SOME COSTA RICA TRIVIA

Fun Facts      

Costa Rica, about the size of New Mexico, with a population of a little over 3 ½ million people, lies on the Central American isthmus between Nicaragua on the north and Panama on the south.  It is a peaceful Central American country with political stability and an oasis of unspoiled natural beauty and spectacular scenery.

The country abolished its army in 1948. San Jose,  founded in 1737, became the capital of the country in 1823. With nearly a third of the population living there, it is the political, social, historical, and cultural center of the country. Avenues run east and west, and streets run north and south. However, the streets run in odd number numerical order on one side of the city and even numbers on the other side of the city making it difficult to get to find the address you want.

In 1983 Pope John Paul used San Jose as his headquarters while visiting around in Latin and South America.

After President Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 the world began to notice Costa Rica, and that event put the country on the map.

Intel and tourism are the top income producers followed by coffee, bananas, pineapple, fish, especially tuna, meat, and textiles. The country believes in quality coffee rather than  quantity. The country grows 150 tropical fruits! Banana paper is a new and fascinating product—I was quite taken with it.

Oil comes from Venezuela and Mexico. Kapok is the national tree of Guatemala and was worshiped by Indians.

The country has a high auto accident rate with DWI being a big factor. A yellow heart is painted in a street where a fatal accident occurred.

Hotels were super five star. The wildlife was incredible, the scenery awesome, and flowers and foliage gorgeous. The food was good with rice and beans served at every meal. Pastas  were added for tourists. The fresh fruits and fresh juices were delicious!

Tortuguero National park was a unique experience, especially watching the turtles lay their eggs at night.

             Costa Ricans are extremely friendly.

Punt Arenas means point of sand.

Ecotourism is getting to be a popular way to travel, and Costa Rica is a wonderful choice and place to begin.

INTERESTING CURIOSITIES

FUN TRIVIA

Pack Horse Bridges

While hiking in England we walked over the 400 year old Slater’s pack-horse bridge. These beautifully arched bridges over becks (small streams) are very narrow. There are many of these quaint 300-400 year-old bridges in good condition still standing in England.

Arched lumber was laid and anchored over the stream. A key stone was placed on the center top, then rocks were laid to the edges. When the wood was removed the rocks locked themselves in place. The pack horse bridges we passed over were very narrow requiring single file so it was hard to imagine a horse dragging a cart ---2 wheels vs. 4 on a wagon--- passing over them. These bridges are so sturdy I wonder if they could even be torn down.

Stile Gate
This is not really a gate, but a built-in mechanism to climb over a stone wall. We climbed over a few of them in England. We were told they were ancient stiles using cantilevered stones as steps. Large stones are left protruding out of the wall to be used as steps. A one shoe-wide hole in the top of the wall is used to place your foot and pivot to climb down the cantilevered stones on the other side to reach the ground. The first time maneuvering these stiles  was a bit of a challenge.

Coffee Shops and Cafés
In Amsterdam, Holland you might like to know that a coffee house and a café are not the same thing. You drink coffee in a café. You can legally buy up to 5 grams of pot in a coffee shop/house, but not drink coffee there.

A Bar
In Italy a bar is a sidewalk sandwich shop. One stands at a small round table, often surrounding a support pole, to eat a sandwich. By the way Italy seems to be totally unaware that we like condiments on our sandwiches. A piece of bread, slice of cheese and meat just needs a bit more to taste really good. Individual packets of mustard, ketchup, mayo and relish go with me on my next trip to Italy!

In the old ancient walled city of York, England, a bar is a gate and a gate is a bar. How’s that for confusing when seeking directions?

INTERESTING TID BITS

STORY POLES

You may be more familiar with the term totem pole, and if you haven’t been to Canada for several years you may not have heard the term story poles. The word totem is actually an American Indian word, but it seems early explorers thought native peoples worshiped totem poles. This is not at all true as the poles tell a family history. The history of totem poles is long and interesting so long story short for several years now Canadians have referred to totem poles as story poles.

Along this line the terminology of Indian, Eskimo and any other ‘old fashion’ term for the native peoples has been replaced with First Nation’s People or peoples. Personally I like this descriptive name absent of any kind of connotation. Both of these terms have been incoperated into Canadian English and are widely used.

ONION vs HELMET DOMES

Like most people, I thought an onion dome was an onion dome. It was not until I was in Russia that the difference of an onion dome and a helmet dome was pointed out to me, and if I recall correctly it was in the Kremlin.

Onion domes definitely look like onions and are probably the most popular and widely used dome. They abound on churches and are a common sight in many Eastern European cities. When one knows the difference it is easy to spot a helmet dome. They do look like a soldier’s helmet of old. These domes are seen  less often and are pretty rare in the United States.

My home town does have both domes in its city’s square that can be  seen and easily compared from a vantage point in the county court house.