costaricalearn.com blog: December 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Costa Rica Learn

How Do Costa Ricans Celebrate Christmas? By Eating Tamales

Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:23 PM PST

HOW DO COSTA RICANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS? They gather the families together and eat tamales. The Costa Rican Tamale is made from corn masa as the base and it is filled with many different ingredients. Among these are primarily pork, and then add sweet red pepper, carrots, green beans, olives, finely chopped garlic, onions, prunes or raisins, potatoes and salt and pepper. Wrap it all up in a large banana leaf and tie together with string. Place them in a large pot of boiling water and cook for around 4 hours. Some people, especially in the countryside cook them over an open fire.

Often an afternoon cup of delicious Costa Rican coffee is served with a freshly prepared tamale. Tamales are even eaten at breakfast. So you can see Costa Ricans are serious about tamales.

Mexican Tamales are a little different. They are wrapped in corn husks and jalapena peppers are added to the other ingredients to give it a much more spicy flavor. I would like to thank Alberto Font for the use of the below photo of a Costa Rica tamale.

As a new bride I came with my Costa Rica husband to celebrate our first Christmas together. I was raised in the south (USA) where turkey and dressing, mashed sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, and pumpkin pie was the annual Christmas dinner. Well, I was surprised when my mother in law served a large plate with a lone tamale. I watched as the banana leaves were unwrapped as if the tamale was a gift. I tasted mine and thought “How am I going to be able to eat this.” “Everyone is watching me” It takes time to cultivate a taste for this famous Christmas dish. For me at first it was much too bland. With time I learned to eat tamales but to add variety I served rice and a green garden salad.

Would you like to visit Costa Rica at Christmas time . Contact Ann, the Costa Rica Expert, to help you plan the perfect vacation. www.costaricalearn.com

Tamal 1 1000x667 300x200 How Do Costa Ricans Celebrate Christmas? By Eating Tamales

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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Costa Rica Learn

Family Vacation Planner to Guanacaste Beaches

Posted: 13 Dec 2014 05:02 PM PST

Nancy and her three grown up kids set out from Santa Barbara, California for a seven day adventure vacation to Costa Rica. Nancy had rented a house for the five of them on Playa Portero in Guanacsate., and rented a car to get around. This beach is close to Playa Flamingo (about forty five minutes north of Tamarindo) and has white sand and great Pacific waves. They encountered great weather. In the Pacific Northwest beaches little rain falls in the month of November.

Nancy called Ann for help setting up the adventure tours because she was having a hard time on the internet doing it alone. “I got very confused about which tour company to use and how long each tour would take.” admitted Nancy. “Ann, the family vacation planner, quickly and efficiently arranged just what we wanted. We did horse back riding on the beach and in the forest, my girls did white water rafting, and my son and I went to Palo Verde National Park and had a fun filled day of boating and bird watching, monkey watching, photographing crocodiles and river turtles. We also did a sunset cruise which included snorkeling. We saw hundreds of small fish, although not colorful-they were fun to watch. Ann accurately told us best route to take to and from San Jose international airport and also how long the driving distance would take. We did not waste any time, thanks to Ann “The Costa Rica Expert”

We very highly recommend Costa Rica for a family vacation. So much beauty and out door adventure activities, and very friendly people. And Ann was great–so of course we recommend you contact her if you are planning a trip to Costa Rica.

contact Ann www.costaricalearn.com

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Saturday, December 13, 2014

Costa Rica Learn

What do Costa Ricans Do for New Years?

Posted: 12 Dec 2014 07:45 PM PST

For New Years many Costa Rica will go to the beaches. They will gather their family together and head for their own personal beach houses or will rent a house on the beach. On New Years Eve they will celebrate with lots of typical Costa Rican food and alcoholic drinks. Costa Rica rum is a favorite, mixed with mango juice. They will party till the early hours of the morning.

Others will travel, sometimes long distances to stay in the home of relatives, whom often they see only once a year. The women are in the kitchen cooking up the favorite Costa Rican rice dishes such as aroz con pollo (rice with chicken). or roasted pork. The men gather outside to tell stories and drink the alcoholic drink made from sugar cane called guarro.

Costa Ricans usually do not work from December 25 through Jan 1. This is a time for rest, relaxation, and partying.

January is a great month to vacation in Cost Rica. The weather is gorgeous, sunny and warm. If you would like a Costa Rica Expert to help you plan you trip to Costa Rica, contact Ann. Read all about her and how she works by going to www.costaricalearn.com

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Friday, December 12, 2014

Costa Rica Learn

Costa Rica’s Neighbor to the North- Something Big is Going on in Nicaragua.

Posted: 12 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST

Nicaragua is Costa Rica’s neighbor to the North . Nicaragua has a standing army.

Today, something big is going on in Nicaragua called “The Gran Canal Project”. It is an ambitious $40 billion project of 278 kilometers- an interoceanic canal (stretching from the Pacific Ocean, all way to the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic ocean). It is three times longer than the Panama Canal. It will forever change the economic landscape of Nicaragua and make it one of Central America’s richest countries. Construction will begin early 2015.

The money, design, and construction assistance will come from the Chinese Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Company.

The Pacific Ocean point of entrance will be the mouth of the Brito River, in Rivas. Planned is a large petroleum port and a free trade zone . Plus a tourism complex is planned near by. The free zone will cover around 29 square kilometers and provide residential housing, and create 113,000 jobs.

Some people will be displaced from their homes. Their land will be taken over by the Nicaragua Government -and they will be relocated and hopefully gain new employment within the new jobs created by the canal project.

Surveying has begun. One of Asia’s top state-owned engineering firms is now in Rivas- the Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design, and Research Company. The surveyors are accompanied by soldiers from the Nicaragua Army.

Additionally large tourism projects are planned for Ometepe Island, located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. This large lake encompasses almost all the southern land mass of Nicaragua.

On the Caribbean side plans call for the construction of a large artificial lake bout the size of Denver, Colorado. This area will be developed into an large eco tourism project.

Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua projects this project to create enough jobs to bring his country out of poverty.

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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Costa Rica Learn

Does Costa Rica Have a Standing Army?

Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:53 AM PST

Does Costa Rica Have a Standing Army? No, the army was abolished in 1948 under the leadership of Jose Figueres who is best known as the “Grandfather of Costa Rica.”

The War of National Liberation followed several years of extreme unrest in Costa Rica. A civil war began on March 11, 1948 and ended forty four days later. Two thousand men were killed during this sad violent war of liberation.

This National Liberation Front was headed by Jose Figueres, and under his leadership a new Constitution was born.

It gave strong powers to the central government reflecting the ideals of Social Democracy . It included a ten percent tax on wealth. full voting rights for women, created a minimum wage, national health care services for all, nationalization of all the banks, granted citizenship to all people born in Costa Rica and expanded education by creating rural schools. And it Abolished the Military. The money and resources are instead spent on human development and prosperity.

From all of this, a new and strong political party was born known as the National Liberation Party. Figueres headed the party until a presidential election could be held and then relinquished his power to the newly elected president Otilio Ulate. Figueres later served two terms as President 1953-1957 and 1970-1974.

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