alaskaarizonaarkansasfloridageorgiahawaiiillinois indianakentuckylouisianamaine marylandmassachusettsmichiganminnesota

mississippimissourimontananebraskanevadanewhampshirenewmexiconorthdakotaohiosouthcarolinautahvermontvirginiawashingtonwyoming

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 eU.S. States

editor’s note

Reinhabiting the Occidente

Expatriates in Costa Rica are reminded every day that they are strangers in the land. Whether it’s a question of adjusting to differences in climate, language, culture, nature, style, or pace of life––you name it ––we are always in the process of becoming nativized. On top of that, in these times of recurring waves of economic, political, and environmental crises of all types, adjustments are even more difficult. Whatever the crisis of the week is, the news is not good.

The world our Costa Rica neighbors and friends took for granted is shaking under their feet more ominously than any earthquake as they confront these same woes, so really they are now strangers in their own life worlds.

The result of these colliding political, economic, and cultural tectonic plates is a reconfiguration of who we are and what needs to be done. We need each other as we never have before. Foreigners need the Costa Rican campesino’s deep and practiced knowledge of how to be self-sufficient and live off the grid, how to grow their own food, how to have a good life with very little material surplus. But Costa Rican farmers need to improve some of their practices. They use far too much insecticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. They could improve their farming by adopting better practices of which they seem unaware.

As ecological changes become more dramatic and threatening because of climate and environmental debacles, expatriates and Costa Ricans together must realize how connected they are to the more-than-human world we live in. We must learn to reinhabit our life worlds. Our full community is a community that includes the wider non-human family as well. We are all plain citizens of our bioregion, which encompasses the full and deep ecology of the area we live in.

We belong to a place now, but what exactly is the place. You can say what city you live in, and what street you live on. But can you identify your life place according to the local watershed? Where do you live geologi-cally? Where does your weather and climate come from, and why? How do the forests grow where you live? Which trees grow and why? What are the keystone species in your area? When do the migrating birds and animals come, and where do they go when they leave. What happens after you flush the toilet? Who used to live on your land—not just the Tico family you bought it from, but before the Spanish Conquerors got here in the 16th century? What was their life like?

We can start our process of reinhabiting by asking these and hundreds of other questions. But we need to save the answers when we start prob-ing about the places we live. The Mountain Howler will take the lead in figuring out how to bank the knowledge and lifeplace skills we will begin acquiring. We need your ideas and your help to drive this project of reinhabiting our bioregion.

Part of the task of acquiring our new bioregional identity is naming where we live. Political boundaries just won’t do. We are becoming nativized to a physical place and it makes sense to look to the oldest and most monumental features common to where we live.

The name is obvious—we are the Poás Bioregion.

DEPARTMENTS

CD Review

Book Review

Living Healthy

Meet the Neighbors

Buddy the Guitar Guy

Around Town

March Forecasts

Sun & Moon

Word Puzzle

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FEATURES

The Mountain HowlerSince 2009April 2009

9 Building a Home in Costa RicaHaving heard the horror stories of building a house here, our writer tells us how he made it relatively easy.

Cover caption: Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, Grecia’s iron church.Cover design: Stephen Duplantier

27 Dining OutNot just pizza and pasta - an authentic Italian serves authentic Italian meals at Alida’s in Atenas.

8 El Occidente - The Western Central ValleyLet’s take a look at the six towns which make up the distribution area of The Mountain Howler, each with its own personality.

14 Processions and PilgrimagesSemana Santa is here, and Costa Ricans find many different ways to parade - to church and to the beach.

7 Why a Church of Iron?Grecia’s iron church is almost unique in the world. Where did it come from, and why iron?

18 My Costa Rican Car Buying ExperienceBring your car from outside, or buy one here? Our columnist explores various options and the story ends happily.

29 My 72 HoursYour 72-hour visa trip can also be a sybaritic little vacation, no stress, no travel, just self-indulgent relaxation - in San Juan del Sur.

20 Grecia Church’s Pipe OrganOne of the few remaining pipe organs in Central America, Grecia’s church organ is lovingly cared for and played frequently.

Founded in 2009Vol. 1, No. 3 - April 2009

Issue No. 3

PublisherDavid Mills

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

EditorStephen Duplantier

Tel: 8-398-4388 - stephen.duplantier@gmail.com

Sales and MarketingJeffeny Metz

Tel: 8-881-6084 - mountainhowler@gmail.com

Contributors:

TONY OREZJOE RICHARD

ROWENA TRIMJEFFENY METZ

BUDDY TETRAULTSTEPHEN DUPLANTIER

MICHAEL ANTHONYGENE WARNEKECARLA RIGIONIJANE LECROIXJEFF HICKCOX

The Mountain Howler

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the opinion of Howler Management.

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My New Life in Costa RicaChapter 1 of 3 - It’s Your Path

“Costa Rica! Where’s that?” These were the first words I uttered when my dear friends told me they were moving there soon. “It’s in Central America” they said. I immediately looked at a map and found a country no bigger than Maine! Wow, it amazed me that my friends were moving so far away, to a foreign country so remote from everything they had ever known. In-cluding a language!

But as I heard more and more about this enchanting land, I became interested, not only for my friends, but for myself as well. “It’s very inexpensive to live there,” is what I heard over and over again. “The weather is always warm, with spring-like temperatures year around” is another litany repeated con-stantly. I became more and more intrigued as I excitedly talked to my friends, rapidly gaining information about all aspects of this very different place. Suddenly Costa Rica was on my radar.

I was currently a school psychologist in a medium-sized city in California and had been at this profession for nearly twenty years. I was feeling a little frayed around the edges and found over the last couple of years I was over-reacting to the politics and insanity of the public school system in my district. I was feeling the need to leave, to do something else, or retire. At the time, none of those options was viable for me if I stayed in the United States. It never oc-curred to me that I could live somewhere else for a lot less. In addition, I was feel-ing a little jealous that my friends were retiring and leaving and I was envious of their position.

The confluence of feeling dissatisfied with my career and learning about Costa Rica, to me, was no accident. These synchronistic events have been long in coming, unfold-ing slowly but surely as my life went on day to day. The huge decision to possibly leave work and move to Costa Rica with my friends seemed like an abrupt, impulsive decision on the surface, but the reality was that I felt a seamless transition in my soul

in embarking on such a life-changing event and I hadn’t even visited the country yet. My soul knew of this change long before I became conscious of it, and because of this, I felt peace and a “rightness” about this huge decision. In addition, events and people in my work and personal life were there to help me along my path. Probably so I wouldn’t change my mind! Never did I waiver from that feeling of rightness throughout the whole process, even though I was a single woman leaving everything that was familiar to me.

As soon as I made the decision to make the move with my friends, I became very excited and jumped into action. My first priority was to find out about my financial status and how much pension I would re-ceive. Because of prudent investments and having a great teacher’s retirement package, I actually had enough to live on. I could hardly believe it! Here I was, 58 years old, and I was going to retire! I was jazzed!

The next few months, needless to say, be-came an exercise in organized chaos. This lasted for about three months as I got ready to leave the States. Not only was I selling my house, I was arranging to have my be-longings and my car shipped to Costa Rica and I was also buying a house in Costa Rica with a bank loan from that country. If that wasn’t enough, I needed to ship my three cats to Costa Rica, time the sale of my house with buying a new one thousands of miles away, have my furniture and car arrive when I did, and have a huge yard sale to get rid of stuff I didn’t want to lug to Costa Rica. Now, I consider myself a fairly intelligent and organized person but these logistics and plans almost did me in.

However, to my constant amazement, ev-erything I needed to accomplish worked out, problems were solved, schedules fell into place, and changes were easily accommo-dated. It was amazing to me but at, the same time, my little voice was always saying “Of course it worked out. It’s your path.”

Jane LeCroix

The world has more than one million religious temples, including oratorios, chapels, synagogues, shrines, cathedrals, basilicas, mosques and pagodas, but we note that there are very few

temples of metallic structure. As far as Central America is concerned, there is only one church which has a metallic structure in its entirety. It is the Catholic Church in the town of Grecia. Why build a temple of such nature, so exceptional? For this answer, let’s examine the history of Grecia to know what events led to the construction of such a great and unique religious work.

Already in the year 1840, Grecia had a small oratorio covered by straw, possibly located at today’s central bus station. Subsequently, between the years 1844 and late 1847, a chapel was built in the block where the current temple is located. This chapel was made of wood, with “palmilera” palm leaves covering the roof. In 1853, roof tiles and a brick floor were added and shortly thereafter a tower was built. This work involved all of the neighbours. This led to the establishment of the Parish of Grecia in 1854. Ten years later in 1864, the town was given the title of “Villa”.

Grecia and the surrounding areas expe-rienced rapid economic progress due to coffee, sugar cane and wheat. Thus in 1867, the “Canton de Grecia” was created with the existing cantons of Valverde Vega, Naranjo, San Carlos and Alfaro Ruiz as part of its territory. In December, 1865, a fire burned part of the wooden chapel. So, in 1868, the citizens decided to build a temple using technical innovations of the epoch that would reflect the new political and administrative rank of the locality.

The next step in construction came from the Grecian council created in 1863, with work beginning in 1868, but not on a continuous basis, as there were some problems. Finally, in 1872 the work formally began with masonry construction of two towers. The master builder was a Guatemalan with the last name of Estrada. The citizens worked hard for 16 years. However, frustration came for those dedicated people when in 1888 an earthquake severely damaged both towers, partially destroying the almost completed work.

Our ancestors were not intimidated, and with good advice and guidance of Bishop Thiel, decided in 1890 to build a temple entirely of iron that would be earthquake-proof. For that purpose a contract was signed with a Belgian factory in 1891. The first pieces of metal arrived in Puerto Limon in October, 1892. They were transported to Alajuela by train, and then by oxcarts from Alajuela to Grecia, approximately 20 kilometers.

It was a daunting and exhausting task where hundreds of people par-ticipated. Sometimes seven pairs of oxen were needed through terrible roads to carry some of the largest pieces of metal.

As was rightly said by the journalist Francisco María Nuñez in his book “Grecia y su Centenario 1838-1938”, “...the cost of handling this labour and the dedication of the noble citizens of Grecia is something worth to highlight.” With these words, the author acknowledges the sacrifice of a cooperating community in an extraordinary and epic episode of our history.

In the effort of moving the parts and the payment of redemptions for the building, our people became economically exhausted and work on the church stopped. For more than two years, all the metal parts were exposed to the mercy of the elements in the square where today is the existing central park. Finally, the President of the Republic, Rafael Iglesias (1894-1898) came to the rescue with government financial aid allowing construction to resume in early 1894. Payment to the Belgian

factory was made Sterling Pounds, which was the official currency of the time.

Under the technical direction of engi-neer Lucas Fernandez, the “Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes” was completed in early 1897, minus the doors and windows that were never sent by the Belgian factory, despite a contractual commitment. Eventually, the board of temple directors found a factory in Italy to fabricate and ship them. Finally, the church was complete. The completion of our Church contributed greatly to Grecia’s

being granted the title of “city” in August 1903.

Professor’s note: It’s very curious and interesting that it has always been said that our church came by ship from Belgium to Puntarenas in 1893. Even the book, “Grecia and its Centenary 1838-1938” claims this to be so. However, this assertion is unfounded; the historical facts are quite different. Alajuela, Cartago and San José had been linked by the railroad in December 1873. Puerto Limón was subsequently con-nected by rail to San José at the end of 1890. The construction of the rail line between San José and Puntarenas was completed in 1910. The Panama Canal was not completed until 1914.

Therefore, the ships had to sail to the southern tip of our continent to the Cape Horn, so that ocean freight rates between Europe and Puntarenas were very expensive. Simple logic tells us that with a limited budget for shipping, our temple arrived in Puerto Limón. Finally, an examination of the parish documents gives us irrefutable evidence that the shipments had indeed arrived in Puerto Limón and transferred to Alajuela via rail where the Grecians met them with their hand-crafted oxcarts.

Dr. Carlos Alberto Maroto is Professor of History at the University of Costa Rica.

Why a Church of Iron?Dr. Carlos Alberto Maroto Barquero

Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes

El Occidente - The Western Central Valley Gene WarnekeHome Range of The Mountain Howler

In the geographic center of Costa Rica lies the verdant Central Valley that is populated by roughly 80% of the country’s 4.5 million population. The capital city of Costa Rica, San José, sits roughly in the center and at the western end are the coffee and sugar cane towns of Grecia, Atenas, San Ramon, Sarchi, Palmares and Naranjo that were settled in the mid-19th century.

Grecia: Cleanest City in Central AmericaThe thriving city of Grecia has the distinction of twice being voted the cleanest town in Central America. The local community here is outgoing and friendly and eagerly welcomes foreigners into their homes as well as their hearts. On a per capita basis, the canton has the highest average income and the highest number of professionals in Costa Rica. The people here are relaxed and laidback. Being an important agricultural hub of the country, sugar cane is grown and harvested in Grecia in large amounts, as is premium coffee and pineapples. Only 35 minutes northwest from the country’s main inter-national airport, Grecia is close to, but not in the urban zone of capital, San José. Several national and local parks are within an hour’s drive. The Pacific Coast is only 1-1⁄2 hours’ drive through beautiful vistas.

Atenas: The Best Climate in the WorldAtenas may be a small town (population 27,000), but it carries a very lofty

title: The Best Climate in the World. Safe, dynamic, centrally located, and overflow-ing with beautiful scenery, Atenas boasts the largest population of expats in Costa Rica, comprising mostly Canadians and Americans. Atenas is located around 40 minutes from San José and under 1 hour to the Pacific beaches. A foreigner will immediately feel at home in this quaint town. The combination of beautiful

weather, stunning mountain and city views and the expat-friendly atmo-sphere has made the tranquil town of Atenas one of the fastest growing for retirees and investors. Although Atenas retains its strong agricultural background and traditional values, there are an increasing number of upscale and private communities offering amenities for all lifestyles. The town center offers expanding choices for the growing expat popu-lation like; private medical clinic, fine restaurants, high-speed Internet, and social and volunteer groups. Property values continue to climb, but remain well below the prices seen in North America and Europe. Explore this jewel of the Central Valley and you may just find the perfect balance between tranquility and opportunity.

San Ramon – Cradle of Poets & PresidentsFive of Costa Rica’s Presidents and three famous poets hail from San Ramon. Revolution is also in the blood of San Ramón. This is where Pépe Figueres plotted the overthrow of tyranny in the 1940’s and created with his comrades the army-free Second Republic of Costa Rica, now a beacon to the world. San Ramón is the route to the cloud forests on the east side of the Tilarán range and the gateway to Volcan Arenal from the Central Val-ley. San Ramon’s nearby attractions include the Los Angeles cloud forest which consists of 800 hectares of primary forest full of local populations of howler monkeys, big felines, bird species, and of course, lots of cool insects.

Sarchí – Famous Artisan TownSarchí has a plethora of art and craftsmanship of the highest caliber. Oxcart craftsmen, furniture makers, artists and artisans are everywhere. You can’t turn down a street without finding hidden, one-room workshops making beautiful wooden objects. Costa Rica’s premier botanical garden, the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden, with its thousands of tropical species is located north of the downtown. You know right away you where you are when you see the giant oxcart in town center built by artisans at the Fernando Alfaro factory. This is the largest oxcart in the world. Unless you’re Paul Bunyan, you don’t want to meet the oxen that could pull it, and you definitely wouldn’t want to walk behind those same oxen. The largest oxcart factory is the Joaquín Chaverri Oxcart Factory, which opened in 1902. Prior to the Chaverri factory, lesser-known oxcart makers were crafting these indispensable vehicles in the area for half a century to supply the needs of the cafeteleros in the Occidente. Another factory uses a small stream that flows nearby to generate hydropower for the machines and saws in the woodshop. A visit to Sarchí should always be made in an empty car, because you will want to fill it up with great furniture and crafts.

Naranjo – Premier Coffee Growing RegionNaranjo is the oldest of the coffee towns of the Oc-cidente and, due to its altitude and rich volcanic soils, just this last year won an award for best coffee in Costa Rica—which arguably means the best in the world!

Naranjo is small and quiet, and spread out. Each year, a large festival is held in honor of the Virgin de Lourdes. Devout Catholic pilgrims from all over Costa Rica come for the festival which honors the Virgin’s appearance in Portugal. From Mount Espírito Santo lookout, there are beautiful views of the mountains and

thousands of hectares of coffee farms. The coffee tour at Espírito Santo give a great overview of the techniques of processing coffee at a large beneficio.

Palmares – Home of the Grand FairPalmares has a well-deserved reputation as a wide-open party town in Janu-ary as it hosts the Fiestas de Palmares, Costa Rica’s largest fair. It’s a huge party with plenty of live music, dancing, concerts, Tico-style bullfights where only the humans get hurt, and a grand tope (horse parade). However, most of the time the town is quiet. Palmares has more furniture factories than Sarchí. Palmares also has a town-supported natural park on the slopes of the Montes de Aguacate range with hiking, an excellent botanical garden and wild flowering heliconia patches jammed with hummingbirds. Just down the winding street a few ki-lometers in Zaragosa is a charming church, parque central, and old wooden buildings and houses of the town’s former coffee barons. The highway winds down the mountain in the direction of Atenas. This was the old oxcart feeder road in the 19th century, which carried the highland coffee to Puntarenas. Palmares means coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Hacienda Candelaria is a huge coffee beneficio on the route to the coast alongside the Montes de Aguacate. The Swiss-owned Candelaria produces world class coffees (mostly shipped to Europe) and is located not far from Zaragosa

Building a Home in Costa Rica David Nightingale

as their coffee orchards and sugar-cane fields. The lot for sale was part of a coffee plantation. The sister who owned the lot hadn’t put up any “For Sale” signs, listed it with a realtor or put it on the Internet. Finding properties by word of mouth is very common here.

Visiting the lot, I could see where I could build a house that would have a nice view, be nicely separated from my neighbors and other sources of man-made noise. It was 3,960 feet elevation and the price was within my budget. The price per square meter was a little below market value be-cause the building site was 100 meters from the public street. To put in a road, bring electricity and water that distance would cost the buyer extra. However this lot wasn’t too close to neighbors and their noise.

Any location you choose is a matter of trade-offs and personal preferences. For me, some space and quiet around my home site was worth the cost of the road and bringing in utilities. So, after some negotiation with the owner, I decided to buy it. However, the owner did not have a plano (survey) of the lot.

Some North American friends I’d made, who had bought real es-tate here, referred me to their English-speaking lawyer in Grecia with whom they were very happy. From him I learned there had to be a plano approved by the Grecia municipality before I could

purchase it. Starting in June, it took a month for the seller to get the surveyor out to do the work. Then it took until April

Are you living on a pension or social security and trying to decide whether or not to live and build a home in Costa Rica? If you talk to North Americans who’ve built here, you’ll

hear a variety of stories. Fortunately, I have a happy one to tell.

I’m a U.S. citizen who moved here in 2006. My hope was to stay here for the rest of my life. Rented an apartment in Grecia with no thought of building or buying a house until I’d been here long enough to decide if I wanted to stay and in what area I wanted to stay. A year later, my Spanish was good enough to stumble along with the Costa Ricans and I’d made friends with many of them. I now know many North Americans who have moved here as well. I have heard many stories, both good and bad, about what it’s like to buy or build a house here. I’ve looked at many homes for sale as well as homes that North Americans have built. I am very happy with Grecia for many reasons, but for me, it’s too hot to live there. My apartment had very good ventilation with many windows and a nice breeze (after I installed screens), but still it was uncomfortably warm most days...and the city noises kept me up at night! I was constantly hearing my neighbors and their dogs, televisions, radios, and car alarms. The Costa Ricans are friendly and courteous people. Especially when I’m courteous and friendly to them. They appreciate my trying to speak with them in Spanish. However, I need peace and quiet. I wanted to live in a location that’s more removed from my neigh-bors and other sources of noise, but still conveniently close to Grecia. A little change in elevation makes a big climatic difference here. My apartment in Grecia was at 3,300 feet elevation. Visit-ing with friends who’ve settled on places such as El Cajon and Carbonale told me their elevation above 4,400 feet might be too cool for me at night. I don’t want to have to wear extra warm cloth-ing in the evenings and sleep with a sweatshirt and two blankets. Somewhere in between I hoped to find a favorable location. Over the course of several months I visited many homes and lots for sale. I didn’t find anything just right. Then a good friend I’d made, a Costa Rican living in Grecia, told me about a lot his sister owned in San Roque. The lot was part of a large farm owned by many members of the family who had their homes there as well (continued

page 24

Like much of the modern Latin American culture, salsa music and dance originated literally hundreds

of years ago on the islands that include Puerto Rica and Cuba. At the time, the region was called the Spanish Caribbean. But the term “salsa” is generally credited to Izzy Sanabria, a graphic artist who report-edly coined the phrase to identify the Latin music that was popular in New York in the Sixties. Sanabria designed album jackets for the popular Fania Records in New York City’s “Spanish Harlem”, founded by Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco. It refers to a phrase the audiences would call out to the musicians during the montuno, the instrumental portion in the middle of a song, to “spice up” the established melodies, dance and rhythms of the time, such as la conga, cumbia, guaguanco and danzon, with a new, notable jazz influence.

In 2003, Putumayo Music, the label that coined the phrase ‘World Music,’ released “Salsa Around the World”. Now, in response to the mounting popular-ity of this style of music, Putumayo has decided to release a second CD, titled simply “Salsa”. Yes, salsa has become mainstream, but that is not a bad thing. While Putumayo’s first disc presented salsa music from unexpected places like Scotland, Finland and Japan, the second disc displays how this genre initially seeped into the rest of Latin America from its original Caribbean origin.

The ten-song disc opens with the Colombian band Grupo Gale performing “Volv-er, Volver”, an upbeat, very danceable tune. The nine-piece group, founded by percussionist Diego Gale, has an immense following, including a hefty allegiance in Europe. Two more Colombian bands make an appearance on the disc. Fruko y Sus Tesos play “Naci en la Barriada”, another up-tempo tune. The band was founded in 1970 by Ernesto “Fruko” Estrada at the tender of age of fifteen. And Juanito y la Agresiva demonstrates the music of a new generation of Colombian salsa musicians with the song “Angoa”, the final cut on the disc.

Cuba gets a double nod on the album, with Chico Alvarez and his Afro-Caribbean band doing “Rumba en el Solar,” a selection from one of their eight albums. In addition, the Cubano 50s-style charanga band Orquestra Aragon donates “Son al Son,” a tribute to modern salsa’s roots. Famed pianist Eddie Palmieri lends credence to this compilation with his “Sujetate la Lengua”. It’s nice to see the nine-time Grammy winner participate on this venture. Another bow to Palmieri comes from the group Son Boricua playing their version of his classic tune, “Muneca”.

As always, the album is produced in premium Putumayo style, complete with an informative booklet in Spanish, English and French and packaged in an eco-friendly cover. I do need to comment, however, that I am more than a little disappointed by the lack of representation of Central American salsa music. The Costa Rican band Orquestra la Solucion, for example, is an extremely popular and accomplished group who would have filled a glaring void in this compila-tion. Hopefully, some day the musical culture of this continent will get the global recognition it deserves.

In Playa Tamarindo and Tilaran, both of Putumayo’s salsa CDs are available exclusively at Jaime Peligro, where they will sample the music for their cus-tomers.

CD Review

More Salsa

Tony Orez

Costa Rica finds itself on the frontline of the battle against breast cancer. Breast Cancer is the number two cause of death for women

in Costa Rica with 28.3 new cases per 100,000 population compared to the United States that reports 26 new cases per 100,000. So what can be done to reduce the casualties of this disease in Costa Rica? Enter the VIDA Foundation, www.vida-foundation.com, a non-profit organization founded by breast cancer survivor Vilma Monge Hondroulis, to improve the lives of women by addressing one of the most serious health challenges of women worldwide – breast cancer. “

In 2008 Mrs. Hondroulis was diagnosed with breast cancer. Early detection played an important role in the successful outcome of her surgery and treat-ment. This personal experience with breast cancer brought a new sense of determination to provide the same early detection opportunity that was afforded to her, to other women in Costa Rica.

“Twenty-two thousand women in Costa Rica are currently on a waiting list to get a mammogram. Early detection is a key survival factor of this deadly disease, I am living proof.” said Mrs. Hondroulis. “I want VIDA to provide the same early detection opportunities to the women of Costa Rica that were provided to me, that In essence saved my life.

Many women find themselves unable to make the trip to one of the many metropolitan areas for screening due to lack of transportation, family re-sponsibilities or other obstacles. Therefore, the Vida Mobile Clinic will visit women in their own community and workplace. By working with local clinics and governments, Vida will make scheduled yearly trips visiting these areas to screen and educate.

VIDA’S goal is to facilitate the design, equipping and management of a mobile mammogram screening program in Costa Rica. This program will make screening accessible to women in all regions of Costa Rica.

For further information about VIDA, or to help them reach their goals, contact Brandon McCullers at 8-305-1919.

Book Review

Paparazzi in the Rainforest

Tony Orez

What do you do when a mon-key who lives

in your area of the rain-forest finds a camera and decides to start taking photos of you, even when you prefer him not to do that? This is the dilemma facing the frogs and iguanas, the butterflies and other local inhabitants in the new children’s book “The Rainforest Paparazzi”. This recently released publication, the third for Pachanga Kids, comes with a CD, as did the first two. The story is told concurrently in Spanish and in English, which is always a plus in our ever-shrinking planet. It is also a nice touch to have the names of local flora and fauna appear in the illustrations. The CD is a recording of Juan Carlos and Jeana Urena performing “The Silly Monkey” in both languages and then instrumentally, for the karaoke crowd. Jeana also translated the story into English for the book. The story itself is sweet, en-dearing, and not without a subtle message to the kids about respecting others’ privacy. Actually, maybe that message could include the adults, too.

I like the unwritten, illustrated explanation of how Titi, the monkey, found his treasured camera. I also enjoyed the methods used by the various animals as they lead Titi away from their lives and habitats, and toward that of other rainforest species. Part of the Pachanga Kids’ mission is to educate children through “adventures and songs for every living thing in the Rain Forest”. This book certainly does that, and makes it a fun education as well. The story was written by Yazmin Ross, one of the founders of Pachanga Kids. The wonderful illustrations are by Ruth Angulo, who has created the artwork for all three books (both are seen below with the Pachanga Kids). I think it is appropriate now to refer to them as the “Pachanga Kids Collection”. As with all the hardbound books in this series, the paper stock and ink are of very high, durable quality.

The popular singer/songwriter Juan Carlos Urena is recognized as a leader in the “nueva canción” movement in Costa Rica. He has recorded nine albums, four with his wife Jeana, who has been performing with him for fifteen years. The duo has always kept a very positive slant to their music. Their contribu-tion to the book is an adaptation of the traditional children’s nursery rhyme, “Los Monos”. Sr. Urena plays all the musical instruments on the CD: guitar, banjo, bongos and harmonica. The couple obviously enjoyed making the recording and the tune is truly infectious, guaranteed to make the kids laugh and monkey around to the song. Make no mistake: this tune is not a lullaby. Again, it’s nice to hear people enjoying what they do for a living.

I believe that with these three books, Pachanga Kids has established them-selves as the principals of bilingual children’s books based on stories from the tropics. They have recognized a need and filled it with the utmost degree

of quality. In their upcoming book, Yazmin Ross and company venture “In Search of the Golden Toad”. I look forward to taking the journey with them.

All three of the Pachanga Kids books are available at Jaime Peligro Book Stores in Playa Tamarindo and Tilaran.

VIDA FoundationBringing vital help to Costa Rican women

The Caja Costarri-cense de Seguro Social (CCSS,

Social Security Min-istry or Caja) is the country’s institution for administration of health services, for Costa Ri-cans, foreigners with residency and those with work permits.

Created in the 1940s by Dr. Rafael Angel Calde-ron Guardia, it was in-tended to provide and pay for health services for those of lower economic status. In comparison to other health services, it is financed by a monthly payment from each of its participants, calculated upon the patient’s personal finances, irrespective of his/her medical history. Thus, because the insurance can not be subject to previous history, the patient need not pay more for such medical history treated and paid for by the Caja, such as may be the case for heart patients.

Another characteristic is that in no case need the patient pay any kind of deductible, nor repay for the use of services offered by the institution. This means that, even if a patient receives treatment or surgery, he/she will not have to pay any extra fee in the following month. Also, this coverage extends to the patient’s spouse and children (provided that they have not yet reached adulthood, or are students).

Caja coverage extends to all the country, and is provided in various areas by EBAIS (basic health care clinics), rural clin-ics, regional hospitals and central hospitals.

One of the services offered by Caja is that of Mixed Services, whereby a patient can go for treatment to a private doctor, pay those bills and receive his/her medications and other services from the Caja. In this case, the Caja uses mainly generic medications certificated by quality control laboratories, even in some cases using the original medications. The idea of Mixed Services is that the patient, if so desired, can be attended by a trusted physician and avoid the long line-up for treatment at the EBAIS or rural clinics.

Q: How do I receive Caja services?The first step is to join the Caja, requiring that you have resi-dency or hold a work permit. If you need a medical consulta-tion, go to the EBAIS or clinic closest to home and request an appointment (go early, as there is usually a long line for appointments). If your case merits attention by a medical specialist, you will be referred to the nearest clinic or hospital for evaluation.

CCSSMinistry of Social Security

Dr. José Fco. Jiménez Q.Atenas is a small, quaint town located halfway between San José and the central Pacific beaches. It is not typically known to be “touristy.” That is

not to say that you won’t find a large community of foreigners here, as it has become a popu-lar retirement town for expats due to its tranquility. It is the quiet nature and convenience of this safe coffee town that draws retirees from all over the globe, but it does not have many “must see” attractions. The fact that Atenas is not bustling with tourism is one of the other reasons it appeals to the average retiree. However, a new butterfly garden has become a wonderful addition, and is now drawing some tour-ists to see this exciting display of nature.

The butterfly garden is small in scale, but it is a terrific addition to the town of Atenas. Owner Eddy Arias built the garden as a free exhibit behind his Internet café—CaféTico. The traditional wood building is home to his Internet café, which offers 10 high-speed computer stations, WIFI, soft drinks and coffee, and a Costa Rica gift shop. In addition, the building houses the office of the only English-speaking attorney in Atenas, Pablo Arias (Eddy’s brother), as well as a real estate company.

With the help of Pablo and Eddy’s father, Mario, they built a net roof over the 300m2 back yard, and meticulously landscaped the area to sup-ply the butterflies with a natural habitat for food and exploring. Eddy says they have designed the garden for a variety of butterfly species

to thrive. He offers some advice for those seeking to attract but-terflies to your home: “Differ-ent species of butterflies have different preferences of nectar, in both colors and tastes. A wide variety of food plants will attract the greatest diversity of visitors. Groups of the same plants will be easier for butterflies to see than planting flowers.”

Flowering plant varieties like Aster, Coreopsis, Lilac, But-terfly Bush, Ox-eye Daisies and Verbena are great for attracting and keeping butterflies happy. These plants and others have

Atenas Butterfly GardenJeff Hickcox

(continued next page)

been artfully placed at the Café Tico Butterfly Garden to create a healthy environment for species like Morpho helenor (blue morpho), Caligo memnon, Heliconius hecale, Heliconius charitonius, Helico-nius doris, Papilio polixenes, Siproeta stelenes, Danaus plexippus. Varieties and quantities will vary depending on the season. Species are also cultivated from the egg, through larva and chrysalis stages to the adult butterfly.

When asked what the motivation was for building a free butterfly garden, Eddy says, “The idea of CaféTico is to offer tourists and residents a central place to meet friends and chill out, read a book or get on-line in a tranquil and fresh environment surrounded by the gardens. The gardens have always been a big attraction where tourists spend time taking pictures of the flowers, so we decided to comple-ment the already existing gardens with one of the most sought-after attractions in Costa Rica: the country’s beautiful butterflies!”

So if you are passing through Atenas, it is well worth your time to stop and relax in the butterfly garden with a cool drink or gourmet

coffee, check your e-mail, shop for gifts, or just to use the restroom. The hours of opera-tion are: Monday—Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 2-446-0763 for information.

Butterfly Garden(from page 12)

In Costa Rica, during the last week of Lent, it is hard not to notice the rites and rituals practiced both by pious Catholics and their more worldly neighbors alike. The seasonal activities seem poles

apart: faithful Catholics have been practicing acts of self-denial and making the Way of the Cross in their parish churches. During Holy Week they will spend even more time in church for different services. On Good Friday, they will attend or take part in the processions of the cofradias (confraternities) as they parade through the streets carrying their patron saint’s statue or perform reenactments of the events of Christ’s passion. This season is the most solemn time in the Catholic liturgical calendar.

You won’t be thinking solemn when you observe the activities of the secularized Costa Ricans. They have made their reservations at their favorite get-away destination on the coast, whether at fancy resorts or humble cabins. This is high season on the coast, so everyone needs a new bathing suit, sunhat, sunglasses, beach sandals, and beach bag filled with suntan lotion, lip protector, and maybe an iPod. It’s easy to get around the no-alcohol Blue Laws—just buy it ahead of time and stash it in a cooler.

There are fewer more obvious examples of the contrast between the sacred and the profane to be found, at least in Costa Rica. These Holy Week rituals are so different that the contrast between the two is striking, but they have more in common than you might expect. This article will help explain some aspects of the personal lived experi-ences of Costa Ricans and how these contribute to their identity and self-understanding. What follows is an analysis and explanation of the rites and rituals of Holy Week in Costa Rica. To really understand your cross-cultural experiences in Central America, you need more in-depth knowledge. The more you know about the country you live in and its people, the better your experience here will be. This article will help. After reading this, you’ll have the thinking tools used by anthropolo-gists to figure out how people’s cultures and lives intertwine.

During Holy Week, you may see announcements on church doors or the parque central in your hometowns across the country about the processions of religious organizations marching through the streets dur-ing Holy Week. If you go to these processions, you will see somewhat ragtag lines and rows of devout Catholics carrying statues of saints and

especially of bloody, thorn-crowned Jesus. Some cofradias perform reenactments of Jesus’s walk through the streets of Jerusalem carrying his cross on the way to Golgotha. You’ll be able to follow bearded Jesus look-a-likes walking a Via Dolorosa through the streets of cities and towns across the country.

Whatever your religious persuasion, or even if you have none at

all, you will probably think that you did not see similar religious practices back home during your pre-expatriate life. That’s because the Catholicism of Latin America derives from southern Spain—the former Moorish-occupied region of Al-Andalus––Andalusia. The Spanish emigrants to the New World came from this region of Spain that even today is famous for its Holy Week processions and rituals. In Seville, the most famous of all the Semana Santa celebrations, the processions of penitents in their costumes and strange, tall conical hats are witnessed by the local people, and also by tens of thousands of tourists who travel far to see the medieval-inspired spectacles. There are hundreds of organizations—the cofradias and hermandades—with very specific costumes, styles, and routes through the city. The tall conical hats originally were worn by penitents and the accused heretics of the Spanish Inquisition. The conical hats were marked with symbols of their crimes against the “holy faith.” The processions during the middle ages were serious affairs. The accused were on their way to their judgment before the Inquisitors at the infamous Auto-da-Fé (“act of faith” in the medieval Portuguese-Spanish tongue). These penitents had one last chance to repent or they would be burned at the stake for their various crimes of heresy or apostasy.

Earlier in the 13th century and especially after the plagues of the Black Death ravaged Europe, groups of flagellants appeared in cities during the solemnities of Semana Santa. In those grim and hopeless times, these flagellantes tortured themselves with whips and barbs as they marched in processions through the cities of Europe. The self-bloodied penitents were tolerated at first, but then condemned by church authori-ties. The banning of the flagellants had less to do with the suffering and blood and more with the fact that there was no hierarchical control over these overly-fervent religious organizations.

Stephen Duplantier

(continued page 19)

Dance is the art to express ourselves, adding corporeal movements to the rate of musical rhythms. ...

Through dance people can express feel-ings, emotions, and moods; they can also tell love stories or praise God.

Dancing is part of human history. The first antecedents are in prehistoric paintings. In old Egypt, the ceremo-nial dances were established by the Pharaohs.

The Christianity of the Roman Empire introduced a new concept in which the body, the sexuality and the dance were united and considered controversial objects.

The Renaissance brought a new at-titude towards the body, the arts and the dance.

For generations, man has expressed himself through the arts, declaring joy, sadness, desire, emotions, requests and gratefulness.

We have seen what babies do almost by instinct when they listen to the sound of music: they dance!!!

All human beings are able to feel and experience that sensation.

Some people dislike working with weightlifting or training some type of hard exercises, but they can find in dancing a good, fun and entertainment way of moving their body.

The studies continue demonstrating that human contact and in particular hugs, are vital for our health and well-being.

Dance is fabulous because it helps to consider the exercise like an activity of re supply of energy; it can be a good way to make new friends and to lift the spirit and release stress.

If you can do this type of class in a professional place you will find the best, safe and effective guide to get in shape without any injury to your joints and muscles.

Enjoy it all through your life and take advantage of every moment you can live!

The Adrenalina Gymnasium by Multi-Spa offers variable, planned and funny dance classes. People of all the ages will enjoy the rhythms like cumbia, salsa, merengue, bachata, bolero, country, etc., with the guide of a professional instructor.

You can find the schedule and rates information by calling 2 495-6030 at Fabrica in Grecia and start your body movement.

Dance as ExerciseCarla Rigioni S.

Living Healthy in Costa Rica

Physical Benefits of Dancing

• Increases self-confidence.• Aid to good position and corporal alignment• It increases the control, agility, speed and balance especially in those who practice competition sports• It promotes smooth physical stretch-ing, increases flexibility and resis-tance• It stimulates the cardiovascular sys-tem since it is an aerobic exercise.

Adrenalina by MultiSpa Gym

I’ve been in Costa Rica for over a year now and it seems that I’ve been initiated to an assortment of bureaucratic red tape. But all things aside, buying and owning a car in Costa Rica is a bit of a hurdle itself. I have

friends who’ve shipped their cars down; a BMW and a Honda SUV, and the amount they paid in taxes was astounding! They paid enough in taxes to have bought two cars here and just avoided the entire fiasco, but hind-sight is always 20/20.

With this knowledge, I was sure I wasn’t going to ship a car down, so the first week I was here I rented a car and went about putting out feelers for a used vehicle. I wanted a truck, as I’m planning on building a house here and a truck is always good to have anyways. After a few weeks of networking I found a truck that I liked and was in the price range, so I bought it. The guy who owned it had shipped it down for resale. He had a printout from one of the websites showing that it was a one-owner vehicle. After testing it out it seemed to be in good working order. There are plenty of used cars out there and plenty of used car dealers. The one major thing to remember when looking for a vehicle is that they do really good body work here! What I mean is that they can take a car that they bought for $50 that was under water in New Orleans for a month and make it look really good! Believe me, there are thousands of vehicles from New Orleans here. Why do you think that there are so many maroon, turquoise, and silver cars running around? They’re wipe-outs from New Orleans. I don’t have a clue why they paint all the cars these three colors I just mentioned, but the tell-tale sign of a “sunken” car is the moldy smell inside and it pays to look behind the door panels or lift the carpet to look for rust as well. Just be careful, these guys are good at car restoration, but they don’t do a great job on the electrical systems.

So, now I have a vehicle! Great! That was easy! Now to put into my name, register it and all that stuff that in the States we all took for granted. Yeah, going down to the DMV was a hassle, and jeez it might take an hour or two if you went on a busy day. But you got it done and went on your way with everything taken care of. They even send you the paperwork in the mail. I now look back on the times I had to deal with the DMV as a fond memory! That’s kind of pathetic in itself, but true! There is no DMV here; you need a lawyer for this stuff. The folks I bought the car from already had a lawyer here who dealt just with vehicle sales/purchases. We went to their lawyer’s office and sat there while he did all the paperwork. At the end of the visit I was told I’d have a temporary license in a couple of days. Since the truck had Alabama plates on it, I had to pay the taxes on it to get Costa Rican plates. I then had to go to get the truck inspected at RITEVE. This was the fun part! For twenty bucks you get a kind of Amusement Park ride! You drive up to the entrance and the first person does things like check your turn signals, check to see if you have windshield washer fluid, checks your tire pressure, checks to see if your doors lock, checks to see if your interior light works, you know - the important stuff! When he’s done you’re told to drive up and stop and they pull over a machine that checks to see if your headlights are aligned while they give your vehicle an enema via the tailpipe to check its emissions, I think, maybe.

The next stop is the good one! You pull up on this dual roller system and they check to see if your wheels spin? I don’t know exactly what they check, but it’s all computerized. They tell you to stop and your car starts shaking and trembling and you’re sitting there thinking it’s an earthquake or something, but it’s just the machine jiggling the car. There’s a guy in a

pit under the car who starts tugging on the leaf springs and the tailpipe to see if it’s going to fall apart, and then you get your paperwork and you’re out of there. For now...

My truck’s rear brakes were not calibrated. One side was braking at 35% and the other side was at 65%, so I had to get that taken care of before I could get my sticker. I went to a mechanic recommended by the lawyer, thinking I’d get the brakes adjusted, go back to the inspection station and be able to get my temporary plates in the same day. Good luck! At the mechanic’s they basically dropped everything else and jumped on my brake adjustment! After about an hour it was done and I’m thinking, “Now how much is this going to cost?” It cost four mil colones (about $7.40) for two mechanics for an hour! Some things here are just a bargain!

So, back to the lawyer’s office where I ask if I can go back for my re-inspection. No, it’s not that easy. I have to make another appointment at RITEVE! The next available appointment was in a week! So, I’m driving around Costa Rica in an Isuzu truck with an expired Alabama license plate on it! I’m really looking forward to getting stopped by the cops! With my crummy Spanglish and no paperwork for the vehicle I’m driving, it should be yet another fantastic experience! Fortunately, I never did get stopped. So, a week later I went back to RITEVE and the truck passed inspection, but one document was missing. So I had to go back to the lawyers and get the paper, then back to the station to get the final clearance. Finally, I got my temporary license! Great! The real plates should be here in a week!

So, the plates arrived about three weeks later and then I had to go get the truck registered (the Marchamo) and then I had to take those papers back to the lawyer’s office in order for him to start transferring the title of the car.

From the time I paid the guy I bought the car from until I finally had the plates and all the paperwork done was FIVE WEEKS...and I mean I was workin’ hard at it! But in the end, I’m still in my little Isuzu truck and it’s runnin’ like a top and gettin’ me all over the country. Like most everything else here for us Gringos who came from a countries of anal efficiency it takes time to get used to the way the Ticos do things. All that’s really needed is an attitude adjustment and some patience and being glad you’re here! Happy travels and good luck!

My Costa Rican Car Buying ExperienceCraig Edwards

Church officials always fear and take pains to control spontaneous, unlicensed religious activities. Some of the most egregious leaders of the flagellant sects were killed by burning, but this did not stop the practice entirely. The response of the flagellant brotherhoods was to mask themselves completely during their processions so that church officials could not take reprisals later.

Bizarre as the practices were, they still continue today. In Andalusia, many of the organizations have adopted the masking and robes of the flagellants. Especially today in the Philippine Islands–– a Pacific Ocean outpost of Andalusian colonization–– the self-torturing flagel-lantes practices have merged with crucifixion re-enactments. Every year you can see news photos of bloodied zealots getting nailed to crosses in the towns and villages of the Philippines.

From 1600 to1900, most of the Spanish conquerors and colonists in Central America were from Seville and the hinterlands of Andalusia. Those were the traditions that were carried to Latin America and to Costa Rica. The religious-minded Catholics of Costa Rica participate in the ancient rites of Semana Santa in ways that echo back to medi-eval Andalusia in southern Spain and medieval Europe, but wisely, without the extreme fanaticism that afflicts some of these practices in other parts of the world.

The processions of Semana Santa in Costa Rica are mere shadows of the Andalusian originals and the public Inquisitions, but the resonances are still there. Perhaps the most significant and important thing about the processions is not what people wear, or what they do to their bod-ies, but the very act of people walking in groups through the street. When people get together in public and perform an act or ritual en masse, they are creating what the anthropologist Victor Turner has called communitas. The root of the word is easily recognizable, but for Turner communitas is what arises in rites of passage, religious movements, and other public events where the normal signs of rank and division in societies are obscured or unimportant. Imagine going to a political demonstration, or a rock concert. You might be stand-ing next to someone you don’t know and cheering or screaming for a common cause in emotional and even spiritual solidarity. The person next to you undergoing a transformative or cathartic experience with you may only have that one event in common with you. In normal life, that same person may not even notice you or care about you. But in communitas––in the threshold world where the normal conventions and barriers fall down, you are in solidarity. These moments become fleeting experiences of utopia.

In communitas, you are in the gaps between the ordered and expected worlds people live in. In this liminal space (from the word meaning threshold), normal social roles, rules and values do not apply. Liminal-ity gives perspective. This is when you can step outside of normal life and its boundaries and experiment with alternative values and social norms. Liminal situations are exciting and sometimes threatening. The threat is to the old order, which is enlarged and expanded in liminal situations.

Everyone has experienced these magical moments: pilgrimages of old were are opportunities for liminal experiences, as are carnivals, retreats, vacations, mass gatherings, religious processions during Semana Santa, and yes, Costa Ricans going to the beach during Holy Week. The crowded beaches and resorts of the Pacific are filled not

with the pious and the penitent, but with pleasure seekers. But both sacred and profane experiences share in the excitement that comes from putting aside the ordinary daily grind.

The Ticos who pile in cars and buses and head to the beaches are on secular pilgrimages. The slow traffic on the Interamericana and the Orotina highway heading to the coast is not so much a traffic jam as a slow procession of cars (ironically traveling at about the same speed as a man walking). The normal frustrations of being in congested traffic are easier to bear because everyone is going to the same place. You are brothers and sisters on the road together in a latter-day Can-terbury Tale. Your fellow pilgrims are in solidarity with you in a spirit of communitas.

The mass pilgrimage to the beaches happens every year in mid-Verano, according to the moveable feast of Easter. But every August 2, the other famous Costa Rican pilgrimage takes place to see and vener-

ate La Negrita––Costa Rica’s patroness, the Virgen de los Ángeles in Cartago (and its counterpart in the Occidente in Ángeles Sur near San Ramón).At the beach, besides the obvious commonalities of sand, sun, and thong bikinis, there is the deeper, national identity affirming feelings that come out of communitas. The social drama that takes place as a million Costa Ricans do the same thing at the same time is stronger and more powerful than any music concert or even political rally. There is enormous power in the self-identity of a nation and the solidarity of egalitarian feelings of common purpose and understanding being manifested, even if on the hot beaches of Guanacaste.

The celebration and performance of the cultural symbols of a people and a nation reinvigorates national life at a primal level. The same thing can happen in national sports contests at the Olympics or the World Cup of soccer. It is exciting to cheer on the Sele, but it is even better to be on a team of a million-plus players. That is the experience of the annual beach pilgrimage where there are no strangers. Genuine feelings of egalitarianism (that primal Costa Rican national meta-narrative) emerge and hover over the slowly-burning bodies on the beaches. At the emotional and concrete physical level, the ideals of democracy, common purpose, solidarity and unity are no longer concepts in a civics textbook or easily-forgotten rhetoric from a politician’s lips, but a palpable lived and breathed experience.

The experiences of the community-building traditions of Semana Santa are much deeper than the obvious surface events. The somber and sacred processions of penitents and believers is but the other side of the coin of the “profane” partying beach-goers, but both are essentially Costa Rican and both work their magic during the sunny season in Costa Rica.

(from page 14)

The parish church, “Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes”, is the home of a precious historical instru-ment: an E.F. Walcker organ built in Ludwigsburg, Ger-

many in 1886. It’s one of a few survivors of the approximately thirty pipe organs that were installed in different churches all along the Central Valley between the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. When you find an instrument like this one in Costa Rica, there is a reason to be amazed. For more than twenty years, it has been the only pipe organ in the country maintained in perfect condition to be played not only in the liturgy, but also in music recitals and concerts performed by professional musicians. Since the last restoration in 1986 by the Priest Fray Miguel Ijurco, a Basque Spanish resident in Costa Rica, and Professor Bernardo Ramírez, an expert musician and image sculptor, the organ has been one of the most cherished patrimonies of Grecia.

Along with the distinctive metal church, it has become a refer-ence to proclaim the city of Grecia as a major cultural attrac-tion. Since 1999, numerous recitals and concerts have been performed using the organ. Organ players and musicians

from many countries have praised the beautiful sound and the church’s excellent acoustics - a perfect blend between the instrument and the edifice. For six consecutive years, the church of Grecia has hosted several free concerts from the “Festival de Musica Credomatic”. Of course, the organ is the main attraction.

Grecia Church’s Pipe OrganOrlando Vega

The fact that this organ has been preserved almost intact with the bulk of its pieces in its original condition confers a truly historical value to the instrument. A very important and much appreciated attribute of this organ is its mechanical ac-tion. There are no electric or electronics parts involved in the reproduction of the sound. The only electric part, installed in the nineteen-forties, is a blower needed to influx air into the bellows.

The smallest portable pipe organs may have only one or two dozen pipes and one keyboard; the largest may have over 20,000 pipes and up to seven keyboards. Its continuous supply of wind allows the pipe organ to sustain notes for as long as the keys are depressed, unlike the struck and plucked strings of the piano and the harpsichord, the sounds of which begin to decay immediately after the keys are pressed.

Rather small, with only one keyboard of 54 notes, 27 pedals and seven stops or registers, it can be played using only one stop or in different combinations to get varied sounds. The instrument has enough power to fill the whole church through its 423 pipes arranged in seven different ranks. Some of the pipes are made of wood; however, most of them are made of a mixture of brass, tin and lead. The specific composition of every material gives to each pipe its particular tone or characteristic sound. It is miraculous to have in Grecia such an antique tradi-tion inherited from the organ builders who synthesized art and science, aiming to reproduce the most stunning sound.

In October of 2007, the German organ expert Gerhard Walcker, a direct successor of the Walcker family who built the instru-ment, worked for five days in Grecia. His visit was possible thanks to a cooperative program between the French and German embassies in Costa Rica seeking to repair some of the organs imported from those European countries. His work resulted in a better and more refined sound.

The origins of the pipe organ can be traced back to ancient Greece in the third century BC; the wind supply was created with water pressure. Since the sixth or seventh century AD, bellows have been used for this purpose. Beginning in the twelfth century, the organ evolved into a complex instrument capable of producing different timbres or colours. By the sev-enteenth century, most of the sounds available on the present organ had been developed.

The history of organs in Costa Rica is full of sad episodes. During the nineteenth century, some organs were destroyed by the action of earthquakes. For example, a French organ built by the world famous organ builder Cavaille-Coll was lost, as one of the towers of the Metropolitan Cathedral in San José collapsed during the 1888 earthquake. This earthquake also ruined the former masonry church in Grecia. Nevertheless,

(continued page 28)

Meet the NeighborsAna Yency and Pablo Rodriguez

It would be hard to find another couple as nice as Ana Yency and Pablo Rodriguez. What a life journey they have experi-enced! They both lived and worked in New Jersey, USA for-

four-and-a-half years. So of course they speak and understand English very well. Pablo worked for Bell Atlantic as a supervisor and Yency worked for the computer company in the quality control division.

They came back to their home country and now have two children. Pablo currently works in San José at the prestigious Palacio Hotel. Pablo knows everything about Costa Rica and there is no place in this country that he has not seen. He is working toward having his own tour company.

When they returned to Costa Rica, Yency started a cake-baking business. Four years later she is a professional and has her own business “Yency’s Sweet Delights”. She has been build-ing a successful business baking and decorating special cakes and desserts. Just to name a few: Tres Leches, Mousse Melocoton, Cheesecake, Torta de Bombones and everyone’s favorite – Tiramisu!!!!

When you find that you need help getting around Costa Rica, help with translation or you need a special cake, call Pablo (8-832-8351) or Yency (8-886-6775).

Holy Week in Triana, Seville, ca. 1915

The image shows a scene from the early 20th century of a Semana Santa procession of the Hermandad de Luz de Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza. We see a large, hand-carried paso (float) depicting a scene from the passion of Christ on the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday. This paso shows a bloodied, suffering Jesus bearing his cross, being com-forted by a woman, Veronica. Legend says that Veronica stopped to wipe Jesus’ face with her veil and his image was miraculously printed on the cloth. In the background of the image, the tall pointed caps of penitentes can be seen bobbing above the heads of the crowd.

If you’re someone who loves a good cup of coffee, you’ll ap-preciate the tips below on how to improve your own gourmet Arabica brew. First off, buy whole beans and grind your

own.

The Grind: Grind no more than what you’ll need for each day’s brewing. Time oxidizes the grounds and they rapidly lose flavor. Check your coffee maker to see what grind is best. Do not un-derestimate the importance of the size of the grind to the taste of your coffee. If your coffee tastes bitter, it may be overextracted, or ground too fine. On the other hand, if your coffee tastes flat, it may be underextracted, meaning that your grind is too coarse. For instance, if you’re using a French or coffee press, a coarse ground is better. A plate, burr or mill grinder is preferable because all of the coffee is ground to a consistent size. A blade grinder is less preferable because some coffee will be ground more finely than the rest.

How Much: Depending how you like your coffee and what type of coffee you’re using, use one to two level tablespoons of ground

coffee per each six ounces of water. Au-tomatic drip machine measurements are often incorrect.

Water: Try to use good-tasting fresh cold water when possible. Heavily chlorinated water is a good way to ruin coffee. If you’re using tap water, let it run a few seconds before filling your coffee pot. Distilled water makes a less tasty cup of coffee as it lacks the minerals to bring out the natural flavors of the coffee. Bring your water to a boil, wait at least

1-2 minutes to get it between 195 – 205 degrees, and then start the brewing.

Brewing: Although a bit labor intensive and you get a bit of turbid grinds in your cup, the best brewing is from the French press or coffee press where hot water is poured over a coarse ground in a glass carafe and allowed to brew for 2 to 4 minutes before applying a plunger to separate the grounds from the water.

Another great cup can be made with the traditional Costa Rican brewing method called a “chorreador de café” where a wire-rimmed cloth filter is hung in an unvarnished wooden frame 9 - 13 inches tall. Traditionally, a fine ground is put in the filter and boiling water is poured through the filter and down into a cup. If you let the water

cool down to the temperatures mentioned above before pour-ing it through the filter, you’ll produce an outstanding brew. If you want to make your own Chorreador frame go to http://www.thetempos.com/coffee_maker.htm for plans.

The most popular method is the automatic drip brewing machine. The best machines will drip the water at the above mentioned temperature range and often through gold-plated reusable filters. Many common paper filters impart a taste to the coffee and also do not allow many of the coffee’s oils and organic compounds to pass through. Melitta paper filters impart less taste than many other brands.

Coffee kept on a burner for more than 15 min-utes starts to become bitter. It’s best to brew your coffee 5 minutes before you’re ready to drink it. Coffee pots with thermos carafes and airtight thermos mugs preserve the flavor. Reusing your coffee grounds: Once brewed, the desirable coffee flavors have been ex-tracted and only the bitter undesirable ones are left. So, reusing the grounds will only produce a bitter cup of coffee. Reheating coffee pretty much destroys its taste.

Cleaning your coffee equipment: Make sure that your equipment is thoroughly cleaned after each use by rinsing it with clear, hot water and drying it with an absorbant towel. Check that no grounds have been left to collect on any part of the equipment and that there is no build-up of coffee oil. Such residue can impart a bitter, rancid flavor to future cups of coffee. If you’re using Chorreador cloth filters, never wash them in soap or detergent. Only use fresh water with salt to remove the coffee oils. Be sure to rinse out the salt and let the filters dry completely before reusing.

Tasting coffee: Take a swig of slightly cooled coffee into your mouth, pretend it’s solid food and “chew” it a couple of times before letting it sit for a moment before slowly swallowing it. This method spreads it around your palate and lets you more fully taste the vari-ous coffee flavors.

Where to store your coffee:Heat, light and moisture will degrade it. If you don’t have room in your refrigerator, preserve it in airtight containers or unsealed original bag in a dry, cool & dark place. It’s also okay to store it in the freezer.

There’s only one more thing that I can mention to help you make the best cup of coffee possible- use Costa Rican coffee!

Making the Best Coffee Brews Gene Warneke

Buddy Tetreault is a Master Fingerstyle Guitarist, Record-ing and Performing Artist, Guitar Technician, Consultant, and Teacher. For more information visit: www.BuddyGuitar.com, call: 8353-2116, or email: info@BuddyGuitar.com Please send comments, questions or suggestions about this column to: theguitarguy@BuddyGuitar.com. Thank you!

Well, to pick up from last issue. When choosing a guitar... A lifting bridge, even if it is only the thickness of a piece of paper, will be something you should avoid at all costs. Also check the length of the neck to see if it is bowed or arched and be sure that it has a truss rod! This may not be as big of an issue if you plan on playing the “Classical” guitar. Although a master-built Classical guitar may give you no problem for many years, as time goes by, the stress of the strings on the neck, albeit very low tension, will progressively warp the neck. However, if it was built with an adjustable truss rod, the neck can be adjusted easily if needed! But, if you are only looking to buy a guitar to start out on than there’s no need to be as picky! If, however, you are looking to purchase an intermediate-level guitar or above, then the following will be of more help.

The sound of the guitar is controlled by a number of factors: the shape, depth, type of woods (on both the top and the back), the bracing, and of course the maker of the instrument! Even the type of wood used in the neck can have a significant effect on the instrument’s tone! As a rule, a guitar made with a Maple neck, (whether Electric or Acoustic, Steel String or Nylon String) will have a brighter tone than the same guitar made with a Mahogany neck. It’s just the characteristics of the wood coming through! The feel of the neck is also affected, partly because Mahogany is a porous wood while Maple is not.

All else being equal, the depth of a guitar also has a significant effect on the instrument’s sound. A “deeper or wider” guitar will have more bass response, but it can also tend to be more “boomy” making it a bad choice for use on stage, or even for use in the recording studio! But, if well built, it will have incredible sustain which, although it won’t usually be well-suited to playing faster songs, it will make it the ideal guitar for slower songs that need a lingering effect! A “thinner or narrower” guitar, although it will have less bass, will tend to have a more balanced tone across the bass, mid, and high frequencies. It also has a much quicker response, from the time you pick a note, to the time it comes out. It also tends to have signifi-cantly less sustain making it perfect for faster songs, since the notes fade quickly the sound doesn’t get “muddy”. While making it an ideal choice as a stage guitar, this also makes it well-suited to use in the recording studio! Now, although this is usually my preference, there are exceptions to the rule, and it is entirely up to you what you prefer! Till next month....

Buddy - The Guitar Guy

of the following year to get the plano through the government approval process. Some friends who had previously built here told me some fright-ening building stories. It made me almost too afraid to build. I could not afford to discover, as some friends had, that it might cost me 30% or more than what my building contracts were based upon, or to have my builder simply vanish with the up-front money to buy materials. So while I was waiting for the plano to get approved I interviewed several builders and architects. I also had to have architectural drawings for the house fully stamped and signed off by several departments of the federal govern-ment and by the Grecia municipality. Getting my permission for construction took three more months. Every three weeks I would make occasional visits to the local municipalidad and federal offices in San José with a Spanish interpreter.

My budget for all construction was limited to ¢23,000,000 ($43,500). This included creating the road and bringing electric-ity and water onto the site. There was no more money. Fortu-nately, all I needed was a simple two-bedroom house. But I wanted qual i ty construct ion through and through from top to bottom: windows with screens, plumbing fixtures, elec-tric outlets, etc. I discovered I had enough money to get 94 square meters (1,012 sq. ft.) with good quality materials. I didn’t know how to choose a builder that I could trust. Just like in the United States, even with the best endorsements you can be very disappointed. Luckily, my experience with the builder was great. He was referred to me by Costa Rican friends in whom I had confidence. I also visited houses he had built. He did everything he promised and within the time frame agreed upon. No more money was needed. He was always at the site with his crew when I visited several times each week, always available to talk with me and adjusted things according to my wishes as construction progressed. In the beginning, I went with him to choose and buy as many of the roofing, plumbing, lighting and floor materials and fixtures as possible, as prices were going up almost monthly. I wanted very much to choose these things myself.

All was done to my complete satisfaction. It is possible to build here and be very happy with your house and builder. So, now I am able to live in a comfortable home with the living room, kitchen and appliances of my choice...no more rent and it’s quiet and cool. I also have two nice big garden spaces to enjoy. I have neighbors with children, televisions, dogs and music, but the nearest is 100 yards away on the other side of so much na-tive vegetation I don’t see or hear them. The center of Grecia is 11 minutes by car or 25 minutes by bus.

To contact David Nightingale email: nighdavid@gmail.com

Building a Home...(from page 9)

Around Town

Everyone knows what the month of April brings... Semana Santa. So if you need a little help with your dates: Palm Sun-day is on April 5th, and Easter is Sunday, April 12th. The two

days you cannot buy liquor are Thursday, 9th and Good Friday 10th.

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GreciaYou will find live music at Bros Restaurant every Friday and Sat-urday evenings.

At Vista Del Valle every Sunday you can look for JazzzzLunch with the live music of the Joe Anello Jazz Quartet from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

Remember Remembrance Restaurant? Well, they lost their sign during the earthquake so they took that opportunity to change their name to “Galleria Steak House” (see ad page 4).

“Two Can Jam” will be missing one of the Two for the month of April. However Craig Z. of the duo will be hosting a “Jam” session for seasoned players only on Thursday evenings at the Red Door at 7pm. Call Craig for all information: Tel: 8-994-3247.

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AtenasPresents “Concert in the Park” on the second Sunday of the Month starting at 7 p.m.

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SarchiDance the Night Away at Viejillos in Sarchi. Viejillos continues to be the place to dance !! 3 Nights of dancing, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. With live music!!! Call for info: 2454-1470.

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San RamónGood news for those of you in San Ramón. Mario’s SteakHouse has relocated to a more convenient location and is open for business. I have been told by several that Mario has the best steak around although he has seafood too!! For Info: #2445-5945.

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This is your column! We offer you free space to announce your event: music, birthday, fair, veggie market, whatever - please take advantage of it. Call 8-881-6084 or e-mail mountainhowler@gmail.com with your information.

Esta columna es suya! Le ofrecemos espacio para anunciar - gratis - sus eventos: sean cumpleaños, ferias, conciertos... Llame a 8-881-6084 ó mande su correo a mountainhowler@gmail.com con sus detalles.

Jeffeny Metz

28

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sby Jeanne Callahan

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Visit Jeanne’s site at CelestialAdvisor.com

Aries: 21 March - 20 AprilThis month awakens the desire to progress but also some frustration at having to still wait for right timing due to your ruling planet, Mars, being weak in Pisces until the 23rd. Then life gets very interesting and picks up speed with the potential for love and romance, too. Be gentle with others on the 4th as you could be very grumpy and be extra careful on the 15th as you may be accident-prone at that time. Your best days are 22nd and 23rd.Taurus: 21 April - 21 May Your ruling planet, Venus, is still in retrograde motion in the sign of Aries until the 17th. To use this energy you should be doing a life review of the last 18 months to see where your values have changed. Write down what you would like to change and be willing to let go of people, places or things that may be holding you back. This is deep and sometimes painful work as Taureans are known for their steadfast nature—releasing is difficult for this sign. Trust that a new and more sustainable future is waiting for you. The new moon on the 24th is an excellent time to move ahead with your life and the 25th is a day for comfort.Gemini: 22 May - 21 JuneThis is a great month for inspired ideas relating to your public im-age and professional life. Dare to try something unique to connect with new business prospects and peers. While the 15th may have you parting ways with someone, there will be new support close behind as your powers of attraction increase after the 23rd. Launch new projects after that time period and network like crazy. Spring and early summer are great months for you because your energy increases as the sun moves closer to your sign. The 26th and 27th provide great opportunities for socializing.Cancer: 22 June - 22 JulyApril’s energy brings in a wave of professional opportunities but be patient to see who is really serious enough to commit to a solid plan until after the 17th. Lots of interesting ideas are circulating now. If travelling to foreign lands take extra care on the 15th as there is potential for accidents. You may also come in contact with people from other cultures who have something to teach you. This is a month where you make decisions about how you want to live the next part of your life and the people you want in it. The 1st, 2nd, 29th and 30th are days to relax and enjoy the spring weather.Leo: 23 July - 23 AugustThis month has some critical issues forming regarding partnerships, both professional and personal, so be forewarned. Finances will play a big part in these discussions, and some support you may be count-ing on will not materialize. Avoid conflicts between the 4th and 15th when the energy is not favorable for negotiation. Keep your cool if others get testy with you during that time, delay meetings until after the 17th. The 3rd and 4th are days you get your way.Virgo: 24 August - 22 SeptemberThe energetic signature for you has money as a major theme creat-ing a sense of urgency and anxiety for you. Be direct with your questions but don’t let a bad mood spill over onto the workplace. Strive to create a harmonious atmosphere at work as those around you are sensitive to your moods and it kills productivity as people feel like they must walk on eggshells around you. Be very careful on the 15th as the Mars-Uranus conjunction makes you susceptible to accidents or unusual occurrences. The vibe improves at the end of the month. Enjoy yourself on the 6th and 7th.

Libra: 23 September - 23 October With a stellium of planets in your opposing sign of Aries, expect some confrontation with your partner. Avoid arguments between the 4th and 15th as they will have a way of escalating into a huge deal. Use your Libra diplomacy to delay the encounter. You should devote time into some creative or playful activities with your children to take advantage of a cosmic vibe of imagination also happening at this time. The 8th and the full moon on the 9th are your days to shine.Scorpio: 24 October - 22 NovemberThis is a good month to shake up the energy in your workplace by moving the furniture, adding some new exciting colors or participating in a community service project. The vibes are great for having a party in your home this month too, but it would be better to save that festivity till later when Venus goes into direct motion on the 17th. Be careful on the 15th when Mars travels with Uranus providing the potential for mishaps. Use the positive lunar energy on the 10th and 11th to your benefitSagittarius: 23 November - 21 DecemberA short trip or weekend vacation might provide the mood lift you need right now. Things haven’t been too exciting for you but that’s about to change. Your professional responsibilities are about to increase and your creative mind will be working overtime right soon. There’s a love/romance vibe around you too, so if you are looking for a partner you could meet them this month. Don’t get too involved until after the 17th when Venus, the planet who rules love and relationships, goes into direct motion. The 13th and 14th are good days for you.Capricorn: 22 December - 21 January You have some serious matters to attend to as Pluto goes retro-grade in your sign on the 4th for the next four months, giving you time to re-evaluate the success/failure of your business plan since the beginning of 2009. Capricorns don’t like failure and will persevere to reach the top. Use caution between the 23rd and the 27th as Mars squares Pluto creating a volatile situation. The 15th, 16th and 17th are your most favorable days this month.Aquarius: 22 January - 19 FebruaryThis month has the planet of great benefit, Jupiter, getting closer to Neptune, the visionary, in your sign increasing your creative vision and faith in the future. So what do you do with this energy? After the 17th start an action plan on any new ideas or businesses that have been rolling around your brain, or use this energy to inspire others to take action for themselves. Relationships will improve after the 17th with potential for love and romance blossoming if you are looking for it. The 18th and 19th offer inspiration.Pisces: 20 February - 20 MarchThe cosmic vibe for you has a major mood swing involved. The beginning is quite unstable and volatile with Mars and Uranus dancing with the stars and culminating that energy on the 15th. Mars joins Venus at the last degree of Pisces on the 17th as Venus goes direct and they pretty much travel together through early July. This will create a greater chance for harmonious relationships and partnerships. People will want to get together with others in all ways, but romance is a definite possibility. Money issues are still present but there seems to always be a way to make it. Your best days are the 20th and 21st.

Dining OutJoe Richard

Ristorante Pizzeria AlidaAtenas

Alida Bassan, with the classic looks of an Italian lady, was born in Vicenza in the Veneto region of Italy and to a father who was an Italian chef and a grandfather also a chef in France. With

all that cooking and food in her background she moved to Costa Rica in 1992 and finally, and happily for us, to Atenas in 2000.

For the past nine years Alida has been inventing dishes in the traditional Italian manner from all regions of her home country. Don’t expect the standard fare you’ll find in other restaurants that fly the “Italian” banner and then serve something they consider “Italian” or out of a can. No, you’ll confront homemade in everything that is placed in front of you and you’ll have a difficult time going back to the imitation.

Miguel, the head waiter, and one that will take you on a tour of the menu with as much pride as Alida herself, stresses that everything is made from scratch and with the freshest of ingredients. On a recent visit, I asked Miguel for a recommendation. Without hesitation he started to paint a Vicenza picture of a rigatoni lathered with a ground beef sauce, and brought to life by Italian sausage, white sauce and hot pepper. Alida ar-tistically devised this dish herself and named it “Rigatoni Alla Rustega”. Every single mouth-sized rigatoni confirmed his suggestion.

It is difficult for a reviewer trying to relay how delicious so many other dishes are on an extensive menu. I can’t do it. Alida’s has so many unusual real Italian dishes that it’s impossible to describe them all. Forgive me for simply choosing some that my dinner partners and I have shared.

Even the “Starters” list of appetizers makes decisions difficult because of the remarkably different types of choices. Carpaccio from tuna or smoked fish to beef and mushroom and even cooked and sliced octopus or mussels in a light tomato sauce and hot peppers. My favorite was a tuna carpaccio, paper thin in a balsamic vinegar with bits of parsley. Or the traditional Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella cheese in bocconcini style and slices of tomatoes and basil.

Alida does not ignore her customers who prefer meat or fish to pasta. Her expertise in Sardinian and Sicilian and so many other regions of Italy makes the pallete of her menu burst with imaginative selections. Sampling my friend’s tenderloin with gorgonzola cheese, made me question my own choice. Tender and perfectly grilled medium rare, and covered with in a very tasty cheese sauce did distract me from my pasta.

Across the table was a mountainous dish of Tagliatelle Silvestri with wild mushroom in a white sauce. You know how sometimes you get a dish with mushrooms and they tend to disappear both in sight and taste. Oh no, not in this appealing presentation. The wild mush-room is way out front and the sauce follows it perfectly but not overwhelmingly.

Do not let all the perfect Italian dishes distract

from the pizza that Alida and her staff are just as proud to talk about and to serve. But first, the reason that the “Pizze” served at Alida’s are also unique and delicious. It’s the oven! It is built in the traditional Italian wood oven manner, with a foundation of sand, a marble baking floor and a small beehive dome encased in tons of more sand so the temperature is perfectly maintained with a small wood fire inside the oven.

The paper-thin crust baked with pizzas with names like Panzanella and Capricciosa and Saporita and Carnivora and Selvaggia and... you get the picture? Each one a loving production by Alida herself, a reflection of the tastes and ingredients of her homeland.

I must give a couple of examples and challenge you to tell me another restaurant that serves these masterpieces: Dellacasa: tomatoes, moz-zarella, mushrooms, olives and artichokes, ham, sausage, salami, pep-peroni, onion and parmesan.Saporita: tomatoes, mozzarella, egg plant and gorgonzola.Veneziana: tomatoes, garlic, mussels, shrimps and parsley.

And thirty-five more, including a sculpture done in a pizza crust volcano filled with mozzarella, mushrooms, ham, pepperoni, hot pepper, oregano and which arrives at your table with the “lava” flowing from the top of it in the form of tomato sauce.

The pizzas are all one size, similar to the traditional “medium” and yes, it’s ok to eat a whole one all by yourself. Happily, just off the open-air portion of the roomy two dining areas is an indoor play area for the chil-dren with black board and small chairs and games and those myriad play things that will amuse the little ones while you enjoy your espresso.

If you’re still interested after your Italian food excursion, there is an extensive dessert menu featuring traditional Italian desserts like “Alida’s Tiramisú “ and one especially liked by the children, “Pizza Golosa: sweet pizza with Nutella chocolate.”

Liquors and Spirits are available and all the wines are Italian. Of course they have Grappa, Sambuca, Limoncello, Averna, Amaretto and others to perfectly end a traditional Italian dinner.

Prices will range from ¢1650 to ¢3500 for appetizers; ¢3500 to ¢5100 for Pasta dishes; ¢5000 to ¢7000 for the meat or fish plates and the

Pizzas are priced from ¢3100 to ¢6600. Alida always surprises on Sundays when she offers her own special dish.

Ristorante Pizzeria Alida is in Atenas on the road to Orotina and the beaches, and is 700 meters west of Coopeatenas and 50 meters north. Its small roadside sign on the right as you leave Atenas is painted in the red, white and green of the Italian Flag. The telephone number is 2-446-4060. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays and open 12 noon to 10 p.m. the rest of the week.

A p r i l 2 0 0 9( a l l t i m e s l o c a l )

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most pipe-organ losses can be attributed to the action of man and to the consequences of the Second Vatican Council in the early nineteen sixties.

From this time forth, the Catholic Church allowed the use of popular music and instruments to celebrate the liturgy. This fact was an opportunity to open the way for a variety of secular instruments played by mediocre artists to join in with the church organs. This resulted in a dilution, degradation and disappearance of sacred organ music from our cultural heritage. Also, an important aspect was that the pipe organ maintenance costs were too much for many parishes. Many impressive instruments were dismantled and consequently lost due to ignorance and lack of sensitivity of communities and local Church authorities.

Today the organ of Grecia is used exclusively for the celebra-tion of the mass at least once every Sunday. The continuous playing of the instrument is very important as it keeps it in good condition. However, the present Parish Priest opposes non-mass recitals and concerts within the church and has au-thorized only one for the music festival in August. As a result, the community has temporarily lost a glorious place for per-formances using the mystical element of the pipe organ.

Let’s keep our hope for a worthy future. Such a grand instru-ment with its grand tradition deserves our best efforts to

both preserve it for the pleasure of future generations.

Since 1985, author Orlando Vega has been involved in the restora-tion and maintenance of the organ as well as in the organization of concerts and recitals of both sacred and classical music.

Luis Gonzalez, Chilean organist, performs at “Festival de Musica

Credomatic” August 2005

Pipe Organ...(from page 20)

SARCHI has a new medical clinic open –– COOPESARCHI R.l. What makes it unique is the offering of Dental Plans and soon-to-come Medical Plans for Costa Ricans who are in a

lower income bracket. Bernal Johanning, the General Manager, states that there are ten specialists serving the needs of their clients.

The clinic offers a wide spectrum of services such as:Dentistry: Orthodontics , Implants, Ortho and General Dentistry, Dental Extractions

Medicine:General MedicineGynecologyPhysical TherapyX-RaysLaboratory ServicesDiagnosticsUltrasoundEmergency ServicesRespiratory Therapy

In one month they will add Pediatrics to the list of services. This clinic is not only new, but has all new equipment provided by Medics of Central America. This new firm started as a group of employees that worked for the import division of Fischel’s. They ended up buying out the division and now are providing equipment to hospitals and clinics.

This clinic is for the underprivileged and a program is being cre-ated for those that are 100% disabled. The clinic is encouraging expatriates to make a donation into a special fund that covers the dental and medical plans for Costa Ricans unable to afford all services. A small donation of $20.00 covers any of the medical and dental plans. You are encouraged to Adopt-A-Family. If you call the clinic the first person you will talk to is Noelia. She is bilingual and has all the information to make a donation.

Foreigners are welcome, but the Dental and Medical Plans are available only to Costa Ricans.

Coopesarchi R.L. Telephone 2454-4963.

New Clinic opens in Sarchi

Jeffeny Metz

My 72 HoursStory & photos:

Rowena Trim

When my husband and I began planning our 72-hour visa renewal trip this time we decided to not return to the US but instead try something different and refreshing. I did a little research and

decided a beach experience was the order of the day. We received a recommendation to the beach at San Juan del Sur and the Hotel Palermo Resort (www.villasdepalermo.com). When we travel we like comfort, beauty, good food and flawless service. Our travel to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua provided all of that and more.

Travel was arranged by the gracious staff of Grecia Travel on the Trans Nica bus, via Executive Service from Grecia. They picked up our tickets in San José and delivered them to us at our home. Being picked up at the bottom of Grecia hill on the highway (by the Grecian temple ruins) saved travel time to and back from San Jose on both ends of our trip. About an hour-and-a-half out of Grecia we were feted with an ample Costa Rican breakfast. Obviously I would have preferred coffee but oh well.... Four

hours later we were at the Penas Blancas border. The ride was comfortable with TV/music and most comfortable leg rests. I slept the whole time. The coach steward gave us updates on time remaining and walked us through the immigration paperwork. He also collected the $8 per person. At the border the steward herded us off the bus and escorted us through the money vendors who wanted to change our money into Cordobas. We declined; I had already been warned that the rate would not have been in our favor. Neither my husband nor I are yet comfortable enough to speak Spanish phrases so I was a bit nervous and overwhelmed. At the border there are two crossings. Out of Costa Rica then into Nicaragua. I was so happy when we cleared the Costa Rican border to see, poking up from the crowd, a large white sign with our names on it. We had been” rescued” by Bosco from Hotel Palermo. He handled all the Nicaragua paper work, collected our luggage and escorted us into the resort’s van.

For my first time in Nicaragua, all the old wives tales I had heard were dispelled by the courtesy, comfort and general caring by the entire staff at Hotel Palermo. Bosco had set the tone for our entire 72 hours.

After a 30-minute van ride we arrived at the resort. The van ascended the hill and we could see, even though it was nightfall, lovely landscaped gardens and solar-type footpath lights leading to our villa. The reception area was warm and friendly. While waiting for processing we ordered room service, had a cup of coffee and sat by the dancing lights from the blue tiled pool. Ah! Shangri La...

We were taken to our villa in a golf cart. The cart rolled up cobbled streets and provided views over our shoulder of the town in the distance and mini street lights in the distance. The resort is on a layered hillside with 50 villas staggered in twos and threes. The villa had high ceilings,

open floor plan on two levels connected by a landing and entry. Our master bedroom had a balcony, large soaking bathtub and his-and-hers matching monogrammed bathrobes. Now that’s luxury I can understand. The kitchen on the lower level was fully equipped with stainless steel appliances and dishes for 6. I could not resist walking out onto the porch to sit in the rocking chair for a minute before going to bed. I knew this was going to be a great 72 hours.

The next morning we went to the complimentary breakfast. I had the full breakfast with eggs, tacos, rice and beans, coffee, fruit and orange juice. We had to fortify ourselves for a day at the beach, right? Breakfast was served by the pool surrounded by reclining chairs, flowers and the sound of water from the waterfall in the pool. The blue and white tiled pool was a great backdrop for the ocean that you could see in the distance. I could just have stayed here for the entire time, never mind the town of San Juan del Sur. Pass the Pina Coladas and let me recline. But Bosco was waiting to take us to town in the go-cart.

On the ride we passed homes of the local residents who gave us welcom-ing waves. The town of San Juan del Sur is only four streets but full of things to buy and places to drink and eat. Surfing and fishing are the major activities. Not to mention walks along the beach just holding hands and enjoying the surf. There are even a couple of internet cafés.

Our favorite place for lunch, while watching the waves on the beach, and meeting other gringos passing the visa renewal hours, is a restaurant called Rossilini’s. Weather you are buying a mora with leche or enjoying a pescado in garlic sauce you will experience a feast for the eyes and the stomach. Great service, and you can take as much time as you like. This was a daily activity. We met several new couples from Guanacaste and made new friends. Evenings were spent back at the resort poolside catching up on the day’s events of other visitors like us, matching notes and taking pictures. There is enough English-speaking staff to let you make your point and still be authentic. Rina and Carlos were particularly helpful in organizing our stay. The town is building a new statue of Christ, in the area known as Mi-rador de San Juan del Sur, that will be seen for miles by boats entering the bay. It is similar to the statue in Río de Janeiro. It will be stunning. This region of Nicaragua is one not to be missed.

The beach by day, poolside at evening and shopping in between, our 72-hour visa renewal was a tonic for the soul. We were sorry to leave. Coming back, the resort staff drove us to Rivas to wait for the returning bus to Grecia. Our friends met us and we are ready for the next adven-ture. I can only say that the 4-star service and great food was worth our visit. I recommend this resort if you want catered service and a place to rest by the pool or by the beach.

Adventure in San Juan del Sur