There is nothing I am passionate about...

... at 3:45 in the morning. That's the time I had to get up in order to catch my flight from Austin to Liberia, Costa Rica last Friday. Would somebody have offered me to fly on a later day, to postpone my trip for a week, or possibly to call the whole thing off and refund the money - I might have done it. It just seems that there is nothing out there that is worth getting up for at 3:45am.

And the flight to Atlanta and on to Liberia confirmed that. The food on a flight isn't much to speak of anymore (snack, anyone? choose between a small bag of pretzels, some cheese crackers, and a chocolate chip cookie) and now they have even eliminated the free alcoholic drinks on international flights. I mean - wasn't that the only thing that made those long transatlantic flights bearable? Taking the edge off with a triple gin tonic?

The liberia airport isn't much to speak of either, but I am a fan of airports that have no doors and windows. Not only does it show that the fear of terrorism isn't as prevalent in the rest of the world, more importantly it also indicates that the weather is always nice. And it is.

There are only two seasons in Costa Rica - Summer and winter. And for my friends up north: The winter here isn't in any way comparable to the slushy streets of seattle or the nippy temperatures outide building 36. No, the winter here (which lasts from October to November) simply means it rains - and for the following 10 months of summer it doesn't. Ever. They only have roofs on the buildings here to provide some shade in the summer. And to keep the countless lizards, ants, and 3-inch spiders from falling on your head.

I just finished my 2nd day of Spanish course in the language academy here (seen to the right) - more about that and the fabulous accomodation just a block from the beach next time.

Now get back to work :)

P.S.: No complaints about typos. There is no spell checking for English here....