Tico Time and the Pura Vida Lifestyle
Today we are getting our first lessons on Costa Rican culture. One of the things discussed was "Tico Time," which is kind of like being fashionably late. You say that you are going to arrive at 3:00 PM- you show up at 3:15 PM. A trip is going to take 3.5 hours- it takes 5 hours. It's a relaxed way of viewing timelines and deadlines.
The "Pura Vida" lifestyle was explained by one of our guides as "hakuna matata:" no worries. We are going to be relaxed, chill, and just go with the flow. Life is good, life is swell.
We've experienced both more than a few times today...
Our group arrived at the airport at 5:55 AM to get checked in, get a group photo, and say goodbye. We were all on time- Tico Time was not in full effect just yet. However, we did realize quickly that not everyone at the airport was about that Pura Vida lifestyle, because we may have gotten in the way of the United ticket agents and the business travelers more than a few times. But it's all good! We made our way to security where we were delayed by some water left in a water bottle and some trail mix. Two of us went back through security, but pura vida! We had plenty of time for breakfast before the 3 hour flight into Houston.
We landed early in Houston, but it took some time to taxi to the gate. We had to go from the end of the C concourse all the way over to the end of E. Tico Time was discouraged and we hustled to the SkyWay to make it on time for boarding. We lost a boarding pass in the the shuffle, but (you guessed it), pura vida- we got a new one at the counter. Thankfully, our plane was on Tico Time and 15 minutes late arriving from San Jose. We had enough time to grab some snacks and get settled into our seats.
The flight to San Jose was also 3 hours- great planning by our Rustic Pathways flight coordinator to split the trip in half. As the adrenaline wore off, most of us took naps on this second flight. The last 30 minutes of the flight we prepared our immigration forms and talked through the customs process.
We made a bathroom stop before heading to customs and received another introduction to Costa Rican culture- you cannot flush the toilet paper. The pipes here are very narrow, not like they are in the U.S., so paper is disposed of in a receptacle next to the toilet. Some of us forgot, so again- we are learning some lessons on Day 1. The group moved on to customs and immigration and PROMPTLY received all of our bags! Pura vida!
As we walked out of the airport, we met our Rustic Pathways guides: Kara, Oman, and Christian. Kara is originally from Arizona, but has lived all over the world, including west Africa and South America. Oman and Christian are Ticos- born and raised in the Cartago province of Costa Rica. They brought us to our bus, introduced us to our driver Mau, and we made the 30 minute commute in heavy traffic to our hotel in San Jose: Hotel Irazu. (Note: I need to check the spelling of some names, so if our guides' names are spelled differently in later posts, my apologies)
We had about an hour to settle in- we could nap, swim, or... charge our phones. Some of the group members explored the hotel and even visited the gift shop. I was surprised that very few chose to swim, but this afternoon was overcast and, while it is humid, it is a bit cooler than usual. We met as a group to go over the rules, the language and slang, and the overall itinerary. The students then met individually with each guide to go over their questions about the trip. We had a little more free time before dinner.
You thought I was done with Tico Time and pura vida? Well, we showed up for dinner across the street at La Gallera at 7. Turns out that 2 other groups were scheduled for the same reservation time. So pura vida, we wander back later for dinner at 7:45. We had salad, rice & beans, chicken, plantains, and cass juice (like pear), with a bread pudding-like dessert. Everyone is full and we have returned to our rooms to shower and to go to bed early.
Tomorrow we will have breakfast at 7, then depart at 8 for the coast. We will stop at Jaco for lunch on our way to Uvita tomorrow afternoon. One slight change to the itinerary- we will be going to the Diamante Cave on Day 3. So we will arrive at the Luz de Luna hotel in Uvita tomorrow, spend the night, leave our bags there and hike into the cave with just what we need for the night. That means... no wifi on night 3.
Pura Vida! Buenas noches!
The "Pura Vida" lifestyle was explained by one of our guides as "hakuna matata:" no worries. We are going to be relaxed, chill, and just go with the flow. Life is good, life is swell.
We've experienced both more than a few times today...
Our group arrived at the airport at 5:55 AM to get checked in, get a group photo, and say goodbye. We were all on time- Tico Time was not in full effect just yet. However, we did realize quickly that not everyone at the airport was about that Pura Vida lifestyle, because we may have gotten in the way of the United ticket agents and the business travelers more than a few times. But it's all good! We made our way to security where we were delayed by some water left in a water bottle and some trail mix. Two of us went back through security, but pura vida! We had plenty of time for breakfast before the 3 hour flight into Houston.
We landed early in Houston, but it took some time to taxi to the gate. We had to go from the end of the C concourse all the way over to the end of E. Tico Time was discouraged and we hustled to the SkyWay to make it on time for boarding. We lost a boarding pass in the the shuffle, but (you guessed it), pura vida- we got a new one at the counter. Thankfully, our plane was on Tico Time and 15 minutes late arriving from San Jose. We had enough time to grab some snacks and get settled into our seats.
The flight to San Jose was also 3 hours- great planning by our Rustic Pathways flight coordinator to split the trip in half. As the adrenaline wore off, most of us took naps on this second flight. The last 30 minutes of the flight we prepared our immigration forms and talked through the customs process.
We made a bathroom stop before heading to customs and received another introduction to Costa Rican culture- you cannot flush the toilet paper. The pipes here are very narrow, not like they are in the U.S., so paper is disposed of in a receptacle next to the toilet. Some of us forgot, so again- we are learning some lessons on Day 1. The group moved on to customs and immigration and PROMPTLY received all of our bags! Pura vida!
As we walked out of the airport, we met our Rustic Pathways guides: Kara, Oman, and Christian. Kara is originally from Arizona, but has lived all over the world, including west Africa and South America. Oman and Christian are Ticos- born and raised in the Cartago province of Costa Rica. They brought us to our bus, introduced us to our driver Mau, and we made the 30 minute commute in heavy traffic to our hotel in San Jose: Hotel Irazu. (Note: I need to check the spelling of some names, so if our guides' names are spelled differently in later posts, my apologies)
We had about an hour to settle in- we could nap, swim, or... charge our phones. Some of the group members explored the hotel and even visited the gift shop. I was surprised that very few chose to swim, but this afternoon was overcast and, while it is humid, it is a bit cooler than usual. We met as a group to go over the rules, the language and slang, and the overall itinerary. The students then met individually with each guide to go over their questions about the trip. We had a little more free time before dinner.
You thought I was done with Tico Time and pura vida? Well, we showed up for dinner across the street at La Gallera at 7. Turns out that 2 other groups were scheduled for the same reservation time. So pura vida, we wander back later for dinner at 7:45. We had salad, rice & beans, chicken, plantains, and cass juice (like pear), with a bread pudding-like dessert. Everyone is full and we have returned to our rooms to shower and to go to bed early.
Tomorrow we will have breakfast at 7, then depart at 8 for the coast. We will stop at Jaco for lunch on our way to Uvita tomorrow afternoon. One slight change to the itinerary- we will be going to the Diamante Cave on Day 3. So we will arrive at the Luz de Luna hotel in Uvita tomorrow, spend the night, leave our bags there and hike into the cave with just what we need for the night. That means... no wifi on night 3.
Pura Vida! Buenas noches!
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