Things have gotten extremely expensive in CR since I was last there but of course in comparison to Jamaica they are still cheap.....no sales tax and can you believe the toll fee for 30 kms was only Ja$20!
However my favourite tour had been to Arenal volcano where they have several hot springs. It had cost me US$25 for a day tour with meals the last time I was here, some six years ago, now its $120!!!!
I am happy I went there when I could afford it for now I certainly can't. One of the reasons for the steep increase in the cost of living since my last visit is the fact that the the colon has devalued to 500 to US$1 whereas it was 220 to $1 then. Gas now costs US$1.20 per litre but that has not eased the traffic jams. In fact so bad is the traffic in San Jose that the municipality has established a system where only vehicles with certain licence numbers are allowed downtown during the morning and afternoon peak hours. San Jose has gotten so huge and congested I barely recognise anything. What impressed me a lot was the absence of potholes and I do note that many of the side roads are made from cement.
In CR, they have 7 active volcano and Doka, has the worlds largest crater.....9000 feet. I have been there in the past. Near our hotel which is between Santa Ana and the large town called Escazu. The Santa Ana area has become the corporate centre of CR with a huge IT and call Centre industry.
Our hotel (The Alta) is a lovely boutique property five storeys but only 22 rooms. Because of the quaint and tasteful architecture, you would never know it was more than two storeys tall. And I did notice that high rises are not that popular there which is good for there is nothing worse than a cconcrete jungle in my book! Although the hotel is only 15 years old, it is built in rustic Spanish colonial style and looks very original.
You can detect the wealthy areas as most of the residences there are in the colonial style and using deep red paints reinforces this. What I 0bserved too is that the houses are built very close to the streets (like old Spanish Town houses). I assume the bulk of the land is in the back and to enhance their privacy, they use colourful zinc and other metals and even green house material to block the view. This I only saw in San Jose though not in the smaller towns where the houses are just as close to the road.
San Jose seems to have developed quite a crime problem though for as we arrived at the airport a policeman was there giving out brochures with anti crime information for visitors to adopt and we were warned to stay away from the city after 10 pm . Interestingly, while we see a lot of security guards downtown, I rarely saw any police and even driving out into the countryside the lack of police activity was significant to someone like me who lives in Jamaica. However, everywhere you go, you notice that most houses in the better areas have electronic gates and some even have electrified fences to shock intruders.
The fruits here are just like in Jamaica but larger. You have to watch how you talk about guava there as that is some kind of bad word.... they call it guayabera. They consider March their summer as they say it is hot and dry at this time (I nearly froze to death as it hovered around 70 degrees most of the time) while during the real summer, July, August etc it gets very overcast and cold, so they call it winter! Well I am here to tell you that the only day that felt summer like to me was the Wednesday after we arrived and when we visited Jackie at her home near the airport. The Wednesday after we arrived, was the only time I was inspired to take off some clothes and jump in the pool and I am glad I did for every day after that I was adding clothes, not taking off. (Oh oh, we just had a power cut so now I really feel at home!)
I love how the streets in San Jose undulate sharply like in San Francisco so it is easy to get good exercise here as going around the block is like walking up Mountain Spring. I didn't see much walkers and joggers though but a lot of cyclists. Near the hotel there is reptile refuge where they care for sick snakes, monkeys etc and let them back into the wild when they get better. That I discovered from my first walk then later Ariana and I visited it. She went wild over the monkeys and has been nagging her mom for a real live one ever since.
Cardiff has been walking too. One morning he walked to Santa Ana with his 15 year old daughter Amanda and he said he noticed that the men kept tooting their horns as they passed. His daughter kept her head straight but Cardiff waved to the drivers. They must all have thought he was funny! Anyway there seems to be a real problem with the men going for underage girls and maybe even foreigners go to CR to get involved in pedophilia for in the airport there is a large notice warning that having sex with underage girls is illegal. Poor Amanda seems to have attracted more unwanted attention as she also saw a peeping Tom watching her at one location! Anyway talk about funny, we met a guy called Ricky in Santa Ana and he laughing told us his name was Ricky X Martin, the "x" meaning he was not gay like the famous singer!)
Anyway, back to my morning walk , after the first day Amanda decided that the had been too much for her , so Cardiff and I have kept up the pace and man he had me sweating, for whereas I used to reverse up the hills to allow me a respite to catch my breath, he had me walking up front ways and even jogging to a light post! He is a former air force man and I swear if he were in Jamaica walking with me I would soon Be jogging up to the Blue Mountains!
But back to things I found significant in CR. I also notice that they go for mixed neighbourhoods, residential and commercial all co-existing happily and it works very well for them . The landscape is absolutely breathtaking and everywhere there is a proliferation of pink poui and a variety of colourful boganvilla and many other flowering tees which I had never seen before but which really brightens up the place.
I like how they have placed sleeping policemen near schools as they do in Guadalooupè and Martinique. I don't know why those idiots in Jamaica do not adopt this for it would make life so much safer for the kids . It is something I have often spoken about on radio but I guess we will never think of such safety measures until some politician's child is killed near school by a speeding motorist.
There are some things in CR which I found very striking. For example, they have only one cell phone company, ICE, but no one complains about monopoly as the rate is kept very low I hear.
The bus transportation system is also excellent and cheap. The other thing you can't miss is the fact that Costa Ricans are highly educated for as from back in the 40's the government abolished the army and ploughed the money into education. So education is free up to high school and if you maintain 90-100 percent averages, university is also free. However that does not leave out slower students for with grades under 85% they pay only US$20 every six months!
Costa Ricans have therefore attained middle to upper class status and very few do menial work. This is done by the Nicaraguans who come over to do farm labour, maid work etc. When you travel to the countryside you can't miss their accommodations as they are striking by comparison....barrios I suppose.
Something I found a bit strange was the fact that you do not need to have motor vehicle insurance to drive there and I did find the driving a bit scary....they really like to get close to you when they are passing! However, talking on the cell phone while driving is a big no no.
There was one aspect of life here that I found a bit disconcerting, to say the least. That is what happens after death! Apparently the relatives have to pay an annual fee to the municipality for the upkeep of the cemetery and if they fail to pay the fee for five years, the remains are dug up and removed to a mass burial site. A bit gruesome I found.
Then there is well used term of endearment....negrita. Literally it means little negro or little nigger but it is used strictly for affection there. I wonder how the super sensitive Americans react when they hear it since they consider the so called "n word" and absolute no no?
CR is an absolutely beautiful country with its many mountains, manicured pastures and lush, verdant scenery. I would put it in the developed world category since while they did have a downturn in 2009 with the world recession, they seem to have recovered fully and construction is now booming, helped no doubt by the influx of North Americans who want to retire there.
I am told that today they are seeing growth between 2-5% and the towns really all look prosperous and metropolitan. Of course almost every American franchise is visible but the country has not lost its Spanish Soul.
Not yet anyway, thank God.
No comments:
Post a Comment