Nope, no photographs this blog this time. Too busy. We have been straight out since we landed in San José, Costa Rica. No time for downloading photographs, and clearly not even enough time to write one.
First, we took off for Costa Rica at 6 on my birthday. A 3:15 a.m. wake-up call at home guaranteed sleep time on the plane.
The flight was great, and as we flew down over Central America, it was pretty cloudy, but as we approached Costa Rica, we were able to look down on the velvet-flanked mountains, sparkling lakes and Golfo (gulf), see the patchwork of farmland and deep river ravines. In short, even from the air, it was beautiful.
Good friends of ours had asked us to stay with them. Giuseppe would pick us up at the airport, where as we exited, he said we would see a sea of bodies, much like in an aquarium. He would be one of the faces in that virtual fish tank. Sure enough, as we excited, I could see Giuseppe’s cheery face as he pretended to swim amongst the sharks! Too funny!
He and Beatriz had said they would give us a small party. I am not sure it was small, with 12 of us seated around an elegant table, but it was a wonderful way to spend my birthday. The food was fabulous (I was even given a birthday cake), but more importantly, the guests were all so interesting, and all with some connection to photography and the arts. Some were ex-pats, some whose families had been in Costa Rica for several generations.
As Giuseppe explained to us, Costa Rica was not settled early, so it does not have the history of, say, Mexico or Guatemala. That said, it has the highest literacy rate in all of Central America. Education is very important, as is culture, museums, and exhibitions. So is the environment, as evidenced by the many large national parks in the country and the rows of recycling bins all around.
You don’t see poverty in Costa Rica. Sure, some of the houses are modest, but they are mostly very tidy. People have pride in where they live.
Some major American corporations have a presence here, and there is a technical college started by one of Beatriz and Giuseppe’s friends to feed the companies,. When those students graduate, jobs are waiting for them. Hmmm. Maybe the US should take a page out of their book!
We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and all of the guests. It was really very, very special.
The next day would be our first scouting day. Up into the mountains for some hiking.
More anon…
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