Bummer, I guess the daily afternoon thunderstorms took a liking to the internet receptor on our roof, and did a little cooking while we were away. A triggered breaker and crispy resistors inside the power converter beside the data input jack confirmed my suspicion. The wireless router’s baked, too. With like 5 important things on the go, b-a-d timing.

Not quite pura vida.

Yesterday on our way home from a few days at Jaco beach, about 20 minutes outside of San Jose, a younger fellow was getting off the bus and stopped to talk to the driver. I noticed with half my attention that they were talking a little longer than usual, with a little more animation than usual. A few moments later, I saw a large handgun hanging from his hand. I immediately turned to tell Asheya, who was with Eowyn and Amadeus in the seat behind, “There’s a guy with a gun on the bus.” The implication finished registering, catalyzed by the quiet angst of a few other passengers, and I immediately repeated, “There’s a guy with a gun on the bus, get the kids on the floor.” Elias obediently ducked onto the floor beside me without delay or complaint (I’m so proud of him). I bet all the scenarios we work through (at Elias’ request) with respect to dealing with bear, jaguar, and cheetah altercations helped.

A minute or two later, the bus began driving, and I had my wallet prepped for what seemed a likely delivery, though within a couple troubled minutes we had ascertained with the other passengers that the fellow had exited (Glory be to God, otherwise it could have been much worse). He took whatever cash and tickets the driver had (it seems to me this was a bad bus to target, as most tickets are bought in advance at a kiosk), and apparently took the driver’s helper with him.

I have no doubt bus companies, especially in Central America, incorporate these activities into their yearly budgets. Even near “safe” Grecia, in “safer” San Luis de Grecia (our mountain home), there have been flyer reports of armed ladrones (thieves).

From common knowledge, and the armed guards outside of most shopping stores (in San Jose, not Grecia), this all meets with my expectation. We have a home invasion plan (keep an expendable money stash handy, and a phone with contact numbers in a shelter room). All an unfortunate part of the package.

Asheya’s been missing Canada, and now no doubt more so.

I never thought I would have been so happy to spend hundreds of dollars per hour for another professional.

Without getting into too many details, let me just say there’s true bliss in a well worded limitation of liability statement.

Would you be inspired to travel here based on these Lonely Planet excerpts? I can understand their existence to some extent, but in another they seem a bit extreme.

For travelers, a stopover in San Jose is regarded as a necessary evil before heading to the ‘real’ Costa Rica. (San Jose)

There have been many reports of thefts from cars and armed robbers on the trails or along the highway. (Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo)

As rapid development takes its toll, you might find yourself batting off tour-hawkers the minute you step off the bus. (La Fortuna)

There’s rampant prostitution and a little drug problem. (Jaco)

Day-long buses bomb in and feed tourist hordes into its souvenir fly-trap. (Manuel Antonio)

Drug dealers have set up their candy shop in the street and it’s not unusual to be offered a little of this or that before you’ve hit your hotel. (Quepos)

Crime, in the form of robberies and drug trafficking, is on the up and foreign visitors make easy targets. (Parque Nacional Cahuita)

The town does have a seedy side, namely the international drug-running circuit which touches this remote area. (Tortuguero)

A ragged port city with a faded colonial air, Puerto Limon has a deservedly rough reputation. (Puerto Limon)

I almost wonder if it’s a backhand way to tell a certain class of traveler what they want to know…

5 continents, 11 countries, 19 cities, and 21 proposals later, I found my new graphic artist.

This is the global marketplace, and the power of outsourcing:

And the winner? Drum roll, please…he’s a Canadian!

Now that I have your attention… Is there any other interpretation for this poorest advertisement in the world?

We’re privileged with a $3,000,000 view—$1,000,000 out over the Central Valley in the front, $1,000,000 back into the mountainous countryside, and another $1,000,000 out over the lights of the Central Valley at night.

I’ve been exploring the back countryside (just start walking out the back door) a little here and there around sunset, and recently took Elias & Eowyn for a circuit amongst the coffee, limes, mangos, and bananas. Here’s what we saw.

(Our house, not really discernable, is on the top right of the ridge in a couple of the photos.)

Down into the valley

Down into the valley

The ravine at the bottom

 Up the other side

Up the other side

   Up the other side

Mango tree

Banana tree

The Good

Elias & I, off again! This time we headed to the #1 tourist destination in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio, for a celebration, reconnection, and reconnaissance for a future family trip.

As always, we delighted in the waves (besides the almost routine ocean “incidents”).

We also somehow found ourselves walking the 6+ kilometers from Manuel Antonio to Quepos in the heat of the day (what a trooper!), and the following day hiked for close to 5 hours in the national park.

The Bad

Let me tell you about Manuel Antonio National Park. Being the #1 tourist destination, you’ll find no shortage of bubbling praise, so permit me the fun and balance of focusing on the reverse.

People come to the park to see wildlife and to play at the beach. But there’s a perfectly good beach town side of the park, so I’d venture a guess that the wildlife plays the dominant role. People hope to see monkeys living their monkey lives up in the trees, arrive bright and early in that pursuit, and hire guides at $20 per person to make sure they don’t miss a glimpse.

Well, let me tell you one thing. You won’t have to work to find the monkeys, regardless of guides and time of day. That’s right, the monkeys will find you. And want a really close look? Start eating a snack, and you can count the seconds until you should head for your first set of rabies shots. Yeah, surrounded by a dozen mini-Congo creations, you might find yourself (like us) shooing them off as you scramble away.

But before all this, savour the construction noise and view through the trees of the new high-rises shooting up hardly 10 feet from the park entrance, make sure to spot the trucks that thunder past on your “nature trail”, and descend to share tranquil Manuel Antonio beach with 500 other monkey-lover-feeders.

Okay, hike the actual trails, and you’ll be virtually alone, with the humid jungle and rocky shores to explore. You’ll see monkeys high and low, since they have no fear of humans, and away from the main throng they don’t seem to expect handouts. You’ll have to work to avoid stepping on the iguanas and their relatives, and may see a sloth and an agouti or two. But for nature in nature: Monteverde.

It makes sense, really. Wilderness is by definition untamed, and true wildlife likes humans not. So it’s a paradox for 500+ people a day to expect those experiences. Maybe we should be calling it the Manuel Antonio National Zoo.

The Ugly

What more, already missing the impeccable rooms at Tommy G’s in Jaco during our first night at Villa Prats (what’s that gunk on the sheets?), I began really missing Tommy G’s the following day. I had booked for 4 nights, confirmed prior, and confirmed the full duration again on arrival. Day 2, we were advised, albeit politely (the owner gave Elias jello and let us continue using the pool), of a “double booking” and that we had to get lost to make way for an ostensibly higher-paying group. Nice.

So in the end, having appreciated the adventure and novelty of a new place (we thoroughly did, though it may not have come through in my writing), my executive recommendation to my family is as follows: forget Manuel Antonio and head back to the pool at Tommy G’s in Jaco.

(Disclaimer: complaining of sorts follows.)

I hate taking taxis. Always have. Expect that I always will.

In Costa Rica, taxis are regulated. They are completely red, with distinctive yellow markings. Most have meters, which always start at 510 colones (the local currency) and begin counting after some distance/time.

Elias & I needed to catch a taxi to take us just 2 minutes down the road, from one restaurant to another (night had fallen and it’s a narrow road with no sidewalk, but the main reason was that the ocean was pouring out of the sky). I asked the driver about his missing meter, and then asked him how much for the trip. He didn’t answer my question. I asked him again. No clear response. So I said I’d pay him 600 (which would exceed the normal fare). 2 minutes down the road, we’re getting out and he demands 1000. I tell him I asked him the price, and told him what I would pay (this is all in Spanish, of course). I put down 600 for him and thanked him for his time. Guess what he does? This is the best part. He throws the money at us, into the dirt, and drives away. I’m afraid I don’t have his taxi number to record on the internet for his prestige.

It’s hard and impractical to do, but in general, if they don’t have a functioning meter, forget them, or clearly agree on a price before entering the vehicle. If the vehicle is clearly on life support, get out—it’s your life. And if the driver temporarily gets “lost”? Well, I’ll leave that and the rest of the scams untouched.

I hate taking taxis.

Without access to my personal library or a public library (not to mention other things going on), I’ve felt something missing from my life—reading. So I assembled a new reading list for myself, focused on business books, and managed to find a good percentage of them online.

I just finished The X-Hour Workweek (where X is replaced by the number following 3). Why the X? If one believes the author, he has enough success without this post adding to his search ratings.

It is certainly a book that speaks to and for my generation, which no doubt accounts for its success, and makes up for the writing itself. I can see this book serving as a catalyst for many for a re-examination of values, though I hope this won’t lead the reader to share the author’s values, as he so wishes.

Some points of particular value, many being perspectives I already shared:

• The myth and fallacy of retirement
• The benefits of miniretirements and travel (check)
• The myth of possessions
• Dreamlining: dream big, figure out the first practical steps required to realize your dream, and take them
• The difference between effectiveness (doing the things that get you closer to your goals), and efficiency (performing a given task economically, whether important or not)—a good point
• 80% / 20%: oftentimes, the majority of the outcomes (positive results or problems) follow from the minority of the inputs, so focus on that minority
• Keeping a low information diet (ie: no news)
• The potential power of business and personal outsourcing

A few quotes of value:

• People don’t want to be millionaires—they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy.
• A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
• Recognize that inactivity is not the goal. Doing that which excites you is.
• Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it.
• "Someday" is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.
• Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.
• The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits.
• This is how most people work until death: "I’ll just work until I have X dollars and then do what I want." If you don’t define the "what I want" alternate activities, the X figure will increase indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void.

Now on to my objections (which detract from the book as a whole, but not necessarily from the good points above):

• First of all, if the author is who he says he is, he didn’t even write the book.
• Secondly, the book is largely autobiographical, but he openly admits to being fraudulent (examples follow), so how can we believe much of it?
• His fortune (if we can fully believe the account) was made selling a sports supplement; if you check the website, it looks like an alternative version of a pyramid marketing get-rich-quick snake-oil scheme, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just caffeine in a pill.
• He tells you how to get false credentials. So…what of his credentials?
• His A’s (if we can believe the account) were produced in part through intimidation.
• He became Chinese kickboxing champion by exploitation of the regulations.
• He encourages you to lie to coworkers and your boss: take false sick days, lie about where you are working, fool people about how busy you are, purposefully be less productive, etc. I can almost guarantee, if one sneaks off to Europe when one’s boss has agreed to a work at home arrangement, one will be stressed to maintain the lie, and will likely be caught in the act (serves one right).
• He’s a typical salesman, and will tell the same story with different facts, even in the same book! For example, the lead up to his first long trip to Europe.
• It’s not that easy to make $500,000 a year. Internet and magazine advertising and answering e-mail once a week aren’t the magic answer.
• Princeton lecturer, linguist, motorcycle racer…sure. Perhaps that’s like me saying I’m a Simon Fraser University lecturer, gymnast, mountaineer, pianist, composer, author, traveler of 19 countries, serial entrepreneur who has created and sold 3+ businesses, etc. But where on the spectrum? Dabbling in hobbies does not produce legitimate backleaf credentials, in my opinion.
• All the “yay, me!” egoism gets quite tiresome.

He’s smart, that’s for sure, and clever—he knows how to bend the system to his advantage, or create a new system. But to follow his whole example is to be an exploiter of people and the environment, and to care not for integrity and honour.

In summary, reader discernment is advised.