I have always been impressed with the hotels of Florida native turned Costa Rican hotelier, Lee Banks. My company, Package Costa Rica, has been sending our customers to the Peace Lodge, an amazing resort located in the heart of the cloud forest in Vara Blanca, for years. Banks has had a stroke of bad luck lately, what with the “double whammy” of the earthquake of January 8th that did serious damage to the Peace Lodge and La Paz Gardens coupled with the economic crisis that has waylaid tourism in the country. Nevertheless, as the saying goes, you can’t keep a “good hotelier” down. The Peace Lodge has now reopened and Banks’ new hotel at the Arenal Volcano, the Springs Resort and Spa, is going strong. I stayed at the Springs this weekend and it is, to put it mildly, impressive. I have had the fortune of staying in many great hotels around the U.S., but I tell you nothing I have experienced surpasses what is awaiting guests at the Springs Resort. Admitted that one unique characteristic is that in every nook and cranny of the hotel you will be staring at the massive Arenal Volcano, one of the most active and beautiful volcanoes on the planet. Banks’ attention to detail is truly extraordinary, as is his penchant for maintaining the absolute highest levels of customer service quality. I guess the property on which the hotel rests was once covered with “caña brava” (or wild sugar cane) because the stalks of the plant have been incorporated into every facet of the hotel, from ceilings, to doors, to light fixtures and fans. The effect is “rustically elegant” and totally gorgeous, but the extent to which it has been used in almost every conceivable item of the hotel is mind boggling. The views offered of the volcano are absolutely second to none (take a peek at the slide show below and see for yourself). The hotel’s pools are fed by underground hot mineral springs of varying temperatures. The spa facilities and exercise rooms are immaculate with the best possible equipment. The hotel features three restaurants and a sushi bar. There is also a casino. In short, the hotel has everything you need and what is so amazing is that all this is located deep in the tropical forest with the 5th most active volcano in the world looming overhead. The overall effect is “maximum exoticness” times ten. Then there are the “perdido springs,” which we didn’t even discover until it was almost time to leave. Perdido Springs (or “lost springs”) are a series of connecting pools and waterfalls fed by underground hot springs in a real tropical jungle setting. This amenity also features an exhilarating water slide and bar. Really cool stuff! The hotel’s rooms are absolutely stunning in rustic decor (and the ever present caña brava), as well as maximum comfort. And every room offers a balcony with a “jaw-dropping” view of the volcano. The place ain’t cheap, with rooms that start in the $365 per night range (breakfast included), but worth every penny. Let’s put it this way, a place like this anywhere in the U.S., or any “developed” country that offers such a beautiful natural setting, would cost three times what Banks is asking. Bottom line is this; if you are coming to Costa Rica and want to visit the Arenal Volcano you must make the Springs Resort your chosen accommodation, or else you’re gonna be sorry.

Note:  The photos below were actually taken on my first visit to the Springs Resort about a year ago and while the hotel was still under major construction, but you can still “get the picture.”

There is nothing more pathetic in this world than a professional pity partier. It seems that the whole world these days is just poised to endure the next ”crisis.” We are all in the mood for a great orgiastic pity party, I guess. Now we have the looming threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon aimed at us. Oh me, oh my, what to do, what to do? The right says, bomb’em. The left says, hug’em. I say, ****’em. Haven’t you ever had the experience of enduring that really obnoxious kid who is always clamoring to be the center of attention? And it doesn’t matter what brand of attention comes his way, positive or negative, as long as he gets it. And “getting it” just fans the flames of his flatulence. So what’s the best tactic to use? Ignore’em. I am not saying that the world should just sit back and watch while Iran develops a nuclear arsenal, but making them the center of attention in a planetary panic attack might not be the best tactic either. That might just be what Mahmoud and his band of merry mullahs are hoping for. It does seem kind of strange that a country possessing thousands of nuclear warheads, and in fact the only country that ever actually used one against people, is now telling another country that they can’t have just one. I mean don’t get me wrong, I would prefer that no one had any. Would the world not be a better place? The argument is that nuclear weapons are necessary to “keep the peace.” Yea well, what if the guy that carries around that secret briefcase with the red button inside forgets to take his Prozac and decides to detonate? Then things will really be peaceful….cuz we’ll all be dead!!! Maybe the credible thing to do for the countries that are “up in arms” (or better said, “up to their necks in arms”) about this Iranian development is to get rid of their own weapons of mass destruction before demanding that others do the same. It probably is hard for Mahmoud and the mullahs to swallow the idea that they have to give up their right to “go nuke,” or else be destroyed by others that already have. I know that when a bigger kid picked on me in grade school, I would try to “even the playing field” by whatever means closest to my disposal. It is only a necessary and completely human reaction…..a triggering of one’s “survival instinct” if you will. Of course, Israel’s survival instinct has been triggered too and their “trigger finger” always seems a bit “itchy.” A reasoned approach might be for the powers of this world to take this as a sign that the “nuclear age” needs to come to an end. That we can all pat ourselves on the back for being so smart and evolved that we can now actually blow our planet to smithereens. Okay great, so now what? Get rid of all nuclear weapons, that’s what. Duh?

Last night I was watching the documentary about Jimmy Carter entitled Man from Plains. Carter spent much of the time in this film defending his book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, from harsh criticism, mainly from the religious-right. Carter, who mediated the peace accord between Israel and Egypt at Camp David back in 79 when he was serving as our 39th President, has long been an advocate of the idea that the path to peace in the Middle East begins with the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian State and removal of Israeli settlements from Palestinian territory. This morning I read in La Nación that Costa Rica’s President, Oscar Arias, holds similar views. This got me to probing around the recesses of my own mind about this issue. I used to be a hard-line right-winger myself. But the truth is that “they” don’t really have a corner on the truth. No one does. Carter himself is a deeply religious man and a devout Christian. Has been for all his life. But years ago he was abandoned by the religious-right for a whole host of reasons for which they deemed him religiously wrong. Of course, chief among those reasons is his view on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The religious-right’s hard-line stance on this issue stems from their view of biblical prophecy. That the establishment of a strong and secure Israeli state will usher in the second-coming of Christ and the end times. Any movement that is even deemed slightly anti-Israel is met with claims of anti-semitism. I really don’t believe that Jimmy Carter, nor Oscar Arias, are anti-semites. In fact, the very notion is absurd. I have never heard Jimmy Carter call for a dismantling of the Israeli nation in favor of Palestine. What I have heard from him is that it is not right for the Palestinian people to be held prisoner in the ever shrinking strip of land in which Israel saw fit to sequester them. Palestinian retaliation against this oppression, while certainly wrong (no one can condone suicide bombing), is understandable. That is the opinion of many serious thinking people, none of whom are anti-semitic! But the real point of this post is not about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is about the conflict between those who think they have it all “right” and the rest who they believe are all “wrong.” Carter once said (I am paraphrasing) that this posture of preeminence gives rise to an attitude of superiority and even the non-recognition of the right for others who disagree to exist. Is this not the same view of a suicide bomber? Interpretations of faith that respect the basic rights of all humanity, regardless of religious viewpoint, are much more appealing to me these days than those which propound the preeminence of any one religious view over another. Unless we can reach the point where human rights and respect for our planet are more important than being “religiously right,” then I guess violence will continue to reign in the Middle East, as well as many other parts of this world. In that sense, the greatest threat to the very survival of our species may well be the “religious-wrong.”

I am speaking of Costa Rican Chief Exec, Oscar Arias, who actually is in New York, not Washington, to participate in the summit on world climate change and today, a U.N. meeting on nuclear arms proliferation chaired by none other than Obama himself. But being a sucker for “punnish” and sometimes “overly cute” titles to my posts, I couldn’t resist the reference to one of my favorite movies of all time (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). I read in La Nación that President Arias met privately with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the summit. Arias asked Clinton if there was any way the U.S. could forgive $50 million in debt.  Arias vowed to commit the same amount to Costa Rica’s reforestation program….part of the overall goal of Costa Rica to be “carbon neutral” by 2021. Clinton apparently didn’t provide an answer, but thought the idea had merit. This morning I turn on the tube to my beloved Fox News (actually it is more of a love-hate relationship…I love the Fox News babes….especially that media-Colombiana Julie Banderas…..,but Glenn Beck really turns my stomach) and there was Don Oscar’s serious mug. Arias is the quintessential “brainy” world leader. He always seems so serious and solemn. I could never see him holding a “beer summit” in the back yard of his Rohrmoser mansion as did Obama recently on the White House lawn. Bottom line, Don Oscar just ain’t too cool, but he is effective. And he is respected around the world. Honduras called him in recently to broker a peace deal between Zelaya and Micheletti. He wasn’t successful, but you gotta give him credit for the effort. Arias was called to the climate change summit as representative of all “países de renta media” (medium income countries), many of which are located in Central America. However, Arias was quick to toss the ball back to major industrialized nations, saying that they are the ones who must put forth the most effort in making sure that their continued rapid development does not poison the environment. Regarding nuclear arms, Arias made the cogent point that the 13 trillion dollars destined to create arms over the next ten years is the “botín idóneo” (or ideal bounty) to be used in protecting the environment. The idea is all the more salient coming from a man who presides over a country with no standing army. Costa Rica recognized not too many years ago that its most valuable resource was indeed its environment. It dawned on the powers that be that Costa Rica could not cut, dig, bulldoze and pollute its way to prosperity. Since then things have brightened up, or better to say “greened up,” around here. The country has prospered via a policy of growth and development that highlights and protects its most valuable asset, its stunning natural beauty and rich biological diversity. That gives Arias a lot of credibility when he speaks to other world leaders. They should listen and listen well. Because when you get right down to it, the environment is the most valuable asset of every nation on earth. No one will prosper long without clean air to breathe and fresh water to drink. Policies that encourage growth and at the same time are respectful to the environment are key to maintaining those things for the future. Just as pain serves as a full-proof warning system that something is going seriously wrong with our bodies, the global warming phenomenon is our planet’s way of warning its inhabitants that something is seriously wrong. Leaders like Don Oscar are standing up and taking notice of that, despite the political heat it engenders. Others should follow his lead.

Stirring Scene from “Mr. Smith” Goes to Washington

Sometimes “experience” can be a bit overrated. I mean life is full of them, that’s for sure. Living as a stranger in a strange land can sometimes makes those experiences all the more “experiential.” Recently I had the experience of having my car repossessed. Never had that one in the U.S. Now all my readers are probably thinking, you mean Costa Rica Guy is a “deadbeat?” Well, listen I am in the tourism business and you saps in the states just ain’t buying these days. So, hey, I fell a little behind on my payments. The thing that made the experience so rich was the way in which it was carried out….as if I were on Costa Rica’s “ten most wanted” list or something. I was working out in the gym when I noticed a police car pull up outside. Thought nothing of it really. Then they came inside. Still didn’t seem too unusual. But then they called out “my” name. “Señor Davíd?” I don’t know if anything like that has ever happened to you, but when it does you tend to remember in a flash all the things you have done over the course of your life that you could potentially get locked up for. I was a little relieved when I found out it was “just about the car.” Anyway, they decided to pull this stunt on Independence Day, so there was no way I could do anything about it that day. La Poderosa ended up spending the night in the impoundment lot. The next day I met with the attorney at Agencia Datsun and fixed the problem, which left a gaping whole in my wallet, but at least I had my car back. Then I discovered that someone had rummaged through the car and stole my speakers and a pair of jumper cables (I had removed everything else of value, thank God). Well, I guess you just gotta “chalk it up to experience.” Ain’t it funny how “experience” seems to always get in the way of enjoying life? I once heard a saying about success that goes something like this….Success is the result of good judgment. Good judgment is the result of experience. And experience is the result of bad judgment. My question is, what is “bad judgment” the result of? Stupidity, I guess. Well, if that’s the case God obviously graced me with a double dose. Costa Rica is a wonderful place full of enchantment, mystery and adventure…..until the cops come to take away your car. Then all of a sudden it is no different than being in, say, Aynor, South Carolina, and with a language barrier to boot. So if you are thinking of relocating here, just remember you won’t be exempt from experience, both enjoyable and not so much. Moral of the story is….make your car payments.

I attend a church here in Costa Rica called Vida Abundante. There are several of these around the San Jose area, with the largest being in Coronado. This is an evangelical church, actually a Willow Creek affiliate church (the Chicago church pastored by Bill Hybels that pioneered the “community church” concept and has over 20,000 members and affiliates across the U.S. and around the world). The head pastor of Vida Abundante Coronado is a man named Ricardo Salazar. The church services are completely in Spanish. I follow along fairly well with my far less than fluent Spanish and I can honestly say that of all the pastors in the many churches I have experienced since I became a Christian back in 1984, Salazar is one of the very best. He was also a former player for my favorite fútbol team, Saprissa, which makes him all the better. Last night Salazar spoke on a topic that I was unaware of. That is the current proposal that the Catholic Church, or any mention of God, be stricken from the Costa Rican Constitution. What? I had no idea that it was in there in the first place. But the current front page article of the Tico Times, Costa Rica’s best English newspaper, also addresses it and there I read, in English translation: ARTICLE 75: The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State, which contributes to its maintenance, without preventing the free exercise in the Republic of other forms of worship that are not opposed to universal morality or good customs. Holy Cow! I knew Costa Rica was predominantly Catholic (current numbers put it around 71%), but I didn’t know that Costa Rica actually had an “official state” religion. Those that want it out complain of suppression by the Catholic church. The church says that taking it out will mean more abortions, same-sex marriages and a host of other evils. However, notice where the constitution says “which contributes to its maintenance,” making it clear that one thing the church will miss out on if this proposal passes is money (but does the Vatican really need Costa Rica’s coffers for support of the church here?….I don’t think so). Religion and politics are not so strange, but nevertheless not so good, bedfellows. One’s religious faith is the most personal of all personal choices. As Salazar eloquently pointed out last night, God does not reside in constitutions, but in the hearts of the people that are governed by them. There is something about the way God created us that makes trying to force a particular religious (or anti-religious) belief onto us a very difficult thing to do. It generally brings out the rebellious side. For whatever mysterious reason, the world is full of a diversity of religious beliefs. At the same time, our planet is shrinking thanks to innovations in communication and collaboration such as the world wide web and, as a result, this diversity is more apparent now than ever. One sure way to get the whole thing to implode is to try to impose religion via government. Costa Rica in many ways is a model society….in my opinion. A model of compassionate capitalism and higher level eco-consciousness. A peaceful society with no army and a history of being neutral and peace promoting. In such a society as this, the constitution is no place for mention of any particular “church” or religious dogma. Only one true theocracy ever existed (depending on your own religious beliefs) and that was the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. As Salazar pointed out last night, that one didn’t work out too well. You see, some things sound good in theory, but lose their appeal in practice.

There are certain words that I am not too fond of. Words like “can’t” (as in, “I can’t do it”), or “just” (as in, “I just can’t do it”), or “try” (as in, “I’ll try to do it”). Those words denote weakness and a noncommittal attitude. I “try” not to use them as part of my vocabulary. But the word that I am least fond of is “hate.” I always use to scold my kids whenever they used that word, regardless of context. Websters defines the word hate as “intense hostility or aversion usually deriving from fear, anger or a sense of injury.” Hate is usually a reaction to a perceived injustice. I hate that person because they always get what they want and I never do. Hate can also be learned. Some people are “taught” either by the environment in which they were raised, or by outright indoctrination, to “hate” another person because of the color of their skin. We can also have a righteous form of hate. We can hate injustice, cruelty, or prejudice. We can hate evil and I guess in that sense alone, hatred can be healthy. But hatred towards another human being never is. It is the diametric opposite of another emotion that is always healthy…..love. Hatred is acidic and will literally eat you alive from the inside out. But it is not the object of the hatred that suffers (since the emotion alone is not harmful unless it provokes action against its object). It is the person who hates that is negatively affected. Why am I writing about this topic this morning? It seems to me that there is too much hatred in this world. It is like a poison that hangs in the air, especially where large groups of people gather. That is why I have to get away from it all sometimes….away from all that hate. If you hang around hatred too much you begin to partake of the emotion yourself. It is contagious and deadly. It seems that the more competitive society becomes, the more hatred proliferates. We hate others who are advancing at a faster pace than we are. It is part and parcel of the proverbial “rat race.” Here in Costa Rica there seems to be less competitiveness and thus less hate. Well, truth is you might have to drive thirty minutes to an hour outside of San Jose to experience that sense of utopia. What’s the best way to avoid hate? Rid yourself of the word….erase it from your vocabulary. Hate is the nastiest of all four letter words. George Carlin, the comic, use to do a hilarious stand-up routine about the seven words you can’t say on television. I really believe hate should also be on that list. I am fond of reciting Proverbs in my blog. Sorry if that offends any of you anti-religious types who stumble upon my blather. But here’s another one for you this morning….”better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.” When I read that I contrasted a “rich” family in the U.S. sitting around the table eating a big turkey with all the trimmings, but hating the very presence of one another, with a poor campesino family here in Costa Rica eating rice and beans, but loving each moment shared together. You see it is really not the “trappings” of togetherness that matter, but the emotions we bring to the table with us. Think about it and stop hating.

I remember taking the Dale Carnegie course years ago. You know the one based on the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Truth is, however, that here in Costa Rica I haven’t really put those principles to practice very well. Being a gringo in a Latin country can make one feel quite isolated. Why? I don’t know. I guess there is a language barrier to deal with for one. But it is more than that. In reality, friends (that is, true friends) are hard to come by anywhere. Add a language and culture barrier, or obstacle, and it becomes all the more difficult. I read an interesting proverb this morning that actually confused me a little until I really began to think about it. It says that “the poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.” Well I am pretty darn “poor” so maybe therein lies the problem. I just need more money so I can buy more friends! No I really don’t think old King Solomon was trying to convey exactly that message. I think what he was getting at is to get us to think about the concept of what a “friend” really is. If I would shun my poor neighbor, but befriend my rich one, what kind of real friend am I in the first place? What is my true motivation in pursuing friendship? Is it about them, or me? I believe all too often we pursue friendships for selfish motives. We do it with a “what’s in this for me” mentality. Or we just assume that the pursuit of friends is meaningless because after all “they” all just want something from me. Looking at it from either side of that coin, it would appear that the motivation to be either extroverted or introverted is rather selfish, don’t you think? So what’s the answer to this conundrum of companionship? The implication of a book or seminar that teaches us “how to win friends and influence people” is that there exists a strong human motivation to do so in the first place. After all this book and seminar have been around for almost a century. I believe it is safe to say that most people attend Dale Carnegie to enhance themselves economically. We want to expand our networks in order to facilitate our “professional potential.” But those aren’t friends. “Networks” are in essence “parasitic.” True friends don’t latch on to you for what they can suck out of you. It is not that the principles taught in the course are faulty, since most of those are about giving of yourself in order to attract others to you. That’s a great idea. But the proverb seems to get more at the motivational element. That it really should not matter if your friend is rich or poor. What really matters is that there exists the unique synergy that can be found in true friendships. Friendships in which both sides are not in it for themselves, but for the other person. When that level of synergy truly is present there is an opportunity for that magical life experience called “friendship” to actually occur. It is rare, but it can happen….even in Costa Rica.

Just this past weekend I saw the movie, The Wrestler. Sometimes off the mainstream movies arrive to Costa Rica a little late. Here the movie was El Luchador, which can be translated as either “the wrestler” or “the fighter.” I kind of like the latter translation because in the movie the character played by Mickey Rourke (Randy “the Ram” Robinson) was, in every sense of the word, a fighter. The best word I can use to describe the movie is poignant. It was a very intimate look at a very imperfect man’s life. An imperfect man with a very big heart, that is. It was his heart that seemed to cause him all his troubles. Anytime you combine a big heart with an assortment of human frailties, you have a recipe for a life full of “hard knocks.” Rourke’s performance in the movie is extraordinary. As is the part of the “washed-up” stripper played by Marisa Tomei (although in my opinion there ain’t nothing “washed-up” about her). Okay so now you’re a movie critic, Mr. Costa Rica Guy? No, but the movie touched me and inspired me to write this morning. What did I get out of it? As Mickey Rourke might say himself in that raspy voice of his….”life’s a bitch, brother, but you gotta keep on swinging for the cheap seats.” I often pass by Universidad Interamericana located here in Heredia where I live. I am fond of commenting, often to the “nauseation” of those who have heard about it enough already, that I was responsible for the sale of that property to a big U.S. company. Well, great, but what have you done lately? The world is full of “one trick ponies.” Those folks who constantly live in the limelight of past glories. But if we go on expecting our present or future lives to be nourished by those, one day we might wake up sleeping in the back of a van. The best thing to do is to use those memories to remind us that the same fighter that enabled us before still resides within our hearts. Sometimes life has to beat the hell out of us, as it did Rourke (in the movie, as well as in real life) to bring us to that realization. But once it dawns, it means that it’s time to get up off your ass and get back into the ring. Even if all the naysayers who have written you off as a no good nobody are saying in unison “look at that loser” you do it anyway. Because no one really knows what is in your heart except you. But it is best not to keep that a secret. Let the world know. At the end of the movie “the Ram” did just that. We don’t know exactly what the outcome was….a heart attack?….a resurgence to stardom?….but we do know this, he refused to give up.

The Title Song by Bruce Springsteen

Everyone cries “no fair” when the political wild card of “that’s racist” is played. Well, it has been played with respect to Joe Wilson’s outburst at Obama’s joint session speech last week and once again, many are wailing. Was his motivation racism? No one can really know that for sure except the man himself. Sure there is “circumstantial evidence” that it could have been so motivated. After all, he is from South Carolina (me too, by the way). He did vote against removing the Confederate Battle Flag from atop the capital building in Columbia, a symbol of racism and slavery for black people of the south. He did say that the claim by the late Senator Strom Thurmond’s daughter from his illicit relationship with a black maid was a “smear” on the Senator’s legacy. And finally we have this outburst that no one can honestly justify. It was not the right thing to do and the congressman should, and is, paying a price. But having said all that, it is not fair to call it racist because in and of itself, the comment had no racial under or overtone. Whether or not it was “racially motivated” is something that no one, except God and Joe, can say. So best just to shut up about it. After all, everyone has a little racism built in anyway….some more than others, but everyone has it. I don’t care if you are democrat or republican, black or white, you have it, whether you want to admit it or not. People of this region of the world have often commented to me that the U.S. is a “very racist culture.” But I can tell you that Costa Rica is no different and the same goes with any other country or culture on earth. Racism is a weakness from which all humanity suffers. That there are different “races” of people on this earth is a biological fact…but the notion that one is superior to another is a mental malignity. It is, to put it mildly, evil and the fact that we all suffer from it to one extent or another is proof that humans are infected with the propensity to be evil. However, it is a propensity that we can and always should overcome. Using it as a political wild card to score points just makes racism all the more prevalent and all the more difficult to overcome. Christ once said “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from you brother’s eye.” The truths to be gleaned from this statement are that we should all examine ourselves before judging our brothers. And, moreover, we need to realize that those whom we judge are indeed “our brothers.” Because there is one “race” that we all belong too, regardless of the color of your skin, and that race is the “human race.”