Fishing ReportLuna Tours

Fishing Report – December 2009

Seasons greetings, and bienvenidos to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. December begins the prime fishing season for our fishing fleet and we’re all geared up and ready to take you fishing. The Sailfish bite should begin to pick up in the area, with Mahi Mahi fishing still very hot, some being in the 40 to 50 pound range. A few Sailfish are being boated along with a Marlin in the mix last week on board the OJARAN III. Rooster fish are also being boated on our inshore trips, with two to five fish being released. Fishing in Quepos is always good year round. For your fishing adventure contact Luna Tours Sportfishing, our office is located in the Hotel Best Western Kamuk lobby, downtown Quepos central. We own and operate the Ojaran II, Ojaran III, Magic Moon, and the Reel Deal (27 ft to 33 ft) and can also arrange other boats for charter up to 46 ft for half day or full day charters.

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Academia D'AmoreTico Talk

El Día de Acción de Gracias

El Día de Acción de Gracias es una de las festividades favoritas en Norteamérica. Los estadounidenses lo celebran el cuarto jueves de noviembre.

La fiesta tiene relación con los colonos ingleses que en 1620 viajaron a América en el barco “Mayflower” y que más tarde serían conocidos como peregrinos. El difícil invierno en esa región de Norteamérica los tomó por sorpresa y más de la mitad murió víctima del frío y el hambre. Quienes sobrevivieron lo lograron gracias a la ayuda que los indígenas de aquellas tierras les proporcionaron.

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Crazy From the HeatMatt Casseday

A Message from Costa Rica to the Sons of Al-Qaeda

On the other side of the globe suicide bombers are blowing themselves up more than ever, and although it may sound politically incorrect, even appalling, I must admit I typically feel a bit of sympathy for these desperate young men. I can not imagine what it must be like growing up in that part of the world, living an existence so cloistered, so bleak, so futureless, that the notion of blowing ones self up to kill other people because you have been promised 72 virgins in the afterlife seems a good option. Any time I read or hear about yet another of these acts of terror committed by relatively innocent kids, I consider what, in a perfect world, could be done to dissuade them.

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Health is WealthTodd Pequeen

Courage

Courage is a relative word by nature. It cannot stand alone, by definition it is simply a response. An ability to welcome something new, difficult, or challenging. This process is positive and fun for some, negative and stressful for others. I propose that we all look at ways to welcome courageous acts into our lives. Day to day living normally isn’t seen as a courageous thing to do. It can be however, to a great advantage. Our daily routines and responsibilities can feel like new if we simply add awareness to the people and events of the world going on around us. By having the courage to do more, be more, care more, and spread more love our daily lives will feel more vibrant and satisfying. I have always been delighted by people who “put themselves out there,” only risking playing the fool. It is no easy task to go outside of our own boundaries, but if we do we can reap the benefits of evolving and becoming wiser.

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Bruce ZabovCooking Corner

Stuffing for a 3-pound Chicken

With North American Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas coming up I thought this would be a good issue to go over a basic stuffing recipe you can individualize as you wish. Too, the availability of the packaged stuffing mixes can be pretty variable and being able to whip up your own reduces your dependency on its being avalaible or not. And YOU get to decide on its fat and salt content as well. This is the season weight tends to increase as we feast and it can help to be aware of what we’re feasting on.

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Charlie BerghammerMaking a Difference

Chris Cobb and Jenny Roman

This month’s profile belongs to Chris Cobb and Jenny Roman from the Portalon area. Recently the school at Portalon was blessed with 15 computers which form the basis of the new computer lab. We all know that ¨blessings¨of this sort do not just happen. School Director Jenny Roman, one always known for her persuasion and perseverance was instrumental in procuring the computer lab equipment and thanks to expat Chris Cobb, they now have their first program of computer web page design. Together they have created the elements necessary to begin classroom instruction for several interested local students. Read on with excitement as Chris Cobb explains how it all came about!

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Fishing ReportLuna Tours

Fishing Report – November 2009

Welcome and Bienvenidos to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. Fishing continues to be good in our area. The Sailfish bite is a little slow this time of year but the hot bite is the Mahi Mahi. Our boats have been boating up to 10 Mahi a trip and most are in the 25 to 35 pound range. All of our local restaurants will gladly cook that catch for you. Rooster fish action is fair, with one or more fish being released on half day charters. Several have been in the 30# to 35# range. Fishing in Quepos is always good year round. Don’t delay! For your fishing adventure contact Luna Tours Sport fishing, our office is located in the Hotel Best Western Kamuk lobby, downtown Quepos central. We own and operate 4 Sport Fishing boats (27 ft to 33 ft) and can also arrange other boats for charter up to 46 ft for half day or full day charters. Contact us at 2777-0725 (office), 8869-4808 (24 hour cell), visit our web site at ww.lunatours.net, or stop by the office for a fishing report, and talk some fishing.

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Pat CheekQué Pasa en Quepos

¿Qué Pasa en Quepos? – November 2009

Here it is November all ready – our rains will be coming to an end soon – we haven’t had our usual amount – prompting AYA(CR water authority) to ask for water rationing or at least a 20% reduction in consumption – sighting showering for less than 3 mins (we suggest showering with a friend!) and don’t let the hose run when you’re washing the car—or the faucet while brushing your teeth – all little things that can help………….now on to more fun …………

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Jim ParisiMusic Review

Gospel Music in Costa Rica

Religious hymns and spiritual music have played a role in Costa Rican culture for more than two centuries. papayamusic10Traditionally, however, the practice of organized groups celebrating and singing these songs has been confined to within their respective church walls, primarily in Limon and San Jose. Enter music historian Manuel Obregon, who is also the president and founder of Papaya Music, Costa Rica’s premier music label. Obregon felt this musical legacy deserved to be shared with the general public. So he enlisted more than thirty participants from a variety of denominations to perform live for two nights for an audience at National Theater in San Jose, which is truly how gospel music should be heard; live rather than canned studio work. Appropriately, a recording of this event, “Wade in the Water” has recently been released.

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Carol VlassoffPersonalidades en Medio Nuestro

Milo Bekins Faries

Milo Bekins Faries y su agradable esposa Tey se reunieron conmigo en su hogar en el bosque, a cuatro kilómetros de Londres en el camino a Cerro Nara. Nos sentamos en la galería que rodea la casa por los cuatro lados. Fiel al modo de vida de los Bekins, la casa está construida con cedro amargo y teca. Milo plantó esos árboles en su propia propiedad años atrás, con la idea de sembrar su “futura casa”. Está rodeada por jardines forestales y un canal de agua corriente que mantiene su casa sorprendentemente libre de insectos.

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Carol VlassoffPersonalities in Our Midst

Milo Bekins Faries

Milo Bekins Faries and his attractive wife, Tey, meet me in their forest home, four kilometres from Londres on the road to Cerro Nara. We sit on the veranda that encircles four sides of the house. True to the Bekins’ lifestyle, the house is built of cedro amargo and teak. Milo planted these trees on his own property years ago, with the idea of seeding their “house-to-be”. It is surrounded by forest gardens and a running water ditch moat that keeps their house amazingly insect free.

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Bruce ZabovCooking Corner

One-dish Chinese Dinner

This one-dish dinner is a variation of the red-cooked dishes so popular in all regions of China. They all have in common the seasoning of soy sauce as one of the ingredients central to them, but there are also some regional variations. In Shanghai they contain sugar, in Peking just the soy sauce is favored and in Szechwan they are made hot and rich, full of garlic, ginger and scallions or green onions with a flash of hot red pepper.

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