Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Pura Vida translates to Pure Life and represents the Costa Rican lifestyle: leisurely, laid back, and enjoying life. With that in mind, I've been planning my vacation to Costa Rica since April. The first week of November was the tail end of rain season and despite raining everyday, we made the best of it. The flight from Newark was 4 hours and 40 minutes and the airport transfer to the resort was a brisk 3 hour drive. We went up and down mountains, on and off road, and ran over every rock in Costa Rica (there was more turbulence on the drive than the flight). We were more than happy to arrive at the Springs Resort & Spa in the Arenal area. The resort was secluded and no where near full capacity since it was off season. It featured 18 pools / natural hot springs and stunning views of the Arenal Volcano (Costa Rica's most active volcano - smoke and lava come out of it daily). The 103 degree hot springs were especially therapeutic after long days of rapelling, zip lining, and white water rafting. The highlight of the trip was learning Pura Vida first hand: leisurely getting up and going to breakfast, learning to be laid back when everyone operated on "Tica" time, and enjoying life with their adrenaline filled activities.

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