pura vida

In a small shop in Costa Rica, I asked a young woman "Como estas?"  Her reply was "Pura vida!"  Loosely translated the phrase means, "This is the life!" or "Life is good."

It's an expression unique to Costa Rica, and it is used liberally.  After just a few days, my friends and I could easily understand how it came to be the country's motto.  Coming from our fast-paced, hectic lives, we needed to reconnect with what "pure life" meant.  And time and time again, we saw it fleshed out---in the place and its people.

The week in Costa Rica was a gift, pure and simple---a precious stone in a lush green setting.  As I type this, I can picture the smoldering volcano, just outside my hotel room.  I can smell the damp earth that we trampled on, as we hiked through the rain forest.  I can feel each bump in the long unpaved roads we traveled.  (Okay, so it wasn't exactly idyllic all the time----but it very nearly was! ;)

And the gift of time to see and do and be was offered to us "con mucho gusto". This was another popular expression we heard over and over.  When a person thanks another, the reply is "it's a pleasure" (rather than "you're welcome").  And you got the feeling that the Costa Ricans really meant it.

Truly, the pleasure was ours!  And if I sound nostalgic for the time there, I am.  It's taken me a while to get back in the swing of "pura vida" back home quite honestly.  The "pura vida" in Costa Rica consisted of plentiful fresh food, gorgeous beaches, spectacular waterfalls and more----while back in the States, especially when I first returned, it felt like plentiful loads of laundry and buckets of email, more than anything else. :P

I will post some more pics and regale with you stories about my adventures there, in the days ahead.  We had some good times, no doubt about it!  In the meantime, I want to keep my eyes open for the gift of "pura vida" right where Jesus has planted me, here and now.