The Howler
Volume 17, No. 1 Issue No. 184
January 2012 Founded 1996
TAMARINDO COSTA RICA www.howlermag.com THE HOWLER Ced. Juridica: 3-101-331333
FEATURES
Publisher, editor and production David Mills
dmills@racsa.co.cr Tel: 2-653-0545 Howler • Mono Congo
8 Dining Out
Two new Italian restaurants are featured; Torre del Mar at the top of the tower; and Las Brasas, which serves awesome grilled meats.
CONTRIBUTORS
ELLEN ZOE GOLDEN TONY OREZ TOM PEIFER JEFFREY WHITLOW MONICA RIASCOS KAY DODGE
JEANNE CALLAHAN JESSE BISHOP MARY BYERLY CYNTHIA CHARPENTIER ROBERT AUGUST
Deadline for February: January 15 Howler advertising
The Howler offers a wide range of advertising sizes and formats to suit all needs. Contact David Mills • dmills@racsa.co.cr
1/8 1/4 1/3 1/2 Full
Dimensions (cms) Width Height 9.4 9.4 19.2 6.3 9.4 19.2 19.2
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6.15 12.70 6.15 25.80 25.80 12.70 25.80
15 Surf Report
The Reef CentroAmerica Surfing Games were won, once again, by Costa Rica, Ticos taking first and second places in each category.
16 From Ice to Fire
Continuing towards Journey’s End in Tierra del Fuego, our dauntless cyclist attacks the dreaded Altiplano of Bolivia.
26 Surviving Costa Rica
Once again, our columnist laments the vicissitudes of living here in paradise, after an explosion in his house and a trip to Granada.
31 Trees
Advertising rates & sizes Size
14 Around Town
Openings, closings, parties, music. The Gold Coast has it all, and bar-hoppin’ David is in the groove.
Price $
Not only beautiful and useful to humans, trees also perform an essential job of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
75 120 150 210 400
Discounts For 6 months, paid in advance, one month is deducted. For 12 months, paid in advance, two months are deducted. Ads must be submitted on CD or e-mail attachment, JPG or PDF format at 266 dpi, at the appropriate size (above).
DEPARTMENTS 7 Word Puzzle
22 Yoga
10 CD Review
24 January Forecasts
11 Book Review
25 Parents’ Corner
12 August Odysseys
28 Sun & Moon
13 Slice of Life
28 Rain Gauge
20 Doctor’s Orders
31 Tide Chart
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.net
www.tamarindohomepage.com
Cover Caption: Fiesta! It’s fiesta time again, and Villarreal’s cowboys are ready to ride. Cover Photo: David Mills Cover Design: David Mills
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e are now into the high season, and we hope it will be very busy and profitable. However, the traffic situation, with jams and gridlock, is predicted to be worse than usual this year, partly due to the removal of the parking area in front of Banco Nacional. Tamarindo is desperately short of parking. Adding to the problem are those businesses which block off available parking, instead of sharing it. Why block off your parking spots at night if you close at sunset? Conversely, if your bar or restaurant is closed all day, why deny drivers the use of your parking places? The more time the tourist spends in a traffic jam, the less time he has to spend money in your store. The following situations do not help at all.
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A very disturbing situation has been occurring around the Gold Coast. There have been several instances of robbery by a group of men, believed to be Colombians and Ticos, using a bright-red late model Montero. The car, captured on security cameras at one of the victimized locations, is very distinctive in appearance, and the licence plate number is known, as are the owner’s name and address – all available on the National Registry. Despite all this, the crooks have gone unapprehended for over a month, and the police seem to have no interest in the matter.
Tooth Fairy
Crime - from the U.S.
comes to Guanacaste
OK, here’s Costa Rica’s dirty little secret: many of the criminals in this lovely country are imported – from the U.S. One of my few vices is reading pulp novels from Jaime Peligro’s bookstore, cheap police or detective stories that need little use of the few brain cells I have left. When I get to the bit where the bad guy is about to kill the good guy, or perpetrate the heist to steal 96 million dollars, or drop poison in the city’s water reservoir, he is telling his girl friend or wife that he has just bought airline tickets to (next page)…
The tooth fairy, generally known for collecting teeth from under pillows, appeared in a different form this season in Costa Rica. During the last week of October 2011, a group of fifteen dentists and oral surgeons came together from across the U.S. and Canada to host a free dental
Before I turn the page I know where he is going: Costa Rica! “We’ll be in Costa Rica before they even know that the money has gone, my love.”
revision and extraction clinic at the Playa Flamingo Hotel.
“Why Costa Rica, dear, and just where is it?”
The Abriendo Mentes Organization (abriendo-
“It’s a tiny country in Central America, beautiful weather, and it doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States, so they can’t send us back. I bought a little ranch there a few years ago.”
mentes.org) of Playa Potrero coordinated with the dentists
Book after book, the same escape strategy. Always Costa Rica. But in fiction, the good guys always win and the bad guy is caught, usually at the airport as he is boarding his escape flight, so he never makes it to the paradise of his dreams.
tions. The phrase “it’s like pulling teeth” took on a whole
In real life, though? Chances are that many of the guys you golf or surf with are successful criminals on the run from the law. Cuidado!
toothpaste, toys, crayons and more.”
to bring over fifty Playa Potrero children and parents to the clinic to receive much-needed dental care and teeth extracnew meaning. Teeth were pulled, wisdom teeth extracted and (as in every visit from the tooth fairy) gifts were left. Every brave patient received an array of toothbrushes,
Word puzzle Miscellany
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. arbolito asterisk attraction basurero cattleman conducir documento esquire hijacker invitacion irritation lagartillo licenciado organizado pasturized
perpetual planificar planilla potable programa reguladora seguridad selfish snoopy sugerencia tocineta totalitarian tortuga torturer usurer
T
amarindo is famous for its sunset, that glorious descent of the red globe into a flawless blue ocean, so clear that you expect to hear it sizzle as it drops in, or the rainy season sunsets which delight with a glory of cloudscapes. And there is no better place to watch the sunset than at Torre del Mar, the new Italian restaurant on the fourth floor of Sea Tower, above SuperCompro. And, to add to the enjoyment, there is Happy Hour from 4:30 to 6:30, with 2-for-1 cocktails and a free slice of pizza. Torre del Mar is owned by Eric Pittini and Silvia Bolognese, from Northern Italy, where Eric’s family operated three restaurants. All food here is traditional Italian, pastas and bread homemade. Chef Luis Briceño is from Guanacaste. Menu offerings are appetisers of vitel tonné; beef carpaccio w truffle or asparagus; grilled vegetables; bruschetta; salad with fresh lobster; tuna tartare; octopus salad. My companion enjoyed avocado timbal with shrimp. The pasta menu has a wide variety: tagliatella, lasagna with meat; penne with gorgonzola and pesto; ravioli in white or tarragon sauce; tagliatella with shrimp & broccoli; linguine seafood; spaghetti langosta. My choice was ravioli ricotta and spinach, home-made and very delicious with herb sauce. If your taste tends towards pizza there is a choice of sixteen. Main dishes are: barbecue of sausage, chicken, ribs, steak; Friulian frico; chicken mustard sauce; tagliato of beef; mixed grill of fish, shrimp, squid and lobster; chef’s lobster; fried calamari. My friend chose filet of fish pizzaiola while I had filet mignon with gorgonzola sauce, picante and delicious. Desserts are chocolate mousse; Tiramisú; Crème Brulé; crepes; ice cream, and Italian digestivos round off the meal - lemoncello, sambuca, grappa, brancamenta. We greatly enjoyed our selections, the service, ambience and view. Torre del Mar is open every day except Sunday from 4:30 to 11 p.m. Monday all pizzas are ¢3,000. Live music Wednesdays. All credit cards are accepted. Phone for reservations: 2653-4726 or 8611-6981. E-mail is torredelmar@libero.it.
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ur second review this month is recently opened Restaurante Las Brasas in Tamarindo, another authentic Italian restaurant featuring traditional dishes prepared by hand by “the only Italian chef in Tamarindo.” Simone Ceccarelli is a long-time resident of Tamarindo. Together with Norma Almendari he prepares “Italian food with a difference”, that difference being some awesome meat dishes. The outdoor dining area allows you to watch your meat being broiled over the blazing wood grill. Appetizers are bruschetta Mediterranea, mixed salad and Caesar salad. We shared two appetizers: caprese, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and basil; and carpaccio of beef with arugula. Florentina a la Piedra is an awesome 1.3 kg (almost 3 pounds) T-bone steak grilled on a hot stone, seasoned with parmesan cheese and served for two. After serving, the meat continues to cook at your table from the heat in the stone. In addition to his keynote dish, Simone prepares Lomito Imperial, an 800gr steak for two. Other grilled meats are New York, churrasco, lomito 300 gr, and chicken. All meat dishes are served with eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and onions, baked potato and garnished with arugula. A delicious bruschetta accompanies the meal. Pasta dishes include several types of homemade pasta and sauces such as Amatriciana, carbonara, pesto Genovese, puttanesca, Bolognese and primavera. Other pasta dishes are with shrimp, fish or lobster. For those who don’t eat meat, there is a variety of vegetarian dishes. Desserts are dulce del dia; crepes; strawberries; banana flambé; and ice cream. Restaurante Las Brasas is on the Langosta Road in Tamarindo, one block south of Super 2001 and a one-minute walk from the beach. All credit cards accepted; closed Tuesday. Tel: 2653-4644 or 8887-4159. Web site: www.restaurantetamarindo.net.
Alcoholics Anonymous Schedule of Meetings
Flamingo
Tuesdays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open) Fridays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open)
Location: Hitching Post Plaza Unit 2, Brasilito Contact: Don H. at 2-654-4902
Tamarindo
Saturday: 10:30-11:30 - Open General Meeting Monday: 5:30 Open Meeting Thursday: 6:30-7:30 - Open Meeting Location: Behind Restaurant La Caracola Contact: Ellen - 2-653-0897
CD Review A New Guanacaste Voice Tony Orez
W
hen he was fourteen years old, Isaac Ehresman’s father took his guitar from him and told him to get to work. So he did, but he never stopped composing music. A few years ago, Isaac picked up a new guitar and began sharing his songs with anyone who would listen. One person he impressed was Tom Rothermel, lifelong music aficionado, also a very diverse musician and technical specialist. Isaac and Tom starting playing music together, together with percussionist Carlos Chacon, almost accidentally at the first Playa Grande Turtle Festival at the ranger station there. Unbeknown to them, it was filmed by Channel 11. When they saw themselves on TV that night, they all recognized their potential and quickly delved into recording Isaac’s songs together. I have been lucky enough to hear a rough, first mix and I, too, am impressed. Isaac’s voice has a magnetism that is infectious. The trio bill themselves as “Isaac Ehresman con Fusion” playing at the Rip Jack Inn in Playa Grande every Tuesday, 6 to 8 p.m. Carlos is the visual centerpiece, flanked by Isaac on guitar and harmonica and Tom on the other side playing bass. Much of the repertoire comprises Isaac’s original compositions. He’s been on a composing frenzy lately, so you never know what you will hear when you see the band live. The demo recording I have is a compilation of seventeen songs by the band, followed by seven solo numbers by Isaac. This final set sounds like the composer putting down new songs for the band to work with, a nice vantage point for a music nerd like me. The CD spans more than an hour. It’s hard to label the style. With a nylon string guitar and a lot of hand percussion, it’s easy to call it folk, but with many orchestration and tempo changes, it can’t be pigeonholed that easily. The recording opens with “Babylon”, an up-tempo song with an element of playfulness to it; “Todos Tus Nombres” falls into this category as well, with its catchy hooks and lyrics. One of the strongest songs is “Labios Mentirosos”, a tune that demonstrates Isaac’s strong voice as well as the versatility of the band.
At the time of their first live performance, Isaac was also working in Playa Grande as an assistant to a turtle biologist. He is sincere about sharing his music and his convictions about making a positive impact, conveying a concern about living in harmony with nature and each other. Tom is passionate in his desire to incorporate his music background into a comprehensive project, firmly believing in Isaac’s potential and offering his knowledge and practicality, not only as a musician but as a live sound and recording engineer, arranger, as well as business manager. The band plans to release the final version of the album in about six months, possibly doing some recording outside to integrate the natural sounds of Playa Grande into the mix. I’m looking forward to hearing that final version. On another local musician note, Jesse Bishop and his new blues band Banana Blues are performing a two-hour set every Wednesday at the Hotel Marriott, beginning at 7 p.m. They will also play at Marie’s in Flamingo on lucky Friday the 13th of this month. A great bass, harmonica and guitar blues trio.
Book Review Age-old Ritual Meets 21st Century Tony Orez
I
’m a big fan of the new i-pads and Kindles, downloading books at a fraction of their original cost in a fraction of a second. Actually, for me reading on a screen feels a little more like work or studying. Call me old-school, but when I want to read for pleasure and entertainment, I still prefer to hold a book in my dinosaur paws. There is a ritual to it, a tactile process that computers honestly just don’t give me. Plus, I can’t imagine reading with one in a hot bath. Wouldn’t the screen steam up? The refraction of light off those screens can be tricky. And where do you get the author to sign that thing for you? I’ve been called archaic for my nostalgic sentiment toward books, but I think there is something bigger playing out here. People are sold on the idea that anything new is good, a global nation of Babbitts. I do believe that old and new can coexist in our Brave New World, that there is a time and a place for both. The availability of an incredible amount of publications being at one’s fingertips has its obvious advantages. The ability to translate works, the compact format and the prestige involved in owning one all serve in favor of the electronic book. Unfortunately, I can’t use a photo of my nephew to mark my place in an i-pod and actually, I wouldn’t want him or any four-year-old child playing with my two-hundred-dollar reading device. So, the question presents itself to the Modernist: how do we teach our children to read after we have banished all the publishing houses? At an early age, both my children liked to hold their new books, feel them, bite them, and write on them. So, will we have publishing houses government-subsidized to put out books for new readers? What about the impoverished people around the world, or are we going to make reading a privilege? An electronic cookbook? I want to see that. What happens when you spill spaghetti sauce on it? Will we also do away with coffee table books or will the publishing of them also be subsidized? I’m pretty sure that at the beach, wind and sand cannot distinguish between a component and paper and I’m also pretty sure the damaged rendered to a book will be considerably less than to a kindle. I also believe that here will be a lot less remorse felt when a book is left behind on the table of a coffee shop… One of the times I saw Frank Zappa live, he remarked between songs that, “You children are so easily amused”. If Frank could only see us now… The hippie author Richard Brautigan drank himself to an early death, but not before he gave us such classics as “In Watermelon Sugar” and “The Confederate General from Big Sur”. He also wrote a book of poetry called “Please Plant This Book” that included packets of seeds stapled to the pages opposite each poem. Look it up on Google. Are we going to be able to download that? Come to think of it, one of the poems in is titled “All Watched Over by the Loving Grace of Machines”. Brautigan was only about a half century early in his observation.
August Odysseys
Robert August
The First Professional Surf Competition
Tamarindo residents are protesting the erection of cell phone towers in residential ares. Cell towers in residential areas create a health hazard, destroy Tamarindo’s beautiful scenery and lower nearby property values. How can you help? Call the Defensoría de los Habitantes to report your concern; the more that call the better. Tel: (506) 2666-3837 (506) 2258-8585.
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t was way back in the ‘good old days” when surfing, although very popular, had not achieved the level of sophistication and professionalism that it enjoys today. Living in Huntington Beach, CA, many of my friends were surfers, and of course we hung out along the beach whenever the surf was up. Of course we held surfing contests, for isn’t man a competitive animal in so many ways? But we had no schedule, no real rules and no objective judges. A few of us would get together and see who could get the best wave, best aerial, best tube, but nobody had any knowledge of how to score a ride. All judging was very subjective, and led to many minor arguments: “What do you mean he’s first? I thought he sucked”. At day’s end the “winner” received a small plastic trophy. Tom Morey, of Laguna Beach, marketed a line of boogie boards, which came in two pieces; you had to glue them together before you could sell them. His idea was to have timed contests, and noseriding competitions. You marked off the front 25 percent of your board with fluorescent tape, which the judges could see with binoculars from the scoring gantry. As long as your feet were on the tape you were scoring seconds. If you stepped back to manoeuvre the board, the timing stopped, but if you stepped forward onto the tape it started again. The rider’s total time on the nose determined the winner. The contests improved in popularity, because there were up-todate scoreboards that spectators could see, and they could watch the rider and keep up with the score. And now the board makers started to adapt their boards for this type of contest. Boards were designed for specific manoeuvres, and the crowd could examine and analyze the boards on the beach. The hydrodynamics of the board were of major interest. At a contest in California St, in Ventura, there were two divisions – regular foot and goofy foot, as there was a steady 3-foot righthand break. At this one tournament I received third place, a little trophy and, guess what – a cheque for $100; the winner received $300. The first-ever professional competition! After that, competitors came to expect cash prizes: “What do you mean? I just get this plastic trophy? Where’s the cash?”
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. Bill Vaughan
Nowadays, the winner can receive big bucks and sponsorships, but it started right then – 1966 – and there – Ventura Beach, California.
A Slice of Life A Close Call
Heinz R. Eckhardt
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hen I was in Botswana from 1980-83 on numerous occasions I had to travel to South Africa, and one of these trips almost turned out deadly.
After a couple of days in Pretoria, S.A., it was time to return to Botswana. At the time there was still apartheid in S.A. and it was always a relief to cross the border back to Botswana and relative safety. The problem was that the border closed at 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following day. There were no facilities at the border; missing the 7 p.m. deadline meant sleeping in the car or returning to the nearest town, about two hours away. On this particular day I left Pretoria rather late and there was a distinct possibility that I would not make the border by seven, so I was driving at the best speed the Landcruiser could reach. The last stretch before the border was flat and level and very desolate. About half-an-hour before the border I noticed a car parked just off the road behind some bushes; as I went flying by he turned on his headlights and started following me. The car didn’t gain on me so I kept my foot to the floor to make it before the border closed. As I approached the border I noticed a confusion of lights on the road. Several military trucks were parked in the road forming a roadblock. I slammed on the brakes and came to a stop, just missing a group of black South African soldiers, about 25 or so, kneeling or standing in the road with guns all ready to shoot. From the side of the road near the border shack a white officer came running to my car yelling at the top of his voice for me to get out of the car and lie down on the road. I told him that I needed to get my papers which were lying on the car seat. He yanked the door open and pulled me out of the car and onto the ground. Obviously, something was very wrong, especially as he ordered me to get up and unload my car. I replied that if he wanted the car unloaded he could do it himself. Meantime, the car that had followed me arrived, and it was the police. They had radioed ahead to tell the border that a car just went by at high speed, resembling a car that had been used that day in the bombing of a police station where several policemen had been killed.
Casagua Horses
Fortunately I was travelling with a U.S. diplomatic passport and a Botswana government-issued diplomatic ID card. They radioed to Gaborone, the capital, to confirm that my documents were, in fact, correct. The officer apologized for his actions and asked me to understand that, under the circumstances, they believed that my car was the one which had been used in the bombing and was trying to escape into Botswana.
The greatest variety of tours and riding experiences for all ages, featuring spectacular countryside, howler monkeys, colorful small towns and fun-filled fiestas.
The frightening part was that when I asked him what would have happened if I had not stopped in time; he answered: “we had orders to shoot to kill!”
Located near Portegolpe on the main road, opposite the Monkey Park, just 20 minutes from the beach.
Do you have a “Slice of Life” to share with the readers? Scary, humorous, weird, interesting, whatever... Send it to dmills@racsa.co.cr or call 2653-0545.
Phone us at: 2-653-8041 • kaydodge@racsa.co.cr
Cantina Tour - Nature Tour Fiesta & Tope Rental - Old Tempate Trail Tour
www.paintedponyguestranch.com The best horses on Guanacaste’s Gold Coast!
AROUND
H
TOWN
ome School Beach Academy is a private academy located in Huacas just outside of Tamarindo. Along with teaching students excellence in academics, the school also encourages students to care for the environment and others in the community. Recently, HSBA conducted a food drive led by their student council. The food drive was very successful, due to the participation of every student, collecting over 300 items of food. The academy hopes to continue the food drive annually. Contact the Academy at: 2653-7009 or homeschoolbeach@gmail.com
Pachanga Restaurant has reopened as a traditional Italian restaurant, operated by long-time resident Icho. It will feature homemade spaghetti, tagliatelle, gnocchi and ravioli; ricotta, eggplant and spinach dishes, and selections from all regions of Italy, washed down with “good wines at good prices.”
Now Open in Huacas, next to Farmacia El Cruce and Villarreal (in front of MegaSuper)
Help keep Bingo alive! Lee urgently needs prizes for this very popular event, second and fourth Tuesdays at Doña Lee. Call 2653-0127 to doante prizes. See ad page 30.
For more info and prices call 2652-9006 Wash-a-Gogo is a new concept in this area, though not elsewhere: a laundramat – in fact two – where you can do your own washing. Opened recently by Rick Casorlas and Geretta Geretta, they stand in the Palms Plaza in Villarreal opposite MegaSuper, and in Huacas next door to Farmacia El Cruce. In Villarreal the store will also have an internet café, so you can enjoy a coffee and catch up on your e-mail while your clothes are cooking. Your wash is not priced by weight; flat fee use of the machines is ¢2,000 for washer, ¢1,000 dryer. Packaged detergents and softeners are available for purchase. Rick and Geretta both come from acting backgrounds. Rick has appeared in many movies and TV shows – Baywatch, Charlie’s Angels and others. Actress, screenwriter, director and producer Geretta made movies for ten years in Italy, including the cult horror movie “Demons.” She spends some time away from Tamarindo attending horror festivals.
www.howlermag.com
Surf Report
I
n December, when the Reef Centroamerica Surfing Games 2011, presented by Sansa Regional, took place in Playa Hermosa, it was a pretty even playing field. Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala sent almost full contingents of surfers to compete against Costa Rica’s national selection in what was to be the sixth version of the Central American Surfing Championship and the return of these games to Costa Rican waves after five years of competitions in other countries. Surfing for Costa Rica were Luis Vindas, Anthony Fillingim, Carlos Munoz and Jair Pérez in the Open; Lisbeth Vindas, Nataly Bernold and Leilani McGonagle in the Women’s; Noe Mar McGonagle, Alberto Muñoz, Manuel Mesén and Tomas King in the Junior; Bruno Carvalho, Leonardo Calvo and Kevin Montiel in the Boys; and Anthony Flores and Cristian Santamaria in the Longboard. Certainly readers of my column will recognize names in the team such as two-time national Costa Rica surf champion Luis Vindas, also the other national champions such as Muñoz, Fillingim, Lisbeth Vindas and Bernold, Carvalho, Noe Mar and Leilani McGonagle, Flores and the extraordinary talent of the rest of the surfers. Key surfers were sent from the other countries. Panama had 13time national champion Gary Saavedra competing in the Open, along with Oli Camarena and Women Sonia “Pucha” Garcia and Samanta Alonso.
Nicaragua’s Rex Calderón, who won the Central American Championship Open last year, was back surfing for his country, along with Luis Chamorro. José Espinoza went out for Longboard. World-renowned surfer Jimmy Rotherham came to Costa Rica to surf for El Salvador in the Open, which Israel Arvenivar competed in the Junior. Names to note for Guatemala were Cristian Ruiz and Gefre Lima in the Open. Before the actually contest, there was a Parade of Nations down the main street of Jacó. According to José Ureña, President of the Federación de Surf de Costa Rica, the organizer of this year’s the Reef Centroamerica Surfing Games 2011, the Municipality of Jacó wanted to do a welcome ceremony. The parade culminated with a sand ceremony. In a container sand was mixed from Playa Venao in Panamá, El Tunco in El Salvador, Champerico in Guatemala, Maderas in Nicaragua and Jacó in Costa Rica. Following the sand ceremony came honored guest Craig “Tequila” Schieber, who in November made Costa Rican history by winning the first International Surfing Association Gold medal in the Masters
Ellen Zoe Golden World Surfing Games in El Salvador in the Grand Kahunas category. (Andrea Diaz made it to #5 in the Women’s in that same contest but I didn’t have a chance to report that last month.) At the time of his winning he said: “I have no words to describe how this feels. I’m so happy! Thank you to the ISA for making this event. I still can’t believe it. I guess now I’m Tequila Gold.” laughed Schieber. “I hope this becomes an inspiration for all the young great surfers we have in Costa Rica. I would like to see them winning gold medals and maybe even some day a team gold medal.” In the end, Costa Rica won for the sixth time with 13,085 points, El Salvador finishing 2nd with 8,850 points and Guatemala 3rd with 8,544 points. As a matter of fact, the first and second place in each category turned out to be a Tico surfer. “We try to do our best; the idea is to do better every year,” said Ureňa. “Our national team is one of the most competitive in the area,” continued Ureňa. “We compete against a lot of international people and we have a lot of good young people coming into the team keeping the process going. This keeps everybody motivated to win.” Nowhere was this statement more true than in the Open finals of the Championship. The heat featured Luis Vindas, a virtual oldtimer along with youngsters and up-and-comers in the Circuito system Carlos Muñoz and Anthony Fillingim, along with El Salvador’s Porfirio Miranda. Already coming into this heat Carlos had wowed the crowd with a perfect “10” and a maneuver called the aerial kurupt (photo), so people were expecting big things from him this time. Ureña explained: “Anthony and Carlos are pretty much on the same level, pushing together to win. Anthony got the better waves and was more focused to win. They’ve been winning and losing heats to each other all the time. They just really keep fighting for the whole team to win, which they did.” Although Costa Rica won, Ureña noticed that El Salvador and Guatemala were greatly improved this year. The competition in the Boys category was pretty challenging. He noted too that the support that Guatemala government gives to the surf team helps them a lot. Both countries placed in various finals. For the Women’s category this year, Nataly Bernold returned to the spotlight. She was missing from some of the international contests recently due to an allergy to the sun, a nasty illness to have for a competitive surfer. However, according to Ureña she’s found a good dermatologist and is back to training. Because of that she (continued page 29)
From Ic
Epic story of a bicycle ride fro Story: Christoph Mueller Edited: David Mills
Broken
After 108 days and 5,600 km in Peru, we finally entered Bolivia with 25,200 total kilometers on the odometer since Alaska. Bolivia. I was pleasantly surprised by the Bolivian people. We had nice talks and did not hear any shouts of “gringo.” When we entered Salar de Coipasa, a huge salt lake, we found unrideable conditions, humid and soft, due to an “el niño” year. We got stuck all the time and could hardly advance. Finally it took two days to cross it and we almost ran out of water. Dinner’s pasta water served for a soup and no water to clean the dishes. The salt flats are so wide you just stop anywhere and make your camp. In comparison to Chile where the salt mining is done by excavator and huge trucks, in Bolivia it is done by shovel and old trucks. It is sad to see how countries with such abundance yet remain poor. To our relief we reached Tres Cruzes, a dry place, but we luckily got water and could even buy supplies. In the store two gentlemen served me. One man’s eyes were very weak and the other could hardly calculate. I had to make my bill myself!
Trackle
Wanted: go
Laguna
Uyuni. In Uyuni we took only two days of rest after having ridden for eleven days in succession. Uyuni has become much more expensive since I visited it three years ago, as it is a popular tourist centre. Everything is designed for tourists: the restaurants, the shops and even more so the prices. Outside town was a railway cemetery, a lot of ancient engines abandoned. Lipez. I always had a great respect for the Lipez and I intended to ride this route only with somebody else. Luckily I had Dimitri with me. We prepared this distance seriously, bought plenty of food, printed the Google satellite photos, and we also had a GPS with us. The third day when we entered the real Lipez with its bad sandy roads Dimitri could not advance anymore on his trike. With three wheels he was not able to avoid the worst areas of the roads. Sometimes I pushed him while he tried to ride or we pushed together. On day number four he decided to return to Uyuni which I could understand perfectly. I decided to go on alone although the situation caused me a stomach ache. I knew that what I intended to do could end fatally. Others had lost their way out in this desert because it looks always very similar and there are few water spots. Nonetheless I was confident since I had maps, GPS and satellite photos. My hardest day. The first day brought me through a deep stony sand field between several volcanoes in the midst of
Arbol d
Endless
Precio
ce to Fire
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the desert. I had to push many kilometres which made me extremely tired at an altitude of 4,500m. I ran out of water and had to leave the bike to climb a volcano where I found snow; I made five litres of water from it. In the evening I was completely exhausted; it was the hardest day since Alaska. The day after I reached the main track; I was very happy and felt a lot of relief. From now on, it was still hard to advance but at least I met every day many 4x4s with excited tourists and got water in several refuges. It was an encouraging section although I fell innumerable times and was pushing many kilometres through deep sand and gravel. Seven days of hell, riding, falling, pushing… As if this was not bad enough on day number two my gear change cable broke and got stuck in the tube. Unable to repair it, I saw only one solution: change the gear with pliers and ride almost single speed. After I visited the tree of stone I reached Laguna Colorada with its amazing red and blue colours and thousands of flamingos. I was allowed to sleep in the restaurant of the refuge and a nice tourist group invited me for dinner. Later, an orientation error brought me up to 5,020m where I was advised by a worker at a borax mine to turn back. As there was only little time left before the sun set I asked at the local tool station if they could let me sleep inside as I feared a very cold night. Well, the boss did not want to give me any help. He rather let me freeze to death than to give me a chance to sleep in a dirty corner. I did not see another way than to run down as far as I could. The road was not bad but the wind was very strong up there. Finally I found the correct way and found an abandoned house. This was a shelter for the wind and I could put my tent up. I froze a little towards the morning but it was not too bad. In the afternoon I arrived at Laguna Chalviri, again a very beautiful place with soft colours. A thermal bath there is visited daily by plenty of tourists where I rested for some two hours. Unfortunately I lost my camera as a gust threw my pullover with it into the water. After two more days I crossed the border into Chile. On the way I experienced an embarrassing situation in the refuge beside Laguna Blanca: I arrived totally exhausted and of course, stank badly. I took a seat at the end of a table where already other tourists were waiting for dinner. While I was talking with them I wondered why the Bolivian waiter did not serve me with them. Instead, some minutes later he tapped on my shoulder and sent me to an isolated table as far away into a corner as possible. That’s where he served me. I lacked words and deeds; felt just in the wrong movie and can only shake my head now. Next month: Into Chile, getting closer to my goal.
Kylie’s Experience
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ince I have heard about the group CEPIA I have wanted to get involved. CEPIA is a place where kids that don’t have another option for school or for those that have got in trouble on the street can go. The reason I want to get involved with CEPIA is because I know I can make a difference, and by helping I get to see and meet so many different people and places. On November 16 I asked to join CEPIA on a trip on the Hibiscus Catamaran. Seeing how everyone was so happy and how grateful everyone was to be able to go was amazing. Being from the United States a lot of the kids take advantage of what they have. Since I was age three I have been involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs; in this program there are a lot of kids without parents, without money, without food, but always the staff did whatever they could to make a difference and to make them happy. By the end of the day you could always see that the little things you did make the biggest differences. When seeing CEPIA it reminded me so much of the Boys & Girls Clubs, people wanting to make a difference in other people’s lives. My plan with CEPIA in the future is to give people a new friend, someone they can trust, showing them different fun things to do, helping with school work, and helping with further plans for their future. I can do this by setting up tours, to give them more outdoor experiences, contacting people around Costa Rica and the United States for donations for school supplies, and by helping with homework to get their grades better. My plans are not immediate actions but this is something I will put everything into. I believe that if one person can change a few people and those few people change a few more people and so on, we can make a difference in the world. Making people happy and having a better life is all I want to do.
Kylie Carter, 16 years old, Tamarindo.
Ar
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A British intelligence agency has been operating a website which allows potential employees to break a secret code. Decoding the message gives access to the agency’s web site where they can apply for a job. A restored tomb of Oscar Wilde has been unveiled in Paris after the original was badly damaged by lipstick from thousands of women kissing it. It is now protected from kissing by a glass screen. Scientists have found that laptop computers, when used with wi-fi, can reduce a man’s fertility by damaging his sperm. They warn that men should not use a laptop on their laps for extended lengths of time. Statistics published by Eurostat, the European Union data agency, show that United Kingdom women are the most obese of nineteen countries in the union. Nearly a quarter of British women are classified as obese. The lowest obesity was found in Rumania, at eight per cent. Swiss Behar Merlaku, playing the slots at a casino in the Austrian town of Bregenz, was delighted when the bells and flashing lights on the machine told him he had won $57 million. But when he went to claim his jackpot, casino owners said there’d been a “software error” and that he was therefore not entitled to the big money prize. Instead they offered him $100 and a free meal. A Houston man, sentenced to life imprisonment for armed robbery, forgot that he had been in jail at the time of the crime, until his lawyer discovered it. He had served so many jail terms that he couldn’t remember when he was in or out! A 90-year-old Nazi has just begun a life sentence for shooting dead three Dutch civilians as an SS killer during World War II. Heinrich Boere admitted killing the Dutch trio but did not feel hat he was committing a crime. He said he “was just obeying orders.”
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. Oprah Winfrey
Doctor’s Orders Jeffrey Whitlow, M.D.
I
am going to take a break from our usual subject matter this month and talk about animals instead of people. I am not a big pet person, which definitely puts me in the minority, as 60% of Americans own some type of pet. In the course of my studies on nutrition, I wondered whether some of the things I had learned would apply to pets. It just so happened that I had a friend who had the cutest, smartest dog that I had ever seen. Although I don’t have a great love for animals, and have never owned a pet, dogs and cats absolutely love me, and if I have a friend with one, it doesn’t take long for us to make friends. In any case, Luxi, my friend’s dog, was a very loving and sweet animal, but he had two problems. No matter how many times my friend bathed the dog, he always smelled bad. He also had some type of skin condition, and he would stay awake most of every night scratching madly. After a few days of observing this, I asked my friend what she was feeding the dog. She showed me a bag of Beneful dog food. When I read the ingredients, it didn’t take long to deduce the problem, as there was absolutely no meat in the food. It was totally grain-based. And to top it off, the grain wasn’t even whole grain, but rather hulls, seed coatings, and the like. I told my friend that the food was to blame for the dog’s problems and recommended that she buy a food with meat, such as Evo. It took us a couple of days to get the proper food, and within one day of starting it, the dog had stopped itching and smelled fine. The funniest part of the story though, was that the dog refused to eat the old food during the interim! That’s a smart dog! After this experience, I realized that pet owners, like human beings in general, make the erroneous assumption that just because something comes in a pretty package and looks and tastes good, then it must be good for you. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. That “dog smell” and that bad “doggie breath” that we assume is a natural part of being a dog is in fact a sign that the dog is not able to digest its food properly. They will benefit from a change in diet and the use of a digestive enzyme supplement, just like humans. Dogs that itch excessively suffer from a deficiency of essential fats and oils, as grain-based dog foods are lacking in those substances. They will benefit from a change in diet, the use of a digestive enzyme supplement, and a fish oil capsule with every meal. A friend of mine had two beautiful Labs. They smelled so bad that her house smelled like a livery stable! The older dog, Lilly, had breath so bad that you couldn’t even be in the same room with her. After changing her dog food from Pedigree to Evo, and starting her on digestive enzymes, her breath was not nearly as bad, and her body odor went away. Her brother Guinness, in addition to the odor issues, scratched constantly, and had been treated by a vet with cortisone shots and Benadryl with no improvement. I added the fish oil capsules to his regimen and the scratching stopped immediately. She thought I was a miracle worker. But for Dr Whitlow, nutritional guru, it was just another day at the office! Next month, we will go back to humans, as this column is going to the dogs!
Now Begins the Study of Yoga Yoga Nidra Happy New Year! Have you made your resolutions for this year? Too often, we start out the year with good intentions, only to find that we soon return to old patterns or break our promises. So perhaps this year, you may want to try a new approach by including Yoga Nidra as part of your yoga practice. Yoga Nidra has its roots back in the early writings of yoga, and the techniques have been passed through a line of teachers to Swami Satyananda Saraswati who wrote about and taught Yoga Nidra in the West beginning in the 1960s. His book, Yoga Nidra, is still considered the modern treatise on this practice. Yoga Nidra is sometimes called yogic sleep. Yet you don’t sleep, you are just in a deep state of relaxation (practitioners can achieve the alpha, theta, and even delta levels of brainwave frequencies), yet you are still awake and fully aware. Although there are many reputed benefits from this practice, deep rest and positive life changes are the two most noted. There are eight stages of Yoga Nidra. In the first stage, you prepare and relax your body. In the second, you set your Sankalpa, (Sanskrit for resolve or resolution). This short, positive statement of some aim for your life is developed before you begin the practice. The third brings your awareness to specific areas of your body in a specific order. This is called the rotation of consciousness, and actually matches the map of your body found in the motor homunculus area of your brain.(The rotation of consciousness was known before modern science was able to map that part of the brain). Stage four is for breath awareness in your body; five works with opposing feelings and emotions in your body. Stage six uses visualization of specific types of images, or archetypes. In stage seven, you once again return to your Sankalpa, which now becomes more deeply imbedded within you as your brain is the most receptive. Satyananda states, “The resolve you make at the beginning of the practice is like sowing a seed, and the resolve at the end is like irrigating it.” In stage eight you gradually return to awareness of the outer world. This is a practice typically done with someone leading you through it, either in class or on a recording. So if you are looking to make some significant and lasting changes in your life this year, take a Yoga Nidra class, and see how your Sankalpa comes to fruition. Namaste, Mary
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 Home www.panaceacr.com • 2653-8515
WHAT ARE WE DOING COSTA RICA? Cynthia Osborne Charpentier From December 18 to mid-February there is NO Tico national futbol. In any bar for ten weeks you will hear futile arguments about Saprissa and La Liga - no agreements, no solutions. The TV will be showing old goals from Copas de Oro - not games, just the goals. Yet Ticos refuse to take interest in US football, hockey, cricket, baseball. Many Ticos prefer to watch novelas than any alternative sport. “That’s true, they don’t like it, American Football. They don’t understand” - Fernando, Mexico. Most other Latin American countries love baseball: Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia - and have players on NBA teams. There is also an NFL (US football) league in Costa Rica. Do you think that Costa Ricans don’t like sports from another countries? “No, of course not. Here in Costa Rica we practice different sports: softball at the Sabana, tennis, swimming, running, everything. We have “Copa del Cafe” every year, athletes from over the world” Mariana. “Yes, we have soccer with 90 minutes game. It’s sufficient. I don’t like American Football because I fall asleep.” - Liche. “Why do I have to like it, I don’t understand” – Miguel. But the football like Saprissa, La Liga, you do understand? “Yes, because at least I played it in school. But the other football, I am not interested, because I don’t understand it”. (Facundo).” The situation is who likes sports from other countries and they are complaining about other countries’ sports. For example, do you know what do they play in England? “In England? Soccer, I don’t know” - Oscar. You see, you don’t know, so you just don’t watch it. Hello, Miguel, what do you think about sports here in Costa Rica and United States, Russia and England? Some people think that here in Costa Rica, they care only about Saprissa and La Liga team, that they have no interest in anything else. “It’s not important, they are only different sports, different teams and countries” – Miguel. “I think that there are different teams, and we have to support both Saprissa and La Liga” - Heizel, 9 years old. “Well, I don’t understand the sports from other countries” - D. About the football game between Brazil and Costa Rica, people were happy, it was an international game. Brazil was here. Stars like Ronaldino and others. And reporters connected with the world about this game, that ended up 1- 0, Brazil winning. Costa Rica and Panama, and Costa Rica and Spain, friendly games again, here. And the classic is coming, Saprissa and La Liga for the winter championship. Our athlete Nery Brenes won in the Pamerican games in Mexico, first place in 400 meters. He is now the third one from all over the world. “To improve and grow”. (Teletica Sports, from Costa Rica). “Looks like Tarzan, but he plays like Jane.” (ESPN, English). So, let’s put it this way: Do you have to know every sport? Do you have to like them? Do you understand everything? We are one world. Sports help the world communicate, to erase fights and animosity. Come on, let’s have fun and enjoy this world with the different sports. We can communicate through them, learn and be happy.
by Jeanne Callahan
October January Forecasts Forecasts
Aries: 21 March - 20 April
Visit Jeanne’s site at CelestialAdvisor.com
Libra: 23 September - 23 October
Taurus: 21 April - 21 May
With the Sun and Pluto transiting your solar fourth house, you have some fairly serious issues to attend to regarding family, real estate and/or parents. A crisis is coming to a head regarding business or personal partnerships as Uranus makes headway in your seventh house. You have the strength to make it through these events if you identify what is really important to preserve and then act with integrity to do just that. The 14th and 15th are your most favorable days.
Gemini: 22 May - 21 June
Mars goes retrograde on the 23rd in your eleventh house of friends, associates, groups and gains from profession. Something or someone may drop out of your life for a few months as this cycle unfolds. Men, in general, often act odd during a Mars retrograde period. However, new partnerships can be formed for long-term gain with Jupiter traveling through your solar seventh house. This is a good time to entertain guests in your home. The 16th and 17th are your best days.
Cancer: 22 June - 22 July
With your ruling planet, Jupiter, now in direct motion in your solar sixth house, you can find pleasure in the pursuit of good health, creating beauty in your workplace or establishing good health habits. Mars will be retrograde in your solar tenth house so people you’ve worked with in the past may be contacting you for your help. Don’t get critical with their plan, just go along with what they are asking you to do. Some big money could be on the line now. The 18th and 19th are days to ask for favors.
Leo: 23 July - 23 August
With the Sun and Pluto in your solar first house, you are pretty formidable to deal with as you won’t compromise on anything right now. You want what you want and other people can bend to your wishes. That attitude may not bring the desired results after the 23rd when Mars goes into retrograde motion and you will have to revise some plans. All in all though, things will pretty much go your way for the next six months. Make the most of it. Enjoy some time off on the 21st and 22nd.
The beginning of the month supports a fresh start and new connections for spiritual growth and/or higher education. Your public image gets a power boost from the Sun and Pluto at the mid-heaven while Venus in your eleventh house makes for beneficial business contacts. Ok to sign contracts that were delayed during the recent Mercury retrograde. Best days are the 1st, 2nd, 28th and 29th. Gain some solid ground with your plans this month as Jupiter is moving direct now in your sign for expansion and progress. Act quickly the first three weeks of the month before Mars goes retrograde in Virgo on the 23rd. This could just herald a need to revise some details but you want to secure as much as you can before it changes apparent direction. Don’t second guess yourself, act on your instincts. Good aspects for you on the 3rd, 4th, 30th and 31st. The beginning of the month has a bit of a quarrelsome aspect for you as your ruling planet, Mercury, which is weak in the sign of Sag, is squaring Mars in perfectionistic Virgo. Lots of details need to be worked out during this time. There could also be some drama about money, insurance, and/or tax issues with the Sun and Pluto going through your solar eighth house. The 5th and the 6th are favorable for you. The Sun and Pluto are in your solar seventh house at the beginning of the month keeping the focus on partnerships, legal issues or contracts. With positive aspects to Mars and Jupiter, you can negotiate a good position for yourself. Some items may need repair in your home later in the month so if you are considering remodeling the next three months are the time to do it. Lunar aspects favor you on the 7th, the full moon on the 8th, and the 9th.
Scorpio: 24 October - 22 November
Sagittarius: 23 November - 21 December
Capricorn: 22 December - 21 January
Aquarius: 22 January - 19 February
Good month for you to begin a new health regimen or reorganize your business structure. The first part of the year gives you a very grounded approach to problem solving and work so focus on that until the 23rd. Mars goes into retrograde motion from 23/1 until 14/4, causing some problems with cash flow but no significant loss as Jupiter is on your mid-heaven, giving some protection against that. The 10th and 11th are your best days.
There is a bit of tension this month as you have some difficult decisions to make and you don’t feel you have all the information to do so. It’s hard for Aquarians to ask for help but you will need to rely on some advice from friends or advisors. Mars goes retrograde in your solar eighth house so it may be a good time to revise your insurance policies or your will. The 23rd and 24th are good days to seek help with this.
This month has you highly energized, more than a little impatient, and willing to take some risks in vocalizing your opinions about how things should work properly. Mars goes retrograde in your sign on the 23rd so you may need to take some time off to process all the feelings you’ve been bottling up for the last couple of months. Choose your words wisely or just keep your mouth shut. Good days to get a massage are the 12th and 13th.
With Mars in Virgo about to go retrograde in your solar seventh house of partnership, you may find yourself in the position of having to renegotiate agreements, or experience your partner distancing him or herself in your personal relationship. Things might get a little testy at the end of the month as you tangle with the details. Not a great time to consider moving in with someone. Give that decision more time. The 25th and 26th are your best days.
Virgo: 24 August - 22 September
Pisces: 20 February - 20 March
Namasté
Parents’ Corner Becoming a Parent
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ecoming a parent is truly a life-changing experience... we all make accommodations in many aspects of our daily lives in order to be able to create the ideal environment for our son or daughter, in an act of unconditional love and dedication. The child becomes the center of our universe and everything revolves around him. Even though no responsible parenthood goes without some serious accommodations and changes, it’s very important that these changes are not interpreted as a sacrifice of one’s “self”... As with everything in life, extremes are never healthy and the right answer is found in balance. With the responsible, dedicated parent, there should be also the person, the “self”, with his personal dreams, ambitions, passions and needs. Being a father or a mother is just another aspect of our life, a very important one, but not the only one that defines us. It should be our goal to be good parents, and at the same time be committed spouses, loyal friends, involved citizens, dedicated professionals and individuals with personal interests and personal space. This is important not only for our own mental health, but for our children’s social and emotional development. As you balance out your parental responsibilities and joys with your personal activities, dreams and needs, you are a model of emotional stability for your children. How can a woman or a man find harmony between “being a parent” and “being me”? 1. Cherish and take care of your relationships... parents who are loving and committed partners, and active and involved friends and family members give their children a deep sense of security. At the same time, you are modeling interpersonal skills and stimulating your child’s social development. 2. Take a little time for yourself every day... go for a walk, listen to music, read, or just simply enjoy a moment of quiet “dolce far niente” (sweet doing nothing). Alone-time helps you recharge your energy and find inner stability, and enables you to open up yourself to others in a positive way. When parents take personal time on a regular basis, children can see the positive value of independence and autonomy, and are less likely to experience separation anxiety. 3. Don’t give up your dreams “because of the kids”; it’s not healthy for you or for your children to view parenthood as a sacrifice. Adopt a positive perspective based on embracing change as an opportunity and find a way to accommodate your dream to your new situation, approaching it in little steps, but never dismissing its realization. By pursuing your own personal goals and ambitions, you teach your children assertiveness and perseverance. In brief: happy and fulfilled mothers and fathers provide the ideal conditions to raise happy and fulfilled children. “Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment, and especially on their children, than the unlived lives of the parents.” Carl Jung. Monica Riascos H. Psychopedagogist – Psychologist Tel. 8358-9550 consultariascos@live.com
Surviving
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COSTA RICA
Bizarre Occurrences - parts I & II Story by Jesse Bishop
art One: Costa Rica, the exotic, mysterious and sometimes baffling Central American paradise that you may either live in or be visiting, continues to validate its reputation for strange and bizarre episodes.
I caught the Tica Bus at the Hotel Bramadero in Liberia and within the hour was making my way through the immigration and customs on both sides of the border. Nothing unusual happened and I was figuring we’d be in Granada by about two thirty.
Those of you familiar with “owning a home” here know this as the “waiting for the next expensive disaster” syndrome. It could be an exhausted two-year-old water heater filling the kitchen with clouds of steam and hot water at the most inconvenient time; or finding out the hard way that your entire septic tank system needs to be replaced; or having an iguana peeing on you through the ceiling of a house that obviously needs a new roof.
After about an hour and a half or so the bus pulls over to the side of the highway about twelve miles outside of town and the driver tells us that this is where the passengers going to Granada had to get out. But just for today.
He who encounters these situations, usually requiring large amounts of a decreasing nest egg to resolve, becomes a bit paranoid and not a little bit gun-shy. The previous Wednesday (as of this writing), we were having a typical morning regimen. Zeidy, our maid of many years, was doing her thing while I was almost succeeding in keeping out of her way; the wife is in her studio wrestling with a painting and the dog is asleep and dreaming about cats. And then we heard something explode! Actually it was more like a loudish pop. There was also a large amount of liquid coming out from the cupboard pantry under the sink. The exact words I uttered can not be printed in the Howler due to the Editor’s belief that we’re a family-oriented publication, but I assure you I was preparing for the worst. I immediately turned off the waterlines leading to the sink and was surprised to see nothing particularly awry. Upon further investigation of the pantry I noticed that our back-up three-liter bottle of Ginger Ale was empty. A finger dipped in the offending and no-longer-flowing liquid confirmed it to be of a soft drink nature. Apparently, for reasons I’ll never know, the plastic bottle of ginger ale blew up! Fortunately there was never any real danger to those involved and we refuse to let this one little incident make us change our soft drink preference. Part Two: I still have to do the Nicaragua trip, which I really don’t mind as it’s kind of nice to every now and then have a vacation from the vacation town I live in. Susan had just come back from the States and decided to stay at home with the mutt, so I went to Granada solo for the first time. I’ve been in Granada a whole lot over the years and we’ve always had a good time there. Our other choice would’ve been San Juan del Sur, closer to the border with a whole different scene going on.
About seventeen or so passengers disembarked and got their luggage, most wondering what was going on. The driver was not in a particularly good mood and didn’t seem to want a discussion. Apparently Granada was closed for that day and he couldn’t enter. Not too surprisingly there were about four tiny three-wheeled golfcart-type vehicles waiting to smuggle you into town by the “back roads”. These guys knew that they only had so much time to make as much as they could during the “closing”, so he crowded four people in the back seat which could barely fit two “full size” American golfers, while I shared the driver’s seat with the budding entrepreneur who charged us five bucks apiece and off we went down the highway to Granada, but just barely. It soon became evident that we were grossly overloaded as the local donkey carts were passing us and we were bottoming out every few minutes. After awhile, and still far from Granada, our man ran out of gas but quickly pulled out some coke bottles filled with fuel and we were off once again. The people in back seemed to be taking it all in their stride and were enjoying the adventure, as was I to a certain extent, although I was really thinking how glad I was that Susan didn’t have to share it with me. And then it started raining. And then a whole lot more. As the now waterlogged cab hit the outskirts of town it turned out the streets were too muddy for just about any kind of vehicle, much less this tiny little thing bulging with gringos so I jumped out and decided to get into town by myself. Which I did with no real difficulty and had as good a time as I could without my wife and my dog. Why was Granada closed? It was as big day for electioneering with speeches, free T-shirts (if you knew who to root for) and a big parade which began at the big cemetery on the city’s outskirts. The big parade was just coming to its end when I hit the main plaza and sad to say I never got a T-shirt.
Trees Tom Peifer
I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree… Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer
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or many of us the following is a familiar scenario. After all the hassles of the gate, baggage check, boarding lounge and getting comfortably(?) settled into your seat for the next few hours, the moment has finally come. The long bouncy ride that they call taxiing, your plane struggling with its limitations as a terrestrial vehicle, culminates in a wide arc as the pilot swings you into position at the beginning of the runway. Last reminders to have seat backs in an upright position, tables up and secured and all loose items stowed away securely. At this point the control tower informs your pilot that he has been cleared for takeoff. It is easy to visualize his firm grip on the throttle lever as the whine of the turbines changes pitch. The scenery whizzes by and you are pressed back into your seat. There’s a thunk as the landing gear folds into the fuselage and, voila, you are airborne. It may have been a freezing dawn in Manhattan, but if all goes well, you’ll savor the sunset, margarita in hand, in a hammock under the palms, nary a thought in mind.
amount in 2010. To get a better idea of just what 550 kilos of stored carbon actually felt like, I turned to my friends Casey and Craig Henson. Originally from Vermont, they built a home here using wood from the farm where we live. This dry season they are adding a majestic porch around two sides of the house, using locally sourced lumber, perhaps some CO2 from an airline flight, fixed by the miracle of photosynthesis for sixteen years on our neighbor Marvin’s farm and stored into the durable lignin of sturdy structural timbers. Yesterday’s task: loading and hauling the trees for the posts and floor joists.
Upon disembarkation, some of us are so grateful to be back on terra firma that we express gratitude to the stewardesses, the pilot, the guy who opens the door, anyone remotely responsible for the miracle of getting us safely from point A to point B. We ride off to that rendezvous with Ron Rico and the long-awaited tropical sunset, oblivious to the unsung heroes of the miracle of modern transport. When the nattily uniformed pilot of a modern jetliner pushes forward on the throttle to send us hurtling down the runway, he is unleashing the stored energy of ancient sunlight. Uncountable trillions of tiny unicellular organisms did their thing, photosynthesis: captured a bit of sunlight, stored a bit of energy in sugars or simple carbohydrates and died, buried in the mud of ancient seas. Given the right conditions, burial in sediments, subduction under thousands of feet of rock, autoclaved in the pressure cooker of the earth’s crust for tens of millions of years, and it’s a hop-skip and a jump to providing enough high-grade aviation fuel for the estimated 3,000 billion air-passenger miles which were flown in the year 2010. Now, as readers gifted with more cerebral tissue than the algae that went belly up and ultimately became gasoline may have heard, the bright idea of putting all that stored up carbon back into the atmosphere is turning out to have some unintended consequences. Our hypothetical round-trip flight from La Guardia or JFK International contributes approximately 550 kilos of CO2 per passenger to the atmospheric overload that grew by a record
For the record, the expression on my face in the accompanying photo is a grimace, not a smile, and that was only an 8-foot piece of the thinner part of the tree. I figure I had about 75 pounds grinding into my shoulder, let’s say 30% water, a paltry 20-odd kilos of stored carbon. You’d need almost thirty of those to lock up the carbon emissions per person on one round-trip flight from New York. My hands-on research was helped out a bit by a healthy dose of ibuprofen but I needed Dr. Google for the next step. For decades experts have been advocating the planting of trees to mitigate the onslaught of global warming. Given a personal interest—friends might say obsession—with erosion control and “rainwater harvesting”, I’ve been working on the design and installation of ‘agro-forest belts’ on hillsides and in pastures to slow down runoff and achieve microclimate effects that speed tree growth, cool down summer heat and evaporation and serve as habitat for a wide range of species. Let’s look at some rough numbers. (continued page 28)
Trees (from page 27) Forest ecosystems in our area absorb around 15 tons of CO2 per hectare per year. (An inference for gardeners: if you’re not adding 1.5 kilos per square meter of compost or other organic matter every year, your soil is declining in quality.) The ‘standing biomass’ of wet-dry forests runs in the range of 90—150 tons per hectare. As my sore shoulder can attest, that’s a lot of tonnage that went up in smoke when the majority of forest in Guanacaste was ‘converted’ to cattle pasture.
RAIN GAUGE
4.5 4.0
c m s
Fortunately Costa Rica has farsighted policies that provide incentives to owners for preserving or promoting forest regrowth. Unfortunately, sometimes the incentives only work for the largest landowners. Smaller farmers still need to eat and to earn money from working their land. That’s where the agro-forest belts fit into the bigger picture. Installing a swath of vegetation that slows down the runoff on hillsides or the gusty winds whipping down our valley is the easy part. The challenge will be working towards a new paradigm of managing the forest instead of simple extraction.
RAINFALL - Nov/Dec
3.5
Maricle Meteorological Observatory
3.0
La Garita
2.5
Total rainfall: 8.2 cm (3.3 inches)
2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0
16
20
25
30 1
November
10
December
Year-to-date 2011: 274.0 cm 2010: 320.1
Rainfall Nov/Dec 2011: 8.2 cm 2010: 0.0
January ( a l l
5
t i m e s
Sun
2012 l o c a l )
1st - rise 6:01; set 5:33 15th - rise 6:05; set 5:41 31st - rise 6:06; set 5:47*
15
Landscapers sometimes call the approach “plant stacking”; that is, assembling layers of vegetation from the canopy to the ‘second story’ to the shrub layer and groundcover—with vines and epiphytes added into the mix. The successful assemblage depends not only on the preferences of the farmer/forester, but on the conditions of the site, the complex micro-niches that form within the developing agro-forest and the myriad functional inter-relationships among the mixture of species. Far from the one-size-fits-all approach of monocrop farming, these forest strips will offer ‘lifetime learning’ in the truest sense of the term. Take, for example, the vast tracts of forest in Amazonia. It is now known, but far from adequately understood, that the indigenous peoples managed the plant populations over centuries, to suit their needs. It is no small irony that we probably have a much better idea of the rate and extent of the loss of diversity in the plant and animal realm than a corresponding grasp of the wealth of knowledge erased completely by the virus of colonization and the ongoing epidemic of globalization. We can’t hope for an instant recipe to success in the implementation of thriving swaths of productive diversity in the hills and floodplains of our valley. But we can sure plot a new direction for restorative agriculture practices. And, if we achieve the same level of carbon fixation as the native forests, we can capture the carbon emissions of a round trip flight from New York with just 75 meters of agroforestry. And that will be at least a ‘baby step’ in the right direction and a positive start to a New Year.
* latest sunrise Jan. 26th - 6:06:24 1st quarter: Full: Last quarter: New: 1st quarter:
Moon 1st 9th 16th 23rd 30th
1:15 a.m. 1:30 a.m. 3:08 a.m. 1:39 a.m. 10:10 p.m.
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
Surf Report
Barbara’s Pet Stories
(from page 15) won the Women’s category, and is definitely a threat to Lisbeth Vindas again. Since the Junior division usually provides us with the talent to watch, it’s notable that little Noe Mar McGonagle took the medal this year. Already the Quiksilver King of the Groms, he has earned a lot of recognition for his surfing skills internationally. Yet, he has some competition, including Alberto Muñoz, Tomas King, Leo Calvo, among others. The Circuito system starts the competition young and raises the level of competition handily, so that the surfers have to push themselves to win. I should note that Nicaragua’s Enoc Barrantes made it to fourth place in the Central American Championship. The next edition of the Central American Surf Championships will take place in Guatemala, where they were last conducted in 2007. Meanwhile, Ureña told me that the Circuito Nacional de Surf will take place in February to August next year and that the Federación de Surf de Costa Rica is working to prepare a Junior National Surf Team to go to Panama next year.
Individual Results Open 1 Anthony Fillingim (CR) 15.20 2 Carlos Muñoz (CR) 14.90 3 Porfirio Miranda (SAL) 11.67 4 Luis Vindas (CR)
Boys 1. Bruno Carvalho (CR) 12.50 2. Leonardo Calvo (CR) 12.17 3. Mario Vega (GUA) 12.00 4. Juan Aguilar (NIC) 6.43
Women’s 1. Nataly Bernold (CR) 11.50 2. Lisbeth Vindas (CR) 9.64 3. Samanta Alonso (CR) 6.94 4. Malena Toral (CR) 4.33
Longboard 1. Anthony Flores (CR) 12.94 2. Cristian Santamaría (CR) 11.50 3. Israel Arenivar (SAL) 9.93 4. Henry Ortega (GUA) 9.60
Junior 1. Noe Mar McGonagle (CR) 14.33 2. Alberto Muñoz (CR) 12.90 3. Tomas King (CR) 11.16 4. Enoc Barrantes (NIC) 11.10
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.
Snea
S
ome months ago I found two baby raccoons, quite young, as their eyes were still closed. I took them to a vet, as it is a law to report if you find wild animals. The vet told me if I want to keep them I have to come to him once a month to get them checked and he has to write a report also. As it is required from the government his service and the vaccines are free. As they are two boys, I named them Edi and Rasco. I prepared a part of my patio for them with plants and bushes in big pots, wood parts to climb, boxes to hide, a litter box, a bath tube, toys. The vet is about three miles away from my house, so it was easy for me to go to him as needed. To keep Edi and Rasco busy I trained them some tricks, e.g., if we had to visit the vet, I said, “Hey, boys, come on, let’s get pretty”. I use my dog brush to brush their coats, and as soon as I have the brush in my hands they come to me. They really enjoy it, lay on their backs so I can brush the bellies, too. So again we went to visit the vet and again it was satisfying for the “requirements” and the three of us drove home happily. The road to drive is enjoyable, trees on both sides, not much traffic as it is a country road. This day some employees from the City Council did maintenance work and therefore they had positioned a speed limit sign, which I ignored, I thought, it is after 4 p.m., they all went home, so what... Some weeks later I got a visitor: a police officer came to my house: he had a speeding ticket in his hands, and with a strict face he said to me: “Do not try to tell me any stories, like it is not me,” and he handed me a photo, too. The police had installed cameras to have a better proof of who is driving too fast. I looked at that photo, and I was surprised how good I was looking with a raccoon on each of my shoulders. While driving home from the vet that afternoon, Edi and Rasco had managed to open the door from the dog carrier and crawled to the front seat and climbed onto my shoulders, Edi sat on the left and Rasco on the right side, enjoying to be close to me and to have a look out of the windows. “Oh, officer, how nice, can I get this photo?” He answered, now with a smile in his face: “Yes, madame, go to the City Bank, deposit your fine, and we are happy to send you this photo”. Now I have a $100 photo hanging at my fridge. I think it is awesome; who else has a photo like this?
1S 1st Qtr 2S
3M
4T
5W
02:02 08:14 14:11 20:43 02:55 09:08 15:02 21:35 03:51 10:07 15:57 22:31 04:52 11:09 16:56 23:27 05:50 12:08 17:55
1.5 7.4 1.5 8.0 1.8 7.0 1.9 7.7 2.0 6.7 2.3 7.6 2.0 6.6 2.4 7.6 1.9 6.8 2.3
6T
7F
8S
9S Full Moon 10M
00:20 06:42 13:00 18:49 01:10 07:29 13:47 19:38 01:56 08:11 14:30 20:23 02:38 08:52 15:10 21:05 03:20 09:30 15:49 21:47
7.8 1.5 7.1 2.1 8.1 1.1 7.5 1.7 8.4 0.7 8.0 1.3 8.7 0.3 8.4 0.9 9.0 0.0 8.9 0.5
11T
12W
13T
14F
15S
JANUARY TIDE CHART 04:00 10:08 16:28 22:28 04:41 10:48 17:08 23:10 05:22 11:28 17:49 23:54 06:06 12:09 18:33 00:41 06:52 12:55 19:20
9.2 -0.2 9.2 0.2 9.2 -0.3 9.4 0.1 9.1 -0.3 9.5 0.1 8.9 -0.2 9.4
16S Last Qtr
17M
18T
19W
0.2 20T 8.6 0.1 9.2
01:32 07:44 13:45 20:14 02:28 08:43 14:42 21:14 03:31 09:50 15:47 22:20 04:41 11:01 16:58 23:29 05:50 12:11 18:09
0.5 8.2 0.5 9.0 0.7 7.8 0.9 8.7 0.9 7.5 1.2 8.5 1.0 7.5 1.3 8.5 0.8 7.8 1.2
21F
22S
23S New Moon 24M
25T
00:34 06:54 13:14 19:14 01:33 07:51 14:09 20:11 02:27 08:41 14:59 21:03 03:15 09:27 15:45 21:49 04:00 10:10 16:28 22:33
8.7 0.5 8.2 0.9 9.0 0.1 8.7 0.5 9.2 -0.2 9.1 0.2 9.4 -0.5 9.4 0.0 9.4 -0.5 9.5 0.0
26W
27T
28F
29S
30S 1st Qtr
04:43 10:50 17:10 23:14 05:24 11:28 17:49 23:55 06:05 12:07 18:29 00:35 06:46 12:45 19:10 01:18 07:30 13:25 19:53
9.2 -0.4 9.4 0.1 8.9 0.1 9.2 0.4 8.5 0.3 8.9
31M
1T Feb 2W
0.7 3T 8.0 0.8 8.4 1.1 4F 7.5 1.3 8.0
02:03 08:18 14:10 20:41 02:55 09:13 03:02 09:36 03:55 10:18 04:03 10:38 04:59 11:24 05:11 11:41 06:01 12:24 06:14
1.5 6.9 1.8 7.6 1.9 6.5 2.2 7.3 2.1 6.4 2.5 7.2 2.0 6.4 2.4 7.3 1.8 6.8 2.1