Much like one of my earlier posts, this is more of a reinforcement of an idea than an adjustment… but being understated is underrated, especially in the U.S. Coming from a country that seems to be obsessed with keeping up with the Jones' (as evidenced by the number of recent foreclosures demonstrating how many people live beyond their means just to keep up with the other guy… who is also probably living above his means…), Costa Rica stands out in stark contrast. As I talked about earlier, outward appearances don't matter so much here. Does it work? Yes. Fine. That's all that matters. No need to be showy about it!

For further evidence of this, I present to you that the national bird of Costa Rica is the clay-colored robin (or thrush). It looks as boring as it sounds. I saw it while visiting the Monteverde cloud forest region in the north part of the country over the past couple days. I also saw AMAZING looking birds - the turquoise-browed motmot, the three-wattled bell bird, the emerald toucanet. Monteverde is also home to the resplendent quetzal (which I, unfortunately, did not see). Even the name of that bird sounds amazing, nae, RESPLENDENT! But did Costa Rica pick any of these birds as the symbol for the country? Nope. It picked a ho-hum, brownish, non-descript specimen. Does it work? Yes. Fine. That's all that matters. No need to be showy about it.

The Costa Ricans I've met so far seem to fall in line with this standard. They are soft spoken (unless calling for someone in another room), hard-working (I mean, doing manual labor - repairing roads, building houses - in the heat of the day! And I'm talking HEAT, people!), get-the-job-done types of folks. They care about appearances in the sense that they are very clean and tidy - I've yet to see any man with long-ish hair or unshaven. But they aren't wearing flashy clothes, or driving shiny new cars, or living in 3000 square foot houses. They've got what they need, and they're fine with that.

I admire this facet of life down here. And I don't think I'm too far off that mark in terms of how I live in the states. You all know I'm no fashion plate, don't have a lot of "stuff", and try to maintain a pretty even keel. Aside from my occasionally worn sequins (there is a time and a place!), I think I tend to be pretty understated. And that's fine by me. So if anything, Costa Rica is showing me that I'm on the right track.

My last few days in Monteverde were the best yet! My hotel was great - just cheap, budget accommodations, but the setting was awesome. About a 20 minute walk (or $3 cab ride) out of town with an amazing view all the way down to Puntarenas and the ocean on a clear day (which I had). The innkeeper was German, although he'd moved to Monteverde as a child and had 50 years of knowledge of the place. He helped me organize a trip to Selvatura Park, a massive rain forest park containing all sorts of trails and a zipline, on my first day. I spent the whole day there walking their trails and suspension bridges that brought me through the tree canopy, and then… yes… ziplining. My stomach was in my throat on the first one, but after that, for the next 16 ziplines, it was FRICKING AWESOME! Just don't look down.

On day 2, I spent the day at the Santa Elena Cloud Forest - a private reserve with about 10 miles of trails, and I hiked most of them. I saw all sorts of amazing wildlife - agoutis (big rodents - but kind of cute), all the aforementioned birds (but you'll have to google photos of them because my understated Canon PowerShot is one step above a disposable camera), butterflies - and of course, the amazing forest. I posted some photos that were worthy of sharing and that provide at least some sense of the wonder of nature I've been in for the past couple days. Now it's onto La Fortuna and the Arenal volcano. More amazing sights to see in this understated country!