Top Ten Lists
on Aug 3, 2009 in Top 10 list My dogsitting adventure comes to a close this week, so in conclusion of my Costa Rica blog posts, I am listing my Top 10 things I will miss versus the Top 10 things I am looking forward to, in no particular order. It's obvious that I miss my family...

Tico TV
on Aug 2, 2009 in movies TV My girlfriend came to visit last week. As much as I've watched Fox News these last two months, you'd think I'd have noticed that there were no commercials. Kathleen quickly noticed that commercial breaks had filler health and human interest segment...

Biodiversity Boast
on Jul 30, 2009 in biodiversity animals Tiny little Costa Rica has less than 20,000 square miles. As the pioneer in eco-tourism, the country has designated close to one fifth of the land as protected (although illegal foresting and poaching still occur).Within this small area is incredible...

Tico Take Out
on Jul 29, 2009 in take out fishing Bill witnessed true tico take out. He saw a man emerge from the sea with a mesh bag of some sort and a spear. A small crowd of beach goers surrounded him as he opened his bag. Bill went to go look as well.Out of the bag, he pulled a squid and some...

Maybe I've been looking at it all wrong
on Jul 28, 2009 in workers attitude A five man crew has been cleaning the pool for two and a half weeks (so far). To clean up the existing grout, instead of using a power tool, they use what looks like wooden survey stakes to rub the grout back and forth. Since the pool is made up of t...

Hidden Wonders
on Jul 27, 2009 in tourism volcanos In 2007, natives of Costa Rica voted their picks of the seven natural wonders of the country. The Rio Celeste in Tenorio National Park, rated fourth, is only a couple of hours from here, so Bill and I set out to go see it.The guidebook I read said t...

Chutes and Ladders
on Jul 26, 2009 in workers labor safety As kids we played "Chutes and Ladders". Down here they play for keeps.The chute:At the recent town rodeo, an ambulance was backed right up to the outside of the arena wall. There was a small wooded window that, when open, allowed passage of a injured...

Remains of the Day
on Jul 25, 2009 in trash litter Iron Eyes Cody In the early 70's Iron Eyes Cody changed American's view of litter. Costa Rica needs a similar campaign. It's not that the country is littered with trash, but there does seem to be a casual disregard for garbage disposal. This country is blessed with...

A whole lotta shaking going on
on Jul 24, 2009 in scorpion bite When I went to China, on my wish list was to try the fried scorpion. Dead and crispy, it was not a threat (and tasted like KFC crust). My only risk was eating from a street vendor, which is considered a "no no". Fried scorpion comes as a shish keb...

I ain't got no rhythm
on Jul 23, 2009 in dancing salsa Our little town had a three day fiesta last weekend. For two weeks, workers rigged up the bull riding arena, and I'm sure it's going to take at least a week to tear it down.This is a major event for the community, and I'm sure just about everyone wa...