Category Archives: Costa Rica

By Vicki Barnes

Costa Rica is a beautiful country of bright colors and lively sounds, but there is another sense that is tantalized when walking through the streets here: the smells of this country bombard you with every step.

On the main roads, where the tourists travel, there are restaurants of every persuasion. The beans, onions, cilantro and plantains of the local fare mingle with the hamburgers on the grill at the place where you can get comidos rapido.
Fresh fish  on the grill or frying chicken are common scents. Fruits of every variety are always being sliced at corner stands. The familiar scents of bread and tomato sauce are fairly common in the tourist areas as well. Continue reading →

By Vicki Barnes

As recovering political addicts, Steve and I have been making a real effort to stay away from politics at home. We have made donations to candidates in whom we believe, but we haven’t been active in any campaigns.

A sample ballot for Costa Rica’s national election

When we arrived in Costa Rica, we began watching the news of the elections here and have been trying to understand the differences between the candidates, the whole election process and the party platforms.

While there are 13 candidates for president, representing the baker’s dozen of political parties, most of the media attention is focused on the  top five candidates as it is not expected that the other parties will get many votes. The most recent polls show the leading vote getter if the election were held today (the election is, in reality, on Sunday, “Undecided” has the majority of support. Continue reading →