Hipster Travel Guide has been virtually following Andrew Evans as he makes his way from Washington DC to the South Pole via public buses.

He’s currently on a boat moving from Costa Rica to Panama (OK, so it’s not just buses he’s on), but in his latest blog entry, he brings up the versatility of “pura vida.” It’s the Costa Rican phrase that could mean “Pure life” but really means so much more.

Evans writes:

•    A greeting followed by the same response. Just like the French will inquire, “Ça va?” (with the expected reply of “Ça va?”), Costa Ricans frequently ask, “¿Pura Vida?” and expect the same response to show that all is well.
•    Goodbye–a casual way of saying, “See you later.”
•    An expression of carefree disregard, similar to the Jamaican, “No Problem!”
•    ”Whatever,” and used just as frequently as the English, “Whatever.”
•    ”That’s cool” or “groovy”
•    ”OK” meaning, “Yeah, I like that.”
•    A rousing cheer to show optimism in the face of difficulty.

Evans missed a few obvious meanings pura vida as well –

The response to “would you like another beer?”

The answer to “would you like to dance?”

The way to reply to “Did you read HTG today?”

You can follow Andrew on Twitter @Bus2Antarctica