Con Mucho Gusto. . .

What’s up with mangos? There is no taste or flavor to them what so ever. They don’t live up to their reputation. I’ve had them before coming here, and each time I’m stumped. Might as well be eating wood paste. (The mango riff was my homage to the Andy Rooney style of living.)

Life in nature is nasty, brutish, and short (hey, that’s pretty original. Maybe I should trademark it!). I realized that the other day sitting on the patio, watching every creature that flew or crawled by focusing on survival. That’s 90% of what they focus on – the rest is mating. So nature is kind of like college.

The national saying in Costa Rica is “pura vida.” Which means “pure life” (even I got that one). However, I’ve never heard anyone actually say it. Instead, the great phrase here is, “con mucho gusto,” which means “with much pleasure.” That’s what folks say in response to “gracias,” instead of the more common “de nada” in other Spanish-speaking countries.

Every town with tourism has a place called “Harry’s Bar.” While probably an unintentional nod to Venice, I don’t think a bar needs to be named “Harry’s” to attract tourists. But that’s just a guess on my part.