Life in Costa Rica

Arriving to Costa Rica was a challenge for many reasons but chiefly amongst them was that my knowledge of Spanish was limited to three words: mañana, porque and ciao. Well, the last word is even Italian. Later, when I picked up some new words and phrases, the conversation speed between the locals made it still almost impossible to understand anything but I did not give up. Instead, I started to explore the hidden beauty of Costa Rica.

I began my adventure by going to Rincon de la Vieja, a national park, a volcano and an attraction resort in one place. This is when I had my first conversation with a local while riding a horse for the first time in my life! The amount of adrenalin in my blood probably helped as we could understand each other very well.

Driving a car was an even more painful experience than riding a horse. I felt like I was participating in the Paris – Dakar competition with the constant dust, dirt and narrow mountain roads. I was lucky, I did not have a single accident except for maybe killing one of the thousands of iguanas that were running across the road.

The wild life of Costa Rica that I encountered was stunning. Not only did I see impenetrable tropical forests with their swift waterfalls, sloths moving in their private slow-motion movie and the tiniest frogs, but also shallow rivers with the suspicious signs “Do not feed the crocodiles!” I observed La Baula, the biggest turtle in the world, laying eggs in rapid succession. I met wild, bright coloured birds like macaws, toucans, hawks, caracaras and dozens of different hummingbirds.

Costa Rica positions itself as an adventure destination and therefore, attracts a lot of young tourists. Being one of them I think I exceeded my quota for adventure for the whole year! I stood on a bridge next to a dozen two-meter long crocodiles; I rode a kilometer long zip-line in Monteverde Park; I even jumped from a twenty meter “tarzan swing” and for a moment I thought I can… not fly but rather… die!

A standard two week holiday will produce a lot of bright memories of Costa Rica. A three-months immersion into Costa Rican life and culture gave me more - an understanding of totally different valuables and habits. I admire Costa Ricans for their hospitality, friendliness and their constant wiliness to help. As for me, I stopped putting on makeup every day, forgot what heels look like, had to give up my nails and for the first time in my life stopped complaining about the weather.