The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. --Augustine (354-430)"

i'm amazed that i've become even more fond of travel as i grow older. each venture leaves me wanting more. i recall hearing a piece on NPR about this woman who, after losing her husband mid-late in her life, began her quest to visit every country. she was just the sweetest, most down to earth, 80 somethin yr old lady (age at the time of taping). she hadn't traveled far in all her life before she began her quest. anyhoo - she was off to antarctica. i think her tally of countries was in the mid 100's!

ok - do i embrace my "nature"? this will sound really lame: remember that Charlene song "i've never been to me"? here's an excerpt (it's ok to sing along :)

Oh, I've been to Georgia and California
and anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacher man
and we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces
Because I had to be free
I've been to paradise but I've never been to me...

now, i've never taken the hand of a preacher man and certainly never had an interlude with one in the sun. frankly, there is a verse about greece, the isle of nice and sipping champagne on a yaght that sounds much more appealing, but i digress. the fact is i've been to GA and CA and i'll gladly go just about anywhere once.

so will i have regrets? of course Charlene is lamenting about never settling down and starting a family. how the heck does she know that she would have been happier with another life? the fact is we make our choices. i feel sure i will neither run out of places nor friendly faces. if you are a friend, please comment and let me know if i'm right ;).

so - back to costa rica. it exceeded my expectations and i will feed in some more pics in the future, in addition to the pic below of montezuma beach on the coast of the nicoya peninsula. lovely beach and village. wish the hippies would have stayed in berkeley. maybe i'll do a separate blog on hippies. i don't mean 60's hippies. i mean white-people-dreadlock hippies. ok, i'll save it.