Steven A. Melnick ⁽⁷¹⁾

Last night, in Costa Rica, Heide and I came face-to-face with true poverty...and it broke our hearts. Growing up, I had little idea that we weren't wealthy. But looking back on my childhood, I realize my brother and I grew up in a loving but…

I've been trying to connect with more Ticos and fewer tourists but to no avail. In a desperate attempt to pop open a cold one and chat with the locals, I decided to go looking for a bar in the nearest "non-tourist" town, Huacas. I…

Shirley (we think that's what she said), Gustavo, and Eddie On Friday (viernes for those of us so fluent in Spanish--NOT), we were exploring the nooks and crannies on the side roads near Playa Flamingo. I've passed signs pointing to Flamingo Towers more than a dozen…

Believe it or not, I'm bored. So is Heide. In the land of beautiful sunsets over the Pacific, spectacular beaches with gently sloping fine sand, and all the sunshine you could ever want, I have managed to find a rut and get stuck in it.

The hills all around us in Playa Flamingo Costa Rica have been slowly burning over the past several days. For two days or so, the smoke was wafting our way and we smelled it in the air. But as the fires got farther away we…