Tag: limon

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Highway West Going 4 Lanes!

You spoiled Americans may say, “So what?” but this is a really big deal here in Costa Rica! For years Ruta 3 was the only route from San Jose to the west coast, a narrow, 2-lane, winding mountain road that went right through downtown Atenas (when travelers got to see this charming little town) and then over another set of mountains & one-lane bridges to Puntarenas and Jaco Beaches.

Ten+ years ago they finished an outdated toll road called Ruta 27 from San Jose to Puntarenas with a side branch to Jaco Beaches, much straighter through the mountains but unfortunately most was still just 2 lanes and all the bridges are 2-lane!  🙂  There are 3rd lanes or “passing lanes” on many of the uphill sections to help get around slow trucks, but that is it! Poor planning for the long-term future! See the operator’s video on Ruta 27.

Now it seems the legislature has approved a coming upgrade to widen Ruta 27 to 4 lanes all the way to Puntarenas and Jaco – a huge improvement for those who drive this busy route when it is finally finished, though they are not even starting until 2021! Read all that I know about it on the “Live in Costa Rica Blog” article. 

And for those fewer people like me who really like the Atlantic Coast or Caribe as we call it here, you probably know that the widening of Ruta 32 from San Jose to Limon (the flat part beyond the big mountain range) was approved a long time ago and is being widened to 4 lanes right now. It is an easier, quicker job after you get through the mountains of Braulio Carrillo because of the flat land between Guapiles & Limon and I assume they will eventually widen it through the mountains too. Both of these widened routes are important not only for retirees and tourists but especially for commercial trucks delivering goods from our two big shipping ports of Limon & Puntarenas to warehouses in San Jose.

In smaller, poorer countries like Costa Rica this kind of “progress” is slow & expensive, but sure as in this case. I don’t want us to become “too big” or “too developed” but one main highway from coast to coast is a good thing for everyone, though you will sure miss seeing a lot when you zoom by!  🙂   And it passes on the outskirts of Atenas just like the old coast to coast train did in a previous century.  🙂     ¡Así es la vida!

¡Pura Vida!

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.    ~Charles Kuralt

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Puerto Viejo — THE CARIBBEAN TOURIST TOWN

I think it is officially called “Puerto Viejo de Talamanca” because it is at the foot of the Talamanca Mountains and nearest town to some of the Indian reservations. It is also called “Puerto Viejo de Limon” because it is in the Limon Province and near the larger port city of Limon, also a symbol of the Caribbean for Costa Rica and where they have the Caribbean and Reggae festivals and big parades like Mardi Gras. Another reason for the extension on the name is there is another town called Puerto Viejo which I have also visited on the Caribbean slope, but inland next to the mountains. It is called “Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. It is on the Sarapiqui River. Well, a few shots of buildings in the Caribe Puerto Viejo which you could call “Rasta Town” or a hangout for some American youth who see themselves as new hippies or rasta or whatever labels are used today. Colorful but not highly appealing to me.

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The Adventure of Small Planes

Our 12-passenger plane from San Jose to Limon
Costa Rica

Sansa Terminal in San Jose
Costa Rica

I sat in the back this time to get off first in Limon.
3 of us got off and 5 more got on for the journey on to Tortuguero
Costa Rica

Taxiing off on the San Jose Runway
Costa Rica

Flying over the San Jose Passenger Terminal
Costa Rica

Farms outside of San Jose
Costa Rica

Flying over the mountains & national park
Costa Rica

Caribbean Farms, mostly Bananas, Pineapple
Costa Rica

Outskirts of Limon
Costa Rica

Oil Tankers keep these filled as our main source of gasoline
Costa Rica

One of several big docks in the Port of Limon
Costa Rica

Typically Tin-roofed house in the very poor, mostly black, Limon
Costa Rica

Limon Airport is a strip of pavement along the Atlantic coast
Costa Rica

And the very nice though small Limon Passenger Terminal
Costa Rica

This is all I can share about today (Monday) but I did a lot more with reports later. I walked 6 miles up and back the beach from hotel to downtown Puerto Viejo. Quite interesting. Photographed a lot including 4 or 5 different species of birds. Didn’t get in my room until 2 because last guests were late checking out. Got a massage on the beach to help me relax before my gourmet dinner of Sea Bass +. Exhausted and going to bed by 8 with a 6:30 AM bird hike before breakfast, then a slow day tomorrow.  🙂

My hotel is Banana Azul  which is very nice and almost always full.

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Costa Rica Fresh Fruit!

On Feria Day (Farmers’ Market Day) I process some of the fruit purchased . . .

. . . and then have a fruit plate for lunch!  🙂

I cut up half or more of the mango, pineapple and papaya into little squares and put in zip lock bags in the freezer to use in my fresh fruit frescos, refrescos de frutas, batidos, jugo de naturales or just smoothies for people from the states. And there are a lot of other names for drinks made from fresh fruit, plus a rice, cinnamon, and milk drink call horchata or an even better version with vanilla ice cream called leche muella. Fruit rules in Costa Rica!

Images, Descriptions & Uses of The Tropical Fruits of Costa Rica  NEAT PAGE!
Probably at least one fruit here you have never heard of! And sorry, but I have not tried all of them yet! And this list is not all of the fruits found here. 

When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.
~Vietnamese saying

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Tico Love Affair with Limons & Mayonaise!

Limon mandarinas is the full or official name. They are neither lemon nor lime.
They are the green things in the middle that look like limes,
though tree-ripened ones can be almost orange in color. Sold in bags of 12!

They are squeezed on everything from salads to your favorite meat, yet I am yet to see them made into a drink. A wedge of one is stuck on or in the glass of some drinks in bars and restaurants. I no longer use any kind of salad dressing, but just cut up a limon and squeeze it over my salad with some herbs. Delicious! You can read more about them online. But another surprise about Ticos is their love affair with Mayonaise!

More varieties of Mayonnaise than any other condiment at Coopeatenas!
And an even larger variety at Walmart! But the unquestionable favorite is
Mayonnaise con Limon!

Yep, in that photo everything to the right of the brown bottles is mayonnaise! And the brown bottles are another Tico favorite, Salsa Lizano! It is particularly loved on Gallo Pintos (special beans and rice dish) eaten most often at breakfast with eggs. It is somewhere between Worcestershire Sauce and a vinegary steak sauce. More about food here later!