My top ten travel tips for Costa Rica.

These Travel tips are invaluable for having a safe and fun trip in this wonderful country. Please don’t let this dissuade you from traveling to Costa Rica. If you follow these travel tips; you’ll have the time of your life.

(Travel Tips #1) Never leave your bags inside your vehicle unattended, particularly at tourist spots. I would say the number one occurrence of theft in Costa Rica is caused by tourist leaving bags and valuables in plain sight in their vehicles. You’re asking for trouble if you don’t follow this rule. While in Bagaces, I was fortunate enough to have a local tour guide show me around to all the tourist spots like the Bagaces waterfalls. Two days earlier, a group of tourist who had just landed, stopped there take a look at the falls. They returned to find their window broken and valuables stolen. Unfortunately, at secluded spots, there is no police presence and local thieves pray on these areas. Always use the trunk or drop your bags off at the hotel/hostel before heading out.

(Travel Tips #2) Be on guard when using the public bus system. Particularly to and from San Jose, groups of thieves look for tourists to pick-pocket while they’re loading or unloading their bags. Usually it’s a female who attempts to distract you and invade your personal space, while the accomplice attempting the pick-pocket. They’re professionals and will be very unassuming and quick; so be on guard. You can prevent this by being aware your personal space and watch out for friends. It’s a good idea to keep your passports, money, and credit cards in a travel belt around your waist, or under your shirt. I know there not stylish; but having one for going from spot to spot is smart. The Interbus (mini shuttle) is the safest and best way to travel in Costa Rica.

(Travel Tips  #3) Always keep a backup source of money. You should keep a bank card or credit card in a separate location, always keeping an alternative means of getting money. I always keep my valuables, money and passport in my travel belt. And I keep one bank card stashed away in my bag with a little petty cash. Traveler checks are always a good idea as well; and be sure to keep the receipts in a separate location from the checks.

(Travel Tips  #4) Get to know the flawed banking system in Costa Rica. In the major cities like Tamarindo and Jaco this won’t be a problem; but in the smaller tourist spots like Santa Theresa and Manuel Antonie, there is often only one ATM. Costa Rican ATMs are know to decline cards for no reason. So if you’re heading to a smaller city, always take out money before you leave. With today’s modern banking, Traveler Checks have become less popular; but I would’ve been screwed without them. Twice, I was trapped in towns where ATMs wouldn’t work for me and many others. In Santa Theresa, it wasn’t uncommon to see backpackers in liquor stores asking people if they could purchase their booze on credit card and get cash back from the purchase because they had no other means of getting money.

(Travel Tips  #5) When heading to the beach leave your valuables at place you’re staying. In addition, if you head into the water; put your sandals and beach stuff next to someone who will watch it. Ask someone who looks like they’re on the same type of trip as you. Everyone was happy to do this for me and I didn’t lose a thing  at the beach. If you surf, try hiding your stuff somewhere on the beach out of view. And don’t put down your camera or purse on tables or bars. A girl I met from Miami, got hammered and while fluttering around the bar kept leaving her purse and camera laying around. Twice I picked it up and gave it; but she ended up losing it anyways. Before she had time to cancel the credit cards; the thief was able to charge over 190$ at the local gas station. I witnessed a German lady get her pursed snatched from the back of her chair. The assailant made a quick snatch and run to the beach and got away. So be smart.

(Travel Tips  #6) Get to know the Ocean by asking questions about the right locations for swimming and surfing. The rip currents and hidden rocks can end your vacation in a hurry; so ask for information before you dive in. Its always a good idea to follow the crowd when in doubt: if you don’t see anybody in the water at a certain location; their is probably a reason for it.

(Travel Tips  #7) Be friendly to the locals. Treating the locals poorly or without respect is asking for trouble. And never get into a conflict with a local at the bar; they always stick together against the Gringos (which is you or any other traveler). If a situation does occur, my best advice is to say sorry and Pura Vida. Saying Pura Vida with compassion in your eyes may just save your life. Ultimately, the locals are very friendly and helpful people who are out for a good time as well. In my month stay in Costa Rica, I was out every night and only saw two fights. Both included ignorant travelers, bottles and victory going to the home team.

(Travel Tips  #8) Ask, ask, and ask; and always use your common sense. The people working at the hotels and restaurants are your best source of information. So ask what to do, what not to do, it will help your trip be a safe one.

(Travel Tips  #9) Avoid San Jose. San Jose is considered by the locals to be the shame of Costa Rica. You’ll hear about robberies there, not petty theft. Land at Liberia Airport, or get the hell out of San Jose as soon as you can. Port Limon is also a place you want to avoid. It’s the drug port which is controlled by fierce gangs who even intimidate the local authorities by threatening their families. Even the locals don’t go out at night in Port Limon and you shouldn’t either.

(Travel Tips # 10) Make a local friend. They people of Costa Rica are a beautiful. They consider themselves to be one of the friendliest and happiest people in the world. I believe this to be true. All the locals that I met were very kind. I heard more stories of locals helping travelers here then any other third world country. From being lost to having a flat tire, the locals want to help you and show the beauty of their country.

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Note:
These are precautionary tips and guidelines to follow in Costa Rica, or any country in Central America. Please don’t let this discourage you from heading to Costa Rica. Thousands of tourist and travelers head there every year and have a safe and amazing trip.

Pura Vida and safe travels…

More Travel Tips Coming Soon….

Travel tips for Costa Rica

So E.Y.D has changed with the fall season to a new look and feel for the moment. 

 You will find enlightened quotes, meditations, and philosophies from the great teachers of past and present. Along with Pop culture Zen from StumbleUpon, You tube, and other Social Media sites.

I hope you will enjoy my photo blog series:

Heart warming Winter quotes and photos

Enchanting Autumn incantations of sublime seasonal change

In the Lumbini grove, under the shade of a flowering Sal tree, The Buddha, founder of the philosophy of Buddhism was born. He was known as Siddhattha. (Siddhartha = one whose purpose has been achieved). This is my continuing series of Buddhist quotes from the Dhammapada.

The Dhammapada – the essential teachings of the Buddha

The Wisdom of the Buddha

Buddhist verses from Siddhartha – The enlightened one

“The reason why we are here, I call “The Personal Legend”. All my characters, somehow they have a reason to be here, and they have to struggle to find their place under the sun. Which they do…
…and of course they have to pay a high price.”  Paulo Coelho

Top Ten Paulo Coelho Videos on Youtube

My mantra is: To Strive for Love, To seek knowledge, To Find happiness, and Yield not to fear.  Inspired by my favorite poem Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson.  “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

A philosophy in 25 words of less: inspired by Pete Carroll’s Win forever

Inspiring FNL Speech

A Zen Art Blog

The Water-taxi that turned Death into Zen.  I love all means of transport, it sounded like a brilliant idea at the time; avoid a 4 hour shuttle bus to Jaco by taking a 1 hour water-taxi from Montezuma.  Walking to the beach, I was filled with anticipation and excitement.  The first thing our captain said was “it’s going to be a rough ride, any rougher and I wouldn’t dare even try; prepare to get a little wet.”  No problem, I thought to myself as they began to hand out heavy duty garbage bags to wrap up our bags.   

Standing on the warm sandy beach, the sun warmed my early morning spirit; the Ocean seemed to be inviting us with open arms.  The initial ride out was pleasant, I was enjoying every moment on the sea and under the sun.  We crossed a threshold, the cross wind immediately picked up, the beach was almost out of sight, and the realization we were on the open sea soon came spraying over the side of the boat.  Little by little the waves grew in size; my imagination was wandering in some distant dream until it was sucked back into the now by a huge crash as the Skipper cut the engine.  I looked to my side and saw nothing but the deep blue Ocean.  My pulse quickened as the engine began to roar into gear once more.  The immense waves completely engulfed our little vessel, so big the horizon line was disappearing with each rise up and down, the Ocean slapping us in the face with salt water, as our little boat was tossed left and right.  Nobody was enjoying the ride any longer, a quick scan revealed not a life-jacket in sight; the Captain never taking his eyes off the Ocean in front of him.  Pleasure soon turned to fear as it often does, gripping the rail at my side with tight white knuckles; I took a recount of my life thus far and couldn’t remember the last time I felt the fear of death. 

Death drops the grains of sand in the hourglass ever so slowly.  Finally, after almost 2 hours of deep blue, we passed through the eye of the beast and motored into calm water.  Relieved, I sat back a felt a heightened sense of being and wonder in my soul; it was a triumphant feeling.  I could see the land again, it was a beautiful sight, but the taxi made a sharp left turn and seemed to be heading towards the open sea once more.  The words “what the fuck” passed through my mind.  The captain pointed out and uttered his first word since the beach “Dolfino”. 

It was our reward for bravery in the face of death: a huge swarm of dolphins racing along, jumping high in the sky with magnificent twirls, seeking only the pleasurable.  Together with the dolphins at our side, we enjoyed a true Zen filled moment of wonder; we loved their beautiful presence, and they seemed to love ours.  Although that will probably be my last water-taxi ride; when Death turns to Zen, it can only be described as: SPECTACULAR.

The Water-taxi that turned Death into Zen

I am a true backpacker in every sense; I try to make the most of every experience.  In regards to accommodations, as long as my backpack is safe, it doesn’t really matter.  To be honest, I am going to pass out anyways, as long as it’s not on a street corner or in an alley; I’ll be fine.  

In comparison to some of the true ghettos I have crashed in, my Costa Rican laundry room was an Oasis.  In Nice, it was a cockroach invested cubicle with a dirty mattress on the floor, no air conditioning, and mysterious grease stays everywhere.  We had only one rule, never turn on the lights at night, because the sight of that many cockroaches was like the horror movie Arachnophobia redone to be even more grotesque.  The true dump in Northern Spain, had what I thought looked like gang graffiti on the wall.  Let’s not even talk about what the communal bathroom looked like in Rome; it’s a memory to painful to relive. 

I thought we might have to sleep on the beach our second night in Santa Theresa.  We begged the owners of Playa Carmen to find us a room for another night.  “Well, we have a laundry room”, is all she said.  “O.K. fine, we’ll take it.”  Not sure what to expect, we went out for a day at the beach.  When we returned, we were delighted to find two nice beds, a clean and spacious room, two fans, towels, and private bathroom; the only notable difference was two laundry machines in the corner.  It was actually quite nice, it exceeded all of our expectations; they went out of their way to transform a laundry room into a little Oasis for two desperate travelers.  We probably could have found another place to stay after New Years, but after we both got laid in the laundry room by two cute Tico girls, the Laundry Cabin became a funny joke and home sweet home.  Looking back it was probably the weirdest, yet coolest place I have ever stayed.  The journey in life is always what you make of it.  To Quote Kahlil Gibran once again: “”Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

Finding comfort in my Costa Rican Laundry room

Funny travel jokes and hilarious travel humor

• A mother and her son were flying TWA from Kansas to Chicago. The son (who had been looking out the window) turned to his mother and said, “If big dogs have baby dogs and big cats have baby cats, why don’t big planes have baby planes?” The mother (who couldn’t think of an answer) told her son to ask the stewardess. So the boy asked the stewardess, “If big dogs have baby dogs and big cats have baby cats, why don’t big planes have baby planes?” The stewardess asked, “Did your mother tell you to ask me?” He said that she had. So she said, “Tell your mother that TWA always pulls out on time.” 

• Two men got out of their cars after they collided at an intersection. One took a flask from his pocket and said to the other, “Here, maybe you’d like a nip to calm your nerves.” “Thanks,” he said, and took a long pull from the container. “Here, you have one, too,” he added, handing back the whiskey. “Well, I’d rather not,” said the first. “At least not until after the police have been here.”

• Heard on a public transportation vehicle in Orlando.“ When you exit the bus, please be sure to lower your head and watch your step.” “If you miss your step and hit your head, please lower your voice and watch your language. Thank you.” 

• Two tourists were driving through Wisconsin. As they were approaching Oconomowoc, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town’s name. They argued back and forth until they stopped for lunch. As they stood at the counter, one tourist asked the blonde employee. “Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce where we are… very slowly?  The blonde girl leaned over the counter and said, Burrrrrr, gerrrrrr, Kiiiing.”       

• From a Southwest Airlines employee…. “Welcome aboard Southwest Flight XXX, to YYY. To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt, and if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling.  Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two small children, decide now which one you love more.”  

• An elderly couple was driving cross-country, and the woman was driving. She gets pulled over by the highway patrol. The officer says, “Ma’am, did you know you were speeding?” The woman turns to her husband and asks, “What did he say?” The old man yells, “HE SAYS YOU WERE SPEEDING.” The patrolman says, “May I see your license?” The woman turns to her husband and asks, “What did he say?” The old man yells, “HE WANTS TO SEE YOUR LICENSE.” The woman gives him her license. The patrolman says, “I see you are from Arkansas. I spent some time there once, had the worst sex with a woman I have ever had.” The woman turns to her husband and asks, “What did he say?” “HE THINKS HE KNOWS YOU,” the old man yells.  

• A father, who worked away from home all week, always made a special effort with his family at the weekends. Every Sunday morning he would take his daughter out for a drive in the car. One particular Sunday however, he was so full of cold that he really didn’t feel like driving at all. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and decided that for this week she would take their daughter out. They returned just before lunch and the little girl ran upstairs to see her father.
  “Well” the father asked, “did you enjoy your ride with mummy?”” Oh yes Daddy” the girl replied, “and do you know what… we didn’t see a single bastard!”  

• Taxiing down the tarmac, the jetliner abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate. After a hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant: “What was the problem?”
  “The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine,” explained the flight attendant,” and it took us a while to find a new pilot.”

• Her father was very angry when he heard that his twenty year old daughter had hitch hiked all alone, all the way from San Francisco to Washington.  “For gods sake!” he screamed, “Someone could have attacked you and raped you!”  “I wasn’t ever in no danger at all”, she said, trying to calm him down. “As soon as someone gave me a ride, I said I was going to Washington, because that’s where they have the best treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.”

• A policeman pulls a man over for speeding and asks him to get out of the car. After looking the man over he says, “Sir, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been drinking?” The man gets really indignant and says, “Officer, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are glazed. Have you been eating doughnuts.

• An airline pilot finishes talking to the passengers after the plane has taken off, and forgets to turn off the intercom. He said to the co-pilot, “I think I’ll go take a dump and then put the make on that new blonde stewardess.” The stewardess hears it, and runs up the aisle to tell him the intercom is still on. She trips and falls in her haste. A little old lady looks down at her and says, “There’s no rush, honey. He said he had to take a dump first.”

• A group of Americans was touring Ireland. One of the women in the group was a real curmudgeon, constantly complaining. The bus seats are uncomfortable. The food is terrible. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. The accommodations are awful. The group arrived at the site of the famous Blarney Stone. “Good luck will be followin’ ya all your days if you kiss the Blarney Stone,” the guide said. “Unfortunately, it’s being cleaned today and so no one will be able to kiss it. Perhaps we can come back tomorrow.” “We can’t be here tomorrow,” the nasty woman shouted. “We have some other boring tour to go on. So I guess we can’t kiss the stupid stone.” “Well now,” the guide said, “it is said that if you kiss someone who has kissed the stone, you’ll have the same good fortune.” “AndI suppose you’ve kissed the stone,” the woman scoffed. “No, ma’am,” the frustrated guide said, “but I’ve sat on it.”

Funny travel jokes and hilarious travel humor

Follow these rules and philosophies in travel and life; they will never do you wrong.  This I promise with all my heart, cross my fingers and hope to die.    

• Dance like no one is watching

• Love like you have never been hurt.  Love, Love someone, love something, love everything. 

• Spend like you didn’t earn the money; don’t take life too seriously: No one gets out alive, anyways.

• Throw caution to the wind in pursuit of pleasure, because if it hurts, then it’s probably worth it. 

• Fear nothing, never quit, never give up, never surrender, and always speak your mind even when your voice trembles.  A life lived in fear is a life half lived; because man should never fear death but man should fear never having lived.

• Nothing happens by chance, so don’t chance anything; make it happen now.  Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.

• Circumstance don’t make a hero, they just reveal him.    Man is not the creature of circumstances,
  circumstances are the creatures of men.  

• The sky isn’t the limit, so shoot for the stars: Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

• Never refuse an invitation: Never over stay your welcome.  The only moment you can live in is right now, there is no past or future; only this moment. So live this moment to the fullest.

• Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find “tomorrow” on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday’s defeats and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have.

• Live this day as if it will be your last, because some day it will be: Unhappiness and hate waste time better spent living

• Laugh at yourself, life, and everything around you. Laugh as a remedy and a miracle drug that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective seemingly terrible defeats and worries in life.

• It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. Remember that you have only one life to live so make the best of it. Be whoever and whatever you’d like to be. Pursue your passions and your dreams. Don’t waste time suffering.  It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

• Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.

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  Just because you said it while drunk / stoned / tripping doesn’t make it profound

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  Never be afraid to cry or tell someone you love them.   Never take laxatives and sleeping pills together

• Always lie to cops

Meet as many people as you can and make new best friends overnight. 

Rules and philosophies to live by for travel bugs, bums and backpackers.