Normally, when I take a well deserved break from cartooning for a few weeks, I kick my heels up at home and just take a mental break from blogging/internet. But this Christmas, we went away on a trip to Costa Rica. I have been to Belize and Mexico but never had any intestinal issues before. Even in Costa Rica, I kept with the experts advice to only drink the water at the hotels or bottled water. And yet I spent more time in the bathroom than I have in the last six months combined.
But it didn’t keep me from seeing the incredible sites of Costa Rica and experiencing the extremely genuinely nice people of that country. The only thing I missed out on doing was the zip line tour. I didn’t want to have to crap on people from the trees as I swung by…even though I saw a few monkeys do it.
So for anyone preparing a trip to Costa Rica, I offer you the ten things I learned that I didn’t know about this wonderful country before I went.
- They disbanded their army in 1948
- More so than other Central American countries, Costa Ricans are mostly of European descent. Some sites claim that disease brought by the Spanish settlers killed off much of the indigenous population.
- Costa Rican woman have a high self-esteem. Which was explained to us by a guide as we passed a large woman, who may or may not have recently given birth, wearing a bikini.
- Even in the dry season it rains (a lot).
- You can find souvenir vendors all over the place but what they don’t sell but need to are battery operated fans and sweat towels.
- Bob Marley must have been Costa Rican and NOT Jamaican (as evidenced by the number of Marley beach towels and tshirts for sale everywhere.
- For a country that prides itself on tourism, it doesn’t take much pride in completing roads to get you anywhere. If you are lucky you get a two lane paved road. I saw one road construction worker the entire time I was there, and he was on his lunch break.
- If you are on a antacid like Nexium, Prilosac, etc., you may be more prone to intestinal issues as the reduced acid in your stomach allows the bacteria to take hold in your stomach.
- Due to issues with processing toilet paper in water treatment facilities, most public restrooms have a garbage can next to the toilet for you to deposit your used TP. I thought it was surprising that it didn’t smell. My wife said several of the women’s restrooms did. I think men are more courteous and wrap their poopy TP nicer than the women.
- Given the previous two points, it seems only fitting that they named their currency the COLON.