5 Simple Observations from Costa Rica
Costa Rica made today's NYTimes list of 31 places to go in 2010.
Costa Rica has been on any eco-minded traveler’s radar for years, but with a new birding route in the northeast region of the country, there’s a new reason to pay the country a visit. Opened in early 2009, the Costa Rican Bird Route encompasses 13 far-flung nature reserves with phenomenal avian diversity — the sites are home to more than 500 bird species. - Bonnie Tsui for NYTimes
While I don't know squawk about birding, I've made a few observations about Costa Rica in the less than a week's (and therefore, to be taken with a grain of sea salt) time I've been here.
1. Slower pace In the States, in the circles in which I run, speed is Queen. She alone dictates whether a person is a success or not. How quickly can you iterate on that idea? Can you launch by the end of the week? Hurry to recover from a recent failure? In a nutshell: how fast can you juggle it all?
The past few days have been pure bliss largely because I'm not checking my iPhone to make sure I'm on schedule for the next errand. (That's not to say I haven't been working - I've been blogging here and at The Mindfulist daily. When I work, the pace is slower and breathing comes easy.)
2. Built-in Wellness When people say they eat "whole foods" in Costa Rica they're not referring to the capitalized grocery store version.
3. Traffic patterns As we went on our daily walk today I asked Sam (who lives here/formerly of Boulder and is more like me than any human I've ever met, but more on that later) why I enjoy walking the beach so much more than running. She pointed out the sand and conversation and sound of the waves but then said, "and you're not dodging traffic."
Traffic is seashells and waves. It makes for a more enjoyable four-mile walk.
4. Less consumption I love the shopping life of America. I love all the pretty distractions.
Unfortunately, even in a 500 sq foot home those distractions get out of control. Even though I shop locally/use reusable bags/consume carefully it still gets out of control.
There is less of everything here. Less focus on shopping, even in the shopping centers. Folks make eye contact and carry on dialog in the grocery shops, on the storefront steps. Without a mobile device in our hands, we're naturally more civil, less consumptive.
5. Making do We all have cravings. It's part of life. (Even monks have cravings - they just learn how to become one with them.)
Something I've noticed is that when you can't get quite what you want here, you have to learn to make do. No kombucha? Make yourself a club soda-apple juice-coconut fizzy drink.
*
I'm thinking about the ways I can take this simplicity home in my carry on. A little.
Mostly, I'm just savoring each day of pura vida.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Reader Comments (20)
Bien dicho.
I spent a summer living in Puerto Limón, on the Caribbean coast. I fell in love with life there, so much so that I burst out crying the first morning I woke up back in the U.S. If nothing else, that pura vida vibe makes it effortless to live with your whole self firmly planted in the now.
You got it.
When I first saw #3 I was sure you were going to talk about how everyone here drives like their in high school and so excited to be driving that they stop in the middle of the road to say hi to their friends and just cruise without being in a rush. The walking here is incredible though.
Also, I love that I didn't know you were craving kombucha until I read this. Hahaha. Coconut Water/Apple Juice Spritzer is killer though.
Most of Central America outside of the cities is just as relaxed. Actually, most of the countries I've been to in the Americas and SE Asia are pretty relaxed. Sometimes I wonder if the US is the exception in this regard, not the rule.
I have a great story.
We were taking the local bus from Hone Creek to Sixaola (Costa Rica, of course) on our way to Panama. The local bus is amazing. Everyone was so chill, all sitting together with people they seemed to not know. One at the back of the bus was holding a hen. Another was holding a produce box that I later realized was full of chicks. (The baby chicken variety, not the vernacular for human females.) One person had a new cell phone. It reminded me of the newer monochrome Nokias we'd had in the US about a decade ago. She was going through all the ring tones, playing one after the other, at full volume. She was clearly very enamored with her new technology.
Even with all the signs of modernity, commerce, and "advancement," Costa Rica still retains its deeply ingrained Pura Vida essence.
From the wrong angle, it may seem contrary to your post. It isn't. So I hope I presented this correctly. It was a sweet, beautiful experience.
I'm so glad to see you're enjoying your time there! I'm running a little experiment/challenge that's forcing me into #5. I'm not buying groceries (except the blizzard trifecta of milk, bread, and eggs) until all of the food at our house has been eaten. No restaurant dining, either. It's quirky, but I'm learning a lot about myself, my cravings, and my body's actual needs. This is where it all started: http://meetthewelchs.com/2010/01/january-challenge-waste-less-food/
I would agree with Kyle - I think the US/Canada is the exception not the rule. I long for a slower pace, a chance to be with family and friends without having to rush off... Although my current travel experience is minimal my goal is to change that in the following year, so that I may too experience this lifestyle.
You make me miss that place. I noticed all of these things while I was there. After only ten days, I came back fresher, younger looking and feeling, and gentler.
Just a big huzzah for the "monks have cravings" line. Yesterday, I was in the parking lot of capitalized-Whole Foods, clutching my monk's bag which contains my macbook air and climbing into my 4Runner and I had a moment of pause in which I thought, "yep, this is a Boulder Monk". In spite of it all though, my preference, my STRONG preference would be to be in a forest hermitage!
Big kudos for slowing-down. For me, *that* is the spirit of the 4-hour work week.
Also, you've mentioned finding Sam to be your exact copy.
This is your "echo chamber" theory taken to whole new levels.
A year-ago-August, I met a new friend on LinkedIn. A former monk (Nyingma) a passive-income-enthusiast, a raw-food-o-phile, a 12-step member of the same ilk as me, this man and I were finishing each others' sentences at our first meeting. To this day, we're fast friends, business colleagues, and still finish each others' sentences. Perhaps more than an echo chamber, having a big social network allows us to meet our copies?
The only downside is that we're SO much alike that he does some of the things which annoy me about me!! hahahaha
Live up La Pura Vida, there are plenty of distractions awaiting you in Boulder upon your return.
- Gelong Tashi
The simple life is much more exciting. Why? Because you have to use your resourcefulness! Just like your kombucha example. If you always have what you want available to you at all times, life is so boring! That's why I need to escape America for a while. I'm feeling a little too domesticated--like a dog who always gets his food. I need to untame myself and learn to hunt again!
Each these comments touched my heart when I woke up to read them this morning. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity in sharing your stories. And for making me smile. Pura vida
I'm sorry, but I have to comment again. And yes, I realize now that I have a typo in my previous comment. It was late when I wrote it.
So although I think that places like the US (and maybe other places) seem to be exact opposite of Costa Rica and it's pura vida, I do want to point out that after being here for almost 4 months I have found that there is no magic solution here. Moving here didn't "fix" everything. I'm still left with all my own neurosis and habitual ways of being and like all places it has it's issues.
My hope is to learn from the more enlightened parts of Costa Rican living/being and take those gems with me where ever I go. (It may be difficult, but it's worth trying.) I think we often have this idea that "If only I lived somewhere else, had more time, etc. that I'd be happy." We create our own realities. We are responsible. What are we doing to in our daily lives (regardless of where we are) to practice these 5 "observations?"
AHHHHH! It sounds like the past :)
Love this. How often we forget to make do with what we have, right now, at this very moment in the US. How easy to be blind to our abundance. Simplicity becomes a mantra when you're seeking to live a different life than the culture you're surrounded by.
Oh, yes, Pura Vida. Loved the countryside, the people, the simplicity. Spent Christmas 08 there.
Wish we could all live that way. sigh...
I was in Costa Rica for 9 days last October. I loved it.Very laid back, very chill. It was even better that I wasn't in San Jose the whole time, but a coastal town that was 4 hours away by bus. Though, since I am originaly from rural New Mexico, it reminded me a lot of what rural life is like in America. In fact, it was roughly 80% just like my rural town in NM, just with less palm trees and beaches. I think it's important to remember we have similar ways of life in our own country, and that maybe the city people just need to go exploring more.
There's nothing like being outside of the US to slow down. Depending on where you go, of course.
Some days I feel like Shirley MacLaine - I'm dancing as fast as I can and it never seems fast enough.
Thanks for sharing a peek into your Costa Rica days with us!
Great post and great comments, too.
I'm trying to achieve exactly that state of mind through Yoga philosophy right here in Milwaukee.
Where are you in Costa Rica? My wife and I are going for two weeks in February.
Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com
My husband and I have often talked about moving to CR.. still on "the list" though not "next on the list" :) Your observations here are EXACTLY why it is on our list... reading this today brought it all back for me this little dream of ours. Thank you.