Reality TV in Costa Rica Say it isn't SO

'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is in Costa Rica. Yeah, really, Get Them Out of HERE!'
Haven’t heard? Costa Rica is playing host to a Reality Show called, ‘I’m a Celebrity, get me out of HERE!’ If I’m not mistaken I believe it’s being filmed in the Sarapiquí region of Costa Rica.

I’m thinking I’ll be accused of nitpicking, but I’m sorry, I can’t help it. Something is just ‘wrong’ with a ‘reality show’ being filmed here and I’m not sure I can put it into words but I’ll try.

First, some of the so-called celebrities of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here: Janice Dickinson, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, John Salley, Duane Chapman, Patti Blagojevich, Torrie Wilson, Sanjaya Malakar, Stephen Baldwin and Lou Diamond Phillips. *Sorry, but not providing any links, so if you’re not sure who some of these people are, I’ll let you research them yourselves, although in my opinion it's not worth your time.

Before getting into this I should note: Celebrity doesn’t mean anything to me and hasn’t for years. I do happen to know who these people are and could walk right past any of them and not give a second glance... and in the case of Stephen Baldwin, I did at an Evander Holyfield/Riddick Bowe fight in Vegas, and THEN he WAS a celebrity. I may appreciate their ‘talents’ but I’m not a, “Can I have your autograph?’ type of guy. Now, if Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Hermann Hesse, Erich Fromm, Ayn Rand, George Bernard Shaw, Dostoyevsky and Oscar Wilde, were competing, I would turn into a screeching, sobbing little–girl who's happy to even catch a glimpse of Justin Timerlake and 'NSync. Also, for those of you who may follow this blog, you know my family and I participated in a reality show, ‘Under One Roof’ and believe me, there is NOTHING REAL about a reality show- a total oxymoron… just sayin. Winning was cool though.

I don’t claim to know who makes the decision to give the go-ahead to film a reality show here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t the same person(s) who would give the go-ahead to build a ka-zillion dollar condo project in Manuel Antonio SMACK in the middle of the corridor where the mono-titi monkey’s live.

To me, this Reality Show is a perfect example of Costa Rica selling itself OUT and trivializing the very thing that made the country attractive in the first place- its BEAUTIFUL innocence. Costa Rica can NEVER be described as a ‘hidden gem’ anymore, those days are GONE. This gem has been dug-up, brushed off, polished, re-polished and put in the display case (prices vary... depending). Once a diamond in the rough - NOW reduced to pimped-out BLING. Costa Rica has turned itself into a commodity, SOLD to the highest bidder piece by piece- and there doesn’t seem to be anything here that can’t be bought, regardless of consequences. Know this- you ARE over exposing yourself.

Nothing is sacred anymore, not the rainforest, the mono-titi, turtles, sharks, places like Tamarindo, Papagayo, Manuel Antonio, Jacó, the entire country is turning into ONE BIG Souvenir Shop.

I realize many of you think I’m making a big deal out of nothing…. after all, it’s only a Reality Show. That’s just it, a reality show- a stupid, meaningless bit of entertainment, with Pura Vida as its backdrop. This is Las Vegas material, hell, go to New York City, London, Cancun, Aruba, places where this almost makes sense. Why here?

I just wanna say to whoever made this happen, “F-YOU” I’d love to do the reality show of YOU sitting around the boardroom thinking up even more ways to EXPLOIT Costa Rica for your own gain. And there IS gain somewhere… at the expense of COSTA RICA, the country. Oh, and please don’t tell me the very lame, “We’re just showing the outside world how beautiful Costa Rica is- this Reality Show is for the good of Costa Ricans everywhere.” PLEEASSSSSSSSSSSSSE.

I have an idea for a reality show. Let’s use the same ‘celebrities’ and see who can train a margay or ocelot to use a kitty litter box first. WHAT… you think that’s STUPID? Dog the Bounty Hunter stalking a Costa Rican margay and eating turtle eggs to survive… now that’s fuckin ENTERTAINMENT.

Dear I'm a Celebrity- Get Me Out of Here, Watch this and see if you can catch the HINT.


Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

Do'in Costa Rica is BACK

Do'in Costa Rica is BACK and ready to POST
Hey EVERYONE! We're BACK from San Jose and Manuel Antonio and do we have TONS of NEW stuff. Here's just a few of the things we'll be posting soon:

*REVIEW of the 5-Star Gaia Hotel and Reserve in Manuel Antonio.
*An overview of Playa Samara
*Our encounter with a hundred Squirrel Monekys (these guys are SOOOO Cute!)
*REVIEW of numerous hotels, restaurants and even a few nightclubs in Manuel Antonio and San Jose.

We got so much stuff, I can't even remember it all.

So CHECK back. NEW STUFF is coming. Pura Vida!

Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

Do'in Costa Rica has 'WORK' to do

Hey EVERYONE,

Looks like we'll be Do'in our THING the next few days or so... traveling around Costa Rica, videotaping our experiences so we can SHARE them with YOU- someone's gotta do it.... hehe. I'm SO glad these VIDEO'S don't make themselves, because we LOVE doing them. But when we get back, I can guarantee NEW adventures, NEW stories, and NEW reviews and whatever else we happen to run into- Adventure has a way of FINDING us.

Feel free to venture into the archives and take a look at past posts if you're NEW to this blog, you NEVER know what may be helpful.

Switching GEARS and nothing to do with Costa Rica- Check this out. Some of you know we came to Costa Rica from Las Vegas. The guy singing the following song, Seth, used to spend quite a bit of time at our house, it's nice to see he's doing well and followed his passion. He's an excellent song writer. The name of the group is, 'the Higher'. ENjoY.


Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

She Moved to Costa Rica by HERSELF- Q&A

Making the move to La Fortuna Costa Rica, Mendee takes a little break and checks out Rio Celeste with a friend.
Traveling to Costa Rica is ONE thing, and even for a week’s visit one needs to do their homework to ensure the BEST time possible. Visit our site: Travel Costa Rica NOW to do just that. But actually moving and Living in Costa Rica is an entirely different matter.

Our friend Mendee did just that. Young, pretty and single, Mendee decided to follow her dreams and move OUT of the United States (San Diego) and into Costa Rica, armed only with a previous month’s long vacation, determination and her faithful companions, Helmet and Barron.

Check out this VIDEO to see what motivated Mendee to make the move. She answers all the questions: Buying a house in Costa Rica, Starting a business in Costa Rica, Bringing dogs across the border, Living and working as a single woman in the land of ‘machismo’, Does Gringo Pricing and Tico time really exist- and much, much more. Mendee is very candid about the advantages and disadvantages of living as a young Gringa in Costa Rica.

You don’t want to miss this, especially if you’re considering making the MOVE to Costa Rica yourself, and double especially if you're a young WOMAN, as Mendee offers GREAT perspective:



and here's PART 2 with Mendee:



Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

EXPLOITING Costa Rica's Blue Zone

Blue Zone Living: Example of using Blue Zones as a MARKETING TOOL.
GREAT, Blue Zones are becoming the next ‘catch phrase’, joining the ranks of eco-friendly, sustainable, organic and GREEN. As if Blue Zones haven’t been exploited enough by the likes of Dan Buettner (yeah, I said it), now they’ve become a BRAND new way to market REAL ESTATE and TRAVEL in Costa Rica. Have you seen the sites popping up advertising crap like, ‘Living the Blue Zone Way of Life in Costa Rica’ or “If you could lead a healthier, happier and simpler life in Costa Rica at a third of the cost, would you?” These sites are gift wrapped in Blue Zone mentality, prettied up with great photos and Blue Zone INFO on healthier, happier lives, but when all the packaging and BULLSHIT is exposed, they’re selling Real Estate or Travel packages- How pathetic.

I've written too much about Blue Zones, but in cased you've missed them:

BLUE ZONE Bandwagon
the Other Blue Zone in Costa Rica- La Fortuna
Blue Zones- a THING of the Past

Obviously, nothing is wrong with marketing self-sustainable, eco-friendly, organic and GREEN when it’s TRUE, because many people, including myself, do like to do business with companies and people who ACTUALLY do care about the environment. But it seems as if every hotel, adventure and travel company in Costa Rica in the last 5 years or so have JUMPED on the Environmental Bandwagon and link those words into their product- whether it’s TRUE or NOT. They realize it’s SMART and chic marketing to affiliate with environmentally friendly monikers, since most consumers want to do, or at least appear they’re doing their part by supporting ‘Save the Environment’ type businesses and causes. And unfortunately, many people assume the connection to organic, or eco-friendly etc is TRUE, why wouldn’t they… it’s right there in black and white, or on the screen, or in the article, or in the advertisement… it’s gotta be TRUE. So…

Enter BLUE ZONE. Thanks to the likes of Oprah and others, The ‘Blue Zone phrase CRAZE’ already conjures up images of people leading long, healthy and productive lives into their 100’s- milking the cows, walking 5 miles merely to pick a papaya, hell if Oprah said it… so what better ‘key words’ to wrap around the Costa Rican Real Estate and Travel markets in order to lure the eco-friendly and health conscious types into purchasing property or visiting a Blue Zone. And a house on the Nicoya Peninsula, you’re almost guaranteed to live until you’re 150 years old. Pleaseeeeee

My 2-cents of Advice:

Dan and Oprah, we GET it. Leave it alone and leave whatever so-called Blue Zones left out in the world ALONE. Haven’t you SOLD enough books already? You’re not going to discover anything new you didn’t already know by finding (exposing) the first 4 Blue Zones; except for maybe the wine they drink is different. And really, you didn’t discover anything NEW. Case in POINT: Fifteen years ago I watched the ‘Donner Family’ on Family Feud (remember that show Dan?) The question: Top 7 answers to “How to live to be a 100+ years OLD?” The Donners got all 7, and like most families on that show, they weren’t that smart.

In my opinion, SMART was coining and marketing the word ‘Blue Zone’.

You don’t have to buy Blue Zone, move to a Blue Zone and you surely don’t need Dan and Oprah- ANYONE, ANYWHERE can lead a Blue Zone life, but you gotta get off the couch at some point and turn OFF Oprah and find a REASON to live your own Blue Zone and then apply yourself, religiously, maybe take a few family and friends with you… and of course reward yourself by drinking LOTS of wine- the common denominator of ALL Blue Zone centenarians.

I’ve posted enough about BLUE ZONES- I think I'm through with this Blue Zone malarkey... for NOW at least.

Hey Dan, I’m a walking, talking fuckin Blue Zone- STUDY ME, I’ll throw a wrench in your data.

and for your EnJOyMeNt... our good friend KERMIT:


Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

Costa Rica to Sea Turtles, "Piss OFF!"

Plight of the Sea Turtles- does Costa Rica give a F***?
Time and time again Costa Rica has shown it CANNOT Police itself and would rather wait until their hand is caught in the cookie jar… before actually enforcing their OWN laws to correct the problem. In this case- shrimp trawling and its effects on sea turtles. The United States stepped in and played the role of ‘Mother’- how embarrassing for Costa Rica… or is it? Here’s the latest:

“The United States decertified Costa Rica as a turtle friendly country (again) May 1. Margaret F. Hayes, acting deputy assistant secretary for oceans and fisheries for the United States, said that Costa Rican officials did not comply with their promise to take steps to sanction shrimp fishermen who do not use turtle excluder devices.”

The Punishment: The United States will not import Costa Rica shrimp for at least the next year. This is the 4th time since 1999 Costa Rica has been caught not enforcing their own laws- again, embarrassing, but VERY telling.

This is how it went down:

"In meetings with senior Costa Rican fisheries officials during the December 2008 certification visit, the State Department representative stressed that without rapid remedial action Costa Rica's certification might be compromised," she added. "Costa Rican officials were aware of the issue and promised to resolve it early in 2009. However, the United States Embassy in San Jose reports that since that December visit Costa Rican authorities have not taken all the action they promised."


*Before I continue I just want to SHOUT OUT to Randall Arauz and the folks at Pretoma (the organization for the preservation of sea turtles and sharks ) who I KNOW were instrumental in seeing this through. Keep up the GREAT work (it takes a village). BTW- they could really use your HELP, visit the link and find out how you can support Pretoma and help preserve the marine life that live off the waters of Costa Rica.

The remedy seems quite simple- Shrimp fishermen need to use turtle excluder devices, which are like trap doors built into shrimp trawl nets that let trapped turtles swim away… and for the ones that don’t use the device- LAWS need to be enforced. So, what’s the problem?

'You mention COST... you have no IDEA.'
Let’s BREAK this down: This is the 4th time in ten years Costa Rica has been caught not enforcing their own laws by the United States… again. HELLOOOOOOOOO.

The Costa Rican powers that be know what they’re doing, they can’t be this stupid, so I call, “BULLSHIT”. I’m thinking the Costa Rican government doesn’t really CARE what the United States does- the non-enforcement of these LAWS must be WORTH it on some LEVEL- there’s no other explanation. Think about it, if you knew for a FACT you were getting a supposed ‘severe’ consequence for your actions (because you’d gotten 3 previously), would you change your behavior? You’d be STUPID not too…unless the consequence didn’t really affect you as it was intended. And really, they KNOW and KNEW ‘Mother’ and the folks at Pretoma were watching them. They KNEW they’d be caught AGAIN. The consequence of not importing shrimp from Costa Rica must not be severe enough-

I say Follow the Money, it's BIGGER somewhere else.
It’s like giving a kid a consequence of, “No fruitcake for a week”- but the kid doesn’t like fruitcake to begin with. Something's amiss.

Randall Arauz told me the powers that BE in Costa Rica often attempt to circumvent their OWN laws in order to keep the money FLOWING into Costa Rica (he was talking about the practice of SHARK FINNING as it pertains to the relationship between Costa Rica and the Taiwanese government). I guarantee this is much BIGGER and more political than turtles and sharks.

Money is always the bottom line. Here’s a breakdown of the so-called LOSSES to Costa Rica:

‘Costa Rica has exported at least 20,000 pounds of premium shrimp a month to the United States. That is shrimp with a retail price of nearly $200,000, according to news files.’

I guess I’m jaded, but that just doesn’t seem like a high number to me in the realm of things.

And I hate to complicate things and throw a wrench in the spokes, but seriously, this entire story could be BULLSHIT. Even the United States could be in on it… it’s not like manipulating a ‘situation’ for a variety of reasons is foreign to our neighbor to the north…. just sayin.

Bottom Line:

Costa Rica doesn't seem to mind a little 'egg on their face' because obviously in the long term, 'someone' or 'something' is getting MORE than they're LOSING.... and egg wipes off.

Because if not, that would mean Costa Rica is STUPID…

Costa Rica isn’t STUPID are THEY?

I know I posted this a few days ago, but personally, if ONLY 1 more person sees this who hasn't already, then it's worth it, and that '1' just may be the DIFFERENCE. My Interview with the president of Pretoma, Randall Arauz:



Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

Costa Rica- Irritations NEVER Cease

'Costa Rican Mosquitoes LOVE me and BUGS want to GET with me.'
Culture Shock should be expected when moving to a foreign country- it’s the degree and how it’s dealt with that tends to be the DEAL BREAKER. INFO on Culture Shock.

I’ve dealt with the Culture Shock Shit, no problem; it’s the mosquitoes, bug bites, rashes, infections (I prefer in-fuck-tions) and random breathing problems that have been kickin my ass since moving to Costa Rica. Hell, give me the Culture Shock, it just may be easier to deal with.

Todays SKIN issue. Both armpits. IRRITATING and ITCHY- 2 weeks now.
Let’s go BACK a bit:

Growing up and into adulthood I’ve always had skin problems- face and back acne (zits on the ASS are also highly attractive), dry skin, eczema, really…. rash type problems too numerous to mention. I recall going weeks with my back in constant agony of needing to be scratched. I use to scratch my back with a huge butcher knife and ONCE, I forgot to go back and forth and instead went up and down… NOT good. And don’t get me started on JOCK itch….ewh! Side Note: If your son or daughter has acne issues- do whatever is in your power to HELP them and don’t joke about it- Teenage Acne is a serious self-esteem issue and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Dealing with kids was my past life. See: Accutane, it WORKS, but it's a visit to the Doctor thing.

Not me, but my HEART goes out>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So, I’m not foreign to skin issues and I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when they began popping up shortly after arriving in Costa Rica.

But not just 'rash-type' skin issues- Mosquitoes LOVE me and BUGS want to ‘GET’ with me. Fifteen people in a room and one mosquito, it’s biting ME… repeatedly. I am anyone’s PERFECT eco-friendly, self-sustainable mosquito repellent. Why spread DEET all over your body, when you have ME around? For a small fee, I travel. And many of the bites from the 'WHATEVERS', stay with me for weeks, what's that about?

My VERY first Costa Rican, ‘I have a skin issue and need to see a Doctor NOW’, was an infucktion that seriously needed to be LANCED. The placement of this infucktion was rather embarrassing, funny, but EMBARRASSING (even for me). I know its placement ‘CRACKed’ some people up.

Even more good skin stuff:

Don’t know what Leishmaniasis is? My experience with Leishmaniasis can be found here in a past POST: It's NOT Swarzenegger, it's Leishmaniasis. Don't care, here's the pics:

Leishmaniasis: 3 Years AGO and TODAY
The Leishmaniosis SUCKED major ass, but I knew what it was and could deal with it. The worst by far is when I was having bouts of not breathing- that was scary, like an anxiety attack without the anxiety… well, it did cause anxiety to some degree, but it didn’t start with anxiety if you know what I mean. Actually, it started with coughing, which lasted over a month, then suddenly and randomly I wouldn’t be able to breathe, usually in the morning but sometimes in the afternoon as well. I tried to diagnose the problem myself- a holistic approach if you will. I don’t think overdosing on Vitamin C worked, but the cough and the bouts of not breathing went away after about 3 more weeks of Respiratory HELL. Personally, I think not breathing is about 100X worse than getting kicked in theNUTS- it hurts like a BITCH, but you pretty much know you're not going to DIE- when you're not breathing, it creates a LOT of DOUBT about tomorrow.

<<<<<<<<<<< A friend gave me one for my issue- BAD, BAD idea.

I know what you’re thinking- allergic reactions, a change in eating habits, a change of laundry soap… remember, I’ve been dealing with this shit forever. If I had to guess, I would say the bug and mosquito problems are just because they find my DNA attractive, rashes, dry skin (which has also happens to me here) I believe is caused by humidity and the fact I work out a LOT and when I get sweaty and HOT, my skin re-ACTS in a, “I’m so sick of you exercising and getting all HOT and SWEATY, I’m going to BREAK out in FUGLY red blotches all over your body,” type of way. The ones on my face were the worst. I know there were many times when a ‘friend’ wanted to say, “What are those fugly looking red blotches all over your face?” But being the friend they were, they acted as if they didn’t see the booger hanging out of my nose. Now, that’s a friend. This crap under my armpits, a total nuisance, but I'll ride it out.

You also may be thinking, "Hey michael, you always had skin problems, don't BLAME Costa Rica." First, I wouldn't 'blame' anyone, it's my choice to live here, but I can say the problems are of a different 'strain'. Really, I think the common denominator in my skin issues IS 'contact dermatitis', with differences being the Costa Rican numerators (got that?) Unfortunately, when I ask what the 'numerator' is, I usually hear, "Well, no sé, but lets try this cream." Pura Vida.

Whatever. Costa Rica is worth every mosquito infuckted, red blotch itchin, RASH and... even the bouts of respiratory HELL… have you ever seen the Arenal Volcano at night spewing lava while the jungle was singing BACKUP? I have....itch, itch.

Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

La Sabana Park in San José

A stroll through La Sabana Park in San José is a refreshing reminder of one of the reasons I love Costa Rica.
Family and friends- socializing, hanging-out, ENJOYING each other’s company and NOT in a HURRY to get back home to their Twittering, FaceBooking, XBOXing or anything else equipped with a screen and a plug. Of course that’s not to say the writing isn’t on the WALL that Costa Rica is headed in that direction: Why I Think So HERE,

BUT, for now, it’s NICE to see SO many people enjoying the DAY… outside.

Here’s a little video we made about La Sabana Park and if you’re EVER in the San José area, take a few hours and see what Tico Culture is all about.


Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!

Blue Zones- a THING of the PAST

Blue Zone here, Blue Zone there- by now I'm sure many of you know about the ‘Blue Zone’ located on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.

Blue Zones in general have been a popular subject in the media for quite some time now, making the rounds on Oprah, Anderson Cooper 360, The Today Show and many others.

I have also added my perspective on Blue Zones and the 'Blue Zones' in Costa Rica in particular: Blue Zone Bandwagon and the Other Blue Zone in Costa Rica- La Fortuna.

It almost appears as if the entire country of Costa Rica is becoming a Blue Zone. This REPORT came out a few weeks ago:

In 2000, the number of Costa Ricans over the age of 100 was just 231, now, nine years later, the number is 931, according to the demographics report by the Centro Centroamericano de Población (CCP). The report indicates a tremendous growth in those aged over 100 since the CCP began keeping track of the Centenarians in Costa Rica. And if the growth continues at the same rate, the CCP estimates that there will be some 8.000 Centenarians by the year 2050 in Costa Rica... In addition, 68% of those reaching the age of 65 are expected to live well into their 80's. Just 40 years ago, only 49% of Costa Ricans who celebrated their 65th birthday could aspire to reach 80.

In a country of only 4 million, this is saying something. In the article they don’t really mention any particular region, or ‘Blue Zone’, such as the much talked about Nicoya Peninsula so I can only surmise they’re talking about the country in general.

In the United States we have millions of 'BLUE ZONES', but we call them couches.

To me, Blue Zone is just another way of saying, ‘simple life’. If you look at the supposed Blue Zones located around the world: Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, and even the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California and of course the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica (currently the ‘father’ of Blue Zones, Dan Buettner, is preparing for an expedition to the island of Ikaria, Greece, where he hopes he will discover the fifth "and possibly last" Blue Zone in the world. The expedition will take place between April 20th and May 1st, 2009 according to the WIKI people), it doesn’t take much to see it’s all about living the ‘simple life’, that is: eat well, work with a purpose (Blue Zone people don’t really retire per se), have some sense of spirituality, a strong presence of family and friends, and don’t smoke. I ask you, is this Rocket Science?

It was said that David once lived the Blue Zone mentality, that is until he discovered MySpace.
I’ll try not to oversimplify, but in my opinion, the reason for the ‘jump’ in Centenarians in Costa Rica is really quite simple- combine the ‘Blue Zone’ mentality, aka simple life, with the advances in modern medicine- that’s it.

My theory is this: once Costa Rica ‘CROSSES’ over and becomes more like the States, that is lose their 'Pura Vida' attitude and replace it with MORE exposure to materialistic thinking such as the NEED to be entertained, the NEED to consume, the NEED for BIGGER and BETTER and the misconception that something BETTER is out there and needs to be pursued, and of course the NEED to have conveniences close at hand- conveniences meaning fast food, electronic gadgets, computers, Wal Marts and the like, and anything else that supposedly ‘saves time’ in order to have even MORE time to pursue ‘happiness’ as defined by the mass media.

I don’ want to be pessimistic, but the writing is on the WALL, in BIG FUCKIN LETTERS. With the information highway such as it is, I believe it’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE not to be exposed to a perceived BETTER way of living. Information is one click away, chatting with someone in China- one click away- TWITTER, FaceBook, Hi5, MySpace… the innocence of Pura Vida just can’t compete with the sense of wanting to feel connected- with the WORLD no less. Virtually anything that is POSSIBLE- is literally ONE CLICK AWAY. The Costa Rican 20-somethings won’t aspire to live as long as their grandfathers, eating gallo pinto and milking the cows until they're 120-years old, but opt for a LIFE of ‘BLING’… because that is the 'mass mentality' thinking perpetuated by the media, and unlike their grandfathers before them, they will know NO other way of living (or thinking for that matter)- and one can’t expect they won’t be severely affected. Their ‘Blue Zone’ will be anywhere their computer happens to be.

I fear Costa Rica is going to LOSE its innocence. The Blue Zone mentality here has been going on for generations, unfortunately the internet will overtake the young people and within 15 years or so they’ll begin to become fat, lazy, arrogant, irresponsible whiners and complainers pursuing the almighty dollar- you know, like the rest of us.

Enjoy the BLUE ZONES while you can, because soon, a Blue Zone will be defined by someone’s house on a remote island in the South Pacific. That is, until Dan Buettner catches wind of it.

Don’t let Dan Buettner know you’ve discovered a Blue Zone.

Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!