Pura Vida!

August 1, 2010

From the minute we were picked up at the airport, until the minute we were dropped off, "Pura Vida" was an expression we were taught and used on a daily basis several times a day. 

Pura vida literally means "pure life", but the meaning is closer to "full of life", "purified life", "this is living!", "going great", or "cool!" It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, or to politely express indifference when describing something. The phrase has become widely known; this highly flexible statement has been used by many Costa Ricans since 1956. Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time, and of wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcoming difficulties with good spirits, enjoying life slowly, and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike. 

As our plane took off from the tiny airport, I looked down with sadness as I left the beauty behind. I thought of this expression and what it meant. As I prepare myself for reality, I know the daily stresses of life will soon rear it's ugly little head again. With perseverance, a positive attitude and learning to relax and enjoy life more, I hope to adopt this phrase and incorporate it into my daily life......

PURA VIDA!

Mags.

Thrills, Chills and Spills........

July 29, 2010

Today was another 5:45 a.m. start as we prepared to head off and partake in the "Mega Combo" adventure. We were driven to the Buena Vista resort about three hours away from our resort. At just over 2460 feet (750 metres) above sea level, this property is close to the Rincon de la Vieja volcano and provided a breathtaking view of todays adventures.

We started off zip lining through the transitional forest, with 12 stations and a hanging bridge. Once completed, we hiked through the forest to get to the top of a 1400 foot water slide down the side of a mountain. After lunch, we rode horses an hour through the forest up and down some pretty steep hills and ended the day at a Spa where we sweated in a steam room, caked ourselves in volcanic mud, showered to wash it off and relaxed in the mineral hot spring pools in the middle of the forest....whew....what an exhausting day!

Mags.

Tamarindo Treasures

July 28, 2010

Today was my birthday and as per usual, it rained buckets. But I didn't let that stop my fun! Guy surprised me with some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the afternoon and later on that night, a birthday cake complete with the staff singing "Happy Birthday" in spanish......

In the afternoon, I took a quick (but bumpy) cab ride into Tamarindo to peruse the shops for some unique finds. Sadly, every shop seemed to carry the same tacky souvenirs but I did quite enjoy the character and colours of the shops and enjoyed watching all the barefoot surfers stroll around town with their surf boards in tow.... I wanted to take a stroll on the beach in hopes of capturing one of the infamous sunsets, unfortunately, the rain came pouring down and dusk had started to come and as we were warned, walking along the beach in Tamarindo at night wasn't the safest thing to do....All in all, I enjoyed the sights, smells and sounds that the small town had to offer.......

Mags.

Bold and Bodacious

July 26, 2010

What do I love most about Costa Rica? There are many things , but one of the things that tops my list are the pops of colours found amongst the lush green foliage. I'm not sure what the name of this colourful beauty is called but I loved the tiny multi-coloured blooms that make up this flower.

Mags.

Mary Iguana

July 25, 2010

We got up early to explore the resort and walk along the rocky beach. The weather was beautiful (hot and HUMID) and the sun was shining brightly. Guy became rock lobster red after being out a half hour or so in the sun (Costa Rica is only 9 degrees away from the equator and the sun is a scorcher!) so we decided to take it easy in the afternoon and hang out poolside under the shade of the palapas. As I drifted into a little afternoon siesta, I was startled by a little scream. A woman was running past my chaise freaking out in spanish. I sat up to see what all the commotion was all about. And there she was.....sunning herself in the sun, Mary Iguana was out in all her glory as if to say "Here I am! Take some photos of me!" I'm not sure if she is really a she or a he, but, the iguana seemed to really like having her photo taken......

Mags.

And We're Off..........

July 24, 2010

The long awaited day has finally arrived........time to leave on vacation! This shot was taken as we were sitting at the gate watching our plane arriving to take us to Costa Rica! The beginning of the trip started off a bit tumultuous. As we were getting ready to leave, the pilot informed us that one of the engines wasn't working and couldn't be fixed. They towed us back to the gate, unloaded our luggage and sent us to a gate at the opposite end of the terminal to board another flight. After an hour and a half delay, we were on a new plane and on our way!

Just over 5 hours later, we touched down in Liberia, Costa Rica. As we stood in line at customs, we could spot the luggage going around on the carousel. Mine, however, was pulled off the carousel and I noticed that my suitcase was wide open with clothes strewn on the floor. What a fantastic way to start the voyage!

Mags.

Fireworks Gone Amiss

Ok, so technically this was taken last night, not today. Yesterday being Canada Day, there were many displays of fireworks going off in our neighbourhood. It's my first attempt to photograph the light show using my big-girl camera. It's not a classic textbook photo by anymeans. I know what I did wrong......I should have used my tripod and I should have used a faster shutter speed. I thought the way the light trails in the sky was still pretty cool though.

Mags.

Exoskeleton

JUNE 2, 2010

While still quite warm today, the weather didn't really cooperate for an outdoor photo shoot so I decided to take some pics of my seahell collection. I love the colours, textures and often imperfections that can be found on the shells. Most of my collection has come from my travels to the Caribbean Islands over the years and it's not uncommon to still find grains of sand in a few of them.......

Mags.

Tribal Treasures

MAY 4, 2010

Willy The Wine Stopper is a treasured holiday  trinket that was passed down to me by my grandparents (well, actually, truth be told, I took it from their liquor cabinet after they had passed away in 2004).    It's a simple token that reminds me of them and their love to travel (I secretly think this is where I get my  wanderlust from).   Intricately detailed, this little guy  is originally from Hawaii and, if  I am reading the carving on the backside correctly, appears to have been brought over into Canada in 1992.  It wards any evil spirits away with it's scary/constipated look chiseled on his face while protecting the contents of my decanted red wine.

Mags.