Apart from the fact that we are all getting pretty excited because the CARRERA CHIRRIPÓ (Chirripó Race) is just around the corner: February 25th, there have been some special things happening in San Gerardo recently:

• El Descanso Hotel has recently opened a new service for their clients and visitors to San Gerardo. A sauna might be EXACTLY what you want after your descent from Mt Chirripó or Cloudbridge Reserve. The sauna has capacity for a family or around 6 persons and costs $10 for a 20 minute session. You don’t have to be staying at El Descanso to use the sauna – just pop by the front desk and inquire. (And write and tell us how wonderful it was!)

• Costa Rica Holiday Homestay has just opened their new bilingual website brimming with useful information, photos, ideas and costs about how to get the most out of your Costa Rica vacation including Spanish classes, local tours, coffee picking (for fun!) artesania, cooking and much more. If you want to experience the REAL Costa Rica take a peek and see what a homestay offers. The San Gerardo families will give you a huge welcome and an unforgettable experience.

• Cafe Bambu has begun a series of “Musical Dinners” with the success of their Christmas event that sold out. Their second event in early January, in conjunction with Reserva Cloudbridge, featured a mouthwatering dinner of papoosas, chimichurri, filled platinos washed down with lemonade, and followed by traditional tamal asado and coffee. At the same time a local musical trio played rancheros, ballads and even international Latino favorites for everyone to join in with. It didn’t take long for the dinner guests to get out of their seats and begin dancing! Everyone voted it the best time and a rare chance to experience a traditional Costa Rican evening of food and music.

The next event, again in collaboration with Cloudbridge, will be this Thursday, February 2nd at 6 pm. There are a few spots available so get there early and enjoy a meal as well as the musicians AND a demo by local dancers Las Mariposas.

• Recently it came to our attention that a young Cabécar girl was winning national marathons! 13 year old Clara Salazar placed first in two marathons recently and has decided running is her passion. Living as she does much of the year in the Talamanca interior she and her community spend days walking from place to place and running, playing football and staying fit on their natural and wholly organic diet. It’s no wonder the Cabécar always place well in the Carrera Chirripó – women and men – and Clara is more than keen to enter this race, though she will have to wait until she’s 18 to be allowed to.

Thanks to Andy Jones Cox (Owner and Director of Vancouver North Shore’s Tutor Doctor), Maroulla Haile, Veronica Loat (President of North & West Vancouver’s Soroptimist Club) and Keith Nicoll of North Shore Athletics who helped with advice for Clara’s running as well as generous donations of running shoes to enable Clara to run even faster! We will be watching for her in the upcoming months when she competes both locally as well as in San Jose, Cartago and elsewhere – future Olympiad? Why not!

• Cloudbridge Reserve’s Linda Moskalyk, an arborist, ardent environmentalist and painter, announces her first Costa Rican exhibition of stunning paintings opening Thursday February 2nd at the National Gallery, San Jose. Known for her portrayals of trees and what they mean to us, in collage, oil and other media, Linda conveys a message of hope to all who value the forests as part of our natural heritage. At the same time Linda has arranged for the exhibition of children’s art from Escuela San Gerardo de Rivas that also describes our community’s love for the natural world. Both exhibitions continue until February 29th – don’t miss it!

• Lastly – Chirripó news! Bookings to climb the mountain and stay overnight during this summer season are very full. It’s still worth your while phoning and checking because apparently there are odd days available, but for many people your best bet will be to arrive in San Gerardo a day or two ahead of your schedule and make your reservations directly at the Parks Office that opens at 6:30 am. There are 10 tickets available each day for in-person reservations. Prices have also gone up slightly to climb the mountain. Increased costs of services as well as the recent upgrades account for this.
Please see the FAQ’s –on the Activities page for more information.
Remember – you can always buy a day pass that allows you to enter and hike the mountain whenever you like – it’s the lodge that fills up. It’s still recommended to stay overnight if you want to reach the peak, but if you are happy just exploring the park then a day pass will do it.
PURA VIDA!

Al final aquí hay los detalles para la Carrera Chirripó este ano – 2012. La fecha de la carrera es sábado el 25 de febrero, empezando como siempre a las 7 am.
El programa de los eventos para la fiesta Chirripó esta viene muy pronto. Por favor chequear a www.carrerachirripo.com y aquí para más información de:
Eventos para atletas
Eventos todo sábado de la carrera
La Copa Chirripó de futbol
El gran baile
El famoso BINGO
Exposiciones, comidas y mas

INSCRIPCIÓN PARA LA CARRERA
Fecha de inscripción: 04 de febrero.
Lugares donde puede inscribirse:
Salón Comunal San Gerardo de Rivas.
Feria del Agricultor San Isidro P.Z.
Tienda La Gloria San José.
Hora: 2:00 p.m.
Costo: 15.000 colones.

Inscripción para atletas afuera del país: preferiblemente que ellos contacten una persona, que ellos tengan toda la información necesaria y estos puedan inscribirlos.

225 espacios para participar.

Categorias:

■General masculina
■General femenina
■Veteranos A
■Veteranas
■Veteranos B
Salida de 1350 metros a 3400 metros en Chirripó. Recorrido total 34 km.

CHIRRIPO RACE 2012 AND REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
At last here is the information about this year’s Chirripó Race – 2012. The date of the race is Saturday February 25th, starting as usual at 7 am.
The program of events will be published soon – please check www.carrerachirripo.com and/or back here frequently to find out more about:
Athlete’s events
Events all day of the race
The Chirripó Cup Final Football Tournament
The dance
The famous BINGO
Exhibitions, refreshments and more

REGISTRATION FOR THE RACE
Registration date: February 4th
Registration locations:
Salón Comunal – San Gerardo de Rivas.
Agricultural Fair: San Isidro Pérez Zeledón
Tienda La Gloria, Avenida Central, San José.
You will need to bring your passport (international athletes), or cedula (nationals), a local address and phone number where you can be reached and the fee of 15,000 colones (approximately $30)
Athletes outside of the country at time of registration are encouraged to contact someone who can stand in line for them at one of the three locations, and is able to provide all the relevant information as well as pay the fee.
There are 225 spaces for athletes in the following categories:
• Adult males
• Adult females
• Veterans A
• Veterans B
• Female Veterans
Total distance: 34 km (from 1350 m to 3400 m exits)

To register for the Carrera Chirripo you must attend one of the following locations on Saturday January 22nd:

• San Jose: Tienda la Gloria, Avenida Central, San Jose
• San Isidro de General: Oficina de Bienes Raices, Hotel Chirripó
• San Gerardo de Rivas: Salón Comunal

You will need to bring your passport (international athletes), or cedula (nationals), a local address and phone number where you can be reached and the fee.
Cost of admission: 15,000 colones (approximately US$30.00)

For more information please visit www.carrerachirripo.com

Rio Chirripo Retreat

Well at last everyone is saying ‘it smells like Christmas’! As I think I said last year I can’t relate to this as I’m looking for snow and jingle bells, but I can relate to the glorious long sunny afternoons and the promise of summer! The migratory birds have returned, the first of the coffee harvest is in and frijoles are sprouting healthily. We saw baby armadillos in the road the other day and there are lots more babies on the way in all directions!

Here are a few notices and a bit of news of our goings on in San Gerardo de Rivas:

NEW! Yoga Classes at Rio Chirripó Retreat. Every Sunday at 8 a.m. with a local qualified instructor.
Cost: just 1000 colones per session
Who can attend? It’s open to everybody (except for dogs because of the resident three cats!)
More information? Call Oriana at Rio Chirripó Retreat: 2742-5109 or 2742-5333

NEW! San Gerardo Film Reviews: The best movie of 2010 – ‘Remember Me’
English students with Proyecto San Gerardo are being encouraged to write film, music and book reviews for the blog. Here is the first contribution from Agustin Fernandez, a budding writer and film and music enthusiast. Agustin has won prizes for his writing and wants to try his hand at doing the same in English. Agustin is studying for his high school diploma through distance education and hopes one day to go to university. Here’s his review:

One of the best movies to see is ‘Remember Me’, with a great performance by Robert Pattinson, ‘Twilight’ actor. This movie is about a young, very problematic youth named Tyler, depressed by the death of his brother Michael, who was a musician. Michael had stopped working for himself and started to work in other businesses for his father. For this reason Robert blames his father for the suicide of his brother.
Robert liked to drink liquor, smoke, date, use drugs and one day he was arrested by police along with a friend. The friend decides to take revenge on the police
because of the scrimmage, and sets up Robert with the policeman’s daughter.

Which is good at first, but when she realizes the truth things changed for the worse. She leaves him and falls back into a state of depression, but eventually Robert was able to fix everything with his girl and was reconciled with his father. However, the attacks of September 11th when they destroyed the twin towers killed Robert too. A sad end to an excellent movie.

Agustin writes: I am a student of Proyecto San Gerardo, I like to watch movies and TV programs, and I enjoy listening to music and writing. I like to suggest good movies to watch.

Christmas is Coming!
Last weekend Christmas was officially proclaimed in the village with the annual Fiesta de la Patronata or Celebration of Christmas hosted by the local Church of San Gerardo. Every year the church community works hard to provide 3 days of fiesta including a Reinado (beauty pageant – but see below, with a twist!) football matches, music, bingo and wonderful food including festive tamales. The church also celebrates with Advent mass and nativities. This year we were blessed with brilliant sunshine so everyone turned out to enjoy the community fiesta and support the church.

This year’s highlights included a Reinado for MEN and one of the first competitions for our own women’s football team!

The Reinado took place on Friday evening in the new sports hall. 8 competitors vied for the crown but instead of 8 peaches and cream young ladies there were 8 husky, handsome men of mature age competing to be King of San Gerardo! The fun continued with obligatory dances with cross-dressed youngsters and the hall collapsed in laughter. In the end the top 3 were crowned with sombreros instead of coronas and Don Bernan Blanco stole the title. What a hoot!

Our local campionato has expanded to include women’s soccer teams at all levels so last Sunday we were lucky to see the second game of our valiant women’s team – which is less than one month old but now boasts a full crew and a trainer: Jose Manuel (Leilo) Ureña. The team has only a handful of experienced players but lots of enthusiasm, and their 1-10 defeat has only encouraged them to train harder! It’s great to see young and older women out on the football field for a change. Best of luck in your next game!

Graduations big and small

Grade 6 graduating students 2010

December is the month for graduations in Costa Rica and here in San Gerardo, as in every village and town, we celebrated school graduations for kindergarten and Grade 6 students. On December 17th we watched 14 proud Grade 6 students advance to high school (colegio), and the tiny kindergarten students join the older students in Escuela San Gerardo de Rivas. Academic prizes were awarded at each grade level and this year’s winners at Grade 6 level were Isaac Fonseca Monge (Proyecto San Gerardo student) and Jonathon Elizondo Chavez.

Proyecto San Gerardo English Students Celebrate Success Dec 18th

The second graduation took place the next day for English students in Proyecto San Gerardo. They say it takes 7 years to become fully fluent in another language and so we celebrated the hard work and successes of our 16 students this semester. Among them two students advanced to new levels: Ericka Gonzalez advanced through Beginners to Beginners 2, and Karol Fernandez completed studies at Intermediate level and goes on to Advanced. We look forward to the next semester of English classes that begin January 4th in the Salon. Computer classes will start the following week in the school. Registration for both will take place January 4th from 2:30 – 4:30 in the Salon.

So, here’s wishing our over 2,000 readers a very Merry Christmas – Feliz Navidad! Thank you for your support this year as always and we wish you many happy visits to San Gerardo de Rivas! Pura Vida!

In Costa Rica, the “Vistas al Chirripó” Mountain Bike Challenge is a true measure of what Mountain Biking is all about. Come participate in the “Land of Eternal Waters”

Held in the proximity of Chirripó National Park and offering a demanding route that includes beautiful rivers, impressive mountains and friendly people, all in a stunning rural environment. Plus excellent assistance along the route.
In Herradura de Rivas in Perez Zeledon, knowledgeable, experienced local mountain bikers have selected a route that challenges the participant to be a true aficionado of the sport! When you finish, you will wear your “Vistas al Chirripó” T-Shirt with pride! Don’t be afraid to confront this challenge and demonstrate the potential you have inside!
The route is 50 km (31 miles) and starts at an altitude of 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above sea level. It will descend to 870 meters (2,854 feet) and climb again to a breathtaking 2,155 meters (7,070 feet). Then it’s downhill to the finish line at 1,500 meters (4,921 feet)!!!
The organizing committee recommends you arrive a day ahead of the bike event to rest and totally enjoy the big event on the Sunday. You can stay in one of the zone’s hotels as described on the Accommodation page of this website.
Incredible!

The entry fee is only ¢7,500 colones and includes:
 An Unforgettable Adventure
 Breakfast the Morning of the Challenge
 Free Camping Area
 Assistance Along the Challenge Route
 Free T-Shirt for the First 150 Participants
 Raffle and Prizes

Reserve your space, resolve any doubts or ask a question….
vistaschirripo@gmail.com
You can email questions in English too!

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Nuevo reto de Mountain Bike “VISTAS AL CHIRRIPÓ”2011

En Costa Rica un verdadero reto es LA MTB “VISTAS AL CHIRRIPÓ UN RETO EN LA TIERRA DE LAS AGUAS ETERNAS”
En las cercanías del Parque Nacional Chirripó, ofreciendo una ruta exigente, acompañados de una buena asistencia en el recorrido, con la posibilidad de disfrutar de ríos, imponentes montañas, gente hospitalaria, ambiente muy rural y mucho más.
En Herradura de Rivas, de Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, conocedores de la zona han seleccionando los caminos que demanden al deportista ser un verdadero practicante del mountain bike. Quien haga esta ruta portará con orgullo la camiseta de VISTAS AL CHIRRIPÓ, pues no tuvo miedo de enfrentar este reto y demostrar todo el potencial que tienen dentro.
Su trayecto de unos 50km de distancia tiene su punto de partida a 1 500msnm desciende a los 870msnm para ascender hasta los 2155msnm, y luego descender a l punto de inicio a 1500msnm. Más información en www.vistasalchirripo.blogspot.com
La comisión organizadora del evento recomienda llegar el día antes del evento para que puedan descansar y disfrutar le domingo de este gran ride. Usted puede hospedarse en un hotel de la zona. Buscar más información de hospedaje aquí en la página web: www.sangerardocostarica.com
La inscripción cuesta únicamente ¢7500 colones y a cambio obtendrás
 Una aventura inolvidable.
 Desayuno el día Del evento
 Puestos de asistencia
 Camiseta para los primeros 150 inscritos
 Área de acampar
 Rifas y premios

Reserva tu espacio o resuelve tus dudas en vistasalchirripo@gmail.com

Community minded veterinarian hosts free spay/neuter clinic in Chirripó region.

Carla Crocker loves animals and for years she has rescued dogs off San Jose’s streets and given them food and shelter. Right now she has seven dogs at her place, and a rabbit! In order to save the many cats and dogs let loose in La Sabana Park Carla has teamed up with ANPA: Asociacion Protectora de Animales (www.anpacostarica.org) and last Sunday, October 24th, organized an all-day spay and neuter clinic by donation in nearby Herradura for all the Chirripó communities.

Carla arrived with Dr. Alex Jimenez, a practicing veterinarian who calmly handled about 30 cats and dogs within his six hour stint.

Years ago spaying or neutering your pet wasn’t considered important – unwanted offspring were abandoned in the streets and the populations were out of control. Cloudbridge Reserve has done much to educate the community and facilitate spay/neuter clinics so that on Sunday the home of Oswaldo and Jeti was packed full with folks from Herradura, San Gerardo, Los Angeles and all the way to Chimirrol. Some people brought a cat or a dog; others brought two, three or more and waited patiently for long hours while Dr Jimenez performed the operations that took about 15 minutes each.

Everyone helped out: Ellen came from Los Angeles to manage the line-up, others helped with shaving the pets or keeping the animals warm and quiet in the recuperation room. And after all that Dr Jimenez and Carla managed the 3.5 drive to San Jose and back to work the next day.

The day made a real difference in the protection of animals in this region. If you would like to help out please contact ANPA or Carla at carlacrocker@gmail.com.

San Gerardo has a new sports facility – a wonderful day had by all at the opening.

You can hear the cheers of volleyball enthusiasts every evening now!

After two years of planning and building the Asociacion de Dessarolla de San Gerardo de Rivas, along with supporting local deputados (Government representatives at all levels) and funders from Dirección Nacional de Desarrollo de la Comunidad (DINADECO) officially opened our new multi-use sports facility on Saturday October 16th. Everyone agreed that the provision of a sports hall will go a long way in providing healthy recreational opportunities for youth and adults alike in San Gerardo.

Planned uses include volleyball – a favourite sport for the wet wintry months, indoor soccer, dance classes and non sport activities such as social events, graduations, events surrounding the Carrera Chirripó and much more. The increased space, with outside car park and a beautifully updated kitchen has modernized and drastically improved facilities available.

The event, emceed by Kattia Padilla, included greetings from all levels of government and words of support for future funding (a planned second floor for offices, classrooms and workshops) from DINADECO. Interspersed were traditional dances performed by the elementary school dance troupe as well as local youth and a newly formed women’s dance group, whose member Sonia Padilla sewed all the costumes. The Asociacion provided delicious refreshments all day long and the day ended with a dance and disco.

So, Mt Chirripó may have been closed for October but there was plenty going on here!

Es una total aventura para el deportista que enfrentará un terreno difícil, donde la mayor satisfacción será convencerse de todo el potencial que tiene dentro de sí mismo. Sumado al privilegio de disfrutar de hermosos paisajes y riqueza natural, en un ambiente rural y acogedor.

La aventura empezará el 22 de enero, los participantes y sus acompañantes podrán acampar el día antes o bien hospedarse en alguno de los hoteles de la zona. En Herradura podrán disfrutar un rato del ambiente nocturno, con música, baile y venta de comidas.

Para el domingo 23 de enero, está el desayuno a las 6:00am y la salida de esta aventura será a las 08:00am con un reto de más de 50 kilómetros, de caminos rurales, montañas, ríos y paisaje.
Aparta esta fecha en tu agenda de vacaciones, espera más información.
Estamos afinando algunos detalles, para que tengas una gran experiencia. Encuentra más información en español en www.vistasalchirripo.blogspot.com

Organiza: Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Herradura de Rivas

Mountain bike adventure: “VISTAS AL CHIRRIPO”

A bike ride near the highest mountain in Costa Rica: Mt.Chirripó!

This is pure adventure for the athlete who likes to face difficult terrain, and enjoys a challenge to fulfill both physical and mental potential. In addition, enjoy the beautiful landscapes and natural wealth, as well as a friendly rural community.

The adventure begins January 22, participants and guests may camp the day before or stay in one of the hotels in the area. In Herradura there will be music, dancing and refreshments for sale.

The bike ride is on Sunday January 23rd, with breakfast at 6:00 am and the start at 8:00 am with a challenge of more than 50 kilometers of rural roads, mountains, rivers and natural landscape.

Set aside this date on your vacation agenda and look forward to more information.

Find more information in Spanish on www.vistasalchirripo.blogspot.com

Organizers: Development Association of Herradura de Rivas.

The annual race 17km up Mount Chirripó this year was a wet one. Rain fell heavily two days before the event – on the event day and after. Trails turned into muddy traps and rocks were slippery and perilous. Normally I would think ‘Too bad – but those athletes are so experienced, they’ll do fine’; except that this year my daughter Liz was running. And of course when blood is involved then the weather becomes a subject of intense interest. She was alternatively pessimistic and terrified of running the race, or confident she could do as well as many of the others there, all suffering the same conditions. She had trained hard in Vancouver: up mountains and along roads, though always at sea level or a bit above – never starting at 3,000 feet and coping with thin air as well as the heat.

She was up at 5:30 a.m. to eat her granola bar and down her ginseng. Looking like the all-time athlete she set off for the start line while we followed at a snail’s pace to join the festive hundreds in the village plaza for the 7a.m. send-off. At the start line she met up with her running buddy and they and the 223 others hopped up and down nervously waiting for the speeches to end, the benedictions and the national anthem – then they were off!

As Liz disappeared round the bend we all turned to other attractions at the fiesta – it was going to be at least 3 hours before the winners showed up and Liz was going to be a bit behind the trail blazers. I had local recipe books to sell as a fundraiser for Proyecto San Gerardo, our family and guests wandered around to sample the freebies and chat with friends.

The winners started to come in just after 10 a.m. – in record time no less and the winner for the second year in a row. The excitement was palpable and together with the band and the cheerleaders everyone gave the athletes a huge welcome back. They were rubbed down, checked for vital signs and given lots of fruit and water. No Liz yet – we continued to wait.

Rain started again. Everyone ran to take cover (Ticos hate to get wet!) – we could hardly imagine what the trail was like! Runners were coming in every few minutes – solo or in groups, all supporting one another. Children ran to greet their fathers and mothers – brave mud and rain streaked athletes with smiles of gratitude for the end of the hellish race and for their families. We waited and waited – cameras in hand; towels, water, dry clothes – but no Liz.

At 1:30 p.m. she came round the bend. She looked white as a sheet but ran strong and with determination. At the finish line she looked like she would faint but revived at the sight of her finisher’s medal and the family and friends there to help her onto the massage table for a quick check up. Her legs were battered and bruised – she looked like she had run through brambles and gashed her knees on boulders though she said she only fell twice.
More runners came in after her, including the brave and determined Gerhard Krolow, who had established the veteran’s section and at 74 still licks his age group! Other women had set great records and hopefully will attract more female competitors in the future. The Cabecar racers (indigenous peoples) who had traveled days just to get to San Gerardo, looked as though they could run the mountain all over again, and certain locals did play a decent game of football in the Chirripó cup finals the next day!

But Liz had run and finished the race – she had conquered the mountain! What more can a proud mom want!

Till next year – see you there!