Costa Rica Riffs

Readers always like my riffs, so here goes. . .

Tourism is turning Costa Ricans into entrepenuers. And that's a good thing. Lots of tourism related mom and pop businesses. Every canopy zip line is "the best in Costa Rica!" on the hand-painted signs. "Your horses await" is another. I'd say God Bless America right now, but really it's God Bless Costa Rica!

Unlike some parts of the lower part of this hemisphere, the folks in tourism here are all very nice, and happy to be doing what they are doing. Not picking on any other place we've been (the Bahamas -- whoops, did I say that out loud?), but some places aren't as welcoming.

We've only been here for a day and a half, but have covered huge sections of the country. Glad I'm NOT driving. It's not crazed like Italy drivers (or Irish, or Spanish), but would be difficult to know if we're on the right road. Frankly, there isn't much traffic here.

"Alto" in a red octagon sign (i.e. a STOP sign) doesn't mean the same here as in the US. "Stop" usually means, oh, I don't know -- Stop! But "Alto" appears to mean "roll on through, but don't actually brake!" Fortunately, not much traffic on the roads, but there are always two scenarios that quicken the pulse -- an approaching truck on a two lane road that is only about one and a half lanes wide, and rolling up to an "Alto" sign when traffic is zipping past.

People either drive a clunker from 1975 (which I suppose is a repetitive statement) or an SUV because the road conditions demand it. The longest straight part of the road we've been on must be all of half of a kilometer long (that's 0.31 miles, for those of you converting at home).

I took a ton of photos today, but will probably not post any till tomorrow. Got so much to write, and we've got an early (5:30 am) pick-up tomorrow.

Carol's only gotten to use her Spanish (which is better than she admits) once -- tonight whilst ordering dinner. She does follow along conversations to make sure we aren't getting the tourista squeeze -- which is a helpful skill to have. For the most part, the Costa Ricans we've met are fluent in English. Again -- our foreign language skills as a nation are sadly lacking.

Pilsen is a better Costa Rican beer than Imperial. But that's my personal opinion. And I'm right. I'm sure some people think Barry Bonds is a bigger hero than Hank Aaron. And they are wrong.

The moths here are the size of herons back home (okay, I exaggerate, but it's a literary -- or blogger? -- device to make a point). However, I don't make this up --plants here are amazingly huge. Elephant ears deserve the name.

The one thing we haven't done will driving around is stop at one of the little markets alongside the road. Sort of like the 7/11s of Costa Rica, but all individually owned. Remember when every small town in America had a general store -- where they had penny candy, some weird ice cream brands, and some local sodas along with Coca-Cola? (For example, Garris's General Store in Stillwater, NJ.) Well, that's Costa Rica today. I'd stop at nearly every one here just to try something different -- but I've not got control of the car, so we haven't stopped once.

Haven't had time to exchange dollars here for the Costa Rican currency -- but haven't needed too. Everyone takes dollars. Everyone likes dollars. Reminds me of Bulgaria before the Commies fell. I exchanged for a bunch of Bulgarian money, and no one would accept it from me -- dollars only. (Not true here -- they'll take either, but it is a reminder of a 1989 trip.)

More riffs to come. . .I do like this country and her people. The flag needs a little sprucing up though! (Google it if you don't believe me).