Costa Rica’s stone balls join World Heritage

Costa Rica’s iconic stone spheres have been recognized for their value to World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), bringing more international attention to the southern region’s mysterious past, as well as its contentious future. No one knows who made a single one of the preColombian stone spheres, let alone why more than 300 were sculpted to near geometric perfection more than 1,000 years […]

Amazing corn

We loaded our plates with fresh empañadas, cheesy tortillas and sweet chorreadas, unwrapping huge banana leaves to reveal steaming tamales filled with  veggies and meat. We ohhed, ahhed and salivated over the tamal asado, a sticky sweet cornbread that frankly put me over the edge of satisfied, too full to try any more typical Costa Rican dishes made from maize, the star ingredient in […]

Events: Football and more

Cool upcoming events include an international food fair in Coronado, more than 100 activities in the capital and of course the World Cup. Food: “Feria Internacional De Comida Típica” Sick of “Gallo Pinto,” yet?  Or maybe ready for another serving? The International Fair of Typical Food offers Costa Rican favorites, and also Caribbean and Latin American specialties from […]

¡Oé, oé, oé!

When Costa Rican player Marco Ureña sent a third point into Uruguay’s goal during Saturday’s World Cup game, a nation of spectators already thought to be the happiest people on earth became the most elated people on earth. No one expected the Costa Rican team to hold its own against Uruguay, let alone trounce the 2010 semifinalist team in a 3-1 upset. We watched […]

¿Qué pasa, San José?

Here’s a round-up of cool stuff to do around the capital for the month of June: Exhibit: The recently completed Jade Museum opens its doors Pre-Columbian objects as well as Jade carvings shine light into the lives of our ancestors. Check out the new modern 4-story and interactive exhibits. The Museo de Jade welcomes visitors […]