Tico Times

Close your eyes. For just a moment, focus everything on your sense of smell.

Pineapple. Flowers. Sea.

The sound of sand squeaking as you walk down the path to the beach, and the Halloween Crabs scuttling by the dozens through the dead leaves that litter the ground on either side. The clouds threaten from a distance - more of a promise, really - to pour their contents out, but they are far away. There is plenty of time to challenge the waves before the torrents of rain chase you from the sea.

Welcome to my paradise - Nossara, Costa Rica, where I spent the month of May studying Spanish.

It was my first venture out of the country, through customs, passport control, and all the other devices governments have set up to keep themselves safe and to annoy tourists. Personally, I believe that the goal is more of the latter.

The country is beautiful, though, and completely worth the annoyance of international travel. The people are so friendly and open - welcoming us with smiles. Being blond was a bit if an experiance, for I had many Costa Ricans (Ticos, as they call themselves) shouting, "Te Amo!!" from down the street and believe that the bartender at the local bar and grill was firmly in love with me - or at least my golden locks.

Having Spanish class in the Tican sun was another fantastic experiance. We learned a lot, when we weren't interrupted by iguanas, which tended to sun themselves on the metal roof and then fall off - causing a horrific scratching noise and then a swoosh - or maybe a crash - as they fell into the bushes. Then the boys would jump off their stools and go flying through the Costa Rican jungle, Lord of the Flies style, and get themselves an iguana to eat at dinner time. I have to admit, though, iguana tastes wonderful. I like it better than chicken.

It was a life of mango juice, iguana meat, rice and beans, hammocks, ocean waves, sand, sun, and beautiful rainstorms. And I must admit, there isn't anywhere else I've been that has mango juice as fantastic as Tican mango juice.

Pura Vida!!