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surrounds quite freely. There are large colonies of water seals to be seen and heard close to the
shoreline and sunning out with their young on rocks in the shallow waters and local harbours. The area
is under marine and ecological conservation to protect its natural and unspoilt beauty. I was grateful and
happy to have made the visit.
The first leg of my trip was to San Jose in Costa Rica at the invitation of my ex-ILO colleague who still
works there. It was combined with a courtesy call to the wider ILO family at the local office many of whom
I had known from Geneva. It was a wonderful reception and almost like a homecoming from all
concerned. It had been a long flight from Geneva with connections via Madrid and Miami so I was
pleased to rest a while before starting to explore some of what there was to see and do in and close to
the capital. My hosts took good care on that score and I learned and saw a lot in the short time available.
Situated between the Pacific ocean and Caribbean sea, Costa Rica is a small and very peaceful country
in Central America. Its capital San Jose is in the region of the Central Valley. From there we visited one
of the country’s national parks high in the mountains to see the volcanic site at Irazu, just one of several
on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. Recent signs of life have been recorded in the bowels of the crater.
Against a hot and blue sky, its grey and desolate landscape of powdered volcanic ash felt like being on
the surface of the moon. That was a new experience for me. We also toured the countryside, visited
coffee plantations and other local and historical places. We bathed in hot thermal spring baths in a lovely
area somewhere in the hills. We were able to enjoy two days at a resort called Jaco on the Pacific coast
with long sandy beach and hot sea. That was also an experience. From Jaco I took a couple of trips,
one to an exotic mountain tropical botanical garden with an enthusiastic and informative guide. I
experienced something of the rain forest and learned about Pura Vida, the sweet life. I also appreciated
an exciting day trip for a jungle river cruise to view crocodiles and other animals, birds and wildlife in their
natural habitat Binoculars were provided not to miss anything of even the smallest of creatures. It was
fascinating. I took the bus back to San Jose with local people for company. The drive was tortuous but
interesting and very lively. Then night fell. Before leaving, in the company of another acquaintance from
Geneva, my hostess treated us to a lovely dinner evening in the hills above San Jose to enjoy colourful
local folklore of dance and song and to taste many of the different dishes and food specialities of Costa
Rica. An evening to remember. I hope we can return the hospitality and generosity before too long.
In the nature of the international family and our small and shrinking world, let me recount the anecdote of
meeting a colleague in Jaco as mentioned above. In the early afternoon on an almost deserted beach,
I stopped a lady with two children whom I considered safe to ask for the time in English. She replied by
asking “ Ita, what are you doing here? ” I felt quite disoriented until realizing the connection of our
having been work colleagues in ILO Geneva. It lead to a pleasant ten minute or so walk along the beach
while catching up with each other before continuing our separate ways. She too would recount the tale
when she returned.
This concludes my recollections of a journey. It may also prove that someone in our United Nations
family is always close by. Just ask for the time.
(Anonymous)
Between what I think,
What I want to say,
What I think I said,
What I said,
What you want to hear,
What you heard,
What you think you understood,
UNDERSTANDING ONE ANOTHER
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