When you come to Costa Rica, a saying you will hear every day (if not during every conversation) is “Pura Vida.”

While it literally means “Pure Life,” Pura Vida has a number of uses:

“How are you?”
“Pura Vida!”

In this context, it means Everything is Good!

“It’s raining! But I wanted to go to the beach today! And I had X, Y and Z planned!”
“What are ya gonna do? Pura Vida!”

In this context, “Pura Vida” means “Go with it!” It can be used to remind someone not to take things so seriously, and that life is good!

“Look at that girl! She’s so gorgeous!”
“Pura Vida!”

If something great happens like winning the lottery, seeing a really pretty girl or another stroke of luck, give it a “Pura Vida!”

Those are the three main uses of one of the most common phrases spoken in Costa Rica! Use this wisdom wisely.

Most people know that Costa Rica’s got crabs. And lots of ‘em. Saltwater crabs, seawater crabs, the kind you get from hanging around places like the Beetle Bar…

I jest. But, according to this article, a new species of crab has been discovered. Hooray!

The “new” crab, dubbed the Allacanthos yawi, gets the “yawi” part of its name from Cabécar, an indigenous language in Costa Rica’s southern zone. It means “river crab that lives under rocks.”

New to us…not so new to them, though. I’m pretty sure this is the same crab that stole one of the coins from my coin collection as a kid. I poked it for two hours trying to get it back. That’s right. You’d BETTER hide under the rock…

Hello.

I’m not Norma. Norma does not use blogs, or even check her email more than once a week. Norma has only visited Google to look up pictures of young Elvis. Norma thought THIS was a router:

Conclusion: Norma would never be writing this blog post. Ever.

So who am I? Someone who loves Norma very much. She’s my grandma. And even though she doesn’t use the Internet, and her phone is always off, and she’d rather sweep and let it go into voicemail than answer it anyway, this amazing woman still owns and operates her own hotel. In Costa Rica.

I’m going to try to keep this not only so you all can enjoy it, but to remember all those funny moments that make up running a family business in the little town of La Garita, Costa Rica.

(No, you can’t find it on Google. Besides, they got the boundaries wrong anyway).