Word for the Travel Wise (05/30/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

A Central American vacation wasn’t a trip I had planned out, but apparently it had been planned for me long ago without my knowing. I’ve told this story numerous times in the past, so I won’t bother to bore, but it’s just funny how things work. I can’t even count the hours spent planning to see hill tribes in Chiang Mai, Thailand before my partner and I had re-routed our trip into San Jose, Costa Rica. It was a complete 180 in terms of what we had set our hearts on experiencing. I recently shared the condensed version with a nice chap who had the time to listen or waste and saw a woman a few days later bumping around the town in a shirt that had today’s nugget of travel wisdom. Shall we?

Today’s word is a Spanish word from Costa Rica:

pura vida – pure life, good life, good living

Amerispan, Cactus Language and IMAC are all good starting points to learning abroad. A free membership at Spanish Unlimited gives you the opportunity to learn a new word everyday by email, gain pen pals and hear audio of the words. Their website is actually a good resource tool for many different Spanish related topics. I won’t even begin to list some of the texts out there that could further your studies because there are entirely too many. If you know of some language books that would be useful please feel free to list them.

Past Spanish words: escalar, cercano, realidad, enfermo

Learning How to Surf

by Erik Olsen on

I recall that we’ve done a few posts here about learning to surf, and usually the tales are humorous narratives about how hard it is to get up at first, and then they culminate in the exhilarative thrill of standing on a board and riding a wave for the first time. Well, I don’t have something much different than that this time either.

The writer in this piece from Delta’s in flight magazine heads to Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica, to learn how to hang ten. We learn a bit about the surf scene in Latin America, and we “lifetime” dream of learning how to surf. But it’s a flavorful piece and kinda funny. Definitely worth a minute or two, especially if you’re considering picking up the sport yourself.

Gadling Gift Guide: Costa Rican Rainforest

by Dave (Blogsmith Old) on

How about a gift that you don’t need to wrap? And one that will make Mother Earth very happy – Here’s a way you can give back to your planet this holiday season: buy yourself or someone else a piece of the Costa Rican rainforest for $250. Vinzenz Schmak is president of the board of an organization that is working hard to protect precious flora and fauna in northern Costa Rica. For $250 you can own 1,000 square meters of prime rain forest, and help Schmak’s La Laguna del Lagarto Lodge in their efforts to preserve this endangered area.

[Via Ecoclub]

Costa Rica in Flash

by Erik Olsen on

Check out this interesting and nicely designed Flash piece on Costa Rica. Nice-looking, pretty informative, and well-written. We’re not seeing a lot of stuff like this out there these days. Good for USA Today to put this out.