Well, it has been quite a break. 

First my trip to Costa Rica, then the holidays, and then a bug that had me down for a couple of days. But here I am. 

First off, if you have a chance to visit Costa Rica, before Marriott and the Four Seasons develop it beyond all recognition, do it. Great people, absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever visited, miles of terrific beaches with no one on them, and prices well below what we expect to pay here in California. 

I went a few days ahead of my wife and younger daughter, and caught up with my oldest, Marisa, who is spending a year in Latin America before college. She has been living in a small village called Platanillo which is about an hour’s bus ride from San Isidro, which is itself about a 3 hour bus ride from the capital, San Jose.

Just getting there was fun – taking a bus over the Cerro de la Muerte (the hill of death) which is a 10,000 foot pass. Then I got to meet her host community, the kids she has been teaching, the old folks, everyone who has been her surrogate family for the past months. It has been a long time since I spent a whole day speaking only Spanish, but it came back remarkably easily and I had a lot of fun just visiting with people.

Marisa and I stopped for the night with a group of Americans calling themselves Project Revolution. Nice kids who reminded me of the 60′s. We even had a jam session, with me playing percussion.

 Heading back, our bus was late, so we hitchhiked, and between the jam session, sleeping in a hostel, hitching, and speaking Spanish, I could have sworn I was 18 again! 

Costa Rica has amazing natural beauty. We visited an eco-lodge which was the most remote place I have ever been. First we flew on a tiny plane to a dirt airstrip called Drake Bay. By tiny, I mean we were the only passengers. We were met by an ancient Land Rover that drove us for half an hour over a bumpy dirt and mud track. We forded a river and finally stopped not at the lodge but at a beach. We got out, rolled up our pants, and waded out to a small boat with an outboard motor which took us along the shore and then headed up a river. As we entered the river, we saw crocodiles swimming alongside the boat. That’s what I mean by remote. A beautiful place, with monkeys, pumas, wild peccary, and every kind of bird you can imagine.

A time for rest, renewal, and reflection!

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