderful place to rest one's head. Apparently, the whole EU heard about this place that one minute you here gracias, and the next your here merci and dankschen in the next breath. Neat and unexpected.
Okay, enough education for now. Plenty to degauss about within our four-part series. Stay tuned for part two - when I explain why una via is merely a suggestion in CR. Talk later.
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