Viajar por Costa Rica es muy fácil. Solamente hay que tomar un autobús y… listo. Esa es una de las ventajas de vivir en Costa Rica: es muy fácil transportarse.
Costa Rica es un país pequeño, tradicionalmente se usaba la carreta con bueyes y el caballo para transportarse de un lugar a otro y llevar cultivos o alguna otra cosa; actualmente, la carreta ya no se usa para transportar gente pero en el campo la utilizan los agricultores para transportar cultivos o madera.
Ahora usamos autobuses, automóviles, motocicletas, bicicletas, avionetas y tren para transportarnos de una ciudad a otra. El tren también se usa para transportar cargas pesadas a ciudades lejanas como Limón y Puntarenas.
Para viajar largas distancias, viajamos por aire; usamos los aviones, y si viajamos por mar, usamos los barcos y las lanchas. En Quepos, por ejemplo, los niños que viven en Isla Damas o en playa Cocal deben usar un bote para recorrer parte de su viaje a Quepos centro.
Algo muy interesante es que en Quepos las señoras van a la tienda en bicicleta y motocicleta; ahora es común en el Valle Central el uso de motocicletas para realizar los mandados.
Los fines de semana, muchos turistas visitan Manuel Antonio y otras playas en autobús, en avión o en carro rentado.
En fin los medios de transporte en Costa Rica son variados y muy útiles.
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Filed under: Academia D'Amore, Tico Talk on September 22nd, 2010
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Caiman 1.5 meters
By Jack Ewing
It never occurred to me that bathing in the Barú River might be dangerous. We used to go there every day during the dry season, around 4:00 in the afternoon. Sometimes when the tide was in, I wondered if sharks ever came into the river, but we never saw any. We once saw a snake swim across the river. It was partially submerged, and even though it came pretty close to us, I couldn’t tell what kind it was. We saw lots of caimans in the mangrove estuary at Hacienda Barú, but not in the river, and the ones we saw were more afraid of us than we of them. Most of them were a lot smaller than a human and didn’t look like much of a threat.
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Filed under: Jack Ewing, Nature and Local History Stories on September 17th, 2010
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By Paul Rees
Tired of French fries? Wondering how to cook those dirty brown tubers you see in all the markets?
In Costa Rica they’re called Tiquisque. Around the world, they belong to a crop as important and widely eaten as rice and potatoes. Although slightly different species, they’re most commonly called Taro, Ñampi, Dasheen, and Cocoyam among other local names. Growing wild or in the garden they’re known as Elephant Ears.
Tiquisque
Tiquisque are a good source of fiber, vitamins B6, C, & E, and minerals potassium and manganese among others. However, they also contain Calcium oxalate which is poisonous when raw but rendered harmless when cooked. Calcium oxalate can also be a skin irritant, so wear gloves during preparation if you have sensitive skin.
Tiquisque are available in every food store in Quepos – Manuel Antonio, and probably Costa Rica. When buying them, they must be firm without any soft or rotting spots. The freshest still have purple growing tips at one end. When cut open, they’re creamy white with tiny pink striations in the flesh, and begin immediately to sweat starchy white sap. Green season seems to be the best time to buy Tiquisque because I’ve been seeing some beautiful ones over the last couple of months. During the dry season they’re often dried out, thick skinned, and slightly spongy. An old soft Tiquisque does not make good fritos.
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Filed under: Cooking Corner on September 16th, 2010
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By Matt Casseday
I recently received an afternoon visit from a squat, unsmiling man who arrived at my house on a small motorcycle and without a word of warning cut off my electricity. His bright yellow shirt easily identified him as one of the seemingly tens of thousands of people employed by ICE (which for the uninitiated, is our national electric and telecommunications company). A visitor to my house saw him removing the cap to the meter and came inside to alert me. By an amazing coincidence, I was at that moment attempting to pay my electric bill via internet. It was not easy, as I only have one option for internet where I live (controlled by ICE) and the speed with which I receive the service puts me in mind of those old time room-sized univacs that probably took a couple days to warm up once they were turned on.
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Filed under: Crazy From the Heat, Matt Casseday on September 10th, 2010
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These Horoscopes are meant to be fun and enjoyed. They should not be taken too seriously.
VIRGO – August 23-September 22
This month, someone named “Svlad” will appear at your door, carrying a large inflatable penguin and a bag of pistachio nuts. Despite your better judgment you will let him in. On Tuesday 2 people near you will engage in rubber band warefare, you will be caught in a crossfire and severely thwarped.
RULING GEMSTONE: SAPPHIRE
LIBRA - September 23-October 22
You will find yourself in a huge hand basket before the end of the day, and it will be getting much warmer than you like. Did you know that this month is the second to last month of the 19th segment of your life? Don’t question.
RULING GEMSTONE: OPAL
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Filed under: Cosmic Confetti, Horoscopes on September 10th, 2010
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By Mary Jones
You don’t have to become a geek to know how wind power works
Wind is the result of the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun and the fact that temperatures are invariably attempting to reach an equilibrium (heat is obviously moving to a cooler area). With the rising price of energy and the damage to the environment from standard fuels, it is starting to be equitable to harvest this renewable resource.
The advantages of wind energy are that it’s virtually free (once you purchase the equipment) and there’s no pollution. The disadvantages include the fact it’s not a constant source (the speed varies and many times it is insufficient to produce electricity) and it typically requires about one acre of land.
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Filed under: Guest Writer on September 6th, 2010
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Bienvenidos/Welcome to Quepolandia. Rain – Rain and more Rain maybe the motto for this 2 month issue but we don’t mind as it makes everything so very GREEN and cool…..we hope you can enjoy it along with us…..coming up Oct.2nd is the 4th Annual Chili Cook-off at La Hacienda Restaurante in MA – it’s a don’t miss fun afternoon to laugh and taste a lot of chili – We are happy that new owners Mark & Karen decided to continue the contest & hope that Tracy & Bill can come and enjoy the fun….it’s also time for Football again …you can watch your favorite team in many spots around town, Byblos in MA, Los Pescadores, El Gran Escape just to name a few…and for a laugh read Anita Kiesel’s story on becoming a cheerleader…..this is the time of year that many of our restaurants close for a period of time to allow their staff much earned vacation time – lucky for us they don’t close all at the same time – but it’s a good idea to check before you go…….Sept. 15th is Costa Rica Independence Day – hope you get to see the parade thru Quepos with many marching bands, floats, & children in costume – don’t forget the camera –it’s a proud day for Costa Ricans and lots of fun to watch……….we would like to thank Jeff Anderson for our Heliconia regalis cover shot –what a beautiful flower – later this month check out our It’s Wonderful World of Plants article by Donna Porter for more on Heliconia – a very interesting plant…………… Sept. 5th the Barefoot Church on the Beach begins–more info is available in the Community Bulletin Board toward the back ……when visiting our advertisers please mention that you found them in Quepolandia ………..and we hope you enjoy your stay with us and come back soon………ciao………P
Filed under: Pat Cheek, Qué Pasa en Quepos on September 3rd, 2010
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The Quepos Bridge Club plays at 12 noon every Tuesday at Dos Locos Restaurant.
visitors since December 2009
