COSTA RICAA <3

Costa Rica! Pura Vida!

That's a popular saying in Costa Rica. The literal english translation means pure life, but it has a deeper meaning than that. It is a colloquial term that loosely means eternal optimism. Similar phrases would include:  "take  it easy", "enjoy life", "it's all good", "purity in life", "hello", "goodbye", "this is life!"      

 A trini translation would just be: vibes...good vibes

So there I was, waiting in the airport to check my luggage in as I anticipated this trip with insane excitement. I was finally going to visit Costa Rica! To me, it was a perfect chance to utilize my Spanish speaking skills and also have fun adventures. A huge group of my friends and my lil bro accompanied me on the journey. I had been planning that trip for soo long and I just could not wait to get started. 

Some brief reasons why I looked forward to this trip:

• The ecotourism in Costa Rica is amazing
• Cultural aspects and activities
• I just love latin dancing (or dancing in general)
• Costa Ricans (male & female) are insanely good looking ;)
• I wanted to try the local food
• They have coffee plantations. (never visited one before)
• They have volcanoessss... need I say more? 

                         

            Selfie with my friend at le airport (bro photobombing in the back with his serious face)

                                                                   

                                                                          Pre-boarding selfie

                            

                                                         Lil bro thinks he's so swaggy :P

After we went through security and all that airport jazz, we reached our gate and boarded our flight after a short while (30mins). We were finalllyyy on the plane. I could not contain my excitement. 

Some people have a fear of flying and absolutely abhor planes. I just happen to be the opposite, I absolutely love air travel. This stems from my fascination with planes, rockets, drones and all things that fly. 

                     Left wing of the plane. I think this was the Boeing 747... but I cannot recall precisely. 

I flew with a spanish airline (Copa Airlines). That was the first time I ever flew with a fully Spanish speaking airline before. The flight attendants were very cordial and the flight time was approx 3.5 hrs. Filling out the immigration papers was a lil tricky but it was feasible. Airline food was not bad either. 

It was an early flight sooo what did  I do on the plane?

I slept for the majority of the flight... zzZZ

When we arrived to Costa Rica, it was like a new world. I can't really decribe the new feeling you get when everyone around you is speaking Spanish. All I know is that it was pretty cool to me. 

The drive to the hotel gave us our first glimpse of the country. It honestly looked like a typical Caribbean island... with palm trees and numerous small low-laying houses. The only difference: roads were slightly larger and they had a train system. 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in San Jose and it was just stunning <3....           

                                                       

                            

I shared a room with my bro and we had to be in bed very early since we had an early city tour planned the next morning at 6am. 

6:00 am :/

That means we had to wake up at least 5 am....

As a night owl and someone who sleeps like a rock, you can imagine how impossible it was to get up at that time, far less wake up my night owl of a brother too. 

The following morning~

With the help of several loud alarms and whacking my bro with a pillow, we managed to wake up in a timely manner and attend the walking city tour. 

Breakfast was delicious:

Fruit(top left corner), Omelette(right), eggs, ham, cheese, rice and something else comprised my breakfast for that day. The hotel served breakfast buffet style... so I tried everything they offered. The food was delicious and it turns out that Costa Ricans love cheese (they take cheese seriously). There was an assortment of maybe 10 different cheeses to choose from. 

View of the early morning as our two tour guides stood outside waiting for us to congregate and start the city tour

Tour guide (orange shirt) took us to see this dome shaped struture in the park (opposite the hotel). Parque Morazan is a park in downtown San Jose where lot’s of activities  take place. People were drawing, playing chess, dancing, skateboarding,  and bands performed. 

                      We all congregated under this dome structure where we began our walking city tour.

              

I loved their street art (graffiti). This can be seen on sides of buildings and stores. It added vibrancy and color to the city. 

                                         San Jose is quite crowded. There definitely is alot of hustle and bustle in this city. 

Blue House: Former President's dwelling-place

FUN FACT

In Costa Rica, the president does not move into a different house when he is inaugurated. He just lives in his current home and conducts his affairs from there. The tour guide jokingly said that this was implemented as a more effective way to save the country's money because usually the new elected president spends alot of $$$$ redecorateing when he moves into the blue house. 

Typical train station in San Jose. 

                             

      San Jose has some unique buildings for sure. This is a school built completely of metal. The Costa Rican government abolished their army and invested it instead in their education system. They have no official military.            

      

                                

                                            

 At the city center is the National Park, distinguishable by this statue.  The statue is reminiscent of a campaign in the 1800s that played a  significant role in giving Costa Rica its national identity. 

                                             

                                                                                Cool stone tower 

End of Day 1 in Costa Rica~

The walking city tour was extremely informative and educational. I learned about the rich history of Costa Rica, the importance of the coffee industry to their social and political economy, I also learned that they have no formal military and much more.

                            

 We stopped at a Taco Bell for food at the end of our city tour. Not really my cup of tea. I wanted to try a more authentic Costa Rican restuarant, but there were none nearby so we opted for fast food.

Make sure to check back for part 2 if you enjoyed reading part 1.

~Love

Kazumi