Borinquen: A Hot Springs That’s Truly Volcanic
I’m having a surreal moment. I’m standing, covered head to feet in slick, graphite-colored volcanic mud, when suddenly the deep guttural honk of a howler monkey reverberates almost directly overhead. I walk gingerly up the slatted wooden walkway that traverses the boiling hot river, craning my neck for a glimpse of the monkeys and at [...]
The Sound of Inner Silence in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest
Since arriving at El Silencio Lodge, an über-private nature retreat in Costa Rica’s high volcanic mountains, I’ve been contemplating the meaning of silence. Because silence, at least here in the jungle during the early days of the rainy season, is anything but quiet. Let’s start with the cicadas, which sound like buzz saws about ten [...]
How to Save $$Thousands in Health Care Costs with Medical Tourism
When I was in Costa Rica a few weeks ago, I continually found myself running into Americans who were in the country for a combination of R&R and medical tourism. I met a couple in the San Jose airport who planned to stay in the city for a few days to have dental work done [...]
In Costa Rica, Protests Against Shark Finning Gaining Momentum
Here on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, where I’m spending a blissful few days, the health of the ocean is key. I just heard about an enormous controversy raging here; it’s about shark finning in the area around Cocos Island. Shark fins are a delicacy popular in China and other Asian countries as an [...]
