BOOZE flowed, music blasted, cars honked, bikini-clad Latino beauties danced at the back of pick-up trucks parked along the only road that runs through the beach town of Playa de Coco in Costa Rica.

If you still can't picture this scene, think back to Swing Singapore, the 1980s street party where parts of Orchard Road were closed off for thousands of party people to dance the night away.

LIFE'S A BEACH: Writer Joyce Koh (far left) beach-hopping with American and Canadian expats on a speedboat.

Now imagine the women as Latino pop-star Shakira, gyrating their hips the way only hot-blooded Latinas can. It's no lie.

This is the scene on weekend nights when Playa de Coco's one street is transformed into a heaving floor of music and dance.

For New Year's Eve, the street party went even further, adopting a real Mardi Gras feel. Costa Rica's slogan Pura Vida, meaning the pure life, rings true.

We partied at a peach-coloured hotel called Casino. For US$50 (S$70), we got a free flow of drinks and food as well as access to a second-floor terrace that overlooked the street party. As midnight approached, the hotel staff handed out hats, whistles and dozens and dozens of bead necklaces.

I never imagined I would spend New Year's Eve throwing these trinkets at lusty men who gamely bared their chests and danced with unbridled joy for me and the presents I would fling out. My boyfriend Eugene tried to catch the attention of the girls with his beads, but was sadly ignored.

ALL DRESSED UP AND A PARTY TO GO TO: What's a Light Festival Parade without a fancy costume like this one? This annual event is part of the Christmas festivities in San Jose.

Located in the north-western region of Costa Rica, Playa de Coco and other beach-fringed towns are now booming with tourist arrivals and foreign investment. Construction for hotels, villas and restaurants is going on everywhere.

This rapid development has placed a strain on the civic systems, and one of the problems is frequent power outages which last for hours on end.

But the charm and friendliness of Ticos (as the Costa Ricans call themselves) made it easy for us to cope with the lack of modern amenities.

In our conversations with Ticos, we found that folklore still abounds in Costa Rica. For instance, there are no proper addresses, only landmarks and memories of where things are.

Taxi drivers remember a particular roundabout as one where a small girl with pigtails stood to sell her cookies to passing motorists years and years ago. The girl is long gone, but the place is still called the 'cookie girl roundabout'.

Having heard that, you can guess why another road junction is called 'dead iguana'.

We also learn how, during the New Year period, Ticos celebrate with their families by eating 12 grapes, drinking champagne with gold flakes in their glasses and running around their neighbourhood with a piece of luggage - empty - in a time-honoured ritual for good travels.

GREEN MOVEMENT: A vegetable seller waiting for customers in the La Carpio slum near the capital of San Jose.

Zip through the trees

Costa Rica is also about the sun, sand and sea. We may have picked the worst day to go scuba diving - strong winds and choppy waters tossed our little dive boat around like a ragdoll on a roller coaster - but once we were underwater, we saw scores of stingrays and other fish. I even spied my first turtle, a three-legged one.

Next on the list was a zip line ride through the trees. Called canopy tours, this eco-friendly branch of tourism has platforms built into the top of trees and a zip line strung between them.

Tourists, wearing safety harnesses, are then sent zipping across the forest, from tree to tree, on these lines.

It is a fantastic way to explore the unique rainforest habitat without disturbing the flora and fauna. We whizzed past treetops, waterfalls and sparkling ocean views on zip lines that were almost 500m long.

A truly unique experience, but it's not for the faint-hearted.

GREAT WAY TO FLY: A tourist flying from treetop to treetop via a zip line on a canopy tour, a unique way to explore Costa Rica's rainforest habitat.

As we neared the end of our vacation, we decided to explore the countryside in a four-wheel drive sport-utility vehicle.

Costa Rica has a spectacular landscape, with towering volcanic peaks and wide swathes of golden land bathed in shades of every colour as the day progresses. Hues of blue, pink, yellow, orange, purple and violet surrounded us as we drove around.

Despite the potholes on the steep and narrow roads, with no lane markings or lighting at night, we made it around without much problem. Sure, we got lost but we had our trusty National Geographic map to get us back on track.

Even when Eugene accidentally backed into a ditch - so much for jokes about women drivers - we were hauled out by a truck that luckily happened to be just behind us.

SPRING TIME: Tourists relaxing at Tabacon Hot Spings. The water is heated naturally by the Arenal volcano.

The last stop was a three-hour drive of twists and turns and potholes to Arenal volcano in central Costa Rica, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Arenal - it last erupted in July 1968 and destroyed three villages, killing about 80 people and 45,000 cattle - offers tourists the quintessential volcano experience.

There are hotels, restaurants, tours, hikes and other activities that cater to people who make the long drive for one reason: to hear the rumble and perhaps catch a glimpse of spewing lava.

While we did not see any spewing lava, we heard the volcano rumble. It was like a primitive growl that emanated from the bowels of the earth, understated but menacing, definitely an experience to savour.

By far the most famous attraction besides the picture-perfect conical-shaped volcano itself is Tabacon Hot Springs.

The water, from an underground river which is heated naturally by the volcano, is channelled into a series of interconnected pools where the water temperature ranges from lukewarm to 41 deg C.

The surroundings of the pools, some of which include waterfalls you can sit under for a natural massage, are constructed to look like a natural rainforest.

And when you're sitting in that warm water, getting a massage from the waterfall, you appreciate what the Ticos say - Pura Vida.

VOLCANIC HIGH: Visit Arenal and hope to catch a glimpse of spewing lava.

stlife@sph.com.sg