I have an affinity for terra cotta roofing (“teja” in Spanish). You know the rustic red clay circular roofing tiles, which when they age tend to attract black soot, or mold, that makes them appear all the more rustic. Being of Spanish colonial influence, they are widely used in Latin America. I can remember being in Medellin, Colombia […]
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One of the great joys that I have adopted since living in the Latin world is música ranchera, or what we sometimes call “música corta-venas.” Well I guess not all songs of the “Mexican Ranchera” variety are what one would consider “corta-venas.” That moniker is limited to those songs that reflect a state of being […]
Life throws curves. It never ceases to amaze me the extent to which that statement proves to be true. Everyone has heard of “Murphy’s Law” right? You know the immutable physical law that states that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Well in Costa Rica that law tends to work double-time. For instance, […]
For many years I couldn’t get enough of the “self-help” stuff by writers and speakers such as Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield and so on. I still enjoy that stuff and there is some really helpful advice contained in it. However, for years my focus, often based on their advice, was on […]
I wrote last time about things that inspire me, a great book, movie or artistic performance, but it is not often that one gets inspired by a hotel. Well that happened to me this weekend as I had the privilege to stay in one of the four hotels in Costa Rica that have earned the […]
If someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I tend to think of those that have inspired me. Those that touch me somewhere deep down inside, maybe even bringing a noticeable tear to the eye. Of course, being a “tough guy” I would never let “you” notice that. Examples that come to mind, well, recently I saw […]
If you are going to spend some time in and around the San Jose area, you really should check out the Valle de Orosi, near Cartago. Towering above the valley are the beginnings of the Cordillera Talamanca, the tallest mountain range of the country and the Irazu and Turrialba volcanoes. The Orosi (or upper Reventazon) river flows through […]
I like Holy Week (or Semana Santa, as it is called in Spanish) for one major reason. And that is that the entire population of San Jose heads for the beach, leaving clear roads and a refreshingly peaceful existence for at least a few days. But there is another aspect of Semana Santa that is […]
Lately I feel as if I have had surgical removal of the funny bone. Life just doesn’t seem all that humorous these days and I guess that has been reflected in my recent posts. So dour. So serious. So boring. I do have a sense of humor. It just seems that I have misplaced it. […]
Sometimes it seems I am destined to suffer one relationship disaster after another here in Costa Rica. I guess I could just chalk it up to “cultural differences,” but that would be a cop-out. Sure there are a myriad of such differences, but in reality those can and should make the relationship richer and add to […]
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