Imagine that you are 26 years old, female, recently promoted to the job of Operations Manager at Banco Promérica in Manuel Antonio. You are about to have your first meeting with other bank executives in San José. You’ve arrived from Quepos early that morning and you walk into the room carrying your agenda and a pen. There you confront a group of officials, mostly middle-aged men with laptops slung over their shoulders, talking on cell phones. That was Gina Jimenez’s introduction to her professional peers in 2005. Read More…
The delectable, juicy and unsurpassed sweetness of the Mango fruit is enjoyed by more people on a world-wide scale that any other fruit. Mango is considered the “King of Fruits”. They are associated with fortune, abundance and fertilityand are represented in religious themes of South Asia’s Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian communities. It is said that the forbidden fruit or “apple” in the biblical story of the Garden of Eden was that of the Mango. Fossil records dating back 25 to 30 million years have revealed the Mango’s center of origin as northeast India, Myanmar/Burma and Bangladesh and their cultivation dates back more than 6,000 years. Read More…
Auricular Therapy is based on the principle that correct stimulation of the precise pinpoint-sized pressure points located on the ear result in a powerful healing response in corresponding limbs and organs of the body. The stimulation causes the body to release anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety chemicals and hormones. It also dilates or constricts the blood vessels to improve circulation or stop bleeding and to increase white blood count amongst many other powerful effects. Read More…
Reggae music has become a global phenomenon, cast into public awareness forty years ago by musicians like Johnny Nash, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. But the music remains Caribbean in temperament.
In 1995, the young Costa Rican music label Papaya Music released “Costa Rica Reggae Night”, an excellent compilation of authentic Reggae music from the Caribbean coast of this country. It is a compilation of thirteen songs from well known Costa Rican bands, both past and present; it was a kind of history of notable reggae bands from this area. The album has been a big hit, selling more than fifteen thousand copies in just ten years, a remarkable feat for an independent Central American label.
Many, if not all styles of yoga integrate breath into their practices. I teach the Vinyasa Flow style of yoga, and we link breath to each movement we make. There are quite a few asanas, or yoga poses, that can illustrate the experience of linking breath with movement, and this edition’s pose of the month is really a pair of poses named Cat and Cow.
Every April 11th, Costa Rica celebrates Juan Santamaría day. On that date in 1855, young Juan helped defend Costa Rica’s northern border against the forces led by the American mercenary William Walker, whose goal was to annex Central America for the ignoble purpose of the slave trade. The image of the humble young campesino, torch in hand, giving his life to ensure that Costa Rica was not tarnished by any kind of occupying force is in the heart and mind of every kid who grows up here; so great is the remembrance of his deed that the country’s largest airport is named for him, and a large statue of him greets every arriving visitor.
Flash forward 156 years to a little piece of land called Isla Calero. Part of Costa Rica, the isla has been technically occupied by Nicaragua for the past few months, while they allegedly work to improve the navegability of the San Juan River, which flows between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but is considered part of Nicaragua.
I’ve been coming to the Quepos area for the past 10 years and moved here over two years ago. As many of us that travel here, I fell in love with the climate, the beaches and the abundance of wildlife. However, the one thing that always broke my heart was the number of street dogs and cats and the lack of care the animals received. I was saddened that there wasn’t any way to systematically help these underfed animals that were sleeping on the street and in poor health.
Then PAWS (Pets of Aguirre Welfare Shelter) was formed. PAWS is a non-profit organization and its sole purpose is to help improve the overall wellbeing of the animals in our area. PAWS Mission Statement is: To provide no-kill solutions to reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs through education, rehabilitation and re-homing. This non-profit has three major goals. The first is to provide low cost spay and neutering clinics in our community and the surrounding areas of our canton. Since PAWS began 1 ½ and years ago, well over 400 animals have been spayed or neutered at various low-cost clinics. Our local veterinarians have graciously given their time and resources to perform these procedures at the PAWS sponsored clinics. This effort has greatly improved the health of these animals as well a preventing the birth of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. On average, PAWS organizes a major castration clinic every 6 to 8 weeks with smaller clinics interspersed when needed. PAWS has begun a program of early castration of puppies and kittens before they are adopted assuring that they will not reproduce when mature. One $25 donation will spay or neuter 2 of these puppies or kittens!
According to the Humane Society of the US, a single female cat can have three litters a year with an average of five kittens per litter. In only seven years, she and her offspring could potentially produce 420,000 cats. In just six years, one female dog and her brood can produce as many as 67,000 puppies!
That is what anglers around the world understand about good sport fishing. Preserve the most beautiful species flipping out of the ocean has been the main goal for old and young through the last years. That is why Sailfish, Marlin, Roosterfish and some others are released every day. Captains and mates take care of every game fish during the process of boating. They exactly know what to do in order to keep them alive and calculate the time out of water. “Catch and Release” has made an important change since it has been practiced.
Luna Tours boats released 10 Roosters, 4 Marlin and 123 Sailfish on February. First week and a half in March before Costa Rica Classic 2011, Ojaran II released 24 Sails and 5 Roosters. Ojaran III released 29 Sails and Reel Deal released 7 sailfish and 1 rooster. This gives us a total of 12 Marlin, 32 Roosters and 248 Sailfish released in 2011 only in our boats by March the 9th. This helps to conserve the species and keep the game alive.
The next time you visit a restaurant for sea food give a chance to the delicious Mahi-Mahi or Tuna. Some restaurants still serve Sail. If you were lucky and got some eatable fish on your catch of the day, try the finest restaurants in town. Our favorite and most recommended, El Gran Escape.
These Horoscopes are meant to be fun and enjoyed. They should not be taken too seriously.
ARIES – March 21-April 19
7. For no reason at all, I’m going to throw the number 7 at you. SEVEN. Take everything you’ve got and run like the wind! Chew the cud with some friends this month, their inane chatter may amuse you.
RULING GEMSTONE: DIAMOND
TAURUS – April 20-May 20
Your selfish ways will not improve this month as you win a sizeable jackpot in the lottery. Walking to work in a clown costume can help you in your search for humility. It may seem unrelated to your month so far, but remember, the world loves a bastard!
Bienvenidos/Welcome to our beautiful tropical Paradise….we are happy that you have chosen our part of Costa Rica for your vacation…We have it all- Sportfishing, Canopy Tours, White WaterRafting, Ocean Kayaking, Parasailing and on and on…all within easy reach so have some fun……Quepolandia wishes everyone a Happy Easter and a safe Semana Santa (Costa Rica’s Holiday for Easter that begins on the Thurs. before Easter through the holiday) It is the time when many Ticos come to visit their beautiful Manuel Antonio Beach & Park so if the road to the beach is crowded with traffic just take it easy and enjoy the scenery………..Cover Shot congrats to Amber Oswald & Flash Gordon of St. Paul, MN, they sent in the great photo of palm fruit taken while visiting Chef Cody from La HaciendaRestaurant……we are luckyto have wonderful restaurants from Manuel Antonio to Quepos and also a new bakery La Panera located next to El GranEscape Restaurant – so drop in and try their delicious breads and desserts! You won’t go hungry while visiting with us! As you see our advertisers around town and take time to eat or drink with them or go on a tour – please mention that you heard about them in Quepolandia….we post all the articles here every month so you can keep up with “Qué Pasa en Quepos” after you go home …….we hope you have a wonderful time and come back soon……..caio…..P
It’s March, and a few days ago the Northern Hemisphere will be experienced it’s spring equinox, when Winter begins to turn to Spring. Many of our visitors are here from the northern latitudes, and have been going through a long cold winter. The arrival of spring launches growth and new beginnings. Many of you reading this are ex-pats from up north, and have experienced huge changes by relocating to Costa Rica. This brings up this month’s subject and pose of the month. Change: how to create it, embrace it and how to use yoga to make it more meaningful.
It’s mango season! During this time of year mango trees are literally dropping fruit at your feet. Monkeys, parrots, iguanas, butterflies, & humans feast on them and yet, if you’re lucky enough to have a nearby tree or two, you’ll still find yourself actually tripping over fallen mangoes. Don’t let that fruit go to waste. If you don’t have a tree handy you can buy them cheaply at the supermarket, the farmers market, or off the back of a truck.
Here’s a quick recipe for Mango Chutney that will last about a month refrigerated & goes great on Curried Chicken Burgers (below). Make the chutney before you start the burgers so it has time to cool to room temperature. Read More…
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1948 is a special year in Costa Rican history, but its significance was perceived differently by different people. If you were on the winning side you would remember it as a heroic revolution. The losers would call it a power grab. Most outside observers saw it as a bloody civil war, and none of the participants will ever deny that it was bloody. Today everyone recognizes that the single most important result of the war was the abolition of the Costa Rican armed forces six months after its conclusion.
The war of 1948 had been brewing for some time, but the incident that triggered the eruption of violence was alleged election fraud in the elections of 1948. The people who lived in Hatillo de Aguirre knew that there was an election, but didn’t care who was running, much less worry about the outcome. Had there been a place to vote, none was eligible, as all were Panamanian citizens. The government barely knew that Hatillo existed, so the people weren’t much concerned with who ran the government. Likewise the war wasn’t of any special importance to them. It wasn’t their war. For that reason, when word arrived that the soldiers were coming, Marvin Espinosa called a family meeting. It wasn’t very democratic because Marvin made all of the decisions. But everyone had their say, the men at least.
Kids Saving The Rainforest has been very busy with lots of great news that we want to share with you.
We now have our official Zoological Garden license. We use this license for our wildlife sanctuary to house any wildlife that can’t be released back into the rainforest, animals that would have to be euthanized if we did not care for them. Currently there are over 20 monkeys protected at the Sanctuary which is called the Kids Saving The Rainforest Educational Center. Read More…
En español se usa el subjuntivo en una cláusula subordinada después de un verbo de emoción en la cláusula principal si hay un sujeto diferente para los dos verbos. Algunos verbos de emoción que requieren el subjuntivo son:
Alegrarse de que
Gustarle que
Sentir que
Tener miedo de que
Temer que
Lamentar que
Sorprenderse de
Es de esperar
Es lamentable
Es sorprendente
Es (una) lástima
Es una suerte
Por ejemplo: Me alegro de que estés aquí. (I’m happy you’re here.)
Práctica:
¿Cómo se dice?
I’m happy that Sofia wants to go out with me.
I’m afraid she won’t have a good time.
She likes that I resemble Brad Pitt.
She’s sorry that I don’t have a car.
My folks lament that I get such bad grades.
I’m happy they still love me.
I fear I’m failing calculus.
The teacher is sorry that I’m not so smart.
We’re happy you’re playing with us.
I’m afraid we won’t all fit in your car. Read More…
(en Español)
ARIES – March 21-April 19
TAURUS – April 20-May 20
