puravida

Question; What does it mean when a Costa Rican (Tico) says “Pura Vida”?

Answer: During my recent trip to Costa Rica I overheard an interesting conversation.
Along the beach in Playa Coco, Guanacaste’, a tiny Costa Rican Village, an American
tourist complimented the Costa Rica fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked
“how long it took him to catch them?”     "Not very long." answered the Tico.       "But
then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.        The
Tico explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his
family.

The American asked "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"    "I sleep late,
fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my woman.    In the evenings, I
watch the sunset, go to the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar,
and sing a few songs.   Señor, I have a full life.   Pura Vida!"

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!!!!   You
should start by fishing longer every day.   You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.   With the extra money the larger
boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an
entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate
directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.    You can
then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York
City!!! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Costa Rican. "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five
years." replied the American.     “And after that”, said the Tico?    "Afterwards? That is
when it gets really interesting" answered the American, laughing obnoxiously.   "When
your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?” asked the Tico. The American said “don’t you
understand? After you make millions you'll be able to retire, sleep late, live in a tiny
village near the coast, play with your children, enjoy fishing, have afternoon siestas with
your woman, play your guitar, have a few drinks and spend your evenings enjoying the
PURE LIFE (Pura Vida) with your friends!"

Pura Vida