As we were leaving the restaurant BBQ Tres Hermanas (3 sisters) in Guanacaste (after having enjoyed one of the best beef tenderloin I’ve had in a very long time), the gentleman in charge of watching the parking lot asked me and my mom: “Vieron las lapas?” (did you see the lapas?), “alla, en el Guanacaste!”. Confusion set in. I knew we were in the Guanacaste region, but until then I had no idea this part of the country was actually named after Costa Rica’s national tree.

Once it was clear the Guanacaste he was talking about was a very large tree across the road from where we were, we began to wonder how he expected us to see a “lapa” from so far away. You see, in Venezuela a “lapa” is a rodent. He kept pointing to the tree and insisting, so I snapped a few pictures as far as my camera’s zoom would go, to see if we could figure out what he meant. When we looked closely, we realized he was talking about macaws, as we saw one peeking out from a hole in the tree.

The gentleman explained that the tree was a nesting area for several macaws, and that if we went across the road we would be able to see them up close. So we went and we saw.

While admiring the beautiful colours on this majestic bird, I couldn’t help but think how the best way to learn about a country, its land, its language and its people, is experiencing it first-hand. It’s the same way my parents helped me and my brother learn more about our homeland, Venezuela: road trip after road trip from one region to the next, pointing out the geography, reminding us of the history, teaching us to appreciate the people and inviting us to try different dishes. I felt very lucky for this wonderful opportunity which allowed me to learn a little bit more about the magical land that is Costa Rica.

Pura vida!