Life's a Beach

Last weekend I took my first overnight trip in-country and went to Manuel Antonio, a strikingly expensive (and beautiful, when the weather is fine) national park and beach resort about 3 hours from San Jose on the Pacific coast.

Not too much to say about it, really - a beach is a beach. Sand, water, sky. Hot and muggy during the day, thunder and lightning all night long. To be honest I'd rather visit a volcano or rainforest.
I DIDN'T GET SUNBURNED. For anyone who knows me, this is a major achievement.

Back to Nature

Wheh. Now that the 4th of July is over, I can relax a little.

Step 1: get out of San Jose. I took the long weekend (American holidays apply to US citizens but not the local staff, alas) to take a '3-in-1' tour. Those 3 were:

- A slow ride down the Saripiqui River. We saw (but mostly heard) howler monkeys, numerous birds, lizards, and even a crocodile.

- A walk through the rainforest to admire all the flora (mostly primeval ferns and flowers) and fauna (including butterflies, frogs, and a number of snakes of varying deadliness)


- A 'conapy' tour in a gondola above the same rainforest.

Yes, it did rain in the rainforest. I was seated in the front row of the gondola so I got somewhat more rained-on than everyone else.

Costa Rica is one of the few places where eco-tourism is profitable enough that they make more emoney, even in the short term, by preserving the rain forest instead of tearing it down.

The Theater that Coffee Built

No blog report from me would be complete without a discussion of the opera in that country.

The stately Teatro Nacional, flanking one side of San Jose's Plaza de la Cultura, is home to Costa Rica's classical music scene (such as it is). it was built at the end of the 19th century, when Costa Rica was riding high on coffee exports.

The interior is just as beautiful as the outside (pictures to follow). Even orchestra-level tickets are fairly cheap (about $20 at most) and a charmingly French cafe offers coffee and pastries to concert-goes and the simply hungry alike.

Alas, like so many cultural institutions, the Teatro Nacional is neglected by its public, as I saw when I attended an aria recital last Sunday. The quality was generally good (the women outdid the men) but the galleries were perhaps half full, while the orchestra level was almost completely empty. True, this was a concert on Sunday night in summer, but I can't help feel compasison for any artist who has to perform in front of what appears to be an empty theater.

Comidas Criollas

In the right context, it's a magical phrase.

Costa Rican food has something of a bad reputation. Among all the various guidebooks I read before flying down here, about the nicest thing anybody could come up with was that it's 'unpretentious'.

And that it certainly is. Chicken, fish, and beef fried or grilled. Tropical fruits. Stews. Juice drinks of fruit pulp mixed with ice and sugar. The national dish is gallo pinto (painted rooster) which is a confounding name for a simple plate of rice and black beans.

Also, food in CR is not as cheap as you'd think. Especially when it comes to exotic (that is, non-western) cuisine prices can rival those in the United States.

When it comes to the local fare, however, there is hardly a better bargain to be found than the soda. These informal diner-type things serve the classic casado lunch. A typical casado ('married person') will contain:

-meat
-some sort of potato dish (mashed or sauteed)
-rice
-beans
-green salad
-plantains

You certainly won't leave hungry, and all for about $4. Not a diet for the Atkins-lovers, but no matter.

So my internet was having trouble the other day, and I called Amnet (the local internet service) to have them come and deal with it. After they arrived they started hunting around for the cable box. In the process, THEY DISCOVERED A FOURTH BATHROOM I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD.