This weekend I took the time and hit the farmer’s market with my family. These days we are in San Jose, dealing with the architects and rented a small apartment for 2 weeks while I get things done, so we needed to do some grocery shopping. In Costa Rica, farmer’s markets are very common, and they all take place in main cities during the weekend.
It is amazing how big the variety is in these markets: A vegetarian will go crazy with all the vegetables and legumes to choose from, but the thing that impressed me the most is the extremely low prices. Costa Rica takes its name because the soil is rich and there are many different products available. From avocados to bananas and many different fruits and vegetables from local farmers, Costa Rica can easily be heaven for anyone who likes to eat healthy, anyone who likes to cook and anyone looking for unique delicatessen products.
The price gap between the Costa Rica products found in the farmer’s markets compared to the prices given at major grocery stores and supermarkets is huge; it really made me wonder how much a profit are these stores making? Assuming they are buying all these products from the same people that sell them in the farmer’s market. I for one plan on not giving away my money anymore: the quality is just a good if not better than what I purchase in any supermarket, I buy more for a lot less and the experience is nice and fun, you can bargain and even have a great time at any Costa Rica farmer’s market.
I know they had one or two farmer’s market back in USA but for some reason I never took the chance to visit them, probably because my life since I relocated to Costa Rica is so laid back, I can actually stop and smell the flowers. I for one fell in love with everything the farmer’s market had to offer and will make sure I can find one in Guanacaste as soon as I get home.
The Costa Rica Zoo Africa Mia, located in the beautiful province of Guanacaste is celebrating a first in Latin America: Roxi, a giraffe weighing 50 kilos and standing 4.9 feet tall, was born at Africa Mia Animal Park. This is the first giraffe to ever be born in Central America. As you probably know tourism in Guanacaste is one of the main businesses in the area and the fact that the animals brought into the Zoo are reproducing marvelously has everyone excited.
Both Roxi, who was born this past Sunday and her mother Adriana the giraffe are doing well and recovering perfectly. Africa Mia can now move on to have more and more species reproducing and help these animal species continue their legacy. Guanacaste’s weather somehow resembles the weather inAfrica with a few minor differences and the animals seem to be doing really good there.
Park officials have also said that Roxi could soon have company since another female giraffe, Amapola, is pregnant. Animal species in Costa Rica are always taken care of since the whole country strives to maintain and ecological friendly atmosphere. If you are interested in visiting Africa Mia, you can arrive either at the Liberia Airport and the Zoo is located only 20 minutes away; if you arrive at Juan Santa Maria Airport, Africa Mia is located in the Pacific coast province of Guanacaste, 124 miles west of San Jose.
Either way this is a trip worth doing, since all animals are let to run free in the Zoo and people can just appreciate them by riding in Hummer trucks and walking through the several trails inside the property. Guanacaste has many other ecological reservations and national parks that are open to the public all year long.
I know that sometimes I advertise Costa Rica like I am getting paid to do it but you need to understand that living here has been the best thing that happened to me and my family, yet because it was a good thing for me it doesn’t mean it will be a good thing for you. Costa Rica is wonderful and Guanacaste, where I live in is heaven to me, but I am not so sure this peaceful life is for everyone.
Living in Guanacaste I have learned that big hectic highways and shopping malls are a thing of my past and only if necessary they can be part of my future, it is better to go have a nice day put in the farmer’s market in Liberia and enjoy a nice agua dulce while at it. That fancy restaurants only make my family uncomfortable and over dressed and that my kids enjoy the Guanacaste beaches a lot more than long drives to expensive amusement parks.
I have also learned that I, a middle class retired man can afford living like a king because the real estate market in Costa Rica is way cheaper than it is in USA and that maintaining a nice luxury home is three times cheaper in Costa Rica. Having a packed fridge costs much less and because of these I can become a real estate developer in Costa Ricay not a boring retired middle aged man.
Guanacaste has brought back my excitement for life and that peaceful feeling I used to have when I graduated college years ago. My home in Guanacaste has become the home of my children I hope it also becomes the home of my grand children and so forth. Yes were used to the city life and running and going crazy everyday, but that was because we didn’t know better and here in Guanacaste my life has improved, my health has improved and the way I see things has improved.
With the New Year one would expect of course many changes, yet they all seem to be coming up in a slow pace in Costa Rica. The first thing that appeared was a phantom increase in the telephonic bills that ICE established without permission of the ARESEP, it was found that the increase included both cellular phone rates and land phones rates and it was as much as a 10%.
In other news, The Terminal movie story is being lived at the Juan Santamaria Airport where a Cuban man has been living for the past 33 days, the 40 year old electrician cannot be deported but his entrance is also forbidden since he came into Costa Rica with fake documentation. The man will remain in the Costa Rica airport until he is declared a refugee.
Another big change are the free transportation tickets the Costa Rica government provides to senior citizens, which, due to inconsistencies will no longer be given away, from now on the CCSS will allow senior citizens the right for free transportation by having them present their ID card to bus drivers instead.
Also, Costa Rica will have their president elections in 2010 so many pre-candidates to the presidency have stated working on their campaigns included San Jose’s Mayor Johnny Araya and the very well known Laura Chinchilla, along with them former Costa Rica deputy Epsy Campbell, by the way things look, Costa Rica will probably have its first woman president very soon.
In Costa Rica tourism news there isn’t much to say, the hectic holidays may be over, but hundreds of people are still enjoying their vacation in the Puntarenas and Guanacaste beaches, a lot less crowded now if I may add.
In Costa Rica, traffic law instates a certain day for specific car plate numbers to drive through San Jose, Capital of the country. This driving restriction was set as a solution for the excessive traffic jams seen everywhere in down town San Jose. One a day a week cars with specific car plate’s numbers are not allowed to drive through down town streets for 24 hours.
This restriction will removed for the next couple of weeks son people can go and do their Christmas shopping, visit their relatives and enjoy the holidays peacefully without any problem at all. In Costa Rica there is an excessive amount of cars and the streets in most places are certainly not built for them, excessive traffic jams are seen everyday in San Jose, Heredia and Alajuela due to this.
The restriction was removed because during the holidays lots of people go on vacation and traffic are lesser than usual, also the people in Costa Rica who don’t have vacations need to drive freely through San Jose so they can run regular Christmas errands, visit their families and enjoy the traditional Christmas celebrations all over Costa Rica.
Here in Guanacaste, Costa Rica traffic restrictions are not valid given the fact that this is mostly a tourist area and well, it would be a bit difficult for people to enjoy or plan their vacation around their traffic restrictions. While I sit here and enjoy a nice cold agua dulce and prepare for a day a the beach I am happy to see so many people truly enjoying the holidays in the Guanacaste beaches, Ticos sure know how to take advantage of their beautiful sceneries.
It is amazing how the financial crisis is really hurting everyone’s pockets even during Christmas. Lots of stores in Costa Rica are actually cutting down prices before Christmas Eve, when usually this happens right after Christmas. It is sad somehow that all these economic problems affect the industry so much, especially since in Costa Rica some stores are owned by families and they count on their holiday sales.
People in Costa Rica have cut out most expenses due to the terrible financial situation the world is going through and some companies even had to cancel their Christmas parties and bonuses for employees, but this does not bring down the energetic and spirit of the Costa Rica Christmas traditions and people just try not spend as much, yet having all the things they usually need for the rompope, tamales and pierna e’ chancho. Maybe the plates will be a bit smaller this year, but it doesn’t mean that there is not going to be a celebration.
Holidays in Costa Rica are celebrated with the family and friends, there is always a place to go, In Guanacaste, hotels are in some cases offering a Christmas dinner for tourists and ex-pats, but in my case, I am having a few friends over from the area.
Well, Ticos have already entered the Holiday mode and people are finally going crazy in the stores supermarkets all over Costa Rica, I guess aguinaldos were finally given away. Yesterday, I went to Liberia to run some errands and I have to say I haven’t seen so much people in town since I came here: buying food and doing Christmas shopping.
Another good thing is that a 12:00 pm yesterday the 2 million visitors arrived: a nice New Jersey family of seven came for two weeks to enjoy the a lovely Costa Rica holiday and now they will have twice as much fun visiting amazing Costa Rica locations for free: swimming with dolphins, going to great hotels and restaurants, traveling through Costa Rica for free has to be 3 times better.
It is very nice to see how neighbors are going strong with Costa Rica traditional holiday foods: I have eaten 3 different types of tamales so far and they have all been very good. Another thing that caught my attention is that everyone cooks pork for Christmas, but only the leg (pierna e’ chancho is how they call it) and I did get a chance to taste it a couple of days ago, it was juicy and delightful. In Guanacaste people also make tamal de elote and chorreadas which are great with sour cream.
Once you live in Costa Ricafor a while you tend to get excited about the details, like a well baked home made bread or a good fresh ceviche, and before I forget, if you are visiting the Guanacaste beaches these days, make sure you have a glass of agua dulce, it just can’t get any better than that.
As I advertised a few weeks ago, Costa Rica will be receiving their lucky 2 000 000 visitor this week and the ICT (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo) has arranged a warm welcome to the tourist that walks in and hits the mark.
The lucky Costa Rica vacation will be sponsored by several tourism companies and what they want is to celebrate the record set by giving the visitor the best Costa Rica experience possible: tours, free hotels, transportation, meals at well known restaurants and much more freebies to make this experience the best one for the lucky 2 000 000 Costa Rica visitor.
According to some statistics, the lucky 2 000 000 Costa Rica tourist is schedule to arrive tomorrow December 17th at the Juan Santamaria Airport where personnel from ICT will be expecting him or her since early in the morning, so if you have and schedule flight to Costa Rica for tomorrow you might be the expected winner and will be able to enjoy the best Costa Rica vacation one can experience, all for free!
Another good thing is that if you are flying to Costa Rica, the weather could not be better meaning that you will be able to actually enjoy every tour and trip available in the area, not to mention the great holiday traditional activities in Costa Rica: El tope, the carnival, Zapote and all the cultural activities Costa Rica usually plans for these days.
A lot of people are taking advantage of the low exchange rate in Costa Rica and decided to include a short visit to this wonderful location. I know this for a fact since the last couple of days have been quite hectic here in Guanacaste. Costa Rica is right now getting the warm weather back and people are enjoying it as much as possible.
So, since we are now having such nice weather in Costa Rica and visitors will definitely take advantage of this to drop by and relax or check out real estate properties in Costa Rica, I decided to share some pieces of advice to those who will coming down here:
San Jose is experiencing nice sunny days yet a cold breeze can be felt, so pack up a jacket and a scarf if you are going to be in San Jose, even for a couple of days. Guanacaste is now having warm temperatures, yet there were a couple of dark clouds surrounding us a little, nothing to worry about. The Costa Rica Caribbean is not a good place to visit right now, it is raining dogs and cats as we speak so try to plan your visit towards the Guanacaste area or maybe the south east beaches where the weather is better these days.
In the next couple of weeks there will be nice things to do in San Jose: Festival de la Luz will take place in down town San Jose and it is a fun carnival of lights, masquerades, cimarronas and more. Also the upcoming weekend the University of Costa Rica will hold the craftsmen fair and lots of souvenirs and Costa Rica hand made products will be on display, so people visiting Costa Rica can take advantage of this to buy nice and original Christmas gifts.
Also, the common traditional activities in Costa Ricalike surfing, canopying and sightseeing are available to everyone.
After months and months of terrible weather that carried floods and lots of damages to some towns in Costa Rica and couple of weeks of breezy cold weather, we are finally feeling good temperature changes, at least in the San Jose and Guanacaste provinces.
In Costa Rica, weather in the coastal areas is lot warmer than it is inside the country sort of speak, so if you are visiting Costa Rica these days, try not to limit your packing to beach wear and include a couple of jeans and jackets just in case.
The beaches in Costa Rica have started receiving a lot more visitors and hotels are starting to decorate their premises for the holidays, just driving by Tamarindo you can see how lots of establishments are getting ready to have nice holidays and travelers are definitely enjoying the atmosphere.
I have to admit that I am actually looking forward to eat tamales like any other Tico…for some reason Costa Rica does get under your skin once you spend a while here and you tend to get exited about every little thing Ticos get excited about in Costa Rica. Guanacaste may be just a town in development, but it is definitely the place I was looking for.
This weekend I took the time and hit the farmer’s market with my family. These days we are in 
