When my "aunt" came to Costa Rica....

When sharing the exciting news of my friend, Tia's, upcoming visit to Costa Rica, without fail, I received either a big smile or a slightly confused facial expression. You see, in spanish, the word tia means 'aunt.' So, the reactions I received were because either the spanish-speaking individual was amused that my friend's name meant 'aunt' in spanish or because the spanish-speaking individual was rather puzzled about this friend-aunt who was coming to visit me. Is it your friend or your aunt?? Also, in the very family-centric latin culture, it is common to refer to close family friends or extended non-blood relatives as one's tio (uncle) or tia (aunt) as a form of showing affection and respect.And so goes the story of my very first visitor from back home! My dear girlfriend Tiana Toso--who goes by Tia--arrived to Costa Rica to visit not only me but also her older brother, Mike, who was spending a month studying at a school conveniently located just a few kilometers from one of Costa Rica's most beautiful beaches. Thus, Tia's inaugural journey to Central America came with the hopes of soaking up some rays and experiencing the beauty of the beaches of the national park Manuel Antonio, located on the Pacific coast.

Before heading to the coast, however, Tia was welcomed into my host family's home and I got to play tour guide for a few days as I showed Tia around my university city, Heredia, and also the capital, San Jose. And, of course, we strapped on our dancing shoes for a night of salsa and merengue!

My host mom, Gabi, treated Tia to a typical Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto, made with salsa Lizano. Tia was a big fan!!And I was treated to tinfulls of homemade monster cookies, sent lovingly by my mom; after 5 months of living without these blessed cookies, they had never tasted so good! Thanks Mom!!

Tia in front of a fountain located in Heredia's central park. Typically in Latin American countries, a plaza/park area--benches, fountains, green space--is located in the center of the town or city and is a place where people of all ages can be found, enjoying a break from the hot sun or a busy day. El Teatro Nacional, or Costa Rica's National Theatre, is one of the most architecturally unique and aesthetically pleasing buildings located in San Jose.

The peninsula of Manuel Antonio is one of my favorite places visited thus far in Costa Rica. It's natural beauty and concentration of wildlife have, of course, been discovered by the masses and have evolved into being one of Central America's most publicized destinations. Luckily, we were arriving at the beginning of the "rainy season", meaning the crowds were fewer and we were consequently blessed with much tranquility and relaxation.We loved seeing some wildlife up close, including lots of monkeys, iguanas and brilliant red-colored crabs, as well as a sloth hanging out high up in a tree.

White-faced monkey!

White-faced monkey!
Another breed of monkeys to be found in the trees of the Manuel Antonio area are black in color and named Howler monkeys. As their name suggests, their vocal animal communication is an important part of their social behavior--most often used for marking their territory and communicating with their mates. The 'howls' are really more like roars and grunts, at first rather startling when never having heard such a thing before. We quickly became fascinated, however, with attempting our best impressions of these silly-sounding creatures. And much to our amusement, our monkey wanna-be attempts were often returned with the real deal. We were communicating with monkeys!! If you ever have the chance to be so lucky, Tia just might share with you a sound and video recording of our madness!

Speaking of madness, there was much MaNgO MaDnEsS as we all enjoyed our daily mango eating at lunch and/or snack time. Tia was especially keen on the mangoes, clearly a pro in the peeling and art of eating this fibrous fruit. A bit messy, as well as a bit comical when the fibrous strings of mango were stuck in teeth or smeared across our faces and noses as Tia is so acutely demonstrating in the photo below.

One of our adventures was traversing the rainforest 'canopy' by zip line! Harnesses and helmets were strapped on, leather gloves as well, and we were set to zip through the tops of the rainforest foliage weeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Tia starting out on the first zip line---so high up and so much fun!! All four of us--Tia's brother Mike, Mike's college roommate Aaron, Me and Tia.

Our time in Manuel Antonio was made complete by a lovely stay at Cabinas Ramirez, a cluster of little "cabins" owned and managed by senor Ramirez, an unforgettable older gentleman who was faithfully over-the-top charming with us ladies as well as continually dressed in all white. And boy were we ever flattered when, prior to our departure, this senor Ramirez got down on one knee and presented Tia and I each with our own flower to remember him by, which he had just seconds before plucked from his garden. See--I wasn't joking about the charm!!

Thanks for the wonderful visit and memories, Tia!!