Greetings from....  a place where locals shout "Pura Vida!" after every sentence.

A place where only the first six hundred people are allowed into an expansive national park.

A place where no structure can be higher then the tallest volcanic rock.

A place hundreds of miles away from any recognizable commercialism. No chicken nuggets for dinner, instead this.

A place which is the natural habitat of species such as the endangered squirrel monkey, white faced capuchin monkey, three and two-toed sloths, white-nosed coaties, brown pelicans, black-collared hawks and green kingfishers - all within petting distances.

Greetings from Manuel Antonio!

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From Chicago to El Salvador to Nicaragua to Costa Rica to a three hour van ride to Quepos (after sixteen hours of travel with three remarkable children) we have finally arrived in Manuel Antonio and experienced the Pura Vida! the Ticos so boast about. I wish I could find a punch line where I would tell you that my children were awful and the travel was ridiculous to get here (both not true) but I guess all you need is two hours in Manuel Antonio to turn you into a honest to goodness Tico who screams Pura Vida! after every statement. We might never leave. Even with the poor wifi.