Here we are in May – so close to winter though you would never know it as we are experiencing beautiful sunny, dry days and clear, starry nights. Fledgling birds have been around a while and everything is bursting with the promise of the growing season soon upon us. To celebrate we acquired 3 new [...]

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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’; [...]

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It was about a month ago, when the winter rains finally dwindled to a halt and people started saying “It smells like Christmas” that I realized I had a problem. Born in England and having spent 30 years in Vancouver Canada, I was accustomed to short dark days, bright lights and everything indoors; not this [...]

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We’ve just had to say good-bye to two terrific volunteers at Proyecto San Gerardo – and our reflections on their time here made me think it was about time I wrote a piece on volunteering in San Gerardo.

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Chirripo closed for October – nothing to do? On the contrary, here’s a list of fun activities to keep visitors to San Gerardo happy and provide many wonderful memories.

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Independence Day celebrations here in Costa Rica are definitely worth blogging about. September 15 happens to be the anniversary when almost all Central American countries celebrate their independence: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. The tradition goes that a torch is lit in Guatemala City and carried throughout the towns and villages of Central America, [...]

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One of the most obvious attractions when visiting San Gerardo are the amazing varieties of birds – their resplendent plumage and captivating birdcall from dawn to dusk. I’ll never forget on the first trip seeing a neighbour’s bird feeder table piled high with bananas, and visiting every minute or two the scarlet and black tanagers [...]

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Sugar comes in 1lb packets – right? Not always. Here it comes in blocks of delicious caramel coloured dulce wrapped in cane leaves and tied with twine made from banana leaf. It’s commonly used to make agua dulce a warm comfort drink for the cold evenings, but it can be used the same as sugar [...]

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So, like everyone else here in rural Costa Rica we begin to grow more food for our own plates, and surplus to sell at the market. There’s a covered nursery for the seedlings: sweet peppers (chile) celery (apio) green beans (vinicas) lettuce (lechuga) and cilantro amongst others. One minute they are seeds, the next they [...]

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Rice and Beans Staple diets. You don’t mess with them! I’ve lived half my life in a country that could not say lunch or dinner without the word ‘potato’ in the next sentence. Then passed some time in places where corn was often the only item on the menu – mealies: mealy pap or porridge. [...]

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