Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Monkeying Around and Book Quotes

Random thought: so far, the worst part of traveling alone is the sunburned part of my neck. It's the only place I can't really reach to apply sunscreen. :-/ 

Monkeys! Have you ever been excited to be closer than ever to monkeys not in a zoo and then realize the best picture you get is of his ball sack? 

Well, fortunately that wasn't quite the case but it almost was!






So yeah, that was fun. I also saw this guy soaking up some rays. 


Today was best described by beach and new friends. The day started slowly - I was tired! I finally made it to the beach to read and swim. I left all electronic devices at my room. after I came back to fix a quick lunch salad, I took the camera for a walk. I followed the call of the monkeys. 

After that, surfing. It was definitely harder with a shorter board and no instructor but after I traded boards with a friend, it got better. I'm keeping the bigger board for next two days. Yay! 
Note to self: the polka dotted bikini bottoms are not meant for surfing. They are too easy to come off in the water. 😳 I came too close to losing them on more than one occasion. 

After cleaning up, we had wine on the porch of the owners. We = the couple from Austin and a guy from Nova Scotia who was previously staying in my room. We talked too long, as both dinner places we tried were closed, so we went to some people's house we met at the bar and they made us dinner. ;) Ok, the others knew them already, they just moved here a few weeks ago from Michigan. Dinner was finally served around 10. People here are just so nice, whether ticos or ex-pats. 

So I've been reading this book, Happier Than a Billionaire: Quitting My Job, Moving to Costa Rica, and Living the Zero Hour Work Week

I'll share some quotes.
"Our realtor explains that there are many of these expensive [gated] communities because Americans want to stay isolated. They do not want to intermingle with the local people but would rather live behind big walls." (p. 43)
So I'm assuming hey mean North American people because Costa Rican people are [central] Americans too. Seriously. If people with money want to go elsewhere, fine. But please don't Americanize it here. If that's what you want, stay away. I really don't understand this concept but have seen it in play. WHY? Isn't part of the draw of going elsewhere to experience a new culture? 

One more for tonight:
When talking about the inconsistencies of things we typically take for granted, such as water and electricity and thus learning to not sweat the small stuff, "it also explains why people are so nice here. They don't sweat the small stuff, and they focus on the present moment instead of obsessing over the past or future. Valuing what is mundane in your life, not just the spectacular, might be the long sought key to happiness." (p. 123)
Right? This makes perfect sense. Why do we always need more, bigger, better instead of being happy and content with the here and now? 
I do a decent job of this some of the time. In our hustle and bustle culture, it's no wonder there is so much anxiety about virtually everything. I'm guilty. Why sweat the small things so much, and instead focus on Pura Vida, pure life. Enjoy the here and now. Today. 

While some of this author's style is annoying with its hyperbole and off track stories, there are many quotes like this that just resonate with me so much. I have more pages dog-eared to share later. 

Some more pictures ...

Another nighttime crab beach shot. Seriously. This is nuts. You can hear them as you approach. This is only a small fraction of the total number.

Sweet cat at Casa Surf.

This is a catamaran being built by Lake Arenal. It's just off a narrow and rocky  road and while it is across from the lake, it's not a place I can see easily getting into the lake? Fascinating. 







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