Carnavales de Limón

Last weekend I was finally able to make it to Puerto Limon and the Carribbean coast of Costa Rica. It is amazing how different this side of the country is from the other parts I have visited.

Puerto Limon is a port city and the capital of Limon Province in Costa Rica - which covers most of the Carribbean side of the country. This port city takes in a lot of the goods that are shipped to the coast of Costa Rica and then trucked in to San Jose. It is also home to Costa Rica's Afro-Carribbean community. A majority of the population here traces their roots to Jamaican laborers that were brought in in the late 1800's to work on the railroad that connected Puerto Limon to San Jose. Until 1948, the Costa Rican government did not recognize Afro-Carribbean people as citizens and therefore restricted their movement outside of Limon Province. They could not even travel to San Jose. Due to this, the community became firmly entrenched in this area of the country. While they do speak Spanish, most families also speak a creole version of English in the home. 

My friends Anna, Justin, and I went down last weekend to take part in the final parade for this year's Carnavale celebration. Think Mardi Gras, Costa Rican style. We set up shop at a small soda (restaurant) on the parade route and were able to watch much of the festivities from there. 

Our view of the parade route:

It was incredibly hot there, and, of course, the parade was late getting started. This is how we felt:

You gotta keep your head cool in the Costa Rican sun!

There were tons of people in the streets, all waiting for the big show to begin:

I am always amused when there are clear similarities to how things are done in our culture and other cultures. This parade has some definite parallels. There were lots of vendors in the streets selling balloons and little toys for the kids. There was also face painting and street food - all things we have at our parades!

Buzz and Woody made an appearance. Although, based on the double chins they were rocking, it looks like they have been spending their post Toy Story years hitting the bars here in Costa Rica...

Finally the parade began! There were bands, and dancers, and lots of high, feathered, head dressses!

 

I found this balcony full o'gringos to be amusing. I think they were scared to be down in the streets in all of the chaos.

 The parade was chaotic, loud, colorful, and all around a really good party! The culture on this side of the country is very laid back and a lot of fun. I'm glad I was able to experience it and hope to get the chance to experience it more of it soon.

-Amber

La Catedral de Sal

On my last trip to Colombia, I was lucky enough to have some extra time to visit a salt mine in the town of Zipaquira, just outside of Bogota. Zipaquira is a very colonial looking town that has an autonomous economy due to the salt mine located there. The special thing about this salt mine is that they have built an incredibly large cathedral in the mine - 200 meters below ground!

Keeping in mind that this is a salt mine, so everything is salty. The walls mostly look like rock, but where there is water, you actually see the salt crystals forming. Like on this wall:

Around 1932, workers in the mine carved their own sanctuary out of the rock as a place for daily prayers. Eventually, it was decided to create a larger salt cathedral in the mine around 1950. Apparently you could drive your car right up into this cathedral to attend services. But, the engineers did not factor in what the vibrations of cars would do to the structure. Therefore, it ended up lasting only about half as long as was originally projected. This cathedral was shut down around 1990 and then collapsed about 3 years later. (Good call on shutting it down!)

In 1991, construction of a new cathedral began about 200 feet under the old one. This is the one that I visited...obviously...

Once you enter the mine, you begin walking past 14 cross stations. The stations are places where the rock has been mined to the max and they cannot mine that area anymore or risk structural instability. In each station a cross has been carved in the salt/stone. These stations represent the the events of Jesus' last journey. Examples include Jesus being condemned to death, Jesus falling, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. At each station there was an intricately carved cross and usually kneeling stands for people to pray. Again, it's all done in the salt rock - aka halite.

After the 14 stations you come to the main cathedral, complete with 3 naves. This is Daniella and I in the choir loft of the main nave.

View from above of the main nave. It is massive!

Overall it is an amazing feat of architecture, art, and culture. Definitely a journey worth making if you ever find yourself in Bogota. And of course, I couldn't resist...

 -Amber

Sometimes funny things happen...

...especially when I travel. Currently I am in Bogota, Colombia for work. The other day, I came back to my hotel room in the afternoon to find dry cleaning laying on my bed. My first thought was "uh-oh, they accidentally left someone else's drycleaning in my room." But then I got closer and realized...

...nope. No mistake. They just dry cleaned my pajamas. My old t-shirt and sleep shorts were neatly pressed and protected carefully in a plastic bag. I have no idea why/how this happened. It's just one of those funny things I am not going to even try to explain. However, I can say I recommend the service - my pj's were super soft after this. :)

-Amber

Another Year, Another Dia de Independencia!

I'm officially on my second cycle of Costa Rican holidays, which is good. Now that I am more comfortable here, I can take more advantage of these things as they arise!

September 15 is Costa Rica's Independence Day. On Independence Day Eve, families gather at their child's school across the country for presentations and a lantern parade. I missed out on this due to work, rain, and traffic last year. But this year, I was able to go see the festivities at a school near my house. At 6:00 pm on the dot, the entire country stops to sing the national anthem. I remember this breaking into the radio broadcast last year as I drove home from work. This year, I got to hum along with everyone at the school. Then, children run a torch all across the country and light a cauldron at these festivities. This is a tradition that dates back to a woman who went through her town gathering up people to stand outside while government officials discussed the independence. There was no electricity then, so everyone had lanterns. And then others spread the word across the country by carrying lanterns. (Think Paul Revere, it's a very similar history.)

It was a little rainy, but we hung in for the lantern parade. All of the children make lanterns in school and then they carry them as everyone processes a few blocks around the neighborhood. I'm sure lots of people were wondering how some gringos ended up in their parade, but everyone welcomed us. At the end of the parade they had some masquerade dancers that were performing in the street!

 

 Then, on Saturday, I went with my neighbors Anna and Bryson (Peace Corps volunteers) to the parade in Escazu. Every town has their own parade. It's very similar to one of our home town parades - mostly children of all ages marching, dancing, cheering, playing instruments, etc. I really enjoyed the parade because it reminded me of home and also really reminded me just how similar our traditions are to other countries. This was a family-centered day where people lined the streets to watch their children perform. That's what we do!

 Anna and Bryson at the Parade.  

 

 

 Flags were an essential part of the celebrations!

 Tiny paraders dressed in traditional outfits.

 Typical food - a ripe plantain turned into an empanada with beans and cheese inside. Pretty yummy!

 Happy Independence Day Costa Rica! Thanks for letting me celebrate with you again!

-Amber

Another Birthday Abroad

I'm older again today...And, I celebrated another birthday in Costa Rica. I have to say, I wasn't looking forward to it. Things like birthdays and holidays bring out the homesickness better than anything else. But, I truly have amazing friends and family both in the US, here in CR, and across the globe! I've received so many messages and calls - and they have all meant so very much to me. Not to mention the fact that my amigas in the office are always so wonderful to me and take such good care of me! Everyone in my life has made this a really special day. And to that, I say thank you, gracias, merci, salamat, and kia ora! I'm one very lucky girl!

So, here's to another year of adventures and to just going along with whatever life brings me and wherever it wants to take me!

Love,
Amber

Guanacaste

Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time on the beach in Guanacaste with my colleagues. Maria has a beautiful house there and was kind enough to share it with us for the weekend!

 

I've spent some time on the Pacific Coast of Costa rica, but further south in Jaco and Quepos. This was my first time in the northern areas. It was a beautiful, but long drive - about 5 hours. There are many farms on the way that raise horses and cows.

We spent the entire weekend just lounging around at the beach, the pool, and on the back porch of the house. It was truly relaxing. The beaches in this area were breathtaking - as are most beaches in Costa Rica. And, I've decided that Costa Rican beaches produce the most amazing sunsets! Below are a few pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

 There were lots of beautiful birds around!

 One night, we had an univited house guest that Krisya almost stepped on!

On our way home we enjoyed lunch by a river. (From left to right: Daniella, Maria, Krisya, Me)

Now I can check visiting Guanacaste off my to-do list! On to the next adventure!

-Amber

BIG Earthquake!!!

I will never, ever, ever complain again about never feeling an earthquake. EVER...

This morning, at 8:42 am to be exact, I was putting my bags into my car to go to work. (Oops, I was running late today.) I noticed that my car was starting to shake. And then, my brain caught up to what was happening - EARTHQUAKE! I moved out from under the roof of where I park my car into the open and literally rode the quake out.

This is my first experience with a strong earthquake while being fully conscious. I no likey! It is unreal to experience the ground shaking and moving underneath you. This sort of natural event feels 100% unnatural in every way. The shaking lasted about 30-40 seconds - an eternity when everything around you that should be stationary is rocking and rolling around.

Once it stopped, I still felt like I was moving - almost the feeling you get when you first get off a boat. Then, I didn't know what to do, so I went to work! While driving to work I was watching people walking down the street going about their business. I found myself wondering why they all weren't doing what I felt like doing - running around with hands in the air screaming!! I am proud to say I kept myself composed. Once I got to the office, the entire building had been evacuated. So, I'm back at home for the day. So far, no aftershocks have been felt here in San Jose.

According to news reports, this was a 7.6 on the Richter scale. It hit in Guanacaste, towards the Pacific coast of the country. No casualties have been reported, but there are various levels of damage to buildings and roads throughout the country. 

Here's what the US Geological Survey is reporting:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000cfsd#pager

On solid ground for now,
Amber