devotion frees: Pura Vida. Baby.

"Pura Vida," literally translates as, "pure life," and is used as a greeting or goodbye or to express satisfaction. The phrase has been in use since the mid-50's to express a feeling of life rightly lived of family, community, good food, and the small joys in life.

I must admit I was skeptical of Costa Rica. Everyone likes Costa Rica. People move there to retire. It is so beautiful . . . yadda yadda yadda. well it is damn nice and I like it despite my best efforts. I can have a hard time with nice. Nice makes be nervous. But then again Costa Rica does not want for much relative to its neighbors. Costa Rica ranks number one on the Happy Planet

Index, is counted among the world's oldest democracies, is without a military since 1949, and is one of the greenest countries on the planet. I saw my first Green Peace ad on TV here . . . ever.

I rode out of Los Chiles later than planned after spending the morning writing. The group I was traveling with broke apart as one stayed in Los Chiles sick and others headed in different directions. I planned to stay on the eastern side of the mountains and cross into Panama along the Caribbean coast. I was struck by how clean Costa Rica is as I rode past pineapple, citrus, and sugar cane in the lowlands and foothills. I finally saw bananas getting harvested.The tropical jungle comes right down to the road providing some welcome shade and rivers tumble off the mountain slopes. Costa Rica has an obvious middle class that is often lacking in countries like Honduras or Nicaragua. By late afternoon I caught up with Jeff in the small agricultural community of Boca Arenal and we found the only lodging in town. The rainy season has begun which does not mean rain all day generally but that evening the sky opened up for several hours. Camping is going to be tricky if i do not want to float away in the night. Jeff and i rode out together in the morning and I planned a short day because I was feeling ill - probably a combination of sleep deprivation and extreme heat. I spent a day recovering and resting in Aguas Zarcas, a small community in the mountain foothills.

The family that owned the small hotel had finished slaughtering a pig that day and they brought me a plate of fresh pork, rice, and salad, and the next day brought me fresh cheese and tortillas - people are nice here!

I knew Costa Rica was a little different when I heard first hours of violin practice then didgeridoo the following morning coming from this house across from my hotel room.
The rolling foothills were beautiful as I passed through small towns all with their own soccer fields in what would be the central plaza of most Latin American countries. Swimming holes abound along the way and provide a welcome respite to the heat.

I stayed in another small community that had an active mountain bike scene and a good sized bike shop where they gave me a coke and t-shirt! People are nice here, again.