Saturday, July 9, 2011

Goodbye Costa Rica

Dear Costa Rica:
Thank you so much for hosting us this past week. Your people are amazing! The attentiveness and the help is impressive. We were also extremely blown away with the land and it's beauty. It is beautiful beyond what we expected. Rich, lush, green (thanks to the constant rain of course) and scenic. We had a wonderful time that won't soon be forgotten.
Now for a little constructive criticism: Please make your roads a little friendlier. Cars in each direction with inches to spare in a winding narrow road can give tourists heart attacks. As can the roads that are not paved. Perhaps your vouchers can ask tourist to bring neck braces for the whiplash that is inevitable while driving the unpaved roads. The tourism marketing for your country should also have people that are planning on visiting Costa Rica go on a black beans and rice fast for at least a year leading up to the visit. Since you know that the two staples of the Costa Rican diet will be part of EVERY SINGLE meal there (the black beans and rice are not bad by the way, but after 21 times in a week it is way too much!).
For those of us that like spice in our food. Please advise us to take little packets of Cholula, or Tapatio salsa, your Lizano salsa is not that good, it is too much like Tabasco (even the occasional Jalapeno that is found is kind of bland).
One important detail. Please let all the travel companies that you count on to advertise, that Arenal is no longer an active volcano, it is very disappointing to go there specifically for the volcano only to find out it has been inactive for the past six months.
Finally, make sure you advertise that non Spanish speaking travelers need not know too much Spanish. Your people are pretty good at communicating in English, besides all you need to really learn are two words: Pura Vida; if someone asks: How are you? Are you having a good time? Do you like Costa Rica? The answer can all be the same. "PURA VIDA"... Indeed it was, we loved you Costa Rica! We hope to be back someday.

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