In spite of all this, we should try to embrace the true Pura Vida spirit of it all, because just like a pancake has two sides no matter how flat you make it, every situation, no matter how unexpected and weird, has its pros and cons. So for those of us lucky enough to be ‘stranded’ in Costa Rica during this time, here’s a few good and bad aspects we can all relate to.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE QUARANTINE 

• Weekend Whimsy: Remember the days when we could drive Saturday and Sunday, no matter what number our license plate ended with? Those were wild times, right? Remember to savour the right, when restrictions end.
• Beach Bans: Yellow police tape has never been in such high demand and oh so prevalent, as well as anticlimactic as we see beach fronts taped off from North to South end. Whoever invested in that stock option, good for you! 
• Minimal Intimacy: Surely we can all agree that life isn’t nearly as fulfilling without those tropically induced moist handshakes and sweaty faux cheek’n’kiss greetings for all your friends and friends-of-friends and that one guy you don’t really know or like. Just a wave will now suffice.

ADVANTAGES OF THE QUARANTINE

• Less Traffic: Don’t you fondly remember that super dangerous ten-way intersection that involved heavily used conflicting dual turn lanes and stop signs to cross the Costanera highway that had weekly lethal accidents? No. No one misses that.
• New Hobbies: You can finally learn how to roast those potentially poisonous cashews at home, and if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can attempt to make your own chicha (fermented booze) from the remaining fruit. And while you’re flouting your green thumb, you can finally appreciate, harvest and eat that pineapple growing in your yard, which, lo and behold, don’t come from trees (who knew?!).
• Extended Visas: For those not fortunate enough to have residency, 90-day visa trips are a common occurrence. However, due to border closures the Costa Rica government has graciously extended immigrant visa requirements. While we might reminisce about the highly discounted duty free liquor, it never sucks being allowed to be ‘stuck’ in paradise.  
• Different Norms: Smelling like guaro isn’t just for benders, holidays or Tuesday anymore; that cheap alcohol aroma is the new ‘eau de corona’ disinfectant and it’s not going anywhere soon. 

So with all this in mind, let’s drink up, live it up, wash up and don’t judge that guy sleeping a little too soundly in the ditch in the middle of the day – we all social distance in our own way.

“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”

– Elbert Hubbard

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Reason 1: Electricity Prices

Living in paradise comes at a hefty price. Powering an entire country on 90% pure renewable energy is funded straight out of your pocket. They have an ascending usage bracket system where you get charged more to burn their clean, nationwide non-fossil fuel-based energy. It’s not fair that keeping your 3,000 square foot villa air-conditioned to a moderate 70°F (21°C) in a tropical jungle climate and running an infinity pool pump day and night should cost more per kWh than your eco-conscious neighbors down the street, or is it?

Reason 2: Humidity and Heat

Get ready to sweat if you live in Costa Rica. A lot. And not just when you’re power
walking on the treadmill at the gym while catching up on Netflix. It’s hot and humid all
year-round, especially near the beaches. Gone are the days when you can
enthusiastically layer on flannel shirts, long johns, wool socks, waterproof fleece-lined
boots, snow pants, a down jacket, sock cap, heavy gloves and a scarf so that you can
scrape the ice off of your snow shell of a vehicle, all for a 5-minute drive to the grocery
store. The only thing we locals put on when it gets cold are socks, so you can kiss your
trendy winter fashion collection goodbye.

Reason 3: Food Choices

Prepare to pay twice as much for a simple brie cheese wheel or organic vegan bacon-
flavored breakfast meat substitute strips, IF you can even find them at a nearby super
mercado. Instead, you’ll be left to choose from a selection of Costa Rican grown in-
season vegetables and fruits, or farm-fresh dairy and meat products. And you can say
sayonara to your favorite convenient ready-made foods like individually wrapped
microwavable “all-natural” frozen omelets for breakfast; there’s only actual hand-
cracked eggs mixed with local veggies and cooked in a pan on the spot for your
foreseeable Pura Vida future. Be forewarned: making a burrito will never be the same,
either. You will always want “gallo pinto” in it from here on out.

Reason 4: Tons of Scary Insects

You’ll never see a crazier or scarier assortment of bugs until you move to Costa Rica.
There are 6-inch flying grasshoppers (aptly called “langostas” or lobsters locally) that
kamikaze towards your head out of nowhere, spiders bigger than your hand and beetles
with tong-like pinchers that will snarkily give you the middle tarsus when you pull out
bug spray. Who would’ve thought of being in a country with 6% of the world’s biodiversity
would include so many insects and such a diverse food chain? Truly, seeing a few of
these creepy crawlies a year doesn’t make it worth the daily experience of watching
scarlet macaws, amusing monkeys, colorful toucans, nimble jungle cats, pizotes or
shiny blue morpho butterflies pass by your patio on any given afternoon.

Conclusion

If you’ve managed to look at all of these daily hurdles to life in Costa Rica and can still
embrace the positive aspects, then you might be able to endure it in the long-term.
Getting the most out of living here means appreciating the good, along with the not-so-
bad, and keeping things in perspective, especially on the surprise scorpion in your
shorts days.

The post 4 Reasons Costa Rica Isn’t Greener – Have a laugh! appeared first on Costa Pacifica LIVING.

Adventures in Brewing

Brewing the perfectly creamy stout or a tangy IPA is difficult enough under normal conditions. However, when you throw in tropical climates, government hurdles, and a generally untapped and lager-loving public, you’ve got a whole different kind of rodeo.

One of the biggest obstacles for Costa Rica brewers is the lack of beer’s main ingredients, hops and malts. All of the hops must be imported, which more than once has caused major confusion with immigration officers, who mistake the shipments as large, poorly concealed crates of marijuana.

The good news is that with the increase of craft beer in the country, microbrewers are working together to make hops more available and at better cost. From its humble beginnings in 2010 when there was one microbrewer with three different ales to nearly 40 independent breweries and the 85 different craft brews available now, it’s clear that the industry has rallied to bring new flavor to an unfamiliar land.

Tiny Country, Big Flavor

While Imperial lager is typically considered the king of beers in Costa Rica, craft beer is steadily and not-so-quietly creating a name for itself not only here, but on an international scale. Just this year four of Costa Rica’s microbrewers took home five medals at the biggest beer competition in Latin America, the Copa Cervezas de América. Additionally, the Costa Rica’s Craft Brewing Company, which was Costa Rica’s first microbrewer, was recently named one of the top 100 craft breweries in the world by London’s Future Publishing. Not bad considering Costa Rica’s craft beer market has only been around for about six years.

If you haven’t had a chance to try one of Costa Rica’s many craft ales, then it’s time to get to the nearest beach or bar and indulge yourself. Or if you’re really lucky, you might be able to find a few thousand of your good, similarly-minded friends at a regional beer festival with a bottomless glass. No matter how you discover the local craft beer, cheers to many tasty adventures to come.

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