Tuanis, mäe

Since my arrival I've realized that life in Costa Rica is COMPLETELY chill. There's no rush to do anything or go anywhere unless you're in a vehicle between the hours of 8:30-9:30AM or 5-7PM. Ticos live by the motto "Pura Vida" which literally means "Pure Life." 

   The title for this blog reflects PURA VIDA to the extreme. Beach life here in Samara is something I've never observed before. "Tuanis" simply means cool and  "mae" means dude. To ask how someone is doing (especially on the beach) may elicit the response, "pura vida," "tuanis," "solo bueno," or "purosdieses." The last two mean "it's all good" or "pure tens." Or you can skip ALL of that, dap up the person you're greeting and say "Tuanis!"

   Today we found an older French couple renting out two rooms in their beach house.  When we walked thru the backyard we were on the beach... three seconds tops. We each paid $10/night.  Martina made us CREPES when we first moved in. We filled them with caramel, chocolate syrup and powdered sugar. Pretty sweet, eh? (the deal and the crepes, ha!)

After we moved in we chilled a lot and scored some cheap surf lessons for tomorrow by talking to Paco, one of the instructors. I ate the BEST fried chicken of my life at a little Cevicheria on the main road. Ceviche is a typical dish consisting of raw fish "cooked" with citrus juices. In Costa Rica the fish is usually tilapia and  is marinated in lime juices, cilantro, onions and pepper. Raw fish doesn't sound too tempting to me... I've never even tasted sushi. If I get a burst of boldness, I'll let you know ;-)