From 1873 to 1991, San Lucas Island was a penal island for some of the worst criminals in Costa Rica. It was founded by the dictator Tomás Miguel Guardia Gutiérrez.Being sent to San Lucas Island was a terrible prospect as prisoners lives were short and often spent in torture. The island is located off the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. It is now a National Park. Tours of the island are available, such as the one highlighted in the video above.
The Tarcoles River is one of the largest in Costa Rica, but also the dirtiest of the country and one of the most contaminated of all Central America. The Rio Grande de Tarcoles is formed by the confluence of two other rivers, the Rio Grande de San Ramon and the Rio Virilla that flows through the heaviest urban concentration of the country. All that “dirty stuff,” in the form of organic material, pesticides, metals, plastics and other non-biodegradable materials, among others, gets dumped into the Tarcoles. Despite of all that, the Tarcoles is a river known for its biodiversity. The Carara National Park, which borders the river in the canton of Garabito, is home to some 150 species of birds, monkeys, mangroves and, most notably, one of the largest American Crocodile populations on the planet. In fact, the name “Carara” comes from the native Huetars that once occupied the area and means, “place where there are many crocodiles.” It is estimated that there are 25 crocs for every kilometer squared in this area. A recent edition of Proa (Sunday special section of La Nacion) featured a lengthy piece about the Tarcoles, chocked with loads of interesting facts. While the diversity seems to continue to thrive on the river, it is only a question of time before the heavy pollution flowing downstream from San Jose will eventually take its toll, unless something is done to clean it up. In a country that prides itself on being “clean and green” something should be done to clean up one of its most important rivers.
Well now that I have utilized the new and greatly anticipated “carretera Caldera” that extends from Escazu to Esparza (where it connects with the Pan American Highway), I do have an opinion on the matter. I have heard the criticisms about the fact that the road is only two lanes in some areas, that there has been some environmental damage and that residents in communities along the highway have been negatively affected in various ways. But I guess with a project this big, there is always going to be some controversy, i.e., someone’s ox will get gored. I am sure that some of the criticism is valid and deserved. However, on the whole, my opinion is that this highway is the best thing that has happened in this country for a long time, at least as long as I have been here, even better than passage of the T.L.C., whose anticipated positive effects may take as long to be realized as the highway did to construct. In short, the new highway cuts drive time by about an hour to points along the entire Pacific Coast. I made a trip to Monteverde using the new highway to get from San Jose to Esparza and then the Pan American to the point where you exit to go up the mountain in a little over TWO HOURS! That is nothing short of amazing. Moreover, I used far less gas than I would have before and the trip was far less stressful, both to my car and to my nervous system. This highway is a godsend for people who want to travel within Costa Rica and that includes just about everyone. I anticipate it will be good for foreign investment and real estate values (I read recently that Atenas is already gearing up for it) and it will be good for tourism. One of the most oft-heard complaints from tourists is the difficulty in getting from Point A to Point B in Costa Rica. Well, this new highway, while not perfect, is a major stride towards fixing that issue. The times I have used it, which have been both during the week and on the weekend, my average speed was around 80 kph, or more, versus the less than 50 average one would experience crossing the mountains either via San Ramon or the dreaded (though picturesque) Monte de Aguacate route. The new highway should also relieve some of the congestion from those old routes as the many trailers will opt to take the new highway..and they were the principal source of the problem on those more mountainous routes. I was highly skeptical of all the talk over the last decade of how great this new highway would be, primarily for Jaco. However, now I am convinced and the benefits will extend far greater than Jaco, which as of late has gone from being Costa Rica’s most popular beach town to Cost Rica’s biggest eyesore. My hats off to the Arias administration for getting the job done. Thirty-two years was a long time in the making, but better late than never. Okay Laura, let’s see some more of that over the next four years! But start with a pocket full of ”monedas” for the many tolls on the road (5 in all) and gas up, because you won’t see any gas stations along this route, probably for a while.
To understand the rich history of Costa Rica, one needs to know a little about the development of the railway system, mainly obsolete today, but in its time ushered in both prosperity and hardship. A new book entitled El Correo Ferroviario de Costa Rica, by educator and philatelistAlvaro Castro-Harrigan, chronicles the advent of the railway as a means of mail transportation. In 1857, the only way folks could expect to receive mail to make it from tiny pueblo to others parts of the country was via horse, burro or by foot, a process that could take months, if it ever arrived at all. But in 1871 Minor Keith decided to change all that by obtaining the contract to build a railway from Alejuela to Limon, which was completed in 1890. In 1897 work began to extend the railway to the Pacific Ocean and approximately 100 years ago in July of 1910 that work was completed to give Costa Rica a coast to coast railway system. The advent of the railway as the major mode of commercial transportation ushered in a boom in the banana plantations and imperialist aspirations of the United Fruit Company. The recent administrations of both Pacheco and Arias have sought to revive some of that old-time magic by restoring sections of the old railway. Folks can now catch a free train ride from central San Jose to Heredia or Pavas. There is also a tourist attraction ride that will take you from San Jose to Puntarenas. But these days the railway is more of a novelty than a central part of Costa Rican life as it once was. The book by Castro-Harrigan brings a little of that history back to life.
Much is written about Costa Rica’s biodiversity of plants and animals. One of the primary examples is the variety of orchid species one can find in the county. The orchid is the largest family of flowering plants with as many as 25,000 different species. In Costa Rica 1,500 of those can be found. Well that list continues to increase as botanists from the University of Costa Rica have recently discovered three new species in Parque Nacional Tapanti located in Paraiso de Cartago. The species were found at high altitudes (2,500 meters or more) and are of the family Lepanthes, which contain miniature orchid varieties. The first is the Lepanthes graciosa with translucent yellowish petals. The second is the Lepanthes machogaffensis, which has a reddish flower that blooms throughout the year, but only for periods lasting three day. The third is the Lepanthes pelvis, which has the largest flower of the three and which the scientists described as having no similar apparent relative except in the high Andes mountains of South America.
Since the 1800′s the Costa Rican boyero has come to represent the hard work, patience and love of nature that exemplifies the tico life. While originally used to bring coffee down from steep mountain roads to the port for shipment to North America and Europe, these days the old-fashioned boyero with his ornamentaly painted “carreta” and prized “bueyes” is more of a Costa Rican novelty of history than a real functional part of everyday life. Well, actually that’s not the case for everyone. There are still a few real life boyeros (around 5,000 according to La Nacion estimate) out there and they are determined to keep the tradition alive, a tradition that for them has stood the test of time and technology and has been declared since 2005 as “Patrimonio de la Humanidad” according to Unesco (United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture). The oldest active factory that still produces and paints the carretas (or, oxcarts) is the Chaverri Oxcart Factory located in Sarchi. Founded in 1903 this factory has become a main tourist attraction for day trips from San Jose and is a place where you can buy a little piece of Costa Rican culture and history in the form of a miniature painted oxcart (however, the real ones are crafted there as well). Just in case you wanted to know a little more about this time honored tradition, click on the link below to find a full colored graphic that explains in detail (and in Spanish), everything you ever would like to know about the Costa Rican Boyero.
I hate to say I told ya so, but I did tell you so! I have written in my other blog (365 Reasons I Love Costa Rica), as well as a Squidoo Lens on the topic, about the dangers of “marriages for convenience.” In case you are puzzled by the phrase, it means getting married in order to obtain residency in this fine country. It seems that this tactic is not just taken advantage of by well-meaning gringos seeking their slice of Pure Vida Paradise, but also by not so well-meaning mafioso types from neighboring countries who are just seeking a slice….maybe of your life! Oscar Arias recently signed into law a measure that now makes such “arranged” marriages a crime in Costa Rica punishable by imprisonment of up to six years. And it’s not just the “esposos” that will get hit with the charge, but also the lawyers that did the paperwork. So if you were thinking of getting your residency this way, think again. Of course, a real marriage inspired by true love will still work just fine….as long as your co-habitating under the same roof (and can prove it).
Being in the tourism business I am not one to normally spread negative news about Costa Rica. But you would have to be the proverbial ostrich with his head in the sand not to have noticed that things have gotten particularly more violent these days. And the numbers reflect the facts. Costa Rica’s murder rate has now achieved its highest level per 100,000 citizens in history, rising from the rate of 8 per 100,000 in 2007 to 11 per 100,000 in 2008. Murders investigated by the OIJ, or the country’s main criminal investigatory body, rose from 369 in 2007 to 512 in 2008, a 39% rise. According to today’s article in La Nación, the Pan American Organization of Health considers the situation to be particularly grave when the rate of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants of a country is between 5 and 8. Overall, the region of Central America has the highest murder rate of any region on the planet. While the increase in violence experienced here in Costa Rica is no doubt alarming, it is nothing compared to other Central American countries, like Honduras (58), El Salvador (52), Guatemala (48), Beliz (32), Panama (19) and Nicaragua (13). Overall the murder rate in the region is 29.3 per 100,000. This compares to around 26 per 100,000 in South America and 8 per 100,000 in Europe. The rate of increase in violence in San Jose, the nation’s capital, and Limón, its Caribbean province, is particularly alarming. The murder rate in Limón has grown from 9.2 in 2003 to 25.1 in 2008. San Jose has grown from 8.2 in 2005 to 14.9 in 2008. Of utmost concern are murders by delinquent youth, murders for hire (or, sicariato) and murders associated with increased narcotic traffic through the country. Just recently a young college student was killed when she received a gunshot to the head during an altercation between rival gangs in a busy section of San Jose. Happenings such as this are all too frequent each morning when you open the day’s edition of La Nación. Somehow the country needs to get a handle on rising crime. A telling figure reported in the La Nación article is that of the 512 homicides investigated, only 143 individuals received any sort of judicial condemnation.
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To understand the rich history of Costa Rica, one needs to know a little about the development of the railway system, mainly obsolete today, but in its time ushered in both prosperity and hardship. A new book entitled El Correo Ferroviario de Costa Rica, by educator and philatelist Alvaro Castro-Harrigan, chronicles the advent of the railway as a means of mail transportation. In 1857, the only way folks could expect to receive mail to make it from tiny pueblo to others parts of the country was via horse, burro or by foot, a process that could take months, if it ever arrived at all. But in 1871 Minor Keith decided to change all that by obtaining the contract to build a railway from Alejuela to Limon, which was completed in 1890. In 1897 work began to extend the railway to the Pacific Ocean and approximately 100 years ago in July of 1910 that work was completed to give Costa Rica a coast to coast railway system. The advent of the railway as the major mode of commercial transportation ushered in a boom in the banana plantations and imperialist aspirations of the United Fruit Company. The recent administrations of both Pacheco and Arias have sought to revive some of that old-time magic by restoring sections of the old railway. Folks can now catch a free train ride from central San Jose to Heredia or Pavas. There is also a tourist attraction ride that will take you from San Jose to Puntarenas. But these days the railway is more of a novelty than a central part of Costa Rican life as it once was. The book by Castro-Harrigan brings a little of that history back to life.
