There is no better season

...then Fall in New England.
I love it up around Boston when the leaves are changing, the weather becomes cooler. I've been able to get out in my free time and hike, photograph, and pick apples. This past weekend was a beautiful one to watch the world's 2nd biggest crew race on the Charles River. Check out more of my fall photos at the link to my web album above.

Spanish Culture

Yes the title of this blog is SPANISH culture and I'm showing a picture of Arabic writing. Spain was a cool mix of cultures. The Spanish culture was awesome with it's wierd work hours, siestas, chocolate/churos, and laid back atmosphere. But there has been a lot of Muslim rule in Spain, which brought the country interesting Islamic areas, beautiful architecture, and more vegetarian food! 

Spanish Architecture

One of my favorite parts of my recent Spain trip was the architecture. Here is one of Gaudi's famous buildings. Check out the cool balconies, colorful facade, and the lack of any straight lines. He rocks. 

Spanish Break for Surfing

Immersion Spanish is tough work. 4 hours of day in the heat is rough sometimes. Plus the rest of the day you are using your brain constantly to try to talk in a new language. Thus, I needed a break sometime. Here's one of my ventures at surfing. 

Pacific Sunsets

Living on the East Coast I don't see many sunsets over the water. This is one of many pictures. 

Ticos

The best thing about Costa Rica was the people (Ticos). I stayed with a Tico Family near Tamarindo. I had a load of fun with the kids.
In CR, they have a saying "Pura Vida". Literally, it means "Pure Life", but it also means "the Costa Rican Way." So when a nice taxi driver dropped me off and I said, "Gracias," he usually said, "Pura Vita".... Being nice is just the Costa Rican Way.

Costa Rican Beaches

The beaches on the Pacific Side are beautiful. This is Playa Conchal. 

Costa Rican Wildlife

The wildlife in Costa Rica was great... but hard fo photograph. The wave of ecotourism in a developing country like Costa Rica has pluses and minus. While all the tourism brings in lots of money to a previously very poor country, all the development seems to destruct a lot of the precious rain forests. Luckily, the government of Costa Rica has some great plans to allow tourism to continue in an eco-friendly manner.