Costa Rica- the accolades CONTINUE

Costa Rica- the Greenest, Happiest, Cleanest and MOST environmentally friendly Country on the Planet, where even reportedly, the SHIT doesn't STINK.
In April of this year, Costa Rica was said to be the fifth CLEANEST country on the planet. It has also been known for quite some time to be the most environmentally friendly country as well... and dare we forget Costa Rica, the Nicoya Peninsula in particular, is now HOME to one of the coveted Blue Zones. But not only CLEAN, BLUE and environmentally friendly, NOW, Costa Rica is also the 'Happiest' and 'Greenest' country on the GLOBE according to the folks at, ‘The New Economics Foundation.’ Apparently these folks have MONEY and extra time on their hands since they looked at 143 countries, and devised an equation which evaluates life expectancy and people’s happiness against their environmental impact. Who knew?

This is one of the WORST things that could have happened to Costa Rica.

The marketing machine that IS Costa Rica has already SUCCESSFULLY linked and made itself synonymous with the following words and phrases over the years:

Green, self-sustainable, Paradise, organic, environmentally friendly, Slice of Heaven, Happy, carbon neutral country, Pura Vida, clean, Blue Zone, Simple life, Blah, Blah, Blah.

These words will also be the eventual downfall of Costa Rica (mark my words) as they can’t possibly live up to this ‘Garden of Eden’ type status they’ve created for themselves in the long haul. Not that I'm hoping things don't really CHANGE for the BETTER.

There are a FEW of us who do CARE and will expose this farce, this ‘creative marketing’ for what it is- But not to merely BAD mouth the country, that is NEVER my intent, but to educate and wake UP people to what’s REALLY happening.... and conversely what needs to be done to be TRULY environmentally friendly and GREEN and self-sustainable, and organic and BLUE and……………….. happy.

PERCEPTION is not necessarily REALITY.

This perception of being ‘clean’, environmentally friendly ETC. will loll the masses into complacency about what’s really HAPPENING in the countries oceans, rivers and rainforests. This marketing technique of, ‘Paradise on EARTH’ is working a little too well, but have you seen what’s going on in places like Manuel Antonio, Jacó, Tamarindo and other popular tourist destinations- polluted rivers, deforestation, wildlife corridors blocked, over-building, illegal building, shark finning etc.

The Tico’s have been hearing these PURA VIDA slogans for so long, not only do they tend to believe them, but they REPEAT them and help spread the misconception, especially to the tourist types. Tico’s won’t like what I’m about to say, and of course I’m not saying ‘ALL’ Tico’s, but it seems to be TRUE that Tico’s often have their head in the sand as to the environmental ISSUES of their country. Content in an 'out-of-sight', 'out-of-mind' sort of way. No wonder they’re HAPPY.

Problem is, if Tico's don't think there's a problem, the issues that need to be addressed and changed just won't have the SUPPORT. If the awards and superlatives are the perception of the REAL Costa Rica, why fix it if it ain't broke?

What's the problem, I can't see SHIT from here?
One other thing.. and there’s also no denying this… Costa Rica’s BARK is much worse than their BITE, which has always been one of the main problems with all their self-sustainable, environmentally friendly BULLSHIT. Don’t get me started.

Costa Rica has DONE it, with even BIGGER results than they could have imagined. Say something long enough and people begin to BELIEVE and hence, the perception has become the reality… WORLD WIDE.

There’s TALK that even God wants to move here (he's heard a lot of good things). Which is cool, cause I got some land for SALE.

Like I said, this is one of the WORST things that could have happened.


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!

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!

the Other Blue Zone in Costa Rica- La Fortuna

The next Blue Zone in Costa Rica will be found in La Fortuna, home of the Arenal Volcano- The Nicoya Peninsula has NOTHING on La Fortuna Costa Rica.

Why? I will tell you.

I love philosophy, always have. I’ve been in many of debates on the effects of religion and how it brings comfort to the people who BELIEVE. Personally, I think this to be a ‘false’ comfort for the true believer crowd, but a comfort nonetheless. Bottom line for me: WHATEVER works for YOU, we’re all on different paths. Me, I’m a Richard Dawkins type of thinker.

Back to the La Fortuna Blue Zone

The man in this picture is somewhat of an inspiration of mine. I don’t know him, never met him, know nothing about him really. But I do know one thing: He works out in the park, everyday from 6 in the morning to whatever at night, six days a week, rain or shine. Needless to say, La Fortuna has one of the most beautiful parks in all Costa Rica for a town its size. Our apartment overlooks the park, so we know how much the locals and tourists ENJOY it! Hell, I know how much I enjoy throwing OPEN my curtains everday!

Without fail, this man and his co-worker (they look the same), work the park; trimming, cutting, pruning, and trimming and clipping some more; the never ending job of manicuring a small slice of PURA Vida for others to enjoy, and believe me, it’s often taken for granted by the locals who frequent the park. The two also pick up trash, repair STUFF; they even empty out the fountain to keep it sparkling clean since often bored teenagers will throw SOAP SUDS in the fountain (I guess that’s kinda funny), and many Tico’s also have no problem throwing their Coke cans in the fountain, you know, since the trash can is 3 ft. away. (Don’t get me started about Costa Rican’s often blatant disregard for their country in the name of LITTER). And can you imagine the dog POOP? La Fortuna appears to be the home of the CHIHUAHUA, you would never know those dogs were so small after seeing the size of their…….. well, I’m sure you get the picture. These guys start the first few hours of their everyday, pickin up the disregarded shit, people we’re too damn lazy to throw away themselves.

Seriously, these men are bent over at least 5-6 hours a day and they’re NO spring chickens. If I was bent over for like 20 minutes, well, there’s no ‘if’ about it, I couldn’t do it without the help of some serious medications. Oh, and by the way, here, they normally use weed whackers to cut the grass, not lawn mowers, everything else is done by machetes of various sizes.

I watch these guys, they’re Content- I can see it on their faces. Nothing fazes them; not soap suds in the fountain, not dog shit every other step, not beer cans from the night before, or even demolished park benches- they just go about their business of keeping up the park- putting in a long-ass day that would KILL the rest of us. I know they go home, eat a hardy meal, sit out on the porch with family, maybe enjoy a beer or two, go to bed early, and get up early and DO it again- and I gotta million bucks says they make it to church EVERY Sunday. These guys are destined to be do’in interviews on ‘60 Minutes’ as to the secrets of a long, happy LIFE. BUT, this is the attitude of much of the unskilled labor force in Costa Rica (not sayin they’re not skilled, just sayin), they do their jobs, lead the SIMPLE life, and my guess is they’ll live a lot longer than the rest of US, creating the second of many BLUE ZONE’s that will eventually be found all over Costa Rica.

Come out to La Fortuna and be INSPIRED. I don’t know if I’m ENVIOUS, or think they’re the dumbest motherfuckers out there… but they ARE inspirational, and if their GOD doesn’t reward them with an eternity of harp music, Cacique and some HOT virgin TICA’s… There’s GONNA BE HELL TO PAY.

Here's what I really think of Blue Zones: Blue Zone Bandwagon

Tons of Videos on Costa Rica at the Costa Rica Travel Channel and if you're planning on Living or Traveling to Costa Rica, then check out Travel Costa Rica NOW for all your INFORMATION. And see ALL our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos on YouTube. ENjOY!

BLUE ZONE Bandwagon

Have you heard about these so-called, ‘Blue Zones?’ The story has been making the rounds on Oprah, Anderson Cooper, The Today Show etc. but just in case you haven’t, a brief definition from the WIKI people:

Blue Zones is a project that studies the regions of the world where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years. Scientists and demographers have classified these longevity hot-spots by their inhabitant’s uncanny ability to live longer, on average, than anyone else in the world.

The hub-bub here, is that the Nicoya Peninsula has been added to this very exclusive, albeit short list of Blue Zone locations; joining the likes of Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Loma Linda California and a few others.
The old people, sorry, the centenarians inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity.

Let’s see what the researchers say:

• Family comes FIRST
• Centenarians don’t typically smoke.
• Plant-Based Diet, in other words, fruits and veggies, not so much meat.
• Constant Moderate Physical Activity – Moderate physical activity is an inseparable part of life.
• Social Engagement – People of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities.
• Legumes, such as peas, beans, lentils, lupins, and peanuts are routinely consumed.
• Having a ‘purpose’ in life, but also a good attitude about aging.
• And of course 2 glasses of red wine……seriously.

I swear I’m not a party-pooper. And as far as Costa Rica goes, I consider the entire country a Blue Zone, hell, their 'over-all' way of living is one of the reasons I live here- Pura Vida is for REAL and I feel privileged to be a part of it. That said….
.
….. are you fuckin kidding me? Did we not know this? Are you telling me we need ‘research’ to explain that a positive outlook, sense of purpose, healthy diet and exercise, social interaction and two glasses of red wine may increase our odds of living longer. *I’ve done a little of my own research, you may substitute Cacique for the 2 glasses of red wine.

Sorry, but I’m taking this a bit further.

I’d be willing to bet that the centenarians who live in these Blue Zones haven’t strayed more than 200 miles from home their entire life. The simple life is a WAY of life, but if you ask me, it’s still ‘extreme’ in its own way. Their life is simple and their thoughts are simple. And although we can learn something, and should, I KNOW they haven’t had half the life experiences I have. They’re content in their tiny ‘Blue Zone’ world and there’s nothing wrong with that; if it gets them to 100+, then GREAT. BUT, I’ll take 80 any day of the week for MY life. I prefer my ‘simple’ with a dose of ‘complexity’. I need to travel, contemplate new business ventures, party my ass off, experience things outside the box, keep an eye on the political system, change my mind often- and every other thing I can’t think of right now.

Simple IS, as simple DOES, and for my tastes- a little to ‘confining.’

Screw 100.

Go ahead; pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Pass the peas.

As always, view hundreds of video about Costa Rica Travel Channel and for all your Costa Rica Information- Travel Costa Rica Now