The Central Nicoya Peninsula’s Best Kept Secret

The first week of January, I spent at Playa Guiones in Nosara.  I took advantage of being close to the Harmony Hotel to get some work done and meet with the owners there.  I was with my family and on Sunday, we decided to head north up the coast to San Juanillo beach.  It is about a 45 minute drive from the Harmony Hotel, passing the famous turtle nesting beach of Ostional. 

It is by far my favorite beach in Costa Rica.  Why?  It is a safe swimming beach (no current, no waves) with coral growing on the ocean floor so the colors of the water are amazing.  Very few people know about this beach as there are no hotels or residential developments nearby.  You see a few locals but hardly any foreigners on this beach.  It is a white sand and shell beach that branches out into a peninsula so that you actually have beach on both sides of a small peninsula.  The most spectacular setting you can imagine. 

And then there is lunch.  La Soda del Mundo Feliz.  The most simple little restaurant you can imagine.  Also one of my long time favorites.   Mom and Pop place.  Very informal.  But excellent fish casados.  OK, so most of the time half of the things on their limited menu are not available.  No chicken, no Coca Cola, no bottled water,  etc.  But we got the freshest breaded fish filets (San Juanillo is a fishing cove) with a cold Imperial beer.  Simplicity is the best.  Perfect way to spend the Sunday with the family.  So if you stay at Harmony in Nosara, make sure you ask about directions to San Juanillo and spend a few hours up there.  Let me know how you liked it.   

And by the way, Happy New Year 2012. 

--Hans

La Sabana – San Jose’s “Central Park”

If you have a few hours in San Jose and want to learn about what the real Costa Rica is about, plan for a visit to La Sabana.  Located not far from the Grano de Oro Hotel in downtown San Jose, this park is home not only to the new National Stadium (donated in 2011 by the Chinese Government and one of the most modern stadiums in Latin America) as well as the Museo de Arte Costarricense (Costa Rican art museum located in the old airport terminal as La Sabana used to be the old San Jose airport), but also a variety of pastime activities from jogging to basketball to tennis and even Yoga and Karate.    

The best day to go is on the weekends.  Saturday and Sunday, the park is full with local residents of all ages and social classes enjoying outdoor activities.  In the rainy season, make sure you go in the morning before the rains start.   To the west of the park are the baseball diamonds that are very popular with the Nicaraguans that live here.  More to the north are the soccer fields where several games go on at the same time.  It is a safe place to hang out during the day and my favorite pastime is people watching.  If you see trees being cut don’t worry.  It is a good thing.  A couple of years ago, the municipality started to replace the non-native Eucalyptus trees with native species trying to bring back some wildlife to the park.  There are a variety of restaurants located all around the park.  La Soda Tapia (see an earlier blog on this Costa Rican institution) is one of them. 

--Hans

The Green Thing - now and then

We're "recycling" this post, having received it from a friend via email and thought it was worthwhile to share with all of you...let us know what you think about "the green thing - now and then"...

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."   

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."  

He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
 

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
 
But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.  

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.  

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.  

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.  

But that old lady is right; they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you.  When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.  

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.  

But she's right; they didn't have the green thing back then.  

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
 

But they didn't have the green thing back then.  

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

Christmas Traditions in Costa Rica

December is a very special month in Costa Rica. The children end the school season as well as the rainy season is over and with this comes many festivals, parades, and Costa Rican Christmas traditions. 

Christmas in Costa Rica commences with Festival de la Luz, when the capital city of San Jose is transformed into a garland of lights. A night time parade made beautiful with thousands of Christmas lights and many oxcarts converted into spectacular works of art. This parade is a favorite of the people.

As with many Catholic nations, nativity scenes with figurines of Mary, Joseph, the wise men and the animals of the manger are a standard Christmas decoration, called “Portals”. Offerings such as fruits and little toys are placed in front of the nativity scene. The baby Jesus figurine is placed in the nativity the night before Christmas, when he brings presents to the children of the household in lieu of Santa Claus.

Every evening from December 16^th to December 24^th, Las Posadas begins. This activity symbolizes the journey made by Mary and Joseph before they reached the stable inn where the infant Jesus was born. Homes in Costa Rica have a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers. Carols and songs are sung from house to house until they reach the home, or church, which has agreed to host a party.

Tamale is a dish that cannot be missed for Christmas dinner; a dish made of cornmeal dough (called masa) filled with meats, rice, different vegetables like carrot or sweet pepper and fruits like raisins or plums. Tamales are wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves, steamed, and served hot. Can be accompanied by a Dark Coffee or "Agua Dulce".

Most households also consume a delicious drink called "Rompope" which is made with cream and Guaro "Cacique".

Wine Tasting – a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

Cayuga’s Culinary Director Jose Lopez invited Hans Pfister, President of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality and Federico Guardian, Food &Beverage Manager of the Harmony Hotel in Nosara for a wine tasting of organic and biodynamic wines at the offices of Alpiste in Escazu.   

The focus of the wine tasting session were wines from the Bodega Noemia in Patagonia, Argentina.  The session was led by professional Sommelier Randal Calderon and the group was joined by Pietro Poma, the owner of Alpiste.  The Cayuga hotels strive to have a 100% organic wine menu by 2012 and continue to focus on “local” wines from South America, predominantly Chile and Argentina.  The most memorable wine we tried was the Bodega Noemia Malbec, a single varietal Malbec that has 18 months in French oak and is rated with 95 Points by the Wine Spectator.  Look for this wine on the wine list of Lapa Rios, Arenas del Mar and Harmony soon.  An unforgettable culinary experience.