Tropical Time

Tropical time is not the same as continental U. S. time (with the exception of Miami and other tropical lifestyle outposts). I parallel the difference to an anomaly of physics breaching laws of relativity. It is definitely not that people are lazy elsewhere, but people have a different value system that includes how they spend their time.


As someone from the U. S. planning a wedding in a tropical location this breach of physics, thus time can be confounding. I am not the only bride-to-be that is not able to get a hold of their planner when I want or in my latest case a lodging vendor. I called the small cabinas more than a dozen times today via Skype. Either the phone was busy or no one picked up. The location is amazing but hard to get a hold of. No website. No publicly listed phone number. No e-mail. When I had to speak to them in 2005 I spent two weeks of trying until someone answered the phone. They apologized for the delay and said they were fishing. No biggie, it is part of the way of life.


In Costa Rica there is a resonating phrase that always comes up, "pura vida." That translates to pure life. Visit down there and see how people value their time and each other other and it is generally more laid-back and joyful than the rat race we have accustomed ourselves to in the U. S. As a bride it can be nerve-wracking when you want to get things done on your schedule, but it is also reassuring to be forced to chill out when the world is out of your control. I think this forced relaxation is one of the reasons us tropical brides have chosen our locations.

This image is by Rafael Salcedo. He let us use one of his images for our save-the-date magnet.

I hope to reach these cabinas people in the next month. That is why I am starting now. The next challenge is how to speak to them. Will they answer the phone in conventional English, Caribbean English, or Spanish? That is also part of the fun, like a diversity lottery. Pura Vida.