By: Scott Pralinsky
Bocas del Toro
August 29, 2006Our friend, Jason, was here from Long Beach, California. So we decided it would be fun to take a little trip to a place none of us had ever seen before. We’d already heard a lot about the islands of Bocas del Toro in Panama. They are located in the extreme western part of the country, only 40 kilometers (like 30 miles) from Costa Rica.
Read MoreChristmas?
August 29, 2006Can you believe I saw Christmas decorations in the store yesterday? It’s not even the end of August for crying out loud! Well, I guess the truth is, we don’t celebrate Labor Day, Holloween or Thanksgiving. So what else is there to look forward to here?
Read MoreHelp Wanted
August 29, 2006The Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center is a non-profit organization located near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. We are currently looking for a Youth Program Coordinator to run our high school scholarship program.
Read MoreMy Birthday Party
August 27, 2006Last Saturday the 19th, we celebrated my birthday (which is really August 15) by having a big party at our house. It was a ton of fun, and ranks amongst the top 2 parties I’ve ever had. There were just under fifty people here and the evening was filled with excitement. It started with a surprise showing of Mr. Universe Absolute Fitness 2005 from Spain….
Read MoreRabbits and Frogs
August 25, 2006Rabbits cannot vomit, but it was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up it’s stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of it’s mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach’s contents and then swallows the stomach back down again. No wonder I like rabbits so much better!
Read MoreSex Education
August 18, 2006As you already know, there is no separation of Church and State in Costa Rica. The Catholic Church has a lot of say in what happens in this country. This is from the level of school children having to pray in school and being surrounded by religious icons and statues to the hand the Church plays in approving what is taught in schools.
Read MoreSafe for Women
August 15, 2006I was really pleased to hear that USA Today recently announced Costa Rica as the 3rd safest travel destination for women in the whole world! I can’t say that I’m really surprised. Costa Rica, despite our petty crime problems, is still very safe. We have had probably over 100 guests so far in the last 2 years and not one single person has had any kind of safety issue. Now that’s good news! By the way, Amsterdam and Ireland were numbers one and two, with India and Vietnam just behind Costa Rica. I wonder how far down the US is on that list?
Read MoreBefore and After
August 12, 2006I know it sure is hard to tell from these before and after photos, but we’ve done a ton of work on the house and it’s looking SO much better. New roof, new windows, window frames, 400 flowers and plants. Click on the photos for a better view. Still a lot more work to go, but little-by-little it’s starting to look like a real home.
Read MoreRepairs and Insanity
August 11, 2006As usual, I once again had to suspend my ideas of how things operate in life when I came across the need to get some things repaired. Both with my car and with my lawnmower I was required by the repair shops to go buy my own parts and deliver them to the shop. This meant, of course, an hour drive to drop off the equipment and an hour home on day one. Then several hours on a different day to shop for – and to deliver – the parts. Finally, another couple of hours to pick it up once it was repaired.
Read MoreAirline Crap
August 10, 2006I remember my first couple of flights. Rules and security were lax – if not non-existent. Even on my last flight before 9/11 (on 9/10), everyone was up-and-about in first class and having a good time. Much has changed, of course since then and I just hate the crap I have to go through at the airport. The worst of it being that I have to arrive so darn early just to ensure I’ll get through the mile-long security lines.
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