Experience the beautiful site of Santa Juana close to Quepos

If you are looking for a magic experience different to any other you have had in Costa Rica, then Santa Juana Tour is the option. Located on the mountains close to Manuel Antonio and Quespos is a beautiful road that comunicates San Marcos de Tarrazu with Parrita. When visitinf the area experience the magic of nature and enjoy a unique part of Costa Rican rural heritage.

The Santa Juana Mountain Adventure! is a guided nature tour, which combines conservation and cultural wonders, taking you along the lush, jungle-shrouded slopes of the Fila Chonta Mountains where the Rodeo, Coto and Paquita rivers are born.

The tour begins with a typical breakfast on a traditional Tico house on the mountains, then you are set for a horseback riding tour towards the sugar mill. There you will get to knoe the process of getting the sugar out of the sugar cane using oxen. The a walk in the forest before getting to a refreshing swim beneath a mesmerizing waterfalls. Try your luck at organic Tilapia fishing, and also see fascinating regional wildlife, including a myriad of birds, insects and reptiles.

Visit the rustic small town of Santa Juana, where you’ll learn about coffee and citrus production, participate in the Carbon Offset Tree Planting Adoption Program, and enjoy a typical Campesino style lunch while taking in the panoramic vista of the coastline of Manuel Antonio National Park.

Only 8 people are allowed on the tour so you can experience the peaceful site of the countryside of Costa Rica. We just visited the place and can tell you that it was a wonderful experience.

Link: Santa Juana Mountain Adventure

Costa Rica unique typical Restaurant at Limon Province

On the road from Guapiles to Limon City (Limon Province), you will find many typical restaurants ussually used by the travellers. Many of them ave the typical Costarrican foods that we have discussed in earlier posts, but there is a place that is very different to the others.

It is called Chalo.com! Its name is very funny because it reflects the virtual-internet like thinking of nowadays people. Its owner created this little place with the best humor, to give visitors a completely different view of everyday foods...including Ticos and Ticas. So in the Chalos.com Menu, also called Chalomenu.com, you can find:

• M.P.3 - Which is a crunchy tortilla with mushed beans and cheese.
• Canelonsini - A fresh tortilla with a very simple ommelet on top.
• Cuartodemilla - A fresh tortilla with "Salchichon".
• Among many others.

The place is also known by its Choco Chalo, which is a chocolate milk beverage with some extra ingredient, which secret wont be shared with the visitor. So if you want to try it, you must trust the owner and enjoy the flavors.

So, as an oxymoron, Chalos.com is an unique typical restaurant in the area. With its little "ranchito" it invites friends to come over and have a "gallito". A place to enjoy a different experience eating the same foods that always share in our houses, and share them with foreingers.

Local Cinnamon Bread from Reposteria La Canela

Looking around in San Jose for places that are interesting and that have something to say different to the usually touristic stuff, I found this little bakery located close to the UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) in San Pedro. If you ask around, everyone will tell you is the best bakery ever.

Around 3 kilometers from San José Downtown, this bakery called Reposteria La Canela, has been selling its unique bread for quite a long time; it is a bread based on Cinnamon and honney, but with many other ingredients combined to make it delicious and very different to the bread that is sold everywhere in San Jose.

If you have a chance to walk around this area, made specifically to serve the necessities of the UCR students, visit this bakery and try its unique Cinnamon bread, enjoy the graffiti’s that decorate the surroundings and buy cheaper souvenirs on the street sells of the local artisans. These products are made for Ticos and Ticas and not for tourists, so you can find pretty amazing stuff, proper from the Costarrican culture of the young people.

They still don´t have a web site, but soon they will build one so you can check in advance what you want to try when you go.

Costa Rica National Anthem

The Costa Rica National Anthem named "Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera" (Noble homeland, your beautiful flag) was created by Manuel Maria Gutiérrez in 1853.

Costaricans are very proud of their country, their Tico culture and of their independece. They celebrate each September 15 the independence from the Spaniards.

Noble patria tu hermosa bandera
      Noble homeland, your beautiful flag
 Expresión de tu vida nos da:
      Expression of your life it gives us:
 Bajo el límpido azul de tu cielo
      Under the limpid blue of your skies,
 Blanca y pura descansa la paz.
      Peace reigns, white and pure.
 En la lucha tenaz de fecunda labor
      In the tenacious battle of fruitful toil,
 Que enrojece del hombre la faz,
      That brings a glow to men's faces,
 Conquistaron tus hijos, labriegos sencillos,
      Your sons, simple farm hands,
 Eterno prestigio, estima y honor,
      Gained eternal renown, esteem and honour,
 eterno prestigio, estima y honor.
      Gained eternal renown, esteem and honour.
 ¡Salve oh tierra gentil!
      Hail, gentle country!
 ¡Salve oh madre de amor!
      Hail, loving mother!
 Cuando alguno pretenda tu gloria manchar,
      If anyone should attempt to besmirch your glory,
 Verás a tu pueblo, valiente y viril
      You will see your people, valiant and virile,
 La tosca herramienta en arma trocar.
      Exchange their rustic tools for weapons.
 ¡Salve patria! tu pródigo suelo
      Hail, O homeland! Your prodigal soil
 Dulce abrigo y sustento nos da;
      Gives us sweet sustenance and shelter.
 Bajo el límpido azul de tu cielo
      Under the limpid blue of your sky,
 ¡Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz!
      May peaceful labour ever continue!

Drunk Pineapples: Delicious desert from the Costa Rican cuisine

Costa Rican cuisine is much more than Gallo Pinto (rice and beans), and the typical Casado (some kind of meat with rice, beans, plantain, salad and "picadillo"). Recently a good number of chefs got together in a competition to create and recreate with more creativity some of the typical dishes of Costa Rica.

There is much that can be talked about this topic, but today we want to share a recipe from Cocina Costarricense; It is called Piñas borrachas, or by its name in English drunk pineapples. On a day of Carne Asada (barbeque), you can surprise your guest by making a unique but very simple desert.

Cut the pineapple in thin slices, and put them on the grill so that they cook a little bit on both sides. Then get it on the plate and combine it with a scup of ice cream. The pineapple juice from the fruit can be cook with some maicena and create a sauce that will put the dish all together in a delicious party for the mouth.

For the complete recipe please visit Cocina Costarricense.

The Oxcart culture in Costa Rica

In Costa Rican, the so called bueyes (oxen) are animals that have been trained to help peasants on their normal shores. They normally pull a cart (oxcart) painted with great designs and very colorful forms. Peasants have exercised this rustic method for generations in the countryside of Costa Rica, learned from childhood, with his family. Although it is an activity mainly taken by men, recently women have also take a leadership position in the activity.

The oxen are chosen since they are little depending on their temperament and trained during their whole life to work together on a "yunta de bueyes".

La Niguenta and other cultural figures of Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, our elders used to have dolls like the Niguenta (naked girl taking something out of her foot). They place it close to the entrance of a house for good luck. In the picture you can see a representation of the doll La Niguenta (you can find the doll of a white girl and a black girl), and a representation of La Virgen de los Angeles also called La Negrita.

Many Costarricans use to have religious figures in their homes and bussiness. Some of these religious representations are the Virgen, La Niguenta, San miguel Arcangel, a Rosario and a representation of the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, among others.

Dictionary of Costa Rican Words

Here are some of the words most used by Ticos and Ticas, and that you may want to know when visiting the country during your vacations:

Tuanis - Some people say that it comes from the expression "too nice", it means that something is good or ok.

Maje or Mae - Used a lot by people of all ages; it means "dude", and can be used in femenine or masculine.

100 metros - "Cien metros" means "one block" and "cincuenta metros", means "half a block" – all regardless of the actual length of the block.

Aguevado or Bostezo - bored or boring.

Brete - work or job.

Chunche - Thing.

Di/diay - With no exact translation, diay is best thought of as an interjection at the beginning of a sentence, similar to "um" or "well."

Dolor de jupa - a headache.

Chante - home, place.

Estar de chicha - to be angry.

Estar de goma - to have a hangover.

Guila - A guila in Costa Rica is merely a "girl."

Jama - food.

Jumas - drunk.

Choza - home.

No joda!/no jodás! - don't bother me! / leave me alone!

Pura paja - crap; bullshit.

Pulperia - A small corner store.

Que tigra! - ugh, what a drag!

Salado - unlucky.

Soda - A small, family-run typical restaurant.

Soque! - hurry up!

Una teja - Is 100 of anything, usually money (100 colones).

La vara - the thing.

Upe! - hello? anyone home?

Information about Coronado

The offices of Banana Adventure Tours are located in Coronado, in the canton Vazquez de Coronado, in the suburbia of San Jose.

The regional symbols of Coronado are:

1. The Flag: Designed by Roger Arias Zuñiga Cristian Sanchez Cabrera and Cristian Rodriguez Brenes. They were the winners of a contest created by the Dulce Nombre Municipality. It has three colors: light blue, which represents the pure and clean sky of Coronado; white representing the work of its people in the dairy farm; green, representing the fields of Coronado and the 5 gold stars symbolizing every district.  

     2. The Shield: it was desinged  byt the professor Amaparo Cruz Zuñiga, and talken by the municipality
         on September 8, 1975.

La Carreta - Costa Rica Culture

La Carreta is one of the national symbols of Costa Rica. The origin of the Carreta came from Spain on the 16th century, and underwent a series of modifications according to the culture of the country, to become what is now.

The first type of Carreta was the so called Cureña; it was very simple, built out of rough woods, with a triangular base, and with no painting. It was in the Central Valley where the Carreta was painted and stylized, around the 20th century. It was commonly use to carry coffee to the port. The design of the wheels is usually base on nature and the use of color is very important. The Boyeros are the people who accompanied the Carreta along the bulls. La Carreta has become a national symbol of Costa Rica and can be seen in many traditional places, or in the parades the Boyeros do during the year in many places of the country.

Visit Costa Rica

Other interesting links:

Costa Rica Culture
Las Mascaradas - Costa Rica Culture
Costa Rica Architecture

Costa Rica: Interesting things to see in San Jose

Walking around the city, you may be able to see these sceneries: Local street vendors, walking around, offering their products. I am always amazed by the colorful scenery they offer. Some may say that they block traffic or make the city disorganized; I believe they are just part of the culture and should be appreciated as well.



Link: Visit Costa Rica

Las Mascaradas - Costa Rica Culture

The dance of Las Mascaradas is a tradition very practiced by all Costa Ricans. Las Mascaradas are huge clowns, with big heads that dance in the streets. The most common clowns are La Giganta, el Diablo, la Muerte, el Policía, and la Calavera. They are present in almost every cultural activity of the country, especially in the regional fairs and the small town’s fiestas. They come accompanied by La Cimarrona, which are a group of people that play special Costa Rican music, with trumpets and drums.

Costa Rica Culture

Costa Rica was conquered by Spanish in the 16th century, so from the beginning it was heavely influenced by the Spanish culture. Limon and the Cordillera de Talamanca are the exception with the predominancy of Black Jamaicans and indigenous people. The Ticos and Ticas (the way Costaricans demoninate themselves) are generally of mixed origins. There was a great number of immigrants who came to Costa Rica during the construction of the railroad; mostly the immigrants came from Jamaica and from China, and stayed in the Caribbean side of the country on Limon Porvince.

Costa Ricans speak Spanish, although there have been a great effort from the government to teach English in most schools due to the wolrd necesities nowadays. Normally Ticos and Ticas speak in the respectful manner of "usted", and in the familiar form of "vos" rather than "tu", used in other latianmerican countries. The term Ticos and Ticas came from the way Costa Ricans talk using diminutives with the suffixing -ito and -ita.

Read more about Costa Rica Culture.

Visit Costa Rica