The Howler

www.howlermag.com

TAMARINDOCOSTA RICA

September 2011Founded 1996

Volume 16, No.9Issue No. 180

THE HOWLERCed. Juridica: 3-101-331333

Publisher, editor and productionDavid Mills

dmills@racsa.co.cr Tel: 2-653-0545

All comments, articles and advertising in this publication are the opinion of their authors, and do not reflect the opinion of Howler Management.

www.tamarindobeach.netwww.tamarindohomepage.com

Howler advertisingThe Howler offers a wide range of advertising sizes and formats

to suit all needs. Contact David Mills • dmills@racsa.co.cr

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Deadline for October: September 15

ELLEN ZOE GOLDENTONY OREZTOM PEIFER

JEFFREY WHITLOWMONICA RIASCOS

KAY DODGE

JEANNE CALLAHANJESSE BISHOPMARY BYERLY

CYNTHIA CHARPENTIERROBERT AUGUST

NICK HOLT

CONTRIBUTORS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTSFitness Training

September Forecasts

Parents’ Corner

Sun & Moon

Rain Gauge

Tide Chart

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24

25

28

28

31

Doctor’s Orders

CD Review

Book Review

Word Puzzle

Slice of Life

Yoga

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10

11

12

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Cover Caption: Pink Perfection - a Tamarindo sunsetCover Photo: Sarah LongCover Design: David Mills

Surf ReportAt the Quiksilver Costa Rica Open in Santa Teresa, Dereck Peters of California won the title plus $6,000, airline tickets and a camera.

15

Dining Out In luxurious surroundings, Langosta Beach Club serves high-quality French cuisine using local products.

8

Around TownOpenings, closings, parties, music. The Gold Coast has it all, and bar-hoppin’ David is in the groove.

14

The Shocking TruthA too-close-for-comfort lightning strike starts our columnist wondering if those in power care at all about our changing weather patterns.

27

From Ice to FireA cyclist continues his epic journey from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. This episode we follow him through Panama and Colombia.

16

Surviving Costa RicaFor newcomers trying to sort out Costa Rica’s idiosyncrasies, Jesse gives the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions.

26

Hummingbirds - Gems of the TropicsThere are 320 species of hummingbird world-wide, 51 in Costa Rica. We take a look at these brilliant, fascinating birds.

29

This month we will continue our discussion on so-called “patent” medicines, i.e. drugs that are developed by drug companies for the treatment of acute, sub-acute, and chronic medical conditions.

There are several main classes of patent medication, among them antibi-otics, psychological agents, diabetic meds, anti-hypertensives (medicines for high blood pressure), statins (medicines for the treatment of high cholesterol), anti-inflammatories (medicines to prevent and treat inflam-mation in the body), anti-ulcer meds, meds for digestive disorders, pain meds and many others. When a medicine has been safely and properly developed and adequately tested, the positive implications for society are profound. Think what our lives would be like without penicillin! Half of us wouldn’t be here at all, as we would have died from an infection before we reached our seventh birthday. The other half would live in constant fear that the next errant cough from a stranger could be their death warrant.

On the other hand, medicines that are rushed to market with inadequate testing and/or faulty methodology can produce far more suffering than they can ever hope to alleviate. A good example in this regard is the re-lease of all of the new so-called “anti-psychotic” drugs, such as Zyprexa and Abilify, to name two. The methodology underlying the development of these drugs, and other mind-altering drugs like Prozac and its cousins, is fundamentally flawed. This modality of treatment is based on the as-sumption that certain brain chemicals need to be in a certain “balance” or proportion, in order for the brain to function “normally”. It is a tribute to the overweening arrogance of mankind that these scientists really think they can reduce the function of such an amazing organ as the brain to a series of man-made chemical equations. But true scientists can readily see that such an effort is futile, and so base their therapies in this area on psychological counseling and lifestyle modification and support, rather than drugs. But for most doctors, it is much easier and more profitable to hand a patient a prescription than to spend the necessary time with them to enact a real solution to their problem(s).

Moreover, none of these new drugs has been tested in humans for a long-enough period of time to ensure that there are no serious problems associated with their long-term use. Basically, the FDA allows the drug companies to use their therapeutic target population as guinea pigs. No new drug for long-term use should be released until the drug has been tested on humans for as long of a period of time as it will be used under the therapeutic conditions its maker proposes. Instead, the government allows the company to test the drug in real time, on real people, and recall the drug if there is a problem. That is not a real smart way of do-ing things, in my opinion, but no one has ever accused the government of being smart or efficient!

So the implication is obvious. Change your diet and lifestyle instead of relying on patent medicines. A former close friend who suffers from osteoporosis said to me once that she would rather keep drinking Diet Coke and take her medicine for osteoporosis, after I told her that she could quit taking her medicine if she quit drinking Diet Coke. That medicine has now been linked to pathological fractures and other serious side effects. Diet Coke must be some good stuff, that’s all I can say!

Doctor’s OrdersJeffrey Whitlow, M.D.

Cuidado! From September 1 the old ¢1,000 and ¢2,000 banknotes will have no value and can only be changed at a bank. After September

15, they will not be accepted at local banks but may be redeemed only at the Central Bank in San José.

After all the fuss about the building of a cell tower in the middle of a residential area of Tamarindo, the tower has been built, despite a protest and presenta-tion by residents to the alcalde and Municipality of Santa Cruz. Sadly, after a barrage of e-mails had been sent all over town, only five residents showed up for the trip to Santa Cruz and the presentation. So typically Tamarindo, where everyone wants to complain but nobody wants to put themselves out about anything. You deserve your bloody tower!

And this is just the start! Look around our neighbour-ing towns to see that these monsters are being erected all over - three or four to a small village. More are planned for Tamarindo!

Sala IV, Costa Rica’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, stated recently that there is no evidence to show that cell towers are a hazard to health. In their supreme wisdom, these lawyers seem to have more technical knowledge than the thousands of medical doctors and engineers worldwide who have found, from scientific studies, that there is a very significant threat to health from cell towers.

With the Claro Communications Company having a huge financial worth, and the ambition to cover the world with cell towers, one has to wonder just how these towers are being built, in many cases without legal permitting. My cynical opinion is that just about everyone in the “chain of command” is receiving big bucks to bypass the legal rquirements. Look for a load of Prados driving around with “A Gift from Claro” on the sides.

If anyone in Tamarindo should decide to purchase any services from Claro, we at The Howler invite them to write to us and explain why.

• • • • •

Dining OutDavid Mills

The setting is gorgeous, the food imagi-native and delicious, and the service very attentive. For an afternoon at

the beach or in the pool, or an evening’s fine dining, Langosta Beach Club is a great experience.

The Beach Club opens at 9 a.m. and serves French and other food – burgers and the like. In the evening the menu reverts to French, a comprehensive selection featuring many seafood dishes as well as meats. All products are obtained locally.

Restaurant manager Olivier Moles worked in France in the Senate restaurant, his customers being high-level politicians. including the president. “I can’t receive everyone here,” he says, “only those who will enjoy it. In France we do not eat to live; we live to eat, and that is what I like in my customers.” All recipes are agreed between

Olivier and chef Nicolas and “served with love”.

Appetizers include jumbo shrimp with asparagus; sole ceviche; avo-cado and mozzarella tartare; scallop vol-au-vent; bouchée goat cheese and spinach; tuna tartare; scallop

and mango; warm goat cheese salad; langosta and mango salad; prosciutto and melon; tartare of tuna, beef or salmon. We chose tuna carpaccio and chicken Caesar salad.

Meat selections are Nicaraguan prime grilled filet with choice of sauces; tenderloin and onion confit Parmentier; beef tartare; chicken curry.

We passed on the meat, choosing sole meuniere with pink pepper-corn sauce and scallops a la crème. Other seafood dishes are grilled lan-gostinos; mussels mariniere; lobster sauté with peppers, mango and lime; sole with champagne cream.

Sunday is family day and features live Brazilian music from 1 o’clock with Avelino. In high season a smooth jazz session is presented Friday evenings.

Langosta Beach Club, on the road to Langosta, tel: 2653-1127. Con-cierge@tamarindopreserve.com. All credit cards accepted. Open every day from 9 a.m.

A new Community Centre will hopefully be built in 2012 by the non-profit organization CEPIA in Huacas, a village close to Tamarindo. The Community Centre is place where education, culture, health and social cohesion will be fully strengthened and developed.

The organization CEPIA will be the owner and manager of the Centre, continuing its activities and programs that have been offered for six years, but in very much improved conditions and broadening the of-fer of services. Besides the extracurricular classes in English, arts and sports for children, psychological counseling, trainings for teachers, education for teenagers who have dropped out of school, a wide variety of professional trainings (computer, English, beauty care, cooking…) and attention to mothers and children in extreme poverty, the Centre will as well offer courses in client service and domestic agriculture among others, during weekends. More than a thousand people will benefit from it on a yearly basis.

Further, the centre will host the Night High School for four hundred students. Teenagers and adults will receive education in the best en-vironment to improve their wellbeing and success. Today these 300 teenagers and adults, that work during the day and go to high school at night (4:30pm-9pm), receive class in the Huacas elementary school, in the worst possible conditions: some of them have to sit on the floor because there are no chairs, some receive their lecture outside, etc… We would not imagine this is happening few miles away from Tama-rindo and Flamingo, right?

The two-floor building is 950 m2 and will cost $400,000. We hope all the businesses and community members will join us in this important effort to strengthen the education and life quality of people with fewer resources. We can’t do this without you!!!

If we invest in a better life quality for children, teenagers and adults, our communities will be safer, healthier and united! A secure invest-ment for the future!

Check out www.cepiacostarica.or

A New Community Centre

CD Review

Quirky Marley Tribute

Tony Orez

Putumayo Music recently took a step away from its customary formula of regional and stylistic compilation albums to give us a

tribute to the music of one man, the great reggae progenitor Bob Marley. Few people have made the kind of lasting, universal impact that Bob Marley has made with his music. In his short 36 years, Marley managed not only to introduce hundreds of millions to reggae but also spread powerful messages of peace, love, human rights and acceptance. It’s no surprise that almost 30 years after his death, one can travel to any part of the globe and witness his far-reaching musical legacy. A number of the twelve tracks were recorded specifically for this disc. But it opens strongly with something that already existed: Three Plus’s convincing “Jahwaiian” fusion version of “Is This Love.” And it remains in Hawaii for singer Robi Kahakalau’s cool, smooth take on the seldom heard “Do It Twice.”

The California band Rebelution delivers “Natural Mystic” with an authentic beat and an evocative, echo sound but, sadly, accompanied by seemingly uninspired vocals. And thin-voiced French-Canadian singer Caracol disappoints on “Could You Be Loved”—maybe it’s a style I just don’t get, but she sounds to me like a half-baked Nelly Furtado. More surprisingly, Céu also comes off strangely listless in “Concrete Jungle.” I guess you’ve either got Rasta in your blood or you don’t; it’s something that is often mimicked but not easily replicated. The Canadian band Northern Lights, on the other hand, perform a completely non-reggae version of “Waiting in Vain”, transforming it into a refreshing, acoustic folk track that listeners would have no idea was written by Marley if it were presented by itself.

Things pick up with Rocky Dawuni’s West African/island fusion sounds, and even more so when the South African Freshlyground bangs out their bright, driving Afro-fusion version of the anthem “Africa Unite,” really making the song their own, demonstrating their signature mix of African folk, kwela and jazz. And ultimately, the disc turns out to be a pretty good demonstration of how different styles can be bent and blended to adapt Marley’s hypnotic, singable, danceable songs, which are so closely identified with his own voice and sensibility. Northern Lights applies a dense American folk feel to “Waiting in Vain,” Julie Crochetière’s languid, sexy “Mellow Mood” has a vaguely European flair, and Funkadesi’s tricky rhythms and Indian/island stew form a unique style, though it didn’t totally grab me here.

The CD closes with two solid tracks. “No Woman No Cry,” from the collective called Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone civil war. The group genuinely displays the heart of Marley’s “we’re all one” message. And the one-time ensemble Playing for Change is a truly international collective that unites stars like Keb’ Mo’ and Manu Chao with street musicians from all over the world. Their “One Love” makes for a beautiful good-night, a “We Are the World” without the showboating and hype. Good feelings all around. That’s the spirit of this uneven but overall quite worthwhile disc.

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Book Review

Hiding Among the Enemy

Tony Orez

The name Craig Ledbetter should be a familiar one to long-time Howler readers. Craig moved to the Playa

Potrero area in Guanacaste in 1992 and wrote a memorable fishing column for this magazine from 1999 to 2003. One noticeable characteristic about Craig’s fishing columns was that they rarely dealt with fishing. Since he relocated to Costa Rica, his mother remarried. Craig became enthralled in his stepfather’s childhood history. His stepdad, Fred Taucher and his brother, Henry, survived living in Berlin as Jews throughout World War II. Craig was moved enough by the story to spend three years researching and documenting the history in his book “Saved by the Enemy”. Known for his wit in his local columns, Craig shelved the humor to recount this harrowing, almost unbelievable experience.

The author did a good job telling concurrent accounts of the history of Fascism taking over Germany in the late thirties, through its demise at the end of the war and telling the story of the family and their methods of survival during this chaotic, surreal time. The historic side of the story alone was enlightening to me, with facts I was not aware of, such as the Free World’s collective decision to basically let Hitler have his way with Germany until they absolutely had to stand up to him. The account of the plight of the Taucher family and the methods they used to survive is unreal. More than once or twice, they were actually working and living among Nazi hierarchy and getting away with it. Faced with few or no other options, it was a gamble they took and won, the logic being that no Jew would ever try such a thing. To live minute by minute in this situation had to be gut-wrenching. Equally surprising was the number of gentile Germans who went out of their way to help the family, knowing full well the consequences should they be caught. Not surprisingly, not every family member survived, but the brothers eventually made their way to the U.S. after the war. The book is also filled with pictures that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum supplied.

Craig was quick to point out to me that the main pretext of the book is not to discuss the plight of the Jews; rather, it is more about human compassion and pride and the will to live. When Fred agreed to speak about his story it was, as Ledbetter so poignantly puts it, because “he saw means by which others would become enlightened as to how negative perceptions and ignorance bred through the ages had served no one, especially not the Jewish people against whom this hatred was promoted”. Craig has obviously been duly impressed by the message: he has devoted a chunk of his life to research the era and put the story down on paper. He now is offering the book for others to share in the message, one that perhaps we all need to be reminded about from time to time.

“Saved by the Enemy” is available at Jaime Peligro book store in Playa Tamarindo. Craig can be reached at Craig@cci.net

Trouble in Paradise

I once thought the leaf-cutter ants were adorable, proudly parading their leafy cuisine, but then they deflowered my shrubs - how deplorable! Those ravishing pests, those rapacious machines!

At first, when the howlers howled, what a novelty, making my hair stand on end with their roar, but now I just wish they’d get out of my banyan tree, halt their damn howls and annoy me no more.

I loved it in June when the flowers were flowering, watered and rinsed by the transient rains, but now in the mud and the floods I ask when’re things going to get back to normal again.

Everything changes, the longer I stay here, making me wonder, when all’s said and done, though I continue to live, work, and play here, is this paradise lost or paradise won?

Bill Douglas

Poet’s Corner

antofagastaasuncionbahiablancobarilochebarranquillabelohorizontebogotabuenosairescaracascartagenacayennecordobageorgetownguayaquilmanaus

macchupicchumedellinmontevideoparamariboportofspainquitoriodejaneirosalvadorsantafesantiagosantossaopauloushuaiavalparaisovinadelmar

All words from the list below can be found in the word block on the right.

Answers may be forward, backward, upwards, downwards and diagonal.

Wo r d p u z z l eL a t i n A m e r i c a

A Slice of LifeCheapo!

Fred Matthews

Gary Fuca, from Orange County, California, was, of course, grief-stricken when his favorite uncle died. So when he found out that his uncle had not possessed a suit in which

to be laid out, the dutiful nephew went to J.C. Penney and bought one. After all, it didn’t need to be the best so he only paid $80, and he was to receive a comfort-able $200,000 and a condo in the uncle’s will.

During the preparation, Fuca learned that the suit had to be cut up the back to facilitate fitting it onto the corpse, so he insisted that it be cut along the back seam. He also insisted that the labels and tabs be left in the suit.

After the body lay on view for a couple of days and was readied for burial the next day, the man returned to the undertaker’s office and took back the suit. He then took it to a tailor, and had the seam restitched. With the suit as good as new, he returned it as unworn to J.C Penney and had his money refunded.

When told his story would be published in The Howler, instead of being embarrassed he expressed delight, saying “I’m delighted and proud to be a celebrity”.

Humorous, weird, interesting, whatever...If you have a “Slice of Life” to share with the readers, then send it to dmills@racsa.co.cr or call 2653-0545

Great news for motorists! A gasolinera (gas station) is to be constructed just outside Tamarindo. The site is one hundred meters north of the Santa Rosa cemetery on the main road to

Huacas opposite the mechanic repair station. This will save the long trip over the mountain to El Llano to get gas.

Construction on the road between Villarreal and 27 April will commence shortly, resulting in a paved road between Tamarindo and Santa Cruz.

Eight kilometers of the road between Sardinal and Nuevo Colón are to be paved with asphalt. This will give better access from Playas del Coco and Liberia to Potrero, Flamingo and Matapalo.

Restaurant El Lugarcito, on Tamarindo’s main street opposite Cen-tury 21, has been taken over by Nathalie Lecerf and renamed El Mediterraneo. It will serve dishes from various countries around the Mediterranean.

Pies by Sasha! Delicious home-made apple and mango pies are available from Sasha, from her mother’s recipe. Approved by locals. Call 8750-7498.

Multiservicios RYMsa provides cleaning, janitorial and gardening services, plus massages, facials and spa. See ad on page 9.

On August 11, WestJet Airlines signed an agreement with Costa Rica which should see it operating flights from Vancouver to Liberia in the near future.

Problems with your Mac or PC? Call Lapiz y Papel at 2665-3670. They also carry a comprehensive line of office products and computer peripherals.

For everything in air conditioning – sales, installation and mainte-nance - call Servicios Jenkins at 8753-7675 or 8695-7006. See ad on page 11.

Voodoo Restaurant in Tamarindo has blues on Monday evening from 7 p.m., and Conga-Tronica Session on Saturday from 9. Tel: 2653-0100.

RPM has added real estate services to its property management. See ad on page 23.

Breakline Marketing will analyze your web site and optimize its search engine features to give your site the highest possible rankings. See ad on page 21.

For your travel needs and reservations call Giselle at Liberia Travel – 2666-4772, 2666-4383 or 8842-8783. See ad this page.

Guana Print offers all printing services, large and small, vinyl signs, flyers etc. Also graphic design. See ad page 17.

Contact: Don H. at 2-654-4902

Flamingo Tuesdays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open) Fridays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open)

Location: Hitching Post Plaza Unit 2, Brasilito

Alcoholics AnonymousSchedule of Meetings

TamarindoSaturday: 10:30-11:30 - Open General MeetingMonday: 5:30 Open MeetingThursday: 6:30-7:30 - Open MeetingLocation: Behind Restaurant La Caracola

Contact: Ellen - 2-653-0897

Peters claimed a prize of $6,000, two tickets courtesy of Sansa Air-lines, and a Quiksilver limited edition TG-610 Olympus camera. The camera was also given to Tascon, who claimed $3,000.

Luis Vindas, of Jacó, also earned a camera for his third place finish. Not only that, he walked away with the highest scoring wave of the day, an 8.0 during the semifinals, and for that he earned an airline ticket to any destination in the world that TACA flies. Two other ticos also earned that prize for best wave of the day: Anthony Fillingim and Jason Torres.

It´s important to note the achievements of the Ticos in this interna-tional contest. Not only the high placement of Vindas, and the high wave scores of Filligim and Torres, but two other youngsters came away with personal accomplishments. Maykol Torres (above) of Esterillos and Noe Mar McGonagle of Pavones both beat the pro Clay Marzo in their heat. Results: page 19.

The next event for the Costa Rican national surf team will be the Central American Surfing Games, which after four years away returns to Costa Rica for the five-country tournament. This year the contest will take place in Jacó and Costa Rica will try to win for the sixth year in a row. Details to come.

Right here in Tamarindo, Robert August has made some moves. As pretty much everybody in the surf world knows, Tamarindo was put on the surfing map when Robert purveyed his clout from starring in the film ¨Endless Summer¨ into a segment on Tamarindo for the sequel, ¨Endless Summer 2¨. Readers of The Howler learned from the man himself last month that he traveled back and forth between a house in Tamarindo and his home in Huntington Beach for many years before finally settling here recently.

Now the man, the legend, has allied himself with Witch´s Rock Surf Camp. Three times a week he teaches surf seminars on the History of Surfing. Every Friday, August gives a shaping clinic where people are invited to watch and learn how surfboards are made. The process is so quick that a guest can order a board when they first arrive and be surfing with it less than a week later.

Surf ReportStory: Ellen Zoe Golden

After an absence of many years, Quiksilver returned to this country with an international surf contest as part of the World Qualifying Series (WQS). By putting on the contest, the surf

company showed its faith in our surfers, as well as our waves. Putting up $30,000 in prizes is a lot of faith, indeed. The three-day event in Santa Teresa, called the Quiksilver Costa Rica Open, presented by Olympus, took place in the waves in front of Hotel Luz de Vida in Santa Teresa de Cóbano. It drew 5,000 spectators, and a potential of another 20 million could watch it on Gravedad Zero on ESPN 2 TV.

So, after those three days of serious competition, the Californian Dereck Peters (photo below) won the Quiksilver Costa Rica Open. He battled in the man-to-man final against the Colombian Jefferson Tascon, who now lives in Jacó. Between the 64 surfers who were entered in the contest, the tactics used by the fellow from the U.S. were forceful and consistent with a 12.33 (5.83 and 6.50) enough to beat Tascon 9.60 (5.10 and 4.50).

The quality of waves was highly difficult, but that did not deter Peters from claiming his first right in the seventh minute. The final was, for him, a day of high notes, with a lot of strategy, and he worked impec-cably to dominate Tascon.

“There were a lot of good surfers in this event, but I always had good expectations to win and do well, which is the reason I’m so happy,” said Peters upon leaving the water. “Really, it is necessary to have patience and a priority to wait for the good waves.”

As to Tascon, a local favorite and a regular on the Circuito Nacional de Surf, although he was not successful with a first place win, his showing was still a victory. He selected waves of good size, but they did not break in his favor; his efforts were cut short, never achieving a score higher than 5.10 before the final buzzer. Nevertheless, Tascon marked the first time that a Colombian has made it to the international podium for surfing.

“I have made history because it is very difficult for a Colombian surfer to achieve these high levels, so I am very thankful to Costa Rica and the Circuito Nacional because if it weren’t for them I would not have my level,” explained Jefferson.

(continued page 19)

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Last episode our cyclists rode through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua before arriving in Costa Rica - and Tamarindo. This month they leave Costa Rica headed south.

Arriving at Panama the bor-der control did not want to let me in as I did not have

a ticket to show that I intended to leave the country again. After some minutes of perplexity an of-ficer advised me to buy a bus ticket which I would never

use but which allowed me to enter.

The east of Panama is marked by a boring highway cross-ing pastureland. One evening I did not find a place to sleep, as there were everywhere fences. Finally I found a Catholic mission in Tolé a bit off the highway. The friendly padre opened his doors and offered me a whole room with shower for free. Twice I had the opportunity to sleep in a police station. The nice guys readily opened the doors and even offered a bed. Experiences like these give me a deeper impression since the people are the face of the country.

Riding alone through Panama became mentally more intensive. I realised that I was riding longer as there was nobody to talk in the evenings and hardly anything else to do. So I pushed sometimes almost 150 km a day and suddenly noticed that I lacked sensibility in four toes because of the hard pressure on my feet.

When the boss at the Swiss Nestlé factory in Nata saw my Swiss flag on the back of the bike he invited me for a spontaneous visit. Thanks for this opportunity and for all the condensed milk.

In Panama City it was very interesting to visit the canal, a construction of world-wide importance. At Miraflores the big cargo ships are passing direct in front of your nose while they are going through the one-hundred-year-old locks. Panama is lucky to be situated in a privileged cli-matic condition with a lot of rain because the functioning of the channel requires a huge amount of fresh water to bring the ships through the locks to a level of twenty-six meters above sea level.

Crossing from the Pacific side to the Caribbean there was so much heavy traffic and rain I decided to ride on the freeway. There was no sign that cyclists were not allowed but since I sensed that toll stations could make trouble I just did not look at the guys, but looked to the

ground while entering.

From Ice Epic story of a bicycle ride from

Where North and South America meet

Panama City

Miraflores Locks

Panama City Bus

“Seahorse”

17

The change from the Pacific side to the Carib-bean side was impressive: The countryside and the villages turned wilder and the black popu-lation dominated. The PanAmerican highway stops in the jungle at Darién, so the only way to go south is by boat from Portobello.

Portobello must once have been an important colonial harbour. Today the harbour, built of coral, is more of a ruin but still a witness of old Spanish times where you observe the huge buildings with its cannons. Our sailboat “Seahorse” snaked through the San Blas Islands, a nice archipelago of 400 islands of Caribbean beauty. Unfortunately, crossing the open sea I was seasick and lying on my back in the boat until we arrived at the harbour of Cartagena.

“Seahorse” Captain James from Denver and his crew did an excel-lent job. Good companionship, the picturesque San Blas Islands

and sharing a lot of stories filled the six-day trip. The “Seahorse” brings backpackers (and sometimes cyclists) back and forth. You can find James by going to the Hostel Mamallena in Panama City where you can find lots of opportunities to jump over the gap.

In Colombia I was happy to meet Stefan whom I know from back home. He is accompanying me until Northern Peru. First we rode along the Caribbean coast which is an area of contrasts: After leaving rich touristy places we soon

saw poor slums in the suburbs. Barranquilla and Ciénega are two of the shocking examples. I had never seen such poor conditions and people living in trash. I was more than shocked as we saw people literally eating trash, and the streets were full of garbage. We were

warned several times to leave this area quickly because we would be robbed riding through these slums. Fortu-nately, two men in a car decided to accompany us for our security. The first evening when we were looking for a place to camp we found a military check point in a small village. The local people told us that two guys had been killed three days ago. I was not too shocked anymore as I had crossed countries like Mexico and El Salvador where hundreds of people are killed every day.

Once we were allowed to camp in the military base, which turned out to be very special for both groups: We felt safe and enjoyed the adventure and the soldiers were very interested in us. Here we realized that we were something special for the Colombian

to Fire Alaska to Tierra del Fuego

Story: Christoph MuellerEdited: David Mills

(continued page 20)

Panama City

Miraflores Locks

Portobello

San Blas Islands

“Seahorse”

The greatest variety of toursand riding experiences for all ages, featuring

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Located near Portegolpe on the main road,opposite the Monkey Park,

just 20 minutes from the beach.

Phone us at: 2-653-8041 • kaydodge@racsa.co.crwww.paintedponyguestranch.com

The best horses on Guanacaste’s Gold Coast!

Casagua Horses

Barbara’s Pet StoriesThe Sofa Snake

The phone rang: Good morning , Barbara, it is Miriam, how are you? Did you feel the earthquake this morning?

Hi Miriam, I am fine, thanks. No, I did not realize that it was an earthquake, this shaking that we had early this morning...I was standing on a ladder and I was trying to help a kitty that was sitting on the roof and miauing as it was not able to come down again by itself. I felt some shaking, my coffee cup fell down and I heard some things in the house clapping together, but I did not pay attention as I thought some of the puppies were playing and bumping into things...people told me later what has happened and that we had a 4.8 strong little earthquake.

Oh, not only you missed it...I was standing at the door from our kitchen and looking into the living room when all of a sudden the sofa started to move...I almost screamed, I called my husband, “Jack, come fast, I think there is a snake inside the sofa.” Jack looked at me like, you know this kind of look, right... but then he came back with some tools and started to take apart the sofa...Oh, Barbara, while doing this he was mumbling and swearing...he took it complete into pieces...but nothing! I was praying, dear god, please give me a snake. No, no snake, not even a small mouse, nothing!!

Well, it then took me two hours to put the sofa back together. But then, guess what: a medium-size Boa was crawling down the balcony balustrade, it gave me a look, like: Haha...I fooled you...bye bye now.

According to Witch´s Rock owner Joe Walsh, ¨This is a really cool way to keep hand-shaped boards alive¨.

¨Having Robert here is good for the region. This town is here because of the guy, ¨ he added, citing that little film he made.

I should note, that if you want to go on a surf trip with Robert August, you can do so via the Best Western Tamarindo Vista Villas.

Busy man.

Results of the Quiksilver Costa Rica Open:Final1. Dereck Peters (USA) 12.33 pts. $6.0002. Jefferson Tascon (COL) 9.60 $3.000

SemifinalsHeat 11. Dereck Peters (USA) 14.502. Luis Vindas (CRI) 14.17 $1.500Heat 21. Jefferson Tasco (COL) 11.902. Federico Pilurzu (ITA) 9.34 $1.500

QuarterfinalsHeat 11. Luis Vindas (CRI) 14.002. Nicolas Fisher (ARG) 8.50 $900Heat 21. Dereck Peters (USA.) 14.932. Jason Torres (CRI) 12.93 - $900Heat 31. Federico Pilurzu (ITA) 14.002. Maikol Torres (CRI) 11.50 $900Heat 41. Jefferson Tascón (COL) 10.872. Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI) 8.83 $900

Surf Report(from page 15)

That’s all I’ve got. Looking forward to hearing what you think. Keep those emails coming at EllenZoe@aol.com. Send your comments, information, errors or praise, because I can’t do this column without you, the real surfers.

WHAT ARE WE DOING

COSTA RICA?

Cynthia Osborne Charpentier

Can you tell me about the treatment at the clinic? “I always go to Nicoya, San Martin. They take care of me and I can wait to pay. They measure you and can go back in a week. It’s cheaper. And ready. There in Huacas it’s expensive” – Liche.

What about Caja del Seguro Social?“Yes, but I don’t have insurance. I go to Nicoya and it is cheaper. When I had an operation I was going to Cartagena with the Caja, and everything was good, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.” – Facundo. What do you think of people coming here, to this clinic in Villarreal, more ticos, more foreigners? “More ticos, but yes we have foreigners. The percentage is more ticos, here in Villarreal. And the C.C.S.S. (Caja), they don’t like to go because they have to wait with all the patients. People with consults go to the Caja, but something different like orthodoncy, extractions, crowns, to save teeth they don’t have. But they have an option and payment possibility. And some situations save teeth or extraction, and looking for the patient to get an easy payment plan” - Blanca Molina. “I go o a dentist in Huacas; it is nice and cheap and I get good treatment” - Geovanny Moreno. Dra. Marcela: “What is a dentist? It is my profession. One dentist is in charge of all the bocal cavities, and problems that people have from them. I studied in Universidad Latina de Ciencia y Tecnologia in San José, (ULACIT). I have been working for seven years. I attend many patients, but it depends on the season. I see more ticos than foreigners”. What do you think about the dentist in the Caja? “We are the same, but there are limits and they can not do many different things: static equipment, private practice, and materials. And the patients can see the option for an operation out of the Caja. I wanted to be an engineer, but my parents are dentists, so here I am. Odontology is the best and I love to do it”. Dra. Marcela Porras. “I go to the clinic for cleanness and to fill a tooth, in the Caja. They give good attention” - Mariana, Clinica Solon Nuñez. What do you think about dentists, and where do you go? “Which Doctor? Before I used to go to San José; now that I am here, I go to Huacas for a check every three months” - Fabian Arias. And the Caja? “It’s bad. We have to wait for so long and at the end we have to pay, it’s always the same” Scary noise machines... Made me bite my dentist when I was a child. He was more scared than I was. He accused me to my mom, like a little kid. I won’t forget my first dentist.

Dentists

people. For decades the country has been too insecure and hardly visited by tourists. Now every tourist is something special and a kind of door to the world to find out something about the habits abroad. The soldiers asked many questions. It finally turned out that we had to answer the same questions plenty of times all over the country since everybody was interested in the same things.

Once the curiosity of the people was a little too much: in the little town Tuluà in the Valle del Cauca we rode into the centre. There were suddenly one, two, three, then fifteen people gathered around us asking all kinds of questions which we answered. All over Latin America the people are amazed seeing my recumbent bike. They yell, they

laugh, they take pictures with their cell phones. Many times I am asked the same things: How much does the bike cost? – Do you pedal with your hands? – Can you change it to a normal bike? – Where is the motor?– Do you not get tired on this? - Can this still be called a bike? – Are you a cripple? – Have you ever fallen asleep on the bike?

Because the people were so friendly I lent my bike to a Colombian citizen who wanted to try it; unfortunately he fell and broke the steering (photo). Many times we were welcomed in a at fire stations by bomberos (firemen) who hosted us for which we are very thankful. At Armenia, Girardot and

Bucaramanga they did not only open the door but they also took care of us in all we needed. For us you are one more example of Colombia’s very nice people. Thank you all.

Another time we were invited to ride a day with the cycling club of Bucaramanga and in Bogotà we met several people that helped us and opened their doors to us.

Once, climbing the pass at La Línea where I looked pretty tired in the evening a young boy felt pity and ran towards me and pushed my bike from the back. This was touching; I will never forget that.

The many nice encounters make me remember Colombia very positively. Only two incidents left a bad aftertaste: Once we were invited to stay in a house for free. The woman of the house organized this for us and we were very happy that evening. But the next day two guys followed us by motorbike to press money from us as they had probably heard that two “gringos” had slept in their house and did not agree that this was for free. To get rid of them we gave them the amount they wanted. At the end of the same day when we entered Bucaramanga by a steep road that led through the poorest area we were chased for 800 meters by two young guys obviously trying to snatch something away from

From Ice

Cartagena

Slums at Cíenaga

Broken steering

Welded steering

(from page 17)

us. We climbed slowly and stayed quiet, praying, as I did not want to use my bear spray against people. Finally they stopped when they saw a security person watching the situ-ation, and we managed to escape.

The year 2011 is an unlucky choice to cross the country as El Niño is active and is destroying many

roads. We had to ride often in rain and many disc brakes got ruined as the sandy water had the same effect as abrasive sandpaper. But at least now Colombia is much safer than it was ten years ago. It would not have been possible to ride through at that time. Even in the wild southern area, one of the most beautiful areas of the country, where the FARC is still present, we felt totally safe and enjoyed the ride. In addition I would say it is a good time to visit this country as the price for a meal in a restaurant is even cheaper than to buy the food in a supermarket and cook it yourself. All in all, we loved Colombia - a beautiful country with lovely people.

Stefan, my new riding companion, generated a couple of incidents. As a cyclist you have to avoid the toll station sensor so that you don’t appear in the system and are not asked to pay the fee. Obviously this was not clear for Stefan and he rode through the sensor which provoked the employees to yell after us. But Stefan left without paying as he was not aware what was going on. It really made me laugh.

While I was chasing some dogs off with my stick Stefan knocked two out by spraying them with the bear spray from Alaska. They went out immediately and did not even bark anymore.

Finally, in Girardot Stefan entered an internet café. When he left he asked for the price and was told “quiniento” (500 pesos). As he was not yet very familiar with Spanish this sounded like “niento” which is close to Italian “niente” which means nothing. So he said thank you and walked out. I felt embarrassed and I can laugh only now when the situation is over.

What we are doing is not unique. There are many travellers work-ing their way from Alaska to Ushuaia, or vice versa. In Panama we met Chris from San Diego, who is doing “our” trip on a motorbike but the opposite direction, so we each informed the other about the rest of the trip. Lorenzo, a Basque, started his tour three years ago in Venezuela. He went all the way down to the south of Argentina and is now cruising up to Alaska. Michiel, a Dutchman, whom I met in Granada and again in Panama, is traveling the Panamerican Highway on a bamboo bike. Other travelers I met in Colombia were Erin and Alan, from Wisconsin, riding a tandem cycle from Inuvik to Ushuaia.

Next episode: Into Ecuador and Peru, and we hit the 20,000km mark.

to Fire

All modern conveniences

Bogotá

Now Begins the Study of Yoga

Mary Byerly is one of the owners and the yoga teacher at Panacea. An oasis of tranquility and health 10 minutes from Tamarindo.

Discover Paradise and Bring a Peace Homewww.panaceacr.com • 2653-8515

Acho Mukha SvanasanaDownward Facing Dog

Watch a dog when it first gets up from a nap. His front paws extend forward, chest lowers, and he lifts up and back through his rear end. This dog stretch is imitated in one of the quintessential poses of yoga: Downward Facing Dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasana (hereafter referred to as AMS).

AMS is such an integral part of a yoga practice because it is so great for our whole body. The pose builds strength and flexibility in our arms and legs, shoulders and our back body. Once we have been doing yoga for a while, it can be both a resting pose between a flow or vinyasa practice, and it can also be an invigorating pose, helping us to come into the vitality and extension of our body and mind.

For beginners or those with a lot of tension or tight-ness in their shoulders, hamstrings, and low back, this pose can be difficult! So remember to balance effort and ease, and find a variation that helps your body in the best way.

AMS, when done using a wall or your desk can be a great way to take a break from your computer, releasing tension from your neck and shoulders.

For those with tight hamstrings and shoulders, us-ing a chair can help to get the benefits and openings of this pose without having to strain. As your body becomes more flexible, doing this pose with bricks

is a good transition before going all the way down to the floor.

For the classic AMS pose, begin in child’s pose, with your sitting bones on your heels, arms reach-ing as far forward as possible, shoulder’s width apart. Come onto your hands and knees, with your knees and feet hip-width apart. Inhale and curl your toes under, exhale and lift up through your hips, straightening your legs and also creating a straight line from your hands to your hips.

In fine-tuning this pose, think first of trying to press down evenly through your hands and feet, even if your heels do not go all the way to your mat. Press your shins and thighs back to lengthen the sides of your waist. Lift from the back of your knees up to help lift and spread your sitting bones, while you also reach from the back of your knee down to your inner heels. Wrap your upper arms and outer armpits down while continuing to press evenly down in your hands, especially through the base of your index fingers. Let your head be in line with your spine between your arms, and keep moving your shoulder blades towards your waist.

Enjoy the energizing and the calming effects of this pose!

Namaste

Scraped knees, battered feet, burning muscles, but I was feeling great. It was 11 a.m. and I’d already been up for six hours. Just over five hours ago, I walked onto an empty street in Altagracia, Nicaragua,

and stared up at this majestic cone popping up through the clouds as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Now I was sitting atop Volcan Concepción, engulfed in clouds, wind, and an enormous sense of satisfaction. I did it. Five hours, two liters of water, some bread, a few cookies, and a lot of determination.

As I recently learned myself, Volcan Concepción jets up from Lago de Nicaragua like something you’d picture in National Geographic. It towers over 5,000 feet above the windswept island of Ometepe, just north of the border to Costa Rica. It is surreal, magnificent, and simply breathtaking.

I had set out for this trip to Nicaragua for a simple reason – to get that passport stamped and return to my little piece of paradise here in Costa Rica that I’ve managed to call home for the past couple of years. Little did I know that four days into the trip, I’d have a near transcendental experi-ence trekking through muddy forest, climbing large jagged boulders, and scrambling hands and knees on hot volcanic rock.

As I reflect back on that magical day, I can’t help but to think of all the similarities between what happened that day and to living a healthy, fit life. The climbing analogy is so relevant for so many different reasons:

Dealing with Setbacks. I lost count of the number of times I fell on my ass. A loose rock here, a muddy tree stump there, let’s just say I spent some quality time on the ground. Was it fun falling? Not so much. Did I enjoy the constant knee tap to the earth? Not exactly. But I got back up. I took that next step. I fell again. And again. But you know what? Without that next step, there’s no way I’d be sitting there atop this giant volcano.

The power of baby steps.Here in Costa Rica, we like to say “poco a poco.” - little by little. Nothing is done all at once. We do it slowly. We put one foot in front of the other. We focus intensely on keeping that momentum going forward. I take a small step up. I’m three feet higher than I was a second ago. I take another one. And another. Next thing I know, I’m over 5,000 ft high looking out at pure beauty.

Mental Toughness. Did my knees want to give up? Sure. Were my quads telling me to quit? Absolutely. Was I hungry? Without a doubt. But none of that really mat-tered in the grand scheme of things – I knew I was reaching the top. I’d committed, my mind was set on that goal and there was little physical pain that would keep me from getting to that finish line.

SupportMissy, a good friend and one hell of a trooper as she battled knee problems for the last three hours. Her leg muscles were no longer responding to her request to bear the load of her body as she descended the volcano. Each step down was agonizing. But I was there to support her. I was not going to let her give up. Our guide Allen was right there behind me, chirping in her ear, giving her the confidence to take that next step. We had her back, we were all in this thing together, and quitting was simply not an option.

Fitness Training

Think about your fitness and nutrition goals for a second.

You will have setbacks, you’ll fall down – maybe literally if you have a few too many cocktails, but most likely, you will fall down figuratively and indulge in that chocolate cake. That’s fine. Don’t dwell on it. Move on. Know what you’re committed to and move forward powerfully. There’s no magic solution to living healthy, being fit and playing the sports you love at a high level. Make progress slowly. Acknowledge those small wins, and trust me, it will be contagious. Surround yourself with positive people who support you and help you achieve your goals. Find a workout buddy and push each other. Hire a personal trainer. Go to a group fitness class. Practice yoga and hone your metal tenacity.

These are only suggestions that have helped me achieve a healthy lifestyle. Play around with them and experiment to see what works for you. And if ever find yourself looking for an active volcano to scale, please do yourself a favor and visit Ometepe in Nicaragua. The vision will be clear amongst those clouds!

Nick Holt is the owner/founder of Nick Holt Fitness, a full-service per-sonal training outfit specializing in surf fitness and general wellbeing. Nick offers surf-inspired yoga classes, beach boot camp classes and one-on-one personal training. For more information. www.nickholtfit-ness.com, ncholt7@gmail.com or 8748-0126.

Challenged by Concepción

Oct

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s by Jeanne Callahan

Namasté

Visit Jeanne’s site at CelestialAdvisor.com

Aries: 21 March - 20 AprilThe vibe is still a bit edgy and uncertain for you with Ura-nus in Aries still squaring Pluto. Life’s current restrictions are wearing thin and you need to break free from certain personal limitations. Relationships are not quite as vola-tile as in the past few months as you have come to some agreements regarding boundaries, shared responsibilities and realistic plans for the future. Your best days are the 13th and 14th.Taurus: 21 April - 21 MayJupiter is retrograde in your sign now through most of December in your first house so whatever you started but didn’t finish this summer will be revisited for completion. Good time to network and contact people from your past. Pay attention to your kidneys and diet as extra pounds can be lost during this time period. Favorable days are the 15th, 16th and 17th.Gemini: 22 May - 21 JuneThis is a good time to be social and perhaps entertain in your home. You may also find yourself involved in some home improvement projects. Your ruling planet, Mercury, is in direct motion in Leo now and looking for creative self-expression. Get involved in as many activities as you can and seek to meet new people. A new relationship possibility emerges at the end of the month. The 18th and 19th are your days to shine.Cancer: 22 June - 22 JulyYou have broken free of some restriction and should start to express yourself in a more carefree and energetic way. Partnerships are still a source of great tension as there is constant drama and chaos in the mix. Do your best to look for ways to transform the situation as you look into fundamental causes for the issues. Don’t let anyone bully you into something you don’t want to do. Your best days are the 20th, 21st and 22nd.Leo: 23 July - 23 AugustWith Mercury in your sign, you are looking for ways to get your message out in the world. Money is good and busi-ness started this summer can be increased if your approach is practical and pleasant. Some health issues are looming so don’t neglect to pay your insurance now. This is not a time to be involved in high-risk sports or behaviors. Days to toot your own horn are the 23rd and 24th. Virgo: 24 August - 22 SeptemberWith Venus and the sun in your sign now you have some positive vibes surrounding you. The end of the month has a favorable money situation pending as your services are in demand after the 10th. There’s still some chaos with partnership so keep all arrangements loose for the time being. You are in control and understand what your needs are. Your ability to handle details is highly valued. The 25th and 26th are good days to sign contracts.

Libra: 23 September - 23 OctoberThere will be definite improvement in your work and personal situation around the 21st of the month as Mars enters Leo and your eleventh house of business gain. With the Sun, Venus and Mercury traveling through your sign the latter part of the month looks to bring you power and opportunity—you are no longer in the realm of the hidden. Debts can be restructured through December and strive for balance in all your business dealings. The 27th and 28th are beneficial for you.Scorpio: 24 October - 22 NovemberNegotiations are promising for new work opportunities or work with new partners. You can hold onto the gains of the last two months and gain favor with new people now. There are some people or situations from your past later in the month that create a “been there, done that” vibe. Don’t repeat old mistakes—life is offering you a karmic review after the 21st. Those in partner-ships are working out the missteps since June. The 1st, 2nd, 29th and 30th are days that hold favor and pleasure for you.Sagittarius: 23 November - 21 DecemberThis month has good energy for foreign travel, higher education and career advancement. Money is still an issue so consult an advisor to get a new perspective on how to handle it differently. Your health is generally good but there’s room for improvement if you are less indulgent. Focus on meeting people who are savvy in the technical world as they have something to offer you now. The 3rd, 4th and 5th are your best days.Capricorn: 22 December - 21 JanuaryYou are in a position of power now if you keep your temper out of any negotiations. Vent your frustrations in other benign physical ways. With a trine of planets in earth signs you are in a situation to increase your wealth. Acquisition of property is positive. A sibling may need support or encouragement from you. Do what you can to help without being co-dependent. The 6th and 7th are your best days.Aquarius: 22 January - 19 FebruaryIssues regarding wills, insurance, taxes and legacies are part of the plan for the month. After the 21st you can have a strong plan of action in place, so just go through the process to get there with the help of a trusted advisor. Some minor health issue needs to be dealt with so don’t put off a visit to the doctor to address your symptoms. You don’t always know best in that area. The 8th and 9th are favorable days.Pisces: 20 February - 20 MarchThis month is favorable for partnerships, negotiating contract details or raises if you take an active part and not just agree because you like to avoid conflict. Your recent gains will evapo-rate if you don’t be an advocate for your own interests. Seek advisement from others who have more experience in those areas. If you have children, one of them will need a little more attention this month. Be firm about your boundaries and state your feelings aloud. Don’t assume anyone knows what you are thinking. The 10th, 11th, and 12th are positive days for you.

Costa Rica and the US have a common concern: teenagers are in the worst physical shape ever! A study funded by The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: “while 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do”. The American Heart Association recommends that children and young adults under 18 should be physically active for at least one hour every day! TV, videogames and computers occupy most of our teenager’s time, promoting a sedentary lifestyle, usually accompanied by fatty or sugary snacks. Lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits have severe consequences, obesity being the most visible one. Statistics show that obesity in the US has grown to epidemic portions and a study by the Costa Rican Ministry of Health shows that by 2020 Costa Rica will be the country with the highest index of obesity in Central America. However, weight problems are not the only problems people face when they lack physical exercise. Inactivity is linked with greater risks for many health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, but also depression and dementia. In adolescents, in particular, physical inactivity is associ-ated with emotional and behavioral problems, such as social and attention problems, sleeping disorders, as well as anxiety disorder and depression. A growing body of evidence suggests that regular physical activity helps not only prevent mental health problems, but also reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. When teens spend most of their time indoors, mostly sitting or lying down, it can have a devastating impact on their emotional stability, not just during adolescence, but throughout their lives. In order to prevent such problems parents need to play an active role in fostering a healthy lifestyle for the whole family. It starts with limiting the amount of time a child or teenager is allowed to spend in front of the TV, videogame or computer (less than two hours is ideal!). Parents should model a healthy lifestyle and include regular physical exercise in their routines, as children learn best through watching. Support your child’s interest and help him get started with an activity of his choice. Talk to your children about health and don’t shy away from pointing out unhealthy habits… more harm is done when these habits go unchecked, than from maybe hurting your child’s feelings by indicating that he has a problem. Whether your child signs up for a team sport, surfs, dances, runs or walks, any activity that makes him sweat and raise his heartbeat is the right one.

“To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” - Buddha.

Monica Riascos H.Psychopedagogist – Psychologist

Tel. 83589550consultariascos@live.com

Parents’ CornerTeenagers and Mental Health (Part III)

Physical Exercise

For those of you who are just begin-ning your association with Costa Rica you have probably already

begun to experience the occasional bewildering encounters with the people and culture. Here at our spacious under-ground Howler Corporate Bunker we’ve prepared a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions we have documented over the two millennia of our published existence. Any resemblance to truth is highly unlikely.

1. Can we speak English here?Answer: You can speak as much English here as you want. However, the only nati-ves (Ticos) who will be able to understand you are the local Real Estaters. Everyone else is pretty much in the dark; the vast majority of the indigenous population speaks either “Spanish” or the local Ta-marindo idiom “Guanacasteco”.

A hint: If you’re planning to learn the language go for “Guanacasteco” as it is much easier.

2. Why is always raining?Answer: Because you’ve chosen to come here during the rainy season. Also known as “Muddy Time”.

3. How safe is it?Answer: Costa Ricans are some of the gentlest, most easy-going nicest people in the world, who would never think of doing anything that might scare off tourism. The current rash of stick-ups, muggings and house-breakings are all done by the Nicaraguan, Columbian, Guatemalan and Swedish criminal ele-ments who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place.

The streets of Tamarindo have recently seen a number of the “Fuerza Publica” (National Police) and “Tourist Police”, both mounted on horseback or on scoo-

ter, whose main purpose is to remind the locals that there is a central authority that is keeping an eye on tourists and making sure they don’t misbehave.

4. Can you drink the water?Answer: This isn’t Mexico, Greece or Gal-veston, Texas. Costa Rica water is deli-cious and is one of the causes for nearby Nicoya’s having some of the oldest people in the world. But we here at the Howler Bar and Pub think that this water will soon become one of Costa Rica’s greatest natural treasures needing to be conserved. We therefore recommend alcohol as the caring person’s alternative. The publisher prefers Imperial while I drink Pilsen, sorta the Costa Rican equi-valent of Democrats and Republicans.

Those keenly interested in local customs are invited to sample the National Liquor known as “guaro” which local imbibers refer to as “Liquid Opium”. Careful, the first bottle is free.

5. Are drugs and prostitution legal?Answer: No, and yes.

6. Are drugs and prostitution available?Answer: Hmmmmm…………… As you may or may not know we here at the The Truth Will Set You Free Howler Corporate Headquarters usually try to provide the right moral posture to our publishing efforts. You want an answer, just go down the taxi stand, ask for “Cerdo Grande” and tell them “The Obispo” sent you.

7. What’s with the roads?Answer: The local authorities have been trying for years to bring decent roads to Tamarindo but have been thwarted at every turn by an evil cabal of local de-velopers whose only purpose in life is to make life miserable for the poor suffering

inhabitants of Playa Langosta and Ha-cienda Pinilla. The cabal is in league with the equally nefarious “Suspension Cartel” and has sworn that the Municipality of Santa Cruz will never get its way.

8. Why is it so expensive?Answer: In 1999 the seven municipalities that form the major Pacific Coast tourist zone were granted the exclusive right to create separate pricing for anyone not born in this country. Much to the chagrin of the local European and South Ame-rican residents this was known as the “Gringo Price”. As you can tell, there are two bar codes on every item of food, liquor and tee-shirt available. Just look under the cash register and you can see the button your cashier presses when she sees you coming. Ticos also pay about seventy-five cents for a gallon of gas.

9. Does it ever rain?Answer: If you’re asking this then you’re probably here ‘cos wherever you’re from is a frozen hellhole right about now. If you want rain then you should come down here when it is perfect weather up there.

10. Where can we find authentic Costa Rican Food in Tamarindo?Answer: Christopher Columbus, who was an Italian, was the first European to visit Costa Rica and way before the Spanish sent people here to colonize. One of the first gifts Columbus brought to the Pre-Tico indigenous inhabitants was the secret of pizza making and indeed frag-ments of five-hundred-year-old crust are on display in the Costa Rican National Museum and Coffee House.

Throughout Costa Rica’s tumultuous gas-tronomic history pizza has time and again come forward as one of the country’s greatest achievements. Tamarindo is pleased to serve pizza in more than forty local eateries.

Story by Jesse Bishop

CSurvivinghapter MMMLXVIICOSTA RICA

FAQ Costa Rica

The Shocking Truth

Stunned, I took stock of my surroundings and tried to figure out what exactly had transpired. First step: find my glasses which had somehow flown across the room. OK, I had been

on a long distance call to my friend Colin during a storm. It was hard to hear, and then a flash.

The phone was on the floor. I tried it. Dead. My ear and the left side of my face were completely numb. Still struggling to get my bearings it became obvious that lightning had somehow come through the phone line.

Ironically, I had been working on an outline for an article about death in Guanacaste. How much swifter it seems to come. How many friends and acquaintances have died in the town where I live in my time here. Hey, I know three people who have died from lightning strikes alone.

At any rate, once the lightning subsided, I was able to get back on line and confirm, that yes, sometimes lightning comes through the line and zaps people. And yes, sometimes the guy on the receiving end gets enough juice to fry his circuits, like terminally. Fortunately I have a wood floor and wasn’t standing in a puddle of water. I started counting my lucky stars. I now have a cordless phone, but even that is not much consolation.

Prior to my newfound awareness of the inherent danger of merrily chatting away during thunderstorms, I would call my hilltop neigh-bor Jack. Once, our joviality was cut short by a lightning bolt that seemed to hit halfway between his home on the hill and my little cabin in a nearby valley. When we reconnected, he explained that his cordless phone was thrown out of his grasp by what seemed like an electromagnetic wave that swept through the room. For him it was the second time that it had occurred. The take home message: chill on the phone calls during thunderstorms. The take-home question: What’s up with the weather?

I did my patented ‘man in the street + Facebook’ interviews, with a scientifically chosen cross-section of the local population. A statistically significant 97.3 % of native Guanacastecos, most with farming experience, who tend to pay strict attention to the weather, have responded that this year the amount of lightning seems “higher than normal.” Way higher. The one comment I heard repeatedly was “esta lloviendo puro rayos.” (It’s just raining lightning.”)

It might be that we’re in a sort of neither-nor situation with the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon that has a strong influence on weather, both planetary and local. It may be random variance in what the weather is doing. But, as most objective observers hasten to insist, random seems to have taken up permanent residence and variable is becoming the new normal. The only thing more shocking

(continued page 28)

Dangerous, therefore, is it to take shelter under a tree, during a thunder-gust. It has been fatal to many, both men and beasts. Benjamin Franklin

than my earful of cosmic energy is the apparent lack of concern, or the outright denial that anything is even happening.

You’ve got to love it when people get right to the point. One com-mentator observed that in India, there are like 20+ political parties spanning the spectrum from right-wing Hindu fundamentalists to different tendencies of Marxist. Notwithstanding the colorful ethnic, ideological and religious divergence on how to organize society, they all concur that climate change is an existential threat.

Try to imagine the currents of perplexity flowing through the rest of the world as they ponder the rather dumbfounding situation in the US of A., a country with just two parties. One of them appears to have adopted as an article of faith the outright rejection of the science of global warming.

‘Article of faith’ is no exaggeration. Note that Rick Perry, governor of Texas and recently declared candidate for the presidency, has cut prominent notches in his political belt as a stalwart denier of climate change. Meanwhile, back at the ranch in his home state, a drought blazes its trail through parched crops and bone-dry watercourses, straight into the record books. But not, take note, into the awareness of Governor Perry, the would-be commander in chief. One can only wonder how his response to the drought, a statewide day of prayer for rain in April, sat with the dozens of top-notch atmospheric scientists at institutions like Rice, UT, and Texas A&M.

Would that Galileo, the 16th century astronomer and physicist, could leaven the current debate in the Lone Star State with a bit of his own experience of scientific denial. Not hard to imagine him slipping into everyday jargon and counseling his scientific colleagues: “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” Chalk it up to the power of paradigms.

Paradigm, world-view, basic framework or perspective that helps us organize or fit our facts together to understand and navigate reality. Galileo’s assertion that the sun—not the earth--was the center, around which the planets moved, ran into the monolithic stonewalling of the Catholic Church and he paid the price. Fast forward to the 21st century. The struggle between opposing para-digms is alive and well.

By all appearances is seems that a significant number of homo “sa-piens” in the US are capable of experiencing first-hand the growing chaos of climate change—tornados, floods, droughts, heat waves,

Tom Peifer

The Shocking Truth(from page 27)

outdoor stages blown over during concerts, water pipes bursting under sidewalks—yet unable to “see” the bigger picture, or admit that the writing is on the wall.

Some might argue, to be sure, that there are other forces at work. Given the vast sums of money being contributed to political cam-paigns and educational efforts by the industries most likely to be affected by efforts to control the carbon emissions that accelerate climate change, an observation by the author Upton Sinclair springs to mind: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon not understanding it.”

From this perspective, it’s not just that there is a bunch of bozos that are so brain dead—like me after my shocking experience last week—that they can’t process reality. A vital part of the overall pic-ture is that there is so much money, and corporate support, for those willing to make a Faustian bargain and sell out the collective future for the thirty pieces of silver that come tinkling in short-term.

And unfortunately, when individuals, communities and entire na-tions find themselves in an economic straightjacket, it is no surprise that there’s a line around the block of people willing to play the role of Judas in the ongoing drama. Choosing your paradigm tends to be the luxury of the privileged or the default setting of corporate entities which, like sharks, have to keep moving forward in order to survive.

So let’s bring our circuitous ramblings back to Costa Rica. Squeaky green credentials aside, the political climate also includes a confus-ing mix of political forces which favor open-pit mining for gold and are hell-bent on resuming the search for and extraction of petroleum. Conversely, here we have some of the best laws on the books to protect national parks, increase the production of sustain-able energy and there was at least a national awareness—if not a viable plan—for the country to work towards carbon neutrality in the year 2020.

Perhaps the most significant policy, known as Payment for Eco-logical Services, provides financial incentives for landowners to ‘do the right thing’, from reforestation to watershed protection to islands of trees and strip forests in pastures. When the financial system only provides the temptation to ravage the present and let the future fend for itself, there will be always be a surplus of takers.

The reality is, by providing more than ‘feel good’ incentives for protecting or restoring nature’s ability to keep the human project from shocking itself into oblivion, fewer people are forced into the Faustian bargain, of ‘gaining the world but losing their soul’—and hanging the rest of us out to dry in the process.

Tom Peifer is an ecological land use consultant with 16 years experience in Guanacaste. Phone: 2658-8018. peifer@racsa.co.cr

El Centro Verde is dedicated to sustainable land use, permaculture and development. www.elcentroverde.org

Rainfall July/August2011: 27.5 cm2010: 55.8Year-to-date

2011: 131.9 cm2010: 184.695

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1( a l l t i m e s l o c a l )

1st -15th -30th -

rise 5:34; set 5:53rise 5:33; set 5:44rise 5:32; set 5:34

Sun

1st quarter:Full:Last quarter:New:

4th

12th

20th

27th

11:39 a.m.3:27 a.m.7:39 a.m.5:09 a.m.

Moon

c

m

s

July August

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

16 20 25 31 1 5 10 15

RAIN GAUGE

RAINFALL - July/AugustMaricle Meteorological Observatory

La GaritaTotal rainfall: 27.5 cm (10.8 inches)

With the first day’s cup of Costa Rican coffee in hand, I often sit on the front porch early in the morning and watch the spectacular show presented by the resident

humming birds as they visit the flowers in the garden. These much-studied jewelled acrobats of the bird world are unmatched in their iridescent color, flying ability and charm.

In my years as a biologist-naturalist, birds have been a fascination and passion. I once had the very intense disease called “birding fever”. I started as a backyard bird watcher in Michigan with an array of feeders for both the summer and winter visitors. Later, when I became involved in Audubon and travelled to the tropics, I grew into a “birder” with lists of species for the year, the state, the country and, of course, for life. I participated with friends and colleagues in the famous Christmas Bird Counts and chased new birds across the country. It is a little-known fact that there are more bird-watchers in the U.S, than football fans and they spend a lot more time and money seeking out a new species for their checklist. Until recently, when the tourist infrastructure improved for travellers, the majority of tourists coming to Costa Rica were

naturalists and birdwatchers. I led many of these ecotour-ism groups during the ‘70s and ‘80s and the tremendous

variety of birds, especially hummingbirds, was a major attraction.

The richness of Costa Rican biodiversity is expressed

most colorfully in its 830+ bird species, more than the U.S, Canada

and Mexico combined. Humming-birds, called colibri or gurrion in

Costa Rica, are one of the most-studied and uniquely adapted

species. Of the 320+ humming-birds in the world, all are found in the

New World, and 51 Costa Rican species can be found from the paramo and cloud-forests in the highlands to the lowland forests and mangroves along both coasts. These fairy-like birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird, the world’s smallest bird at 2.25 inches, native to Cuba, to 8.5 inches for the Giant Hummingbird found in the Andes. Alexander Skutch, famed ornithologist and expert on Costa Rican avifauna, describes their “beauty, vitality, animation and complex behavior…whose tiny body of slender grace that hovers, miraculously suspended between two broad sectors of misty light.”

Unlike Michigan, which boasts only one specie of hummer - the ruby-throated - the neotropics has the richest, a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Hummingbirds are nectavores, feeding on the high-calorie nectar from primarily red, pink and orange flowers and, occasionally on insects and spiders as a protein source. Their energy or protein

requirements to fuel their tremendous flight muscles are the highest in nature for warm-blooded animals. According to hummer expert and photographer Norma Lee Browning, they consume a remarkable 155,000 calories a day, compared to the 3,500 for man. They literally lick up, rather than suck, high-energy nectar in their extremely long trough-like tongues and, in the process, also act as one of the most important plant pollinators in the tropics. The shape and length of the bill is adapted to the flower form: long, curved bills for the tubular trumpet flowers to short, straight bills for smaller flower clusters. Many hummers can be seen probing brilliantly colored bougainvillea flowers for insects.

The iridescent purples, pinks, rubies and emerald greens on the heads and necks are a hallmark of these flying jewels as they dart and play in the light gaps in the forest and garden. To the casual observer, a hummingbird can appear black or colorless. The brilliant colors are a function of the reflection and refraction of light. To get the best view, position the sun at your back while watching. A feeder with a mixture of three parts water, one part sugar, brought to a boil, then cooled and a drop of red food coloring for each cup of water will draw them in for a closer look.

Hummingbirds’ flying ability is unparalleled in nature. Flying in all directions, even upside-down and backwards, hummers can come to a mid-air stop, hovering in front of a flower. In a courting display, they can do a nose-dive with a wing beat of 200 per second. In normal flight the wings, which can swivel 180 degrees, beat 80 times per second, and it is the vibration of the feathers on the wings and tail that creates the humming sound. Various species of hummers emit chirping and squeak-ing sounds, and a few even have a scratchy song. Males will defend their courting or feeding territory and drive off birds as much as twenty times their size.

After my first trip to Costa Rica 35 years ago, I returned to Michigan to paint many of the birds I had observed during my stay. The birds were an ideal blending of my art and biology training and a wonderful record of my life-changing experience. Now, these wonderful birds are inspiring me to paint again and are the subject of my recent paintings.

HummingbirdsThe Gems of the Tropics

Kay Dodge de Peraza

In 1821, Cartago was the capital city of Costa Rica, with a population of 15,000 out of the country’s 60,000. But it was a quiet and poor city. A traveling

Englishman, John Hale, said of Cartago, “the place, the houses and life itself are notoriously poor; the people friendly and courteous.”

At that time, Costa Rica formed the southernmost part of the Kingdom of Guatemala, but was a very distant province, totally isolated and in a very primitive state. It had been described as “the poor-est province in the entire Spanish Empire”. Communication was by road, and roads were poor in summer, impassable in

winter. There were no newspapers (and few people could read anyway), no currency (often, cocoa beans were used as money), no doctors or medicine.

Central America had been visited by Christopher Columbus on his last voyage in 1502, as the first European to make landfall here, and settlement started in 1522. For the next three centuries Spain admin-istered the whole region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor.

In September, 1821, unknown to Costa Rica, a group of influential persons met in Antigua, Guatemala, to discuss the Kingdom’s independence from Spanish rule. On September 15, the Act of Guatemala was signed, declaring total independence from Spain.

Now came the task of informing the far-flung provinces of Nicaragua and Costa Rica; a horseman set out from Antigua on September 16 to spread the news.

On September 27, the courier arrived in León, seat of government of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Leon’s rela-tions with Guatemala were strained, and the city fathers resolved not only independence from Spanish rule, but also absolute and total independence from Guatemala. The Act of Guatemala, with the added resolution from León, continued to Cartago by way of San José.

The documents arrived in Cartago on October 13, at noon, prompting a meeting in the city square. Most of the population attended to hear the reading of the

Act, which “fell like a bomb in the deadly quiet of the old metropolis”, according to Ricardo Fernandez Guardia in his book “La Independencia”. The unexpected news “caused a terrible shock to the townsfolk, who were un-prepared to receive it.”

The newly independent territory was required to determine a new form of government. The city elders

signed a proclamation announcing their acceptance of independence from Spain, and the decision to support the Mexican Empire. In the meantime, León had accepted

the declaration from Guatemala and had declared total independence

from Spain.

Civil WarThe status of Costa Rica was still undecided, due to groups within the country with widely differing views. Two years after independence from Spain, Costa Rica was split between two factions: Cartago and Heredia, who supported the Mexi-can ruler Agustin Iturbide; and San José and Alajuela, who favored the Federal Republic of Colombia under Simon Bolivar.

On April 7, 1823, the Constitutional Congress decreed that Costa Rica be ruled by Colombia. This angered Cartago and Heredia, who favored alignment with the Mexican Empire to continue power from Spanish rule.

Armies from both sides met at Ochomogo, near Cartago, and when the excitement died down (San José lost 17 men, Cartago 4) Cartago was on the run; thus, the gov-ernment passed from Cartago to San José.

Unknown to the two factions, the Iturbide rule fell in Mexico, a few days before the battle at Ochomogo.

On September 15 Costa Rica,

along with three other Central American countries, celebrates its independence, in 1821,

from Spain. The separation was peaceful, almost sleepy. The country had neither asked for

independence, nor even knew about it until weeks later.

IndependenceWhy Costa Rica celebrates

September 15 David Mills

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Dalai Lama

SEPTEMBER TIDE CHART10.6-1.09.9

-0.910.5-0.89.5

-0.510.1-0.39.0

0.18.40.28.40.88.80.87.8

04:4110:5117:0523:0705:2711:3917:5323:5406:1612:2918:44

00:4507:0913:2419:4201:4208:0914:2520:47

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2F

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4S1stQtr

5M

1.48.21.37.51.87.81.57.51.97.81.4

7.81.68.01.18.21.38.20.8

02:4709:1515:3522:0004:0310:2916:4923:1305:2011:3917:58

00:1906:2812:4018:5501:1307:2213:3119:42

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7W

8T

9F

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8.50.98.50.68.90.68.60.49.10.48.70.39.20.38.70.49.10.38.50.6

01:5808:0714:1520:2202:3808:4614:5520:5803:1409:2115:3121:3203:4809:5616:0722:0504:2210:2916:4222:38

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9.00.48.30.88.70.77.91.28.41.07.5

1.67.91.47.12.07.51.86.8

04:5611:0417:1723:1205:3011:4017:5623:4706:0612:1818:33

00:2606:4612:5919:1701:0907:3313:4820:10

16F

17S

18S

19M

20TLastQtr

2.37.22.06.72.47.12.06.92.27.31.77.51.77.71.2

8.21.08.30.5

02:0308:2914:4521:1303:0806:3715:5122:2104:2010:4616:5623:2405:2811:4917:56

00:2006:2712:4518:49

21W

22T

23F

24S

25S

9.00.29.0

-0.19.7

-0.59.5

-0.610.3-1.09.9

-1.010.7-1.310.0-1.110.7-1.39.9

-0.9

01:1107:2013:3519:3801:5808:0814:2320:2502:4408:5615:1021:1203:3009:4215:5721:5804:1710:3016:4422:46

26M

27TNewMoon

28W

29T

30F

10.5-1.09.5

-0.49.9

-0.59.0

0.29.20.28.40.98.50.87.91.57.91.37.6

05:0511:1817:3423:3505:5512:0918:57

00:2806:4913:0319:2501:2707:4914:0420:3002:3408:5715:1321:41

1SOct

2S

3M1stQtr

4T

5W