Pura Vida. Pure Life. More than just a slogan for Costa Ricans (also called Ticos), the phrase exemplifies how many choose to live: embracing the moment, helping others, reveling in the beauty of extraordinary nature and ordinary tasks alike.
The cynic in me was somewhat skeptical the first couple of times we heard the phrase, particularly from tourist-facing services. My thinking was along the lines of “yea, yea, we get it. You live in paradise and are leaning too far into the idea of Costa Rica being an escape for wealthy tourists to come and ‘live in the moment.’ You won’t fool me.” While there might be a small amount of truth to this (as with many things these days, the phrase has found its way onto all kinds of kitschy souvenirs and trinkets that the Costa Rican TSA has surely seen too many of), the phrase is much, much more meaningful to the people here than I could have expected.
Having just completed a whirlwind week with Tusli, we wanted to lie low for a couple of days and figure out our next steps. We could not have found a better place than La Casona de Doña Julia, located in the mountains about 45 minutes above San Jose (the capital). Without any commitment from us to eat at the restaurant, the manager told us we could park anywhere along the back, use their bathroom and water spigot, and wander the grounds as we pleased, all for free. With fresh mountain air and wonderful flowers in bloom, it was not hard to agree to these terms and conditions. To show our appreciation, we ordered an appetizer that afternoon and were treated to a perfectly done vegetarian version of Costa Rican tortilla aliñada. With such hospitality and delicious food, of course we prolonged our stay an extra day and enjoyed another meal to boot. When it came time to depart, all of the employees that we had interacted with took a minute from their work to send us off with a hearty “pura vida.”
After our relaxing time in the mountains, we returned to San Jose to spend a couple of days in Costa Rica’s only city with more than a million people. (In fact, we learned that nearly 60% of the country’s 5.2 million residents live in the greater metro area of San Jose.) We wandered through the city’s gastro-centric neighborhood, Barrio Escalante, visited the university grounds, and lazed in a couple of local parks. By far the highlight, however, was the most unique walking tour either of us have ever been on.
From the start, we understood that our guide, J, was brimming with pride in his country and city and could not wait to impart some of this onto us. With only one other person joining (“I like to keep my groups small so that it feels more personal.”), we all got very comfortable with J as he took us around the city, showing many of the most famous attractions and several lesser-known ones as well. He was filled with fun facts, very interested in all of our travels, and eager to show us tips so that we could experience Costa Rica less like a tourist and instead learn to “live like a local.” By far the highlight of the experience, however, was the full picnic that J brought for us to enjoy near the end of the tour, complete with all kinds of local fruits - some familiar and some totally new - and pastries he had just purchased from a nearby Colombian bakery. Keep in mind, he had just spent three hours hauling a massive lunchbox (along with his binder for visual aids to his stories and umbrellas for inclement weather!) just for this moment. Truly an incredible amount of effort to put into a free tour! J’s kindness was totally infectious, and even as we said goodbye (“Pura Vida!”), we joined our very cool tourmate from Germany for a coffee and then some beers to keep the afternoon pleasantries going!
Fun fact (learned from J): “Pura vida” actually comes from an old 50’s Mexican comedy in which the protagonist, faced with all sorts of bad luck and misadventures, coins the catchphrase to encapsulate all of life’s ups and downs. Costa Ricans loved the movie so much and adopted it so completely to the point that, today, most will be hesitant to admit that their saying has origins from another country.
There are very few things in this world that bring as much joy to life as good friends, and we continued our pura vida adventures by catching up with some of ours! Our time in Costa Rica truly came full circle as they were set up at a campground in Uvita, where we had begun our Costa Rican adventures. Our time in the town could not have been more different, however. Joining them at the campground, we were able to survive the heat with shaded patios, daily showers, and excellent shared meals. We took advantage of living closer to the ocean too, jumping into the surf after going for runs through town or walks along the beach. Most of all, we enjoyed sharing the evening time with our friends, where we relaxed in the cooler temperatures following the afternoon storms and shared meals, drinks, and stories until retiring for the night. Pura vida indeed.
We love our friends and the beach, and the campground showers made the heat tolerable, but for our last stop in Costa Rica, we wanted a couple of more days in the cooler mountains. We set our GPS to some aguas termales in the Coto Brus region in the easternmost portion of the country with designs to relax for a couple of days. Our navigator did not get the message… Both Google Maps and Waze sent us down steep and muddy side roads that - while shorter as the crow flies - certainly weren’t saving us any time, especially as the roads got progressively more sketchy the farther along we went. Luckily, our car has big ole tires, front wheel drive, and a driver used to less-than-ideal roads in Central America. Unluckily, as we tried to gun it up a ~20% muddy incline, the passenger side got sucked into the adjacent ditch. Luckily, the hill was steep enough that we could put the car in reverse and roll our way back out. Unluckily, we immediately got sucked into the other side and, as we tried the same trick again, only got mired further. Luckily, trees lined the road on that side and prevented our car from sliding into the ravine below. Unluckily, the same trees prevented our car from moving much of anywhere. We were stuck.
After several minutes of panic and several more spent emptying most of our water tank (the easiest way to shed a few hundred pounds), I hiked to the nearest homes to see what could be done. After walking half a kilometer, quite literally the first person met - a sprightly abuela - was sympathetic and eager to help. She called to her neighbor (A), who, after hearing our plight and seeing the pictures, put me on the back of his scooter and we took off to a nearby mechanic (M), who, after hearing our plight and seeing the pictures, told us to meet him at the car in 10 minutes. A and I returned to V and the car on the moped while M and a friend got his 4x4 Jeep and a tow rope ready. As we all stood around inspecting the damage and strategizing the Stinkbug’s escape, all three men assured us that they were more than glad to help. To them, and to many Ticos, pura vida is central to their community ethos; helping neighbors and strangers alike is as natural as the rainy season, and acts of kindness will always be repaid in the grand scheme of life. We tied the cars together - back bumper to back bumper - and, on the count of three, M drove forward and I in reverse. We took out a few trees (and are immensely grateful to them, for their strong root systems maintained the foundation of the slope!), but quickly got ourselves back on the road, with instructions to take the highway around their community to avoid further accidents. We could not adequately express our immense gratitude to our saviors except to pay it forward the next time we are privileged enough to be in a position to help someone in need.
We arrived at the parking spot for the hot springs not long after and, a short hike later, were soon soaking in a pleasantly warm pool and enjoying the sights and sounds of the nearby river, birds, and one very determined snail. Our nerves were a bit shot after going from potentially losing the Stinkbug to the mountains to relaxing in pristine waters within the course of a couple of hours, but a long bath followed by a comfy movie night calmed both of us. Sometimes that’s just how life goes. Pura Vida.
