¡Pura Vida! As I am getting closer to leaving the country, I thought I would revisit a phrase that is part of the name of my blog and that I briefly mentioned in my first blog I wrote about Costa Rica. Pura Vida is a phrase that is unique to Costa Rica, and has been a part of the culture here since around 1970. The phrase was first introduced by a Mexican movie titled Pura Vida that was released in 1956. In the movie, the main character always struggles to do anything correctly, but he is still very optimistic no matter what his problems are. It took until about 1970 for the phrase to become popular, but now it is used by everyone all over the country. There are even many businesses, hotels, tourist places, and other things in Costa Rica that use the phrase as part of their name. We even stayed in a hotel that was called the Pura Vida Hotel.
So what exactly does Pura Vida mean? Literally translated, it means "pure life." However, just its direct translation does not truly show what it means. Pura Vida can be a greeting similar to "Hi," "What's up?," or "How are you doing?". But it can also be a response to any of those greetings or questions to say that life is good. It can be used as another way to say thank you or goodbye as well. Truly, you can use Pura Vida in just about any way you want to in order to show that life is going well and you are doing well. A phrase that I think most of us would understand that is similar to Pura Vida is the phrase "Hakuna Matata" that was popularized by the movie The Lion King. Hakuna Matata just means to not have worries and that things will eventually be okay.
For people in Costa Rica, Pura Vida is not just a phrase though, it is also a way of life. People in Costa Rica are generally very happy and laid back, and that is because they live a Pura Vida lifestyle. Even though things in our lives are not always perfect, it is important to remember that they could be worse, and that worrying about those things is not going to make them any better. So why not just relax and enjoy life. I know this is something that can be hard to do, and I tend to worry even though I know I cannot do anything about it. But if there is one thing I want to take away from my trip here, besides learning Spanish, it is to try and live a more Pura Vida life.
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Un día en San José
Today, June 30th, was our last full day in San José. We leave on Saturday at 11:55 PM to return to Nebraska, but we get picked up to go to the airport by 8:30 PM. It has been a bittersweet last week. I am excited to be home and see my family, but it was sad to say goodbye to some of the people I have met here over the past four weeks. Normally on the weekends, we have gone to different cities so we could see different parts of Costa Rica. But because we really only had today to do things, we decided to just stay here for the day. A few of us had debated going to Guayabo, which is a National Park that has some ruins, but it is about two hours away by bus and we were told by 3 or 4 people how to get there, and they all told us different things. So we decided to just spend the day in San José and explore downtown. I have been at the beginning of downtown a couple of times to go to a souvenir market, but I had not gotten much farther than that.
The first thing we did today was go to el Museo Nacional, the National Museum. Since 1950, the National Museum has been housed in the Bellavista Fortress. The Bellavista Fortress was built in 1917 and was originally a military barracks. It is a very impressive building, and the museum was pretty neat as well. The first thing we walked into was a butterfly exhibit that had live butterflies that flew all around you, and it even had a spot where all of the cocoons and chrysalises were. After that, there were various rooms that showed how the fortress originally looked like and what homes in the 1800's and 1900's might have looked like in Costa Rica. There were also artifacts from the indigenous people like pottery and arrowheads and objects related to their burial practices. It was an interesting museum for learning about the history of Costa Rica.'
After that, we went to la Catedral Metropolitana, the Metropolitan Cathedral. It was originally built in 1802, but the original cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake. It was built again in 1871, and that is the building that is still standing there today. It was a very large building, and it had a much newer feel to it than most of the Catholic churches I have visited. There was mass going on when we got there, so we slipped inside to see what it looked like, but we did not stay very long.
We debated going and eating after that cathedral, but instead, a few of us went and toured el Teatro Nacional, the National Theatre. The building was started in 1891, and it was not finished until 1897. It had a very European feel to it because some of the upper class wanted Costa Rica to be more cultural like how Europe was. It was an absolutely beautiful theatre with a lot of history and many beautiful decorations. There were quite a few things we learned from the tour, but two of them really stuck with me. One is that the floor in the theatre can actually be raised up to the height of the stage and the chairs can be removed so the theatre can be used like a ballroom for special events. The other is that the theatre has always had electrical lighting. Costa Rica was one of the first countries to have public electrical lighting, and it came about right before the theatre was built.
After we ate lunch, we made our last stop for the day at el Museo de Jade, the Jade Museum. We had been debating between this one and the Pre-Colombian Gold Museum, but we were very happy with our choice to go to the Jade Museum. We were not sure what to expect, and the only thing we really knew about the museum was that it had high ratings. When we finally got there, we saw there was a temporary exhibit related to burial practices and stuff like that in Costa Rica, so we figured that even if the museum was not that cool, that exhibit might be. But honestly, that exhibit was probably the least cool thing there, though it was very interesting. There were five levels (possibly six, but we did not try to go to the basement) to the museum, and each level had at least one or two exhibits related to the indigenous people of Costa Rica. Not only were there items made of Jade, but there were also many beautiful pottery items, tools used to craft the Jade items, and just a lot of information about the history of the items. We spent about an hour and a half at the museum, but we definitely could have spent longer. We were a little tired by the time we finally got the museum, so I think the security guards there thought we were a little crazy because we kept laughing at some of the facial expressions on the pottery and Jade, but it was just because we were a little exhausted! However, it was probably my favorite thing we did all day, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who comes to San José.
Today was a great way to end our time in Costa Rica. We were able to explore the city a little bit, and we learned about the history of the country as well. History has always been one of those things that fascinates me, so I was just happy to have a day to devote to that interest. In less than 26 hours, I will be leaving the country, and although that is sad, I am happy for my experiences over the last four weeks and all of the things I have learned.
The first thing we did today was go to el Museo Nacional, the National Museum. Since 1950, the National Museum has been housed in the Bellavista Fortress. The Bellavista Fortress was built in 1917 and was originally a military barracks. It is a very impressive building, and the museum was pretty neat as well. The first thing we walked into was a butterfly exhibit that had live butterflies that flew all around you, and it even had a spot where all of the cocoons and chrysalises were. After that, there were various rooms that showed how the fortress originally looked like and what homes in the 1800's and 1900's might have looked like in Costa Rica. There were also artifacts from the indigenous people like pottery and arrowheads and objects related to their burial practices. It was an interesting museum for learning about the history of Costa Rica.'
After that, we went to la Catedral Metropolitana, the Metropolitan Cathedral. It was originally built in 1802, but the original cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake. It was built again in 1871, and that is the building that is still standing there today. It was a very large building, and it had a much newer feel to it than most of the Catholic churches I have visited. There was mass going on when we got there, so we slipped inside to see what it looked like, but we did not stay very long.
We debated going and eating after that cathedral, but instead, a few of us went and toured el Teatro Nacional, the National Theatre. The building was started in 1891, and it was not finished until 1897. It had a very European feel to it because some of the upper class wanted Costa Rica to be more cultural like how Europe was. It was an absolutely beautiful theatre with a lot of history and many beautiful decorations. There were quite a few things we learned from the tour, but two of them really stuck with me. One is that the floor in the theatre can actually be raised up to the height of the stage and the chairs can be removed so the theatre can be used like a ballroom for special events. The other is that the theatre has always had electrical lighting. Costa Rica was one of the first countries to have public electrical lighting, and it came about right before the theatre was built.
After we ate lunch, we made our last stop for the day at el Museo de Jade, the Jade Museum. We had been debating between this one and the Pre-Colombian Gold Museum, but we were very happy with our choice to go to the Jade Museum. We were not sure what to expect, and the only thing we really knew about the museum was that it had high ratings. When we finally got there, we saw there was a temporary exhibit related to burial practices and stuff like that in Costa Rica, so we figured that even if the museum was not that cool, that exhibit might be. But honestly, that exhibit was probably the least cool thing there, though it was very interesting. There were five levels (possibly six, but we did not try to go to the basement) to the museum, and each level had at least one or two exhibits related to the indigenous people of Costa Rica. Not only were there items made of Jade, but there were also many beautiful pottery items, tools used to craft the Jade items, and just a lot of information about the history of the items. We spent about an hour and a half at the museum, but we definitely could have spent longer. We were a little tired by the time we finally got the museum, so I think the security guards there thought we were a little crazy because we kept laughing at some of the facial expressions on the pottery and Jade, but it was just because we were a little exhausted! However, it was probably my favorite thing we did all day, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who comes to San José.
Today was a great way to end our time in Costa Rica. We were able to explore the city a little bit, and we learned about the history of the country as well. History has always been one of those things that fascinates me, so I was just happy to have a day to devote to that interest. In less than 26 hours, I will be leaving the country, and although that is sad, I am happy for my experiences over the last four weeks and all of the things I have learned.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Puerto Viejo
I am possibly a little crazy writing two blogs in one day, but I figured that since I was already working on one, I might as well just work on another one about what I just did this weekend as well. This weekend, we went to Puerto Viejo, which is a small town near the beach on the Caribbean side, and although I did not do much there, it was nice to just relax.
We left to go to Puerto Viejo on Thursday after classes because we had heard it could take an extra two hours if we left on Friday morning because of road work. But even then, we did not get there until around 9. So we checked into the hotel and just called it a night.
On Friday, we were all up fairly early, which I suppose you can blame having to wake up by 6:30 every morning for school for changing our sleep schedules, and the fact that it is light outside by 6 in the morning any way. Some people went to breakfast, but we had bought some food for breakfast, so we made it to the beach by 8. We walked around until we found a spot we liked, and then we just swam and laid out on the beach for a few hours. It was crazy how much hotter it was in Puerto Viejo than it has been in San José, and I think all I did this weekend was sweat. We went back to the hotel to change and eat some lunch, and then we went out to look around town and do some souvenir shopping. I can't say any of us really bought anything, but it is still fun to look. Everyone in our room took naps after shopping that until about 5, and then we got ready and went to supper at a place called Hot Rocks. The food was pretty good, and they had karaoke after 8. I have always wanted to try karaoke but have never had the chance to really try it, so I went up with another girl in our group and we sang Don't Stop Believing. It was fun, and I will definitely have to go karaoke again. There were 13 of us from San José that went to Puerto Viejo and we were all girls. So when we heard that a bar in town was having a girl's night, we figured we would go check it out. But we ended up being the only ones there, so we did not stay very long. A few people headed back to Hot Rocks, but I went back with a few others to the hotel to go to bed.
We were not as motivated on Saturday to wake up, but we eventually woke up and went to a cafe called Bread and Chocolate that was recommended to us by a few people. I had waffles and an iced mocha, and it was delicious. After that, we all kind of split up to do our own thing. A few people went surfing, a few people went to the beach, and a few of us went shopping again. The town was not very big, but most of what the town was comprised of was shopping and restaurants, so we kept busy for about an hour or more just walking around to see other shops we had missed. We went back to the hotel for lunch and to rest a little bit, but we left and went to the beach at around 2 because we wanted to try going in the afternoon versus the morning to see how it was different. Although there were more people on the beach, it seemed better outside in the afternoon than it did in the morning, and I swam/sat in the water for quite a while, and then I just laid out on the beach and took a little nap, which was greatly appreciated. We went back to the hotel to get ready for supper, and then we ate at a restaurant called Lidia's Place. After dinner, we all went back to Hot Rocks for a little while, but I think the sun had gotten to everyone over the past two days, and we were all back in the hotel by 10:30. We had been really lucky that weekend because it had been sunny and not rainy during the day, but it down poured hard that night after we got back, so it was probably for the best that we headed back when we did.
It was a super fun and relaxing weekend, and I enjoyed just doing nothing on the beach. We had considered going snorkeling or going to another beach that was a little ways away that we had heard was even prettier, but just laying on the beach was all we really wanted to do in the heat, and I am happy with our decision. We had heard before going that Puerto Viejo can be a bit of a party town, so we were a little nervous to go. We always traveled in large groups at night, and we did not wander too far away from what we knew. But overall, I did not ever feel scared to be anywhere in the town, so maybe we just avoided the bad parts of town. I think we might have just been lucky with where we stayed also because the hotel was supposed to be in a safer part of town. Even though we had heard those stories of the town being a little dangerous, I still really wanted to go because we had not been to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica yet and we had heard that it was beautiful, and trust me, it was. It is starting to be a little bitter sweet thinking about that by this time next week I will be back in Kearney. But even though I will be sad to go, I am ready to escape the rain and humidity here and get back to life in Nebraska.
We left to go to Puerto Viejo on Thursday after classes because we had heard it could take an extra two hours if we left on Friday morning because of road work. But even then, we did not get there until around 9. So we checked into the hotel and just called it a night.
On Friday, we were all up fairly early, which I suppose you can blame having to wake up by 6:30 every morning for school for changing our sleep schedules, and the fact that it is light outside by 6 in the morning any way. Some people went to breakfast, but we had bought some food for breakfast, so we made it to the beach by 8. We walked around until we found a spot we liked, and then we just swam and laid out on the beach for a few hours. It was crazy how much hotter it was in Puerto Viejo than it has been in San José, and I think all I did this weekend was sweat. We went back to the hotel to change and eat some lunch, and then we went out to look around town and do some souvenir shopping. I can't say any of us really bought anything, but it is still fun to look. Everyone in our room took naps after shopping that until about 5, and then we got ready and went to supper at a place called Hot Rocks. The food was pretty good, and they had karaoke after 8. I have always wanted to try karaoke but have never had the chance to really try it, so I went up with another girl in our group and we sang Don't Stop Believing. It was fun, and I will definitely have to go karaoke again. There were 13 of us from San José that went to Puerto Viejo and we were all girls. So when we heard that a bar in town was having a girl's night, we figured we would go check it out. But we ended up being the only ones there, so we did not stay very long. A few people headed back to Hot Rocks, but I went back with a few others to the hotel to go to bed.
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| Singing karaoke with Delaney |
It was a super fun and relaxing weekend, and I enjoyed just doing nothing on the beach. We had considered going snorkeling or going to another beach that was a little ways away that we had heard was even prettier, but just laying on the beach was all we really wanted to do in the heat, and I am happy with our decision. We had heard before going that Puerto Viejo can be a bit of a party town, so we were a little nervous to go. We always traveled in large groups at night, and we did not wander too far away from what we knew. But overall, I did not ever feel scared to be anywhere in the town, so maybe we just avoided the bad parts of town. I think we might have just been lucky with where we stayed also because the hotel was supposed to be in a safer part of town. Even though we had heard those stories of the town being a little dangerous, I still really wanted to go because we had not been to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica yet and we had heard that it was beautiful, and trust me, it was. It is starting to be a little bitter sweet thinking about that by this time next week I will be back in Kearney. But even though I will be sad to go, I am ready to escape the rain and humidity here and get back to life in Nebraska.
Virgen de los Ángeles, Arenal, y Monteverde
I know I am a little bit late with trying to write about what we did last weekend, but better late than never! Not only did we go to see the Arenal Volcano and visit Monte Verde, but before the weekend actually started, a few other girls and I went to Cartago on Thursday after class, which is a city about 40 minutes away by train from San José, to see a basilica.
La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, Our Lady of the Angels Basilica, was built in dedication to a statue that represents Mary holding the baby Jesus, Virgen de los Ángeles. The story goes that in 1635, a young indigenous girl was collecting wood in the forest and she found a small statue that looked like a doll on top of a stone. She took the doll home and placed it in a box she had. The next day, she went back out to the forest and found another doll on the same stone. When she took that doll home, she realized the first one she had found was gone. So this time, she locked the doll in a box. Again the following day, she went back out to the forest and found the same doll on the same stone in the same location. When she realized that the doll she had found the day before had disappeared from the locked box, she ran and gave the doll to a local priest who also put it in a box. The next day when the priest went to examine the statue further, he discovered it had disappeared. So he went into the forest to where the girl had originally found the statue and it was there again. He took it back with him and this time put it inside the tabernacle. But once again, the statue was gone by the next day. So the priest invited other priests to the forest that day because they realized that something supernatural was occurring and that the statue wanted to remain in that location in the forest. Many churches were built near that location, but they were often destroyed by earthquakes and other natural disasters. But the basilica that is there today was built in the early 1900's. It was a beautiful church to go visit, and the legend behind the church was very fascinating as well. Because this statue appeared in Cartago, the Holy Virgin is the patroness of Costa Rica. Every year, many Costa Ricans make a 22 km pilgrimage to the Basilica in order to visit the rock where the statue was found and then they will wash themselves and drink the water that comes from the rock. There are other similar stories in many Latin American countries, and one that many people may of heard of is Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe, from Mexico.
On Friday, we all met at the bus station at 6 in the morning to catch our bus to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is a town about 4 hours away by car from San José and it is very close to the Arenal Volcano. It took us quite a while to get there by bus, and once we got there we checked into our hostel and found lunch. For some reason, it was very clear out that day, and because of that, we could see the volcano very nicely. So instead of going to the Baldi Hot Springs like we had planned, we instead went on a hike through the forest to see some animals and find spectacular views of the volcano. We were able to see quite a few animals and plants, and we even got to swim in a waterfall! After that, we did go to an area with some thermal waters, but it was pretty dark at that point so I do not have any pictures. It was not as relaxing as it would have been going to the hot springs all day, but it was a day of adventures and we probably got more out of the day than we would have otherwise.
On Saturday morning, we were picked up from our hostel in a van and we went to the lake that is outside of La Fortuna. The volcano had been dormant for many years, but back in 1968, it erupted. Three towns were buried and about 87 people died. And after that, a couple small towns in the area were relocated, and then the old towns were flooded to increase the size of the lake that was already there. The volcano has been dormant again since 2010. We went by boat across the lake, and the view of the volcano was absolutely amazing. When we got to the other side of the lake, we took another bus to our next hostel in Monteverde. There are quite a few nature reserves in the area, and there is forest all around the town, so it is a very popular tourist destination. After we ate lunch, we went to the hanging bridges in the Selvatura Adventure Park. It sprinkled on us a little bit, but the views were wonderful in the forest, and we even saw a howler monkey up close. That evening, a few of us went on a night tour of a different part of the forest. It had been down-pouring rain for most of the day, so I think that is why we did not see very many animals, but the ones we did see were pretty cool. After that, we went to a restaurant called the Tree House Restaurant and Café. It was definitely a tourist place, but the food was really good. And then a couple of girls from our group had had amazing milkshakes at another restaurant, so another girl and I went there after dinner so we could try the milkshakes, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint.
Overall, it was a fun weekend filled with a lot of adventure and I had a pretty great time seeing different things in nature that I do not normally get to see. I was kind of annoyed that it rained the whole day in Monteverde, but it is just that season here in Costa Rica, so we just have to enjoy the not rainy days even more.
La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, Our Lady of the Angels Basilica, was built in dedication to a statue that represents Mary holding the baby Jesus, Virgen de los Ángeles. The story goes that in 1635, a young indigenous girl was collecting wood in the forest and she found a small statue that looked like a doll on top of a stone. She took the doll home and placed it in a box she had. The next day, she went back out to the forest and found another doll on the same stone. When she took that doll home, she realized the first one she had found was gone. So this time, she locked the doll in a box. Again the following day, she went back out to the forest and found the same doll on the same stone in the same location. When she realized that the doll she had found the day before had disappeared from the locked box, she ran and gave the doll to a local priest who also put it in a box. The next day when the priest went to examine the statue further, he discovered it had disappeared. So he went into the forest to where the girl had originally found the statue and it was there again. He took it back with him and this time put it inside the tabernacle. But once again, the statue was gone by the next day. So the priest invited other priests to the forest that day because they realized that something supernatural was occurring and that the statue wanted to remain in that location in the forest. Many churches were built near that location, but they were often destroyed by earthquakes and other natural disasters. But the basilica that is there today was built in the early 1900's. It was a beautiful church to go visit, and the legend behind the church was very fascinating as well. Because this statue appeared in Cartago, the Holy Virgin is the patroness of Costa Rica. Every year, many Costa Ricans make a 22 km pilgrimage to the Basilica in order to visit the rock where the statue was found and then they will wash themselves and drink the water that comes from the rock. There are other similar stories in many Latin American countries, and one that many people may of heard of is Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe, from Mexico.
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| The statue on the rock. | A closeup of the statue. |
On Friday, we all met at the bus station at 6 in the morning to catch our bus to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is a town about 4 hours away by car from San José and it is very close to the Arenal Volcano. It took us quite a while to get there by bus, and once we got there we checked into our hostel and found lunch. For some reason, it was very clear out that day, and because of that, we could see the volcano very nicely. So instead of going to the Baldi Hot Springs like we had planned, we instead went on a hike through the forest to see some animals and find spectacular views of the volcano. We were able to see quite a few animals and plants, and we even got to swim in a waterfall! After that, we did go to an area with some thermal waters, but it was pretty dark at that point so I do not have any pictures. It was not as relaxing as it would have been going to the hot springs all day, but it was a day of adventures and we probably got more out of the day than we would have otherwise.
On Saturday morning, we were picked up from our hostel in a van and we went to the lake that is outside of La Fortuna. The volcano had been dormant for many years, but back in 1968, it erupted. Three towns were buried and about 87 people died. And after that, a couple small towns in the area were relocated, and then the old towns were flooded to increase the size of the lake that was already there. The volcano has been dormant again since 2010. We went by boat across the lake, and the view of the volcano was absolutely amazing. When we got to the other side of the lake, we took another bus to our next hostel in Monteverde. There are quite a few nature reserves in the area, and there is forest all around the town, so it is a very popular tourist destination. After we ate lunch, we went to the hanging bridges in the Selvatura Adventure Park. It sprinkled on us a little bit, but the views were wonderful in the forest, and we even saw a howler monkey up close. That evening, a few of us went on a night tour of a different part of the forest. It had been down-pouring rain for most of the day, so I think that is why we did not see very many animals, but the ones we did see were pretty cool. After that, we went to a restaurant called the Tree House Restaurant and Café. It was definitely a tourist place, but the food was really good. And then a couple of girls from our group had had amazing milkshakes at another restaurant, so another girl and I went there after dinner so we could try the milkshakes, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint.
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| The inside of the Tree House Restaurant and Cafe | The best milkshakes ever. I got a mango one and Allison got a blackberry one. Then the guy gave us a small glass of the other person's milkshake. |
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| A panoramic of the view from our hostel |
Overall, it was a fun weekend filled with a lot of adventure and I had a pretty great time seeing different things in nature that I do not normally get to see. I was kind of annoyed that it rained the whole day in Monteverde, but it is just that season here in Costa Rica, so we just have to enjoy the not rainy days even more.
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