howler1012dec
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Howler magazine serving the Gold Coast of Costa RicaTRANSCRIPT
The Howler
www.howlermag.com
TAMARINDOCOSTA RICA
December 2010Founded 1996
Volume 15, No. 12Issue No. 171
THE HOWLERCed. Juridica: 3-101-331333
Publisher, editor and productionDavid Mills
[email protected] 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 • [email protected]
DiscountsFor 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).
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Deadline for January: December 15
ELLEN ZOE GOLDENTONY OREZTOM PEIFER
JEFFREY WHITLOWLUCILA RIASCOS
JEANNE CALLAHANKAY DODGE
JESSE BISHOPMONICA RIASCOS
CONTRIBUTORS
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
December Forecasts
Doctor’s Orders
Slice of Life
Rain, Sun & Moon
Tide Chart
28
29
31
32
35
Parents’ Corner
Word Puzzle
CD Review
Book Review
Gallery - Hallowe’en
5
7
10
11
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Cover Caption: A selection from each of The Howler’s fifteen years of publication.Cover design and photos: David Mills
Café LiberiaHidden away on a backstreet in Liberia is an elegant old building - a café, restaurant, art school, music school, theatre, cinema...
18
Surf ReportIt’s not just the big tournaments that are important to the sport. Tama-rindo’s Surf Contest brings much entertainment to local surfers.
15
Dining Out Hearty meals for healthy surfers should be the motto for “Eat at Joe’s” restaurant at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp.
8
Around TownOpenings, closings, parties, music. The Gold Coast has it all, and bar-hoppin’ David is in the groove.
14
Words Across the Border An attempted theft of Costa Rican land has Ticos up in arms against Nicaragua.
20
Fifteen Years of The HowlerA look back at the production history of your favourite publication on the Gold Coast.
12
Christmas Guanacaste StyleUntil the North Anerican commercialism hit Costa Rica, Christmas in Guanacaste was a totally different type of celebration.
13
The Souls of Christmas FutureA visit by children from a local school give Tom a different viewpoint of the Christmas season.
27
Surviving Costa RicaOur local Scrooge has seen the light, and will dedicate himself to enjoy-ing Christmas in future years.
30
From a pedagogical point of view, Christmas represents an ideal opportunity to actually put into practice some fundamental moral values, and to teach our children
about the deeper meaning of Giving and Receiving.
The media puts a lot of pressure on kids and parents, bombard-ing us with the newest products on the market, things that we “must have” to achieve happiness. We find ourselves stressing over what to buy for our loved ones, and pretty soon, what should be a joy turns into torture... This is not what Christmas should be about. You can turn the commercial Christmas into an experience of love with a few simple, yet very important considerations.
1. Instead of discussing with your children what they want to have for Christmas, encourage them to come up with ideas on how to help the less fortunate, and help them put these ideas into practice. This will be the gift of Solidarity.
2. Wrap Tolerance into lively conversations and actual research about how people of different faiths celebrate the holidays.
3. Practice and model Moderation, particularly when it comes to Christmas presents – not too many (two or three per child), not too expensive. 4. Christmas is the time for Giving, and the best gifts of the season cannot be found in stores: Time, Love, and Empa-thy. 5. As we prepare meals and decorations, organize din-ners and get-togethers, don’t forget to find time for Reflection. Christmas is a good time to look back and make peace with past experiences, and to embrace the future with a fresh and positive attitude.
Make this a Christmas of Love, and you will have the perfect holiday... merry Christmas!
“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, how-ever, makes a life.” Arthur Ashe
Msc. Mónica Riascos HenríquezPsicóloga – Psicopedagoga
Tel. [email protected]
Parents’ CornerWhat Children can learn
from Christmas
The High Season has started, and there are a lot of people in town, and some promising hotel bookings for next year. Meanwhile it
has been a very traumatic month – in Costa Rica scores of roads, bridges and communities destroyed by heavy rains, including 23 dead in a mudslide in Escazú.
Closer to home, a devastating fire ruined four stores in Tamarindo. We offer our condolences to those who lost their businesses, and hope that they have the opportunity to rebuild.
Elsewhere the country has, for the past month, been on the brink of war with Nicaragua after President Ortega stole a tract of Costa Rican land and refused to vacate the area after being ordered to by the Association of American States. We all hope that this confrontation will be settled in our favour by diplomatic means.
An estimated eighty percent of Ticos fell into a nation-wide depression when perpetual futbol champion Saprissa, “El Monstruo Morado”, failed to make it to the playoffs after a shameful season. Tecnico Roy Myers got the boot.
Also on football: FIFA spokeswoman Mónica Fernández announced that the National Stadium in San José, a gift to Costa Rica from China, will host its first game March 23, 2011, when China plays La Selé to inaugurate the stadium.
Editor’s
Note
Editor’s
Note
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human Resources To: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 1
I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23, starting at noon in the banquet room at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue. No-host bar, but plenty of egg-nog! We’ll have a small band playing traditional carols...feel free to sing along. And don’t be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus!
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invertirmesoneromezclapalabrapensarpertainpugilismreunionserviciosuddenlytallertantalustelevisoratensionwaitress
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 eDavid MillsMiscellany
David MillsDining Out
Despite the title of this column, you wouldn’t call “Eat at Joe’s” a fine dining restaurant. It is part of Witch’s Rock Surf Camp and its mission is to feed young, hungry surfers
who stay there and elsewhere – and this it does very well. “Eat at Joe’s” serves plenti-ful meals all day, their most famous offering being the “Na-chos as big as your ass” a hu-mungous plate of fresh tortilla chips smothered in cheese, beans, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Give yourself a half-hour to eat it. And they call this an appetizer!!
The all-day breakfast includes Classic Pinto; Betty, a fruit and granola salad; cinnamon French toast with syrup; big burrito with egg, potato, cheese and salsa; three scrambled eggs with ham, peppers, onions and cheese.
The main theme seems to be Tex-Mex, with quesadillas, tacos, fajitas, Mexi tostada, burritos and tortillas. But there is also a sushi menu, a wide selection of delicious fish rolls, sashimi, nigiri and tamaki dishes
made right there as you watch.
W e decided to mix ‘n’ match, a little from each m e n u . We chose Chicky Palm Salad, the chicken substi-tuted by a filet of mahi-mahi to suit my companion’s vegetarian preferences; and a Lotta Tostada Salad. Then we added a couple of sushi selections, all very tasty.
Evenings are usually busy at “Eat at Joe’s” because their Happy Hour goes from 5 to 9, four hours of 2 for-1 drinks and low-price food dishes. Also, several nights have live music – Jesse Bishop on Thursdays and The Banana Kings on Saturdays draw a large crowd of fans.
Eat at Joe’s is on Tamarindo’s main street at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, open every day. All credit cards accepted; Tel 2653-1238; www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com.
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 2
In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Chanukah is an important holiday which often coincides with Christmas, though not this year. How-ever, from now on we’re calling it our “Holiday Party.” The same policy applies to employees who are celebrating Kwanzaa at this time. Happy now?
Patricia Murolo is a Costa Rican painter. Her medium is oils. Patricia will be exhibiting at
Pacific Park in Tamarindo from De-cember 15 to January 15. Her work has been shown at several exhibitions, including Calderón Guardia Museum in San José, Teatro Skeke, Teatro Na-cionál, Hotel Barceló Palacio.
“I love to paint flowers, real and unreal,” says Patricia. “The principle matter of my painting are souls, repre-
sented in women. I paint a magic realism style. I am a dreamer, so my painting comes from my imagination; that’s why I call
this show ‘Imaginations and some flowers’.”
Patricia lives in Playa Avel-lanas with her husband, chil-dren and dogs and cats.
For information, call 2652-9162 or visit www.azulthalo.com, www.artslam.com or www.tiquicia.com.
Art Show at Pacific Park
CD Review
The New Music of Old Spain
Contemporary music in Spain, especially along its eastern coastline along the Mediterranean,
is really a blend of old and new, reflecting centuries of tradition, diverse regional cultures and modern global influences. Catalonia, for example has long been a melting pot of Catalan, Spanish, French and other global influences, producing a flourishing “mestizo” music movement, which blends flamenco and other Spanish styles with Afro-Cubano rhythms, Gypsy Pop, reggae, and even blues and electronica. So it is no wonder that Putumayo, the creator of the “World Music” concept has endeavored to produce a new album showcasing this new mesh of musical styles with their new CD, simply titled “España”.
Pere Calaf, known artistically as “Peret” is known for pioneering the rumba flamenco movement, which was catapulted into the limelight by the Gypsy Kings. He retired from music in the early Eighties and revived his career in 2000 with “Peret, el Rey de Rumba” and followed it up two years ago with “Que Levante el Dedo”. The first cut on the new Putumayo disc, “Para Poder Olvidarla” is from this 2008 album and demonstrates that Peret still sings about love and loss.
One of the modern bands that owes a debt to Peret and his sound is Gertrudis, a group from La Garriga, near Barcelona. They also add elements of cumbia, reggae, funk and pop. “Remedios” is a rumba from the band’s 2005 self-titled album. Fernando Burgos, known as “Burguitos” hails from Valencia in southeastern Spain. He often uses humor in his blend of rumba, pop and worldbeat to create an upbeat, danceable tune. “Por Los Besos Que Me Das” is a very good example of his style.
Founded in 2005, Calima quickly achieved recognition and fame with their first album, which received a nomination for Best Flamenco Album. Their 2009 follow-up, “Tierra” shows a bit more jazz fusion influence, as demonstrated on the cut “Lunita”, a song about unrequited love. The Spanish rock band Gossos has been together and thriving for nearly twenty years. They began with a mostly acoustic sound and over time have morphed into an increasingly hard-edged, electric band. They have released nine studio albums, the most recent being “Oxigen”, from which the cut “Corren”, a song about tough love, appears on this compilation. Likewise, El Combolingo has been around for fifteen years, producing five LPs. They are a true forerunner in the “mestizo” philosophy, combining a myriad of Latin and World styles into their own patented stew. “Cumbia Caimanera” does a nice job of displaying this tapestry of sound.
Gecko Turner grew up listening to Dylan and The Beatles. He played for a while with a band called Perroflauta, then turned to recording on his own. His first solo album, “Guapapasea!” demonstrates his rock, ska and reggae influences, especially on the featured cut “Te Estas Equivocando”, a catchy little tune. In all, eleven songs appear on this new Putumayo compilation, giving the listener a good cross-sampling of the new trends in old, historic Spain. Putumayo’s CDs are available at the Jaime Peligro stores in Tamarindo, Tilaran and Quepos, where they will gladly sample the music for their customers.
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 3 Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anony-mous requesting a non-drinking table...you didn’t sign your name. I’d be happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads “AA only” you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this?
Book Review
Kissing a Virgin on the Mouth (in two tongues)
Guadalupe Magdalena Molina Vazquez is an enterprising, savvy young Latina who uses
her wits to pull herself out of Teatlan, the Mexican barrio where she was born and raised. As a successful middle-aged businesswoman in the glitzy tourist zone not too far from her old digs, she looks back on the route she traversed to get to this destination. This is the prem-ise for the first novel by Donna Ger-shten, “Kissing the Virgin’s Mouth”, which won the Bellwether Prize for fiction. There seem to be two camps of critics on this novel: the ones who gush over it and the others who find it uneven. I find myself straddling the chasm between these two worlds.
The storyline was interesting and entertaining and I consider the writing lyrical and at times moving. But Gershten uses a hook by having Magda tell her story in English while consistently falling back into Spanish. At times, our heroine translates her native language into English for the reader, at other times she does not. I have a pretty good grasp on the Spanish language, so I never got lost, but I felt the writer could eas-ily strand her reader. And that beckons the question: who is the target audience? Certainly, a person who can only read Spanish could never read this novel. Likewise, a person only schooled in English would be forever swimming in the stylized writing, with a distinct chance of the story itself being lost at sea. So, is Donna going for the bilingual mar-ket? That seems like a small readership. To be sure, the Spanish idioms are overdone. Like a good spice, a little goes a long way and too much spoils the entire cultural experience. Gershten has come perilously close to losing her audience by overplaying her concept. I also think that the titles of some of her chapters almost appear to be parodying themselves. One title is twenty-five words long, another seventy words. I counted. Again, overbearing redundancy tends to lose the audience. Where were this woman’s agent and editor, who, in my opinion, should have been telling her to “take it home and clean it up”?
I want to reiterate that the writing and the story woven are wonderful, a prosaic glimpse into the trials and tribulations, at times humorous, of the life of a Latina who has blazed her own trail into the world of the norteamericanos. But the lovely writing tends to be overshadowed by a gimmick. Another knock I have is the author’s resume. Gershten is from South Carolina and worked in Mexico for three years as a personal physical fitness trainer. It seems like a short time to learn Mexican culture and a long, long distance from the gym to the barrio to learn poverty. And so the barrio scenes have a general overview but the tiny, real-life details are missing. Nobody does poverty like the poor and it’s impossible to imitate. I believe this novel would have had a lot more impact (and praise) if it had undergone one more rewrite.
Tony Orez
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 7
What a diverse company we are! I had no idea that December 20 begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seri-ously, we can appreciate how a luncheon this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs. Perhaps Luigi’s can hold off serving your meal until the end of the party – the days are so short this time of the year – or else package everything to take home in little foil swans. Will that work?
We are proudly commemorating fifteen years of publishing The Howler. Since early 1996 I have published 170 issues, for a total of around 2,500 articles and features.
The year 1996 saw my third attempt at retirement, and my third failure to do so. I am often asked why I started the magazine, and usually give the following reason.
In 1996 there were a handful of phones in Tamarindo, no internet, web, e-mail. Only one fax, at the Sansa office, was available for use, and ev-erything that came out of it was open for common consumption. It was clear even then that the town was on the brink of serious development, but there was almost no means of communication. My friend Lee and I decided on a newsletter to keep locals informed of happenings. We bought a Macintosh with Pagemaker installed, and started into production. True to my basic philosophy – don’t tell anyone what you are going to do until you have done it – we kept quiet about it. The finished product was an eight-pager – two sheets stapled together in the centre – with some minimal clip art.
The first issue was printed in Liberia. We had arranged to pick it up at 11 one morning, but when we arrived at the printer it was chaos. Four or five workers had a production line going like a comic movie scene. They had only completed 100 out of 500 copies and our only bus was about to leave, so we grabbed everything – loose sheets, foam board, stapler – and took off to Tamarindo, where we finished the job.
Still in secret, we distributed the 500 newsletters and people went crazy: “We’ve got our own newspaper,” they cried. One person stopped me in the street and asked “How much for the back page?” We agreed on a price, and advertising came to the publication.
In due course the publication grew in size and sophistication. We added black-and-white photographs, and a little colour to the text. Then a coloured cover in March, 2000, and a little later a full-colour magazine. Every month we add a little improvement. We changed printers about every year, looking for reliability and quality. Around seven years ago we found a reliable printer and went through a mutual training program: they trained me as to what they wanted and I trained them to what I wanted. Up to now, it seems to be working.
Over 15 years The Howler has reported on a wide variety of topics – The Road to Tamarindo (now The Road to Langosta); Hurricanes; comets, meteors and eclipses; pollution; noise; obituaries (too many); crime and the Tamarindo Sheriff’s Office; water wars; visa trips; music – rock ‘n’ roll, blues, disco, classical; fiestas, cintas and topes...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have made The Howler what it is – my writers, who studiously ignore any attempt to keep to a deadline; my advertisers, some of whom have been with me over a dozen years, so they must be happy with the results; and my read-ers, who tell me how much they enjoy the magazine.
I look forward to many more years of Howler production before the “Big 30”.
The greatest variety of toursand riding experiences for all ages, featuring
spectacular countryside, howler monkeys, colorful small towns and fun-filled fiestas.
Cantina Tour - Nature Tour Fiesta & Tope Rental - Old Tempate Trail Tour
Located near Portegolpe on the main road,opposite the Monkey Park,
just 20 minutes from the beach.
Phone us at: 2-653-8041 • [email protected]
The best horses on Guanacaste’s Gold Coast!
Casagua Horses
Fifteen Years ofThe Howler
David Mills
You won’t find sleigh bells, carollers or snow, but Guanacaste does have its traditional Christmas celebrations that mark one of the most family-oriented holidays in Costa Rica. Today
Guanacaste families, like those all over the world, put out the colorful blinking Christmas lights and store-bought decorations only recently available here. But not so long ago, when holiday commercialism had not yet reached Guanacaste, the traditional small-town Christmas celebration had a more unique flavor. Today in many of the small towns some of the same traditions continue.
In the recent past (twenty years or less), before the boom in tourism and construction, many Guanacaste young men and women worked in San José or, more often, the young men worked in the banana plantations in the Atlantic and Pacific. Life was hard in the banan-ara, but the money was good for young men with little education, and job opportunities were few for the rapidly growing population of Guanacaste. The few local jobs were as agricultural peons or seasonal workers in the sugarcane fields. Young people who lived and worked far from home would look forward to returning to their pueblos with new clothes and their Christmas bonus (aguinaldo) in their pockets. Everyone looked forward to a traditional holiday with family and friends.
My husband, Esteban, born in Cartagena, shared many memories of Guanacaste Christmas holidays past. Months before Christmas and New Year, families would start to fatten a pig, and as the holidays approached would begin preparing food for the holiday crowds. Fami-lies would gather mattresses and get the house ready for the influx of family and friends. Everyone came home for the holiday vacation, but not for turkey and Christmas pie.
The day before Christmas was the day to kill the pig, make chichar-onnes, succulent fried pork, and roasted whole gallina (hen). Hundreds of white corn tamales filled with tender pork and vegetables were wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in heavy vats. The variety of traditional meats and dishes that were cooked over leña (firewood) could easily be heated up for the hungry crowds. Instead of a tree and lights, families set aside a corner of the living-room for a manger and figurines of the Christ child and manger figures. Through the years, families would add on to the nativity scene with all kinds of animal and human figures.
Christmas Eve was the big dance for all the pueblo. However, at midnight, the dance would have a break so the religious could go to the Misa de Gallo, midnight mass. Others would go home to eat a midnight meal with family and friends. The dancers would return after about an hour’s break and continue dancing until 3 a.m.
Kay T Dodge
ChristmasGuanacaste Style
(continued page 24
Dr Jutta Heinz has opened her Quetzal Natural Health Center on the second floor of Plaza Tamarindo. Dr Jutta was a qualified surgeon in Germany, a holistic professional and natural medical
doctor. She is also experienced in sport medicine. Quetzal offers all your needs for holistic treatment and therapy. See the ad on page 18.
For good down-home cooking visit Doña Lee’s Country Kitchen, op-posite Tamarindo Gym (in the old Stella and Ursula restaurant). Serving grits, biscuits with sausage gravy, barbecued ribs and other great food, they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and feature an all-day breakfast. See ad page 23.
The annual “Have a Heart” golf tournament takes place at Hacienda Pinilla February 14 at 8:30. Registration of $150 per person ($125 before Feb. 1) includes cocktail party, cart, green fee, breakfast, awards luncheon. Call 2653-1945, [email protected] or visit Suite A-10 in Plaza Tamarindo.
The OnLine Wine Shop.com is starting a home delivery service for Wine Lovers here in Guanacaste! All purchases will be made online avoiding “cash at the door” for the home purchaser. ‘House Accounts’ are also available. They hope to expand their wine list as their business grows but so far they have wines from; France, South Africa, Chile, Ar-gentina, Italy, Australia, Oregon, Washington, Napa ... and much more...They offer cheese and desserts, too! See ad on page 13 for details.
Learn to dance the Latin way! Dance lessons by Carolina at Marie’s Restaurant every Wednesday at 4:30 pm ¢3,000 per person.
The fourth Annual Raft-up will be held December 12, leaving Tama-rindo Beach at 9 a.m. For details see ad page 24 or contact Peter at 8302-6514.
The local Guanacaste theatre group Beach Nuts is working on a new holiday production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, which will be presented in Tamarindo at the Hotel Diria Amphitheatre on December 9, 10, and 11, 2010. Show starts 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for Students/Children and $15 or Adults. $20 for Adults at the door. Tickets at Jaime Peligro Book and Papaya con Leche.
In Tamarindo Garden Plaza is the new restaurant El Arriero, serving Mexican and South American cuisines. Open at 11 a.m. for lunch; afternoon tea at 2:30; Happy Hour 5:30 – 6:30; din-ner from 6:30.
Country Day School presents “Holiday in Paradise” with dinner, live entertainment with the Leatherbacks and a silent auction. Adults only, tickets $45, $50 at door.Friday December 3 at 5:30 at Reserva Conchal Beach Club. Information [email protected]. See ad page 8 for details.
Remodelling& Home Repairs
Carpentry • Block WallsStonework • Ceramic Tile
Drywall • ConcreteAny Work Undertaken
Free estimatesRex Barnes - Tel: 2-653-1432
Surf ReportStory: Ellen Zoe Golden
With all the big pro action that goes on in Costa Rica, it is would be easy to downplay the local contests that go on around the country. I get a lot of information about
contests in Jacó and Limón, and it’s important to note that the community work with local surfers is the stuff that keeps the kids motivated to be better in the water and around town.
Carlos Arias of Witch’s Rock Surf Camp in Tamarindo, wanted to raise money to put trash cans on Tamarindo Beach. He thought the best way to do that would be to put together a Locals’ Surf Contest on November 13 and 14. The two days went off splendidly with local judges like noted surf hero Federico Pilurzu, among others.
The result, besides raising $500 for those trash cans, was a day of lively fun competition for the 130 kids who showed up.The winners are:
On the pro side, there are 16 Costa Rican athletes who prepared to go to Nicaragua for the fifth Central American Surfing Games in No-vember. They were also hoping to claim that fifth title for the country.
On November 20 and 21, at Playa Maderas de San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, the Costa Rica National Surf Team went to defend its four Central American Surfing Championship titles. The team included: (continued
page 22
Open: Jair Pérez (Jacó), Carlos Muñoz (Esterillos), David Herrera (Quepos) and Luis Castro (Tamarindo).Open Femenino: Lisbeth Vindas (Jacó) and Paula Duarte (Jacó).Junior: Anthony Fillingim (Malpaís), Maikol Torres (Esterillos), Alberto Muñoz (Esterillos) and Noe Mar McGonagle (Pavones).Longboard: Anthony Flores (Jacó), Adolfo Gómez (Nosara).Bodyboard Male and Female: Not named at press time.
The Costa Rica National Surf Team selection included new names, but they have a pedigree as well. Surfers such as 19-year-old Herrera in the Open, 15-year-old Alberto Muñoz in the Junor and 11-year-old Duarte in the Women’s all earned their spot from hard fighting in the Circuito Nacional de Surf during the year, as well as the Triple Crown that just finished in October.
“This year, we combined experience with a lot of youth. In addition, several of the boys delivered good results in the previous days. The Central American Surf Championships represents for us a great op-portunity with athletes that have not necessarily appeared in major competitions to take them and harden them to the fire internationally,” commented Jose Ureña, President of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica and Technical Director of the Team. The contest itself will be run in one of the best waves in the South Pacific of Nicaragua. Playa Madera is located about 3 km to the north of the town of San Juan del Sur, and it is certain that the conditions will be suitable for a great contest, particularly since the off-shore winds run there most of the year.
Costa Rica will compete among 80 athletes, which will include those from Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama.
In late October, the best of Costa Rica’s surfers went to the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games presented by Amarok of Volkswagen in Punta Hermosa, Peru. This includedOpenJason Torres (Jacó)Carlos Muñoz (Esterillos)Gilbert Brown (Puerto Viejo) Isaac Vega (Tamarindo) WomenNataly Bernold (Limón)Lisbeth Vindas (Jacó)LongboardCristian Santamaría (Nosara) Anthony Flores (Jacó) Of all the World Surfing Games, Costa Rica has participated in, it is my opinion that this was the most difficult. And it showed. On the sixth day, Costa Rica finished its participation with its goal intact
Finals Open1) Luis Castro2) Omar Peraza3) Angelo Bonelli4) Tomas KingJuniors1) Tomas King2) Noah Quinjala3) Dan Valerin4) Geremi SeguraLongboard1) Henry M2) Ricky Pilurzu3) Carlos Arias4) Cristian Boos
Women1) Kasey ?2) Marcela3) Ashleigh Wall4) Freya DiazBoys (Under 16)1) Noah Quinjala2) Justin Barranca3) Elisa Bonameth4) Steven AnguloMini-Grommets (Under 12)1) Aldo Quiros2) Malakai Martinez3) Ian Vanderwath4) Luque Ginaloo
David Herrera
Photo: Maripaz Chinchilla
Photo: Maripaz Chinchilla
Paula Duarte
Halloween
17
2010
18
In the busy little city of Liberia, Guanacaste, nicknamed “La Ciudad Blanca” as many of its buildings are constructed of local limestone, is a quiet oasis of artistic delights, known
as Café Liberia y Centro de las Artes. Here you can enjoy a coffee with a vegetarian meal, or take classes in music, theater and art.
The original Café Liberia stood, for three years, in a side street a couple of blocks north of the main junc-tion, and was much frequented by locals and extranjeros alike. The ambience was that of an old-style European coffee house, where customers would pass an unhurried time in comfortable chairs enjoying freshly-ground coffee, reading a book, holding conversations, lis-tening to the quiet background mu-sic. In May 2010 the owner, Radha Toruño, moved the operation to an old house in Calle Real, a far larger edifice giving room for musical and theatre performances.
The building, 120 years old and perfectly preserved, is decorated
with fine woodwork and a painted ceiling featuring Raphaelis-tic cherubs in the dining room. Behind the kitchen, the house, once the home of and still owned by the family Zuñiga Clachar, opens into a courtyard with gardens in the old colonial style. The whole building has been declared a National Monument by
the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Coffee beans, brought green from Radha’s favorite finca in Tarrazú, are roasted and ground in the café, the aroma pervad-ing the whole house. Different types of coffee are available, from latte to espresso to frap-puccino to mocha. Sandwiches are freshly made as ordered, and the vegetarian meals ex-cellent. Wireless internet is avail-able.
Radha Toruño
Café
Music Room
19
Radha is originally from Panama City, where she learned the love of music and the arts from her grandmother, a singer of Spanish songs. She came to Costa Rica eight years ago and moved to Li-beria in 2006, where she opened the original Café Liberia. Radha herself is a performance artiste and sings Spanish music, boleros, waltzes and tangos.
A wide range of musi-cal performers have entertained at Café Li-beria, including Max Goldenberg, Guadal-upe Urbina, Santos y Zurdos, Sasha Camp-bell, Olman Briceño, Cristian Porras, Manu-el Chamorro, Ana Lu-cia Rodriguez, Carol Cabalceta; Fernando Grillo presented a con-cert last week. In ad-dition, this busy little café offers courses of dance, singing, theatre and painting, and mu-sical tuition in violin, piano, saxophone, percussion, clarinet and guitar.
For artists, there is space to exhibit their works, including resident artist Karen Clachar. and Thursday is cine art night, free admis-sion. Poetry, too, is given its expression here, with readings by Rafael Angel Herra, Tatiana Lobo, Miguel Fajardo; Ana Istaru presents a monologue in the café December 10. Also, a Poetry Circle meets regularly.
Café Liberia opens at 10 a.m., closed Sundays. To get there, go up Liberia’s main street to the plaza. Turn right on Calle Real (on the street sign) and one-and-a-half blocks brings you to this cultural oasis. For information, call 2655-1660
or 8339-0492.
Courtyard garden
Main Salon
Music Room
Entrance Hall
20
Costa Rica is justifiably proud of its reputation of hav-ing no military, a situation that saves the country money which is spent on social programs. Other
annual military budgets in the region are Nicaragua $31 million; Honduras $108 million; Panama $131 million; El Salvador $155 million; Guatemala $181 Million; Venezuela $1.08 billion; Colombia 2.84 billion. One has to wonder just how much a person benefits in Costa Rica from no military spending, considering that the biggest spender in the region, Colombia, spends only $78 per head per year on its military and the cheapest, Nicaragua, only $6 per person.
But the big question at present is: how does a non-military state defend its borders? The recent attempted theft of Costa Rican property (a mere three square kilometers of waterlogged land) on the Nicaraguan border has tested the peaceful coexistence between the two countries and has Ticos screaming for justice. Never mind that, prior to October 21, an estimated 99.875 percent of Ticos couldn’t
have found Isla Calero on a detailed map of the country – it’s the principle that matters. Give them a centimeter and they’ll take a manzana.
When Nicaraguan work-ers started to dump mud and dead trees on Costa Rican land on the south side of the Río San Juan,
Costa Ricans raised a fuss. The government sent a load of police to the area, where they found Nicaraguan troops already in occupation and, heavily armed, having no im-mediate plans to leave. The troops were under command of Eden Pastora, a national military hero known as “Co-mandante Cero” when leader of the early Sandinistas (the handsome gentleman shown here). Nicaragua claims that the troops are there to interdict drug traffickers, and accuses Costa Rica of protecting the druggies. “Drug traffickers are directing Costa Rica’s foreign policy,” said Ortega in a televised address.
Costa Rica, unable to fight its battle, called upon the Organization of American States who sent its represen-tative, José Miguel In-sulza, to examine the disputed area by he-licopter. Later, in the OAS, a vote agreed by 21 to 2 that Nica
(continued page 33)
Words Fly Across Border
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 8
So, December 22 marks the Winter Solstice! What do you expect me to do, a tap-dance on your heads? Fire regulations at Luigi’s prohibit the burning of sage by our “earth-based, Goddess-worship-ping” employees, but we’ll try to accommodate your shamanic drumming circle during the band’s breaks. Okay?
Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Overereaters Anonymous to sit farthest from the dessert table and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms. Did I miss anything?
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 9
People, people! Nothing sinister was intended by having our CEO dress up as Santa Claus! Even if the anagram of Santa does hap-pen to be Satan, there is no evil connotation to our own “little man in a red suit.” It’s a tradition, folks, like sugar shock at Halloween or family feuds over the Thanksgiving turkey or broken hearts on Valentine’s Day.
Could we lighten up?
The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the pres-
ence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
Burton Hillis
reaching the Top 10—placing #9—but not improving on its previ-ous placement in last year’s World Surfing Games, which was #7, or even besting its highest number which was #5 in Huntington two years before.
It happened when the last three surfers—Muñoz, Flores and Vin-das—all fell out of their repercharge heats thus closing the door on the team’s participation. The surprise came earlier in the week, when in the Open category, there were the early departures of Torres, Vega and Brown, who had surfed so well at the outset.
In the Women and Longboard, honestly, the results were similiar to those of previous World Surfing Games, a couple of rounds in the main competition then a repercharge or two and out. Except Vindas went a little further.
Nevertheless, here, the former #6 in the World in Portugal—Bernold, fell out early, leaving Vindas to surf into #16 in the Games among sixty competitors. Her position, did indeed add valuable points to-wards the team ranking.
The surfer Muñoz, in the last day, ran a more competitive series against three of the favorites in the Top 5, Chad du Toit of South Africa, Peterson Crisanto of Brazil and Mick Campbell of Australia, and ended his repercharge.
“That was one heat I am not going to forget. I did all that was pos-sible to take my waves and even mark the Australian and then he got a wave that I wanted, snatched it so I could not add to my points. Another came, and I surfed well, but it still left me outside of that heat and they came out winning and not me,” said Muñoz, who ultimately placed #16 in the competition.
The last Tico to leave the competition was longboarder Flores, who came in third against the United States’ Steve Newton, Switzerland’s Stefan Vogel and Mexico’s Patricio Gonzales. He equalled his #25 ranking of the year before.
“It was quite a difficult World Surfing Games for the Costa Rica Team. We took into account that we always come to fight for first place in the rankings and then we succeeded in placing in the results we hoped for due to several factors that affected us this time,” said Ureña. “We cannot make responsible the athletes, nor the techniques. But it has a lot to do with the conditions in which we competed which were the coldest ever. Equally we are not going to make excuses and are going to accept the level that we did, and we are going to analyze our errors and work on that for our following commitments to come.”
Ultimately, the winner of the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games presented by Amarok of Volkswagen was locals Peru. After 45 years from the time the World Contest took place there, surfers from that nation took home the gold. Over 200 surfers from all over the world wanted those medals.
Surf Report(from page 15)
(continued page 23)
Surf Report(from page 22)
Final Team Results: Gold - Peru – 14370 points; Silver - Australia – 13160 points; Bronze – South Africa - 11820 points; Copper - Bra-zil– 11340 points.
Individual Final Results: Open Men Gold: Hira Terinatoofa (Tahiti); Silver: Gabriel Villarán (Per); Bronze: Jhones (Bra); Copper: Mick Campbell (Aus).
Open Women Gold: Chelsea Hedges (Aus); Silver: Paige Hareb (NZ); Bronze: Sofia Mulanovich (Per); Copper: Pauline Ado (Fra). Longboard Gold: Rodrigo Sphyer (Bra); Silver: Josh Constable (Aus); Bronze: Harley Ingleby (Aus); Copper: Benoit Clemente (Per). Final Nations Ranking
That’s all I’ve got. Looking forward to hearing what you think. Keep those emails coming at [email protected]. Send your comments, information, errors or praise, because I can’t do this column without you, the real surfers.
1 - Peru2 - Australia3 – South Africa4 - Brazil5 - Tahiti
6 - USA7 - France8 – New Zealand9 - Costa Rica10 - Spain
11 - Venezuela12 - Puerto Rico13 - Chile14 - Argentina15 - México
16 – Great Britain17 - Panamá18 - Japan19 - Ecuador20 - Germany
21 - Uruguay22 - Switzerland23 - Guatemala24 - Portugal25 - Canada
26 - Sweden27 - Dominican Republic28 - Israel29 - Jamaica30 - Ireland
From: Pat LewisDirector - Human ResourcesTo: EveryoneRe: Christmas PartyDate: December 10
Vegetarians!!!! I’ve had it with you people!! We’re going to hold this party at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table farthest from the “Grill of Death”, as you so quaintly put it, and you’ll get your %^&* salad bar, includ-ing hydroponic tomatoes. But, you know, they have feelings, too. Tomatoes scream when you slice them. I’ve heard them scream! I’m hearing them scream right now!!
There was little commercialism in the Guanacaste Christmas, most gifts being reserved for children. Families that could afford gifts set a single gift next to each sleeping child, so they would have them when they awakened Christmas morning. For the boys, a soc-cer ball or toy car; for the girls, a doll or a set of dishes. Esteban was content with a new soccer ball every year, for many children received nothing. It was the fiesta and family time that made the holidays, not a barrage of gifts.
On Christmas day there was always a big soccer game in the plaza, and if someone could get a pick-up or cattle truck, families and friends piled in to go to the beaches in Brazilito or Conchal for a picnic, swimming and, of course, drinking. Some people who did not have many family obligations would go to the Christmas fiestas in Belén (Bethlehem) to watch the bulls and go to the big town dances. Buses would make runs to and from Belén all day, the last bus leaving at 3:30 a.m. Fiestas in this area were limited to Belén, Cartagena, Filadelfia and larger towns, unlike fiestas today which are organized in almost every small town.
Christmas also was a time for socializing and courting. Young people met in the plaza every evening and joined in groups playing guitar, organizing serenades or walking along the starlit or moonlit roads talking or romancing. When Esteban was in college, many of his college friends who lived in other Central American countries and were not able to go home eagerly came to Esteban’s home to share his Guanacaste Christmas.
In Cartagena, as in most towns, there was a coyolera (a spot where coyol, the traditional drink collected from the coyol palm, was produced and sold). In Cartagena, in the yard of a house in Edén just outside of town, the downed palm was expertly drained of its potent juices. Coyol starts out mild like coconut milk and quickly ferments into a strong drink capable of bringing the strongest to his or her knees. Jesus, the local expert in extracting coyol, still makes the popular Christmas drink in Edén de Cartagena just as he has for many, many years. Christmas would not be complete for many Guanacastecos without this traditional drink.
Today there is a blending of Christmas traditions from all over the world. Guanacaste, especially along the coast, is becoming a melt-ing pot of cultures and traditions. But if you want a taste of old Guanacaste you can visit the small town celebrations or the fiesta in Belén, and even find the coyolera in Edén to experience a taste of the past and present and enjoy a feliz navidad!
Christmas Guanacaste Style
(from page 13)
Feliz Navidad!
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
The newly improved Salón Communal in Huacas is now open for the enjoyment of the community. The renovation of the facility is being led by the Gold Coast Learning Center and its
community service group, Advocates 4 Change. Students from Gold Coast have taken time to renew the building, look for sponsors, and plan future improvements.
So far, new retractable basketball hoops have been installed, a new three-stall girls’ bathroom completed, the old bathrooms renovated and turned into boys’ bathrooms, and a dressing room/classroom has been
created. The renovation of the Salón Communal was made possible due to fundraising done by the Gold Coast Learning Cen-ter and a special discount offered by Baquore, a local hardware store. The Salón Communal is the home basketball court
for the Jaguars. The basketball teams are made up of both Gold Coast Learning Center students and local students in the Huacas area. The Jaguars had their first home basketball game against La Paz on No-vember 11th and will continue to use the Salón Communal as their home basketball court in the future.
The Gold Coast Learning Center and Advocates 4 Change have plans for the Salón Communal that extends towards the entire community. Some of the future plans that Gold Coast and Advocates 4 Change have for the Salón Communal include the installment of a recycling center, a children’s park, and the construction of classrooms for the community. Local schools in Huacas are already using the Salón Communal as an extension of their school facilities. Hotel JW Marriot recently had a hiring fair there. Mark Sluzky, the director of Gold Coast Learning Center, said “It is truly heart-warming to see the Salón Communal being used by the community and we are very happy to have played a part in making our community a little better for everyone.” CEPIA, a local non-profit organization based in Huacas, has recently used the Salón Communal for an event for the community. The event was titled “Championship of the First Finale of the Cintas Riding”. Max Chaves, a volunteer at CEPIA, said the event consisted of Eques-trian Contest, Children’s Wooden Horse Competition with prizes, Cintas Riding tournament, reception and auction, and dancing. Food and drinks were also provided at the event.
Salon Comunal in Huacasrenovated & improved
Lucila Riascos
The Souls ofChristmas Future
Tom Peifer
All sorts of my personal favorites seem to start popping up as the holiday season draws near. This year, some of them came in small packages.
Thanks to David Dodge, fourth-grade teacher at La Paz Community School, the ‘Jaguars’ made it to El Centro Verde for an enthusiastic and informative agro-ecology field trip. The kids were bristling with questions, bravely sampling any number of new edible offerings and eagerly acquiring seeds and plants for their own garden project. Booty in hand they clambered aboard the bus clutching bags full of sustainable goodies, a full four days before the high fructose corn syrup offerings of mainstream Halloween.
In gardening, timing is key. On the day the La Paz students were here, no one needed an umbrella. Due to a dry October, we could walk around comfortably in the sunken summer garden to see the fish in the year-round pond. By the afternoon the paths were again under water. Within a week the entire area that the kids visited looked like it had been hit by a tsunami. Like the rest of Costa Rica, I even lost a bridge or two. Many of my neighbors weren’t so lucky.
Alan and Andrés, two handicapped teenagers who are my closest neighbors, were carried out of their home to higher ground as the waters rose about 3 a.m. In their home the water was barely knee deep. Nearby Paraiso was a different story. Well before dawn, homes that had never flooded were knee-deep; the usual victims—including the school and the church-- were waist deep or worse. High water marks on homes and stores leave an indelible impression of the price a community has to pay when the things that go bump in the night are in fact logs hurtling down an out-of-control river.
It will take many generations of kids with the environmental smarts inculcated at La Paz School to undo the damage wrought by their elders in the name of sustainable development.
In the case of Paraiso, the new highway had been raised over a half meter, ignoring the worries of some residents who expressed their concerns directly to Karla Gonzalez, then Minister of Transport. I overheard the response: “My engineers tell me that they have ana-lyzed the hydrology and taken measures to deal with the situation.”
Doña Karla took a page right out of the Costa Rican politician’s handbook. Virtually the same words were spoken when Oscar Arias was confronted with the slight embarrassment of repeated closures on the classy new highway to Caldera—a highly touted achieve-ment of his own administration. “But the engineers said it was, you know, Pura Vida.” You just have to wonder if a guy with a few decades under his belt on this planet is incapable of looking up at a near vertical road cut with boulders projecting out, over a hundred feet up the slope, and experience at least a faint recollection that the law of gravity has yet to be declared unconstitutional. Maybe the educators can tell me; at what age is it appropriate to teach kids to not trust politicians?
In Costa Rica the Arias bunch was successful in getting the Free Trade Agreement passed as a step towards the dream of turning this country into an export powerhouse. However, the partial or
total destruction of 25% of the paved national road system in a week of rain would seem to indicate that the leaders overlooked a few of the key details. Aerial photos of the highway to Panama looked like a long, sinuous version of the parking lot at an all-night truck stop. Globalization temporarily out of order due to reality. Fortunately for the political elite, Daniel Ortega ap-pears to have saved them from getting even more mud on their faces.
The unfolding brouhaha over Nicara-guan seizure of Costa Rican territory in the dredging of the Río San Juan has
moved the mudslides, mass funerals and generalized infrastructure collapse of early November off of the front pages and into the cat-egory of collective amnesia. While Ortega is apparently garnering electoral support back home with his blusterous antics, the Tico elite is rallying around the defense of the sacred homeland in a part of the country which, frankly, no one gave a damn about a few weeks ago. I would gladly wager that more cubic meters of sovereign soil washed out to sea due to the effects of tropical storm Tomás than were seized by the Nicaraguan incursion under the direction of Eden Pastora, the legendary Comandante Zero.
(continued page 32
When the dog bites, when the bee stingsWhen I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel, so bad.“Sound of Music”
28
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s Aries: 21 March - 20 AprilYour ruling planet, Mars, is in the fire sign Sagittarius, bring-ing in strong hints of a professional life change coming soon. Be ready for action in the new year and don’t delay when an opportunity comes your way. You are in a position of strength but be careful between the 8th and 15th as you could run into trouble with authority figures. Your best days are the 15th and 16th.Taurus: 21 April - 21 MayWith Saturn in your sixth house of health, you need to deepen your resolve to maintain a healthy lifestyle, particularly through the holiday season. Saturn rewards discipline and almost all Taureans could stand to lose a few pounds! Great time to sign up for a college course or two and expand your philosophical horizons. Things are looking brighter with your career now too and 2011 will be a great time to grow your business or start anew. Excellent days to make your case are the 17th and 18th.Gemini: 22 May - 21 JuneYour creative ability is highlighted this month as you are able to take practical steps towards achieving your vision on a project. Financial issues regarding insurance, legacies, wills and/or investment income should all be reviewed with a trusted professional so you don’t miss any details. Your ruling planet, Mercury, will be in retrograde motion from the 9th through the 30th so you will have your share of confusion during that time. Rewarding days are the 20th and 21st.Cancer: 22 June - 22 JulyThis month holds the energy of a major life direction change for you as you encounter circumstances or obstacles that block you continuing business as usual. While your security issues and fear of change will certainly be up and running at this time, you need to also allow some excitement to be present too. There’s a lot of creative and nurturing support for you to make a shift now so go with the flow. Best days for getting your way are the 22nd and 23rd.Leo: 23 July - 23 AugustGood month for a major blast of creative juices! Stay on top of all those ideas and make sure you write everything down. The vibes are positive for short trips but avoid foreign travel, especially around the middle of the month when conditions are volatile. You may get unusual news from one of your children in the middle of the month. Good days to be grateful for your abundance are the 24th and 25th.Virgo: 24 August - 22 SeptemberYour ruling planet, Mercury, does its retrograde dance this month from the 9th through the 30th so be prepared for some confusion or problems in your home or workplace. Keep a lid on your temper from the 10th through the 16th as the aspects spell big trouble with authority figures or people in power. Your advice will be sought by many at this time. Best days for a restorative getaway are the 26th and 27th.
Libra: 23 September - 23 OctoberThis month has you wrapping up some old business deals and collecting some money that is due you. There is a lot of pressure at home with things coming to a head between the 10th and 16th. Stay calm and use your ample diplomatic skills. Major changes are on the horizon for 2011 which will be a completely different experience than 2010. That should make you smile—best days to keep that smile are the 1st, 2nd, 28th and 29th.Scorpio: 24 October - 22 NovemberYou should have a creative breath through this month as the energy that has been stagnating for the last six weeks moves forward. Be careful in your travels between the 9th and 16th when the planetary vibes are disturbingly harsh. This month also has mixed aspects for finances so be a bit frugal as something unexpected demands some cash. You are favored on the 3rd, 4th, 30th and 31st.Sagittarius: 23 November - 21 DecemberGood month for you to be social and make some new friends. Accept all invitations and even consider some entertaining in your home. People are very interested in you now so if you want to expand your business this is the month to do so. Stay close to home around the 9-16th as the planetary aspects spell trouble. Keep your wits about you. Good days to get your way are the 5th and 6th.Capricorn: 22 December - 21 JanuaryYour life gets a bit shaken up this month as you get some disturbing news that sets you back a bit in the middle of the month. Time to hunker down and make some major deci-sions about a direction change for 2011. You’ve seen this coming and now it’s here. You may also decide you need to move to a new location so don’t be surprised that you have a rather unusual holiday season. Good days to make your case and gather support are the 7th and 8th.Aquarius: 22 January - 19 FebruaryYou will have an interesting month as the vibe has you busy with professional groups and/or community interests. Not a good month to travel abroad, however attractive that is to you. You’ll find out who your true friends are this month and some people from the past may be contacting you for favors due. If you owe someone, now is the time to pay up. Watch your health this month as some old issue may show up. Good days are the 9th and 10th. Pisces: 20 February - 20 MarchThis month has many professional demands on you and it’s possible you could get a job offer and chance for advance-ment. The vibe supports change in that area so keep your eyes and ears open. The middle of the month is stressful and a little dangerous so avoid areas that are creepy or disturbing to you. Stay positive about the future and 2011 looks to be a better year. Your best days are the 12th and 13th.
by Jeanne Callahan
Namasté
Visit Jeanne’s site at CelestialAdvisor.com
In my last column, we began to discuss the effects of the over-consump-tion and under-consumption of certain foods on our health. In this column, I will expand on that discussion by detailing those effects on
specific body systems, starting with the musculoskeletal system. Each body system and structure has particular nutritional needs based upon its specific structure and function. For instance, most people look at a bone and see a relatively lifeless structure that provides support, and that magically heals when broken. That fact alone provides a hint as to the complex and miraculous structure that a bone is. How does something so seemingly inert manage to heal at all, and not only that, but in the same shape as it was when it was broken, if given time and the proper support? There is no way that creatures as humble as we can ever understand such a wondrous process. The bones, and the cartilage, ligaments and tendons that bind and support them, are voracious consumers of calcium. They are the largest reservoirs of calcium in the body, by far. The teeth are composed mainly of calcium, so they are another significant store of the mineral. Since calcium binds and neutralizes acid, within our limited understanding of such things, then it stands to reason that a diet that is high in substances that produce an acid condition in the body, such as sugar or flour, will deplete the bones and teeth of calcium. There is a 90% correlation between the early (i.e. before age 5) consumption of sodas, sugars, and simple artificial starches, and the occurrence of dental caries in three or more teeth by age 21. There is an 80% correlation between the lifelong consumption of those foods and the occurrence of osteoporosis, and so on. It is very important then, not to eat refined sugar or flour, or foods made with those substances. So no bread, pasta, baked desserts like cakes and pies, crackers, cookies, candy, cereal, soda or “juice” drinks (which are nothing but sugar water), or condiments like steak sauce, sweet sauces, barbecue sauces, and (my nemesis!) ketchup. The muscles are the largest reservoirs of protein in the body. Proteins function best only if properly hydrated, so if your legs cramp at night, get up and drink a glass or two of water. I used to prescribe pills for this and they always worked, but in retrospect the cramps were probably helped more by the water the patient took the pills with, than by the pill itself! If your diet is low in protein, your skin will sag and you will lose your smooth shape as your muscles atrophy and leave your skin hanging in the breeze like a sack! The majority of women don’t eat enough protein, and that eventually leads to the withered old lady look that we believe to be “normal”. This seemingly natural result of aging is rather the tangible manifestation of lifelong protein starvation. In a younger person, we doc-tors would call it cachexia, or muscle wasting. So you must eat an abundance of natural protein, such as chicken, seafood, and eggs, if you want to maintain a healthy and youthful appearance. Pork and beef aren’t necessarily bad for you, as some would suggest, but beef especially has too much saturated fat, which makes it much harder to digest than chicken, eggs, or seafood. In my next column, we will continue this discussion, focusing on the skin and hair.
Doctor’s OrdersJeffrey Whitlow, M.D.
Foreword: In order to do a story of this nature it is necessary to refer often to Jesus Christ, for whom I assure you I have nothing but the highest regard and certainly do not want to give any other impression. I feel the same way about Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Zeus, Lao Tzu, Ra, Confucius, Dionysus and John Lennon.
December 25th was originally a big holiday in pre-Christian Europe when tribes of fierce ancient Frenchmen and Germans would gather together and cook a large fir tree while consuming copious amounts of mead, after which the young men would amuse the clan by beating each other to death. There are pages and pages on the internet focusing on the actual date of the birth of Christ, some sa-ying it was as early as 4 B.C. or as late as 1 A.D. It was probably on or about March 25th but, as there was a serious need for something to replace the aforementioned Tree Holiday Week, the powers that be who called the shots at that time chan-ged the dates. This adjustment was later confirmed in the late Twentieth Century by Kris Kristofferson who also declared that “Jesus was a Capricorn”.
It wasn’t till the early late middle ages that Christmas took on a more festive feeling with the introduction of Saint Nicholas (or Santa Claus), believed to be based on an obscure Rumanian historical figure who killed a lot of visiting Mongols and then gave their severed heads as gifts to his favorite constituents. By the nineteenth century, and especially in London, England, Christmas was at full throttle, thanks mostly to the writings of Charles Dickens, replete with the appropriate carols, trees, now no longer eaten and having been replaced by roast goose, holly and good cheer. Dickens also introduced the first real Christmas innovation in many years: the Scrooge with the attendant “Bah Humbug!”
This brings us to the present age and my dealings with the holiday over the last two-point-one-eight-score years. My earlier remembrances of Christmas were bathed in disappointment. I remember being entranced by the gi-gantic box at the local supermarket that contained an entire Johnny Astronaut Junior SpaceStation, which contained over fifty action figures, three model space ships that could actually fly, com-plete with scale-size atom bombs to nuke the Communist menace, and an actual kid-size Space Helmet, all for just $237.95. This being the (shudder) 1950s it probably wasn’t even made in China! I had made it quite clear to Santa Claus the Impaler, in a number of letters, that this was all I really needed.
Christmas morning I opened a small box containing a little plastic “space launcher kit” that would spring launch these crappy little “saucers”. To my further chagrin all my other presents contained socks. “Bah Humbug” had a new disciple.
As I grew older things just got worse, and by the time I reached adulthood Christmas became something I could hardly wait to be over, usually hanging out in a dark depressing movie theater watching whatever “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” seasonal blockbuster was out that year. After a while I became really good at Bah Humbug, making sure that I ma-naged to bring down everyone at any celebration someone had mistakenly invited me too. To say I wallowed, that is to say I excelled, in the Anti-Xmas point of view, is an understatement.
“Xmas”? What’s that all about? I’ve alrea-dy tried to convince you I really really like Jesus, so what’s up with this? There see-ms to be a popular misconception that this is anti-religious. However according to the BBC it was already in use by the church in the first century A.D. and that
when Gutenberg first started printing they substituted “X” for “Christ” to save time and money in the very tedious process of hand-setting type. But I digress.
What I have since found out is that Costa Rica is not the country for a true humbug to be living in. The department stores in San José start blasting Christmas Ca-rols and putting up decorations in late September, and any available space is jammed with strings of LED lights, both musical and non, glass ornaments of every size, shape and color, blow-up plastic Santas, reindeer and snowmen and every conceivable style of wrapping paper known to man. All manufactured in a country that officially does not recog-nize the existence of a supreme being - only Marx and Mao. Woe betide the unsuspecting extranjero who stumbles in trying to buy something like socks, only to wait in a check-out line for two hours.
Indeed, the first decade or so I did my best to ignore the festivities, grumbling and moaning throughout the season, all the time my poor suffering Christmas fan of a wife put up with me hoping against all hope that I just might change my mind.
And so I have!I have decided that from now on I’m your number one super deluxe Christmas nut. I recently came back from an excursion to the provincial capital with an authen-tic artificial Christmas tree along with strands and strands of colored lights that are miraculously still working as of this writing, all fine products of you know whe-re. We have also humiliated our Shar-Pei by attaching fuzzy reindeer antlers to his head and the band is now playing surf arrangements of “Silent Night” and “Oh Holy Night”. You will not find a more Gung Ho Ho Ho guy for Christmas anywhere in Guanacaste and I hope you all get the Gigantic Space Station of your dreams.
Merry Christmas!
Story by Jesse Bishop
CSurvivinghapter XII-XXVCOSTA RICA
A Brief History of Christmas
Leaving Louisiana on the morning of January 1, we were a little groggy after celebrating New Year’s Eve in a roadhouse lounge in New Iberia, a great evening with country folks and a non-stop
Zydeco band. We were also hungry, as the lounge did not serve food and all we had eaten since lunch yesterday were a few potato chips. In town nothing was open for breakfast, so we pushed on through bayou country up the beautiful Atchafalaya valley heading, eventu-ally, for Toronto. Our first destination was Natchez, the gambling town on the Mississippi. Perhaps we’ll find a good brunch there, maybe on board one of the stern-wheel gambling steamers.
No such luck! Natchez was closed, not even a McDonald’s. I guess they’d partied it up, too. As we gassed up we grabbed cof-fee and a bag of something; this helped the hunger a little but we were still ravenous.
By late afternoon we started looking for a place to rest for the night. We have simple tastes; all we ask is a clean room, a restaurant and a bar within walking distance. Arriving at the small town of Cleveland, MS, we found all three together. The motel was owned by Indians and smelled of curry, but the room was clean and the price right. Across the street was Outlaw’s Bar and Lounge, so we made camp and cleaned up.
Outlaw’s was almost empty except for two oldsters playing pool, with commentary on every play:
“This’ll be a sweet shot, Clyde. Red in the center pocket.”“Gee, Jim, that would’a bin a sweet shot if the red would’a went
in.”Behind the bar was a middle-aged woman, who admitted to being
the owner. “That’s my husband, Jim Outlaw, over at the pool table,” she told us. I was a little disappointed that the bar got its name from the owner; I had more interesting guesses at its origin.
“We’ll have two beers”, we told her.“It’s Friday, so that’s yeller cup night,” she informed us, holding
up an ugly yellow plastic mug. “Yer gets a yeller cup fer five dollars and it’s all yer can drink as long as yer got the cup.”
Lee and I looked at each other with a grin. All yer can drink is not a good business strategy where we are concerned. We relaxed over the beers and Dora Outlaw engaged us in talk; we were her only audience. Finding out that we came from Toronto, she called the fact over to Jim. He quit his game and came over. “Toronto? That’s a big city, ain’t it?”
Yes, we agreed, it is a big city, and he continued “If I give yer a free Outlaw’s T-shirt each, will yer wear ‘em in Toronto?” The word “free” got our attention so we promised to publicize his bar in the Big City. Lee got a pink one, mine was teal.
Now for some food. “I just invented a new sandwich,” said Dora. If yer’ll give me yer opinion of it, I’ll give it yer fer free.”
We agreed on this mini restaurant review, and it was good. Just sliced beef on a bun with gravy and fries, not much of an invention, but it was much appreciated as our first meal of the day – and the price was right.
Taking much advantage of the yeller cup promotion, we spent the whole evening there, as we were not driving. We dined well, drank well and left with new T-shirts – all for ten bucks!
We walked across the street and slept in curry-flavored sheets.
David Mills
A Slice of LifeYeller Cup Night
Rainfall Oct/Nov2009: 34.9 cm2010: 37.7Year-to-date
2009: 185.2 cm2010: 320.1
The Souls of Christmas...(from page 27)
I guess the question for educators like Mr. Dodge is how to balance the innate enthusiasm and optimism of youngsters with the cultiva-tion of the critical thinking skills needed to understand and the thick skin necessary to navigate the cynical mind games of the ‘grown-up’ world.
What lesson plan, short of a complete post-doc in aberrational psy-chology, could begin to make sense of the current political situation in the U.S? One political party, stickin’ to their guns that the whole climate thing is made up by pinko liberals who want to regulate the non-negotiable American way of life right out of existence, appears set to dump the elephant as its symbol, to be replaced by an ostrich. A sitting member of Congress, angling to be head of the influential energy committee, is claiming that we don’t need to worry about climate change because, after the floods, the Lord promised to never again destroy the world. The modest climate/energy legislation put forward by Obama is now officially dead in the water. In the current political ‘climate’ the likelihood for a renewed initiative is years down the road. The climate change ostriches are in head-down mode even in the face of warnings by the defense department that the future looks to be chock full of unpleasant surprises: massive migrations, regional conflicts over water and cropland, spiraling food costs, you name it. Again, let’s paraphrase Bob Marley, just how do we “tell the children the truth?”
As it turns out, Mr. Dodge and the 4th grade Jaguars at La Paz Com-munity School are probably on the smartest track to making some sense of—and having some control over—an increasingly uncertain future: learning how to grow your own food.
While writing this article I got a note from an old friend, a surfing buddy from college days. Ken Cassman is now the Director of the Nebraska Center for Energy Science Research, a distinguished agrono-mist and both informed and concerned about global food production and climate change. In his words, “Tom, the good news, to cheer you up, is that the more important inconvenient truth is that the inability to meet food demand on existing ag land is much more of a challenge, and will hit us much sooner, than the impact of climate change.” The take home message resonates very much with the efforts of schools to teach gardening, the farmers’ markets in Tamarindo and elsewhere and the overall efforts to promote local growing and consumption. The fourth graders thanked me profusely as they boarded their bus for the ride back home. As it turns out, I’m the one with the debt of gratitude. The Jaguars brought a ray of sunshine into my life. One of my favorite things is sharing secrets of the natural world with the brave souls who will soon inherit this earth. What could be a greater blessing than helping them learn how to care for it?
Tom Peifer is an ecological land use consultant with 16 years experi-ence in Guanacaste. Phone: 2658-8018. [email protected]
El Centro Verde is dedicated to sustainable land use, agriculture and development. http://www.elcentroverde.org/
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0( a l l t i m e s l o c a l )
1st -15th -31st -
rise 5:46; set 5:19rise 5:53; set 5:24rise 6:01; set 5:32
Sun
New:1st quarter:Full:Last quarter:
5th
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5:36 p.m.7:59 a.m.2:13 a.m.
10:18 p.m.
Moon
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October November
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016 20 25 31 1 5 10 15
RAIN GAUGE
RAINFALL - October/NovemberMaricle Meteorological Observatory
La Garita
Total rainfall: 37.7 cm (13.5 inches)
From: Teri BishopsActing Director - Human ResourcesRe: Pat Lewis and Holiday PartyDec 14
I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Pat Lewis a speedy recovery from her stress-related illness and I’ll forward your cards to her at the sanitarium. In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.
ragua should withdraw its troops. Only Nicaragua and its fellow bully Venezuela voted against. Following this vote, which the Nicaraguan president claimed was rigged, Ortega threatened to withdraw from the organization.
Ownership of the tiny tract of land is not an issue. Trea-ties and maps, made by both countries, show clearly that Isla Calero is Costa Rican territory. But outside of all the blustering and threats, the raison d’etre of Nicaragua’s ac-tion seems to be the proposed Atlantic-Pacific canal which Nicaragua hopes to build with financing from Venezuela. This canal, via the Río San Juan and Lake Nicaragua (Co-cibolca in Nicaraguan), would be an alternative to the Panama Canal and would bring some serious revenue to the operators. To bring this project to a conclusion, Nicaragua would need access to the Colo-rado River, totally inside Costa Rica.
But an added compli-cation was an inaccuracy in Google Maps as to the exact border (right), which has me asking “since when has Google been the definitive authority on international boundar-ies?” Anyway it conveniently gave Ortega another stick to wave.
The authoritarian leader of Nicaragua said that he might take the issue of the Río San Juan to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and seek passage rights for his countrymen on the Río Colorado, a river totally within Costa Rica. He said his country might withdraw from the Organization of American States.
At time of sending The Howler to press, the blustering continues. After two unenforceable deadlines set by Costa Rica passed without action, we all hope that Ortega gets the message soon, that his bullying tactics are unacceptable, not only to Costa Rica, but to the world.
Words Fly Across Border(from page 20)
Incorrect Google map
DECEMBER TIDE CHART1.17.81.18.90.87.91.09.10.58.20.8
9.40.18.50.79.6
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9.6-0.39.00.59.6
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1.38.20.78.31.67.81.28.01.97.31.67.82.17.01.97.72.16.72.27.6
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2.16.72.37.71.96.82.27.91.67.12.0
8.21.17.41.78.60.77.91.3
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00:4707:0713:2519:1301:3407:5314:1120:01
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8.90.38.30.99.20.08.80.69.4
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02:2008:3614:5520:4803:0509:1915:3821:3403:5010:0216:2222:2004:3510:4617:0623:0805:2111:3017:5223:57
21TFull Moon
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9.1-0.29.4
0.38.70.19.30.68.30.59.10.87.90.98.81.07.61.28.7
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1.07.51.48.70.97.71.4
8.70.78.01.28.90.48.31.09.00.28.60.9
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00:3707:0013:1719:1701:3307:5414:1120:0902:2408:4214:5920:58
31F
1SJan2011
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