Patience ~ Costa Rica Style

You know how people often say “ time flies”? Here it takes a nap! We live life at a slower pace and have learned that being in a hurry means scrambling out of the hammock to see the magnificent MacCaws or to get a glimpse of a sloth, camouflaged in the jungle, barely moving. Since sloths can enjoy life without rushing, maybe we can too! Sloths are our new life coaches.

At home waiting in line for more than five minutes would send me into an existential crisis. But here standing in line is basically a social event. You learn who’s got the best fruit stand, where to find the best gallo pinto, and hear a full breakdown of someone’s life story. And somehow, it’s… fun!

Driving in Costa Rica is like playing a game of “Guess What Happens Next?” Perhaps a family of iguanas is crossing the road at their own leisurely pace or a herd of cows has decided that our route is now their resting spot, or a driver has stopped in the middle of the road to have a 10-minute chat with a friend while everyone else just waits because, hey, life isn’t a rush. I no longer grip the steering wheel, wondering how this is normal. Now, I just roll down the window, breathe in the fresh air, and remind myself that there’s nowhere so important to be that I can’t enjoy the moment. Driving can be a moving meditation in the small communities that quickly changes to the Indy 500 when you get out of town. And motorcycles are the F-150s of Costa Rica where they are used not only for transporting 4 or 5 flip flop clad, non helmet wearing family members on one moto but also for hauling anything they can get their hands around including a full sheet of drywall! All this is accomplished on roads that are traditionally potholes connected by bits of pavement!

Fortunately our days of lining up to cash travellers cheques in busy banks have past. The first time we went to a bank in Costa Rica, we showed up bright and early, travellers cheques and passports in hand, ready to get things done. Silly us! Several hours later, we had moved approximately two chairs forward and learned everything there is to know about a strangers’ neighbours’ dog’s surgery. By the time we left (without actually getting any money by the way), we had reached enlightenment—or maybe just exhaustion. This has now been replaced by long line ups in the sweltering heat outside small ATMs comparable to a phone booth in the Sahara that may or may not have cash!

At first I thought patience was just something you practiced. Turns out, in Costa Rica, it’s something you become. And now? If the electricity goes out for three hours in the middle of the day, we just shrug, grab a book, and head to the pool or beach because honestly, what’s the rush?

We wouldn’t change a thing!

Pura Vida