howler1209sept

The Howler

Volume 17, No. 9 Issue No. 192

September 2012 Founded 1996

TAMARINDO COSTA RICA www.howlermag.com THE HOWLER Ced. Juridica: 3-101-331333

FEATURES

Publisher, editor and production David Mills

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dmills@racsa.co.cr Tel: 2-653-0545 Howler • Mono Congo

14 Around Town

CONTRIBUTORS

ELLEN ZOE GOLDEN TONY OREZ TOM PEIFER JEFFREY WHITLOW MONICA RIASCOS

JEANNE CALLAHAN JESSE BISHOP MARY BYERLY ROBERT AUGUST

Deadline for October: September 15 Howler advertising

The Howler offers a wide range of advertising sizes and formats to suit all needs. Contact David Mills • dmills@racsa.co.cr

Advertising rates & sizes Size

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Dining Out

We go for some down-home cooking at Doña Lee’s Country Kitchen in Tamarindo, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Price $ 75 120 150 210

Openings, closings, parties, music. The Gold Coast has it all, and bar-hoppin’ David is in the groove.

15 Surf Report

Newcomer Ramón Taliani wins the Banana Boat Surf Challenge; Costa Rica Masters place tenth out of 26 countries.

16 From Ice to Fire

Our hero Chris, riding a bicycle from Alaska, reaches his goal in Tierra del Fuego after 33,000 gruelling kilometers. Congratulations, Chris!

21 Flying to Liberia - at Gunpoint

During the 1948 Revolution in Costa Rica, an aircraft and its crew are hijacked and forced to fly to Liberia

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Surviving Costa Rica

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Quotes Out of Context

Our columnist is all out of ideas, so we learn all about his exciting daily routine; and he gets to play with the band MatiXando.

The current political situation, global warming, cell phones, illiteracy and television are the targets of our scribe’s quotes.

DEPARTMENTS

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Discounts For 6 months, paid in advance, one month is deducted.

For 12 months, paid in advance, two months are deducted.

Ads must be submitted on CD or e-mail attachment, JPG or PDF format at 266 dpi, at the appropriate size (above).

10 CD Review

23 Parents’ Corner

11 Book Review

24 Doctor’s Orders

12 August Odysseys

28 Sun & Moon

20 September Forecasts

28 Rain Gauge

22 Yoga

31 Tide Chart

All comments, articles and advertising in this publication are the opinion of their authors, and do not reflect the opinion of Howler Management.

www.tamarindobeach.net

www.tamarindohomepage.com

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Cover Caption:

Cover Photo: Cover Design:

Tamarindo artist Susan Adams, now exhibiting at Hidden Garden Art Gallery, shows a large mural.

Jesse Bishop David Mills

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nother new law to not be enforced is the one about liquor in the street. Carrying opened liquor is illegal and will carry a fine of ¢18,000. Don’t politicians realize that passing a law that will not be enforced just adds to anti-government sentiments (makes them look even more stupid than they really are).

As an example, look at the efficacy of the antismoking law, passed a few months ago. In almost any bar or restaurant people continue to smoke without interference from staff or management. There has been strong negative reaction to the law from businesses such that, within one month, the government modified the law to allow a designated smoking area in establishments. Didn’t the lawmakers know before passing the law that there would be negative reaction???

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How not to run a meeting. On Monday, July 23, at 12:30 p.m., a loudspeaker truck drove through town announcing a Security Meeting to take place at five the same day. The Minister of Security was there from San José. Of course, very few people showed up, not having heard the announcement. At 5:30 I asked the organizer at what time would the meeting start. “When more people arrive,” she answered, upon which I left.

Letter regarding last month’s editorial: I’ve lived in Tamarindo for over a year and often clean up garbage and trash thrown on my favorite spots. The other night it was particulary dirty by the volleyball courts near Witch’s Rock and the following day it was completely clean. I never knew until now that someone is paid to clean up the beach and it must have been Roro, mentioned in the August Howler.

If you have been following “From Ice to Fire” in the past two years or so, you will be glad to know that Christophe Muller, the Swiss cyclist, finally arrived at Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost town in the Americas, after a recumbent cycle ride from Alaska. Over ice-fields, prairies, volcanoes, mountains and arid deserts, Chris covered 33,000 km to reach his goal. Terrific work, Chris, and thanks for sharing it with The Howler.

The Howler published selected excerpts from the log. The whole trip may be read at http:/icetofire.ch

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The People’s Republic of China will donate $25 million to Costa Rica for a police academy, and also will give $8 million to this country to “spend as they see fit!” Any guesses as to where this will end up?

Doña Lee’s Country Kitchen Tamarindo

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ee and Russell Wenrich have lived in Tamarindo for thirtythree years and have accumulated a few properties. When a tenant moved out with the rental market low, they decided to open their own restaurant, and named it Doña Lee’s Country Kitchen. Coming from Texas and Florida, they bring a taste of the southern U.S., the kind of cooking you can still find in the South if you get off the interstates.

Open all day, Doña Lee’s serves an all-day breakfast with the down-home flavour: biscuits with sausage or chipped beef gravy, grits, eggs with hash browns, bacon, ham or sausage, coffee with free refills, plus more general dishes such as pinto, omelettes and pancakes. This is where you eat when you are really hungry!

Lunch comprises: Chili dog, hot dog, hamburger, cheeseburger, BLT, grilled cheese sandwich, BBQ beef or pork sandwich, spaghetti, fries.

Dinner menu offers: Grilled lomito or chicken, meat loaf, pork chops, rice & shrimp, spaghetti, casados, ceviche. We split a jumbo shrimp dinner as appetizer, followed by tasty dorado with garlic butter; and baby back ribs, delicious fall-off-the-bone meat in a spicy barbecue gravy. All dishes come with a large salad.

Rusty, the Wenrich’s son, operates his pizza oven, where you can build your own pizza from a range of toppings.

For dessert, choose from banana split, ice cream, or Lee’s home-made pies - cherry, blueberry, coconut cream, lemon, chocolate banana cream, apple. We shared a pecan pie.

Doña Lee’s Country Kitchen, opposite Tamarindo Gym, is open daily.

For reservations call 2653-0127 or 8876-0508. E-mail tamabay@hotmail.com. All credit cards accepted. The restaurant is Bingo Central, second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, and a ¢1,000 card gets you ten games.

See ad on page 34.

Music Review Devil of a Blues Band in San José

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Tony Orez

he live music scene has been a vital part of San José for some time now. Until recently, finding a schedule for all the nightclubs and an updated calendar with the names of bands and where and when they are playing was a job worthy of a member of a detective agency. Not any more. Mauricio Ledezma, an enterprising San José musician, has taken it upon himself to publish En Tarima, a magazine devoted exclusively to the Costa Rica music scene, mainly in San José. The publication can be picked up at a variety of cafes and nightclubs in the capitol city or can be viewed online at www.bluesdevilsband. com and clicking on En Tarima.

Mauricio has been at it for eight months and the response, he told me, “has been great for musicians and concertgoers.” He admits that at first it was “not so terrific from potential advertisers, although it is getting better.”

Born in Chicago, Mauricio moved to Houston with his parents, who are Costa Ricans. He started his first paper at the age of eleven while he was in school in Houston. In fact, he explained to me that he fashioned En Tarima after “Music News”, a music publication out of Houston. “I noticed the amount of gigs that musicians have in the San José area,” he explained, “and a lot of people never find out about them.”

But En Tarima is not Mauricio’s whole story. He is also the frontman and harmonica player for the Blues Devils, a band that plays the San José music circuit regularly. The band formed loosely in 2001 as a project for the band members to play when Ledezma was visiting from Texas twice a year. Mauricio moved to Costa Rica permanently in 2003, which established the band as a concrete entity. He learned to play harp twenty years ago in Houston and was a sideman for Big Robert Smith and Joe Guitar Hughes. He is also quick to point out that he is an aficionado of all kinds of music, not just the blues. Among his broad variety of musical influences, he cites Miles Davis, Little Walter, Ian Anderson (from Jethro Tull) Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats, Otis Redding and Muddy Waters.

The other members of The Blues Devils are Fernando Alvarado on drums, Franco Torterol on bass and Edgar Sequiera and Lucho Aguilar on guitars. The music is a blend of Chicago blues, a la Muddy Waters, with a touch of Albert Collins’ Texas blues, sprinkled in with a dash of West Coast swing, in the style of Little Charlie and the Nightcats. All the musicians in the Blues Devils contribute original songs. They also cover songs by all the aforementioned musicians, as well as songs by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jeff Healey, Otis Rush and Junior Wells.

Local saxophonist “Bad” Brad Schmidt told me recently that he has jammed several times and that they are a lot of fun to play with. I have found that one of the real indicators of a good band is when another musician gives them an unsolicited compliment, as Brad did. They have all been sitting in recently at the Wednesday night open mike sessions at Pasatiempo, hosted by the popular local rock band The Leatherbacks.

This band is definitely worth checking out. They are available for bookings at a very reasonable price. And the next time you plan to visit San José, check out En Tarima to see what shows you might catch.

Book Review

Tony

Orez

Pursue to Paradise

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ary Anne Marlowe’s got gumption and she has been willing to demonstrate it throughout her adult life. Her recent autobiographical book, “Pursue to Paradise” demonstrates just how resourceful and resilient she truly is as it recounts her decade of living in Costa Rica by herself and as a single mom, battling for custody of her son, Chaz. The book opens with her pulling the plug on her life in Toronto, Canada, and freeing herself from the “herd mentality” as she puts it, then relocating to Guanacaste, specifically Playa Flamingo, on basically nothing but her wherewithal, her “sandal strap budget”, again in her words.

The book is divided into nine chapters, beginning in 2001, with her arrival in Guanacaste as she immediately demonstrates her ability to adapt to her surroundings and situations. Within no time at all, she has a place to live and a small restaurant called The Hillside Café (for those here long enough to remember it) and is making and soliciting her homemade fragrant candles on the side. She’s figured out a niche with her wholesome style of cooking and canvassing for candle clientele, while she battles with her son’s custody with his father, for whom she has not one single good word throughout the book. In the meantime, she gains notoriety from the locals for being an early riser, a beachcomber with the ability to locate discarded goods and “natural gifts”, such as driftwood and shells, and transform them all into something useful, without cost. She also begins single-handedly manufacturing and distributing ice cream at a wholesale scale, an amazing feat.

Throughout the book, Mary Anne discovers more and more about herself as she spends more time in Costa Rica and discovers more about this place as well. She finds herself becoming more and more healthy, physically and mentally, and does find a way to reunite with Chaz here in Costa Rica. I have to say that throughout the book, she seems to have bad luck with her relationships with men. She also pulls no punches about those men’s ultimate selfishness and general bad behavior. But she is also surrounded by good friends she has accumulated, quirky as they might be, who are continually there to lend a hand for her.

Her journey in Costa Rica eventually takes her to Lake Arenal when she decides to relocate and try new approaches to making a living, being a mom, and being in a relationship. The most amazing factors I found in the book were Mary Anne’s focus, her unwavering determination and her ability to make her goals materialize. She has fallen in love with Costa Rica and the style of life here and now sees her calling as passing these lessons on to others. I wish her all the luck in the world.

I was lucky enough to get hold of an advance copy to read for this review, but by the time this article is published, it should be ready for purchase by the general public at pursuetoparadise@gmail.com or at the Jaime Peligro book store in Playa Tamarindo.

August Odysseys Pedro Pablo

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en or so years ago at the Surf Expo in Florida we were approached by a young(ish) guy and his wife. They explained that they had a surf shop in Guatemala City. He questioned why no surfers were coming there, as they were to other Central American destinations. We mentioned violent theft and kidnapping as possible reasons and he agreed it was a concern, but he insisted that the waves are great!

He arranged for the Guatemalan Tourist Department to fly us down there for photos and videos, so we went down and he was right. Great waves! We had armed security the whole time so we had no problems.

His story is a good one. As a boy he made the swim team that got to go to Costa Rica for a junior competition.

After the tournament they all went to Jacó and, for the first time, he observed the sport of surfing.

On his return to Guatemala he took the lid off his father’s six-foot Igloo cooler and rode waves on it! A year or so later some surfers from California were driving to Costa Rica; on their way home they gave him a surfboard after he begged heavily.

Today he has a surf shop in Guatemala City and a big van for taking kids for surf lessons, and is now a very good surfer.

Surf’s up!

Surf For Youth

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emember last May 5th when Waves Costa Rica Surf School & Adventures (located in Tamarindo Vista Villas) had the Surf Contest Surf For Youth that brought members of the surf community together to help the less fortunate kids of the area? WaVes CR partnered with CEPIA to create a surf contest and activity-filled day that would allow pro surfers to give back to the community.

The contest took place in beautiful waves of approximately 2 meters in a spot kept secret to respect the locals, while about 20 CEPIA kids worked on crafts, and played beach games. The surfers would complete their heats, and then join the children in their activities. In addition, the pros brought bags of donations, including leashes, hats, surf trunks and bathing suits, which were distributed to CEPIA a few days after Surf for Youth was finished.

That was the begining of a huge project, where WaVes CR committed to teach these children how to surf. Every Saturday at 8 am Mauricio Rodriguez, age 14; Henry Rios, 12; Harvey Rojas, 11; Francisco Coronado, 13; and Anthony Rodriguez, 14, show up ready to surf.

On their first day they worked on strength training with local pro surfers Federico Pilurzu, Isaac Vega and Andrea Diaz. Then they sat on the beach with Andrea Diaz, founder of WaVes CR, and she spoke to the children what it meant to be a pro surfer, the importance of staying in school and away from drugs, then the kids hit the water with WaVes Cr head instructor Allan and practiced on their surfing technique. After a great surf session they went for a well-deserved swim at the Best Western Tamarindo Vista Villas.

These children still need your help; the surfboards donated are not in the best condition, we would appreciate it greatly if you could sponsor a kid a surfboard, doesn’t have to be a new surfboard. The idea of the Surf For Youth surf lessons is to develop a surfing association that will feed young talent into the Circuito Nacional de Surf…. So don’t be surprised if you see these kids doing bake sales or raffles…

For more information you are more than welcome to stop by WaVes CR Surf School or you can write to info@wavescr.com or visit us on Facebook waves. costarica See you in the water...

AROUND TOWN

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estJet will operate two flights per week, Mondays and Saturdays, from Toronto to Liberia, between October 29 this year and April 27, 2013.

PC Solutions at Huacas has computer support, accessories & inks for your business or house needs. You can visit the store from Monday to Friday at 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. See ad on page 12.

Kore Market has expanded into a beautiful new space in the center of Playa Negra, providing local and organic products and a wide selection of vitamins, supplements and Bioland products. Also fresh made-to-order vegetable juices, nut butters, artisan mayonnaise, smoothies and a variety of teas, fresh homemade bagels, brownies and cinnamon rolls. Tel: 2652-9338.

El Coconut Fine Dining Restaurant in Playa Tamarindo is proud to present two weekly events: Wednesdays Ladies’ Lobster Night: ½ price (10,000 colon/ $20) on Lobsters for the Ladies; and Fridays Live acoustic music. Reservations: 2653-0086.

El Coconut Beach Club in Playa Potrero Every Week-end wood BBQ - Red snapper, T-Bones, Sirloin and so much more. Sundays bacchi ball, live music (5-7 pm) and good times. Open from 12 till 10 p.m. Feel free to make reservations: 2654-4300 Transportes Retana will deliver anywhere – reliable, safe, affordable, air-conditioned. Call Marlon or Hugo Retana at 2653-1324 or 8836-7783.

TicoToGo is Tamarindo’s Local Food Delivery Service. Menus are available from thirteen local restaurants, with more spots coming soon. Visit TicoToGo.com for daily and weekly specials. Call 8648-6912.

The HGTV show about choosing a house in Guanacaste, featured in our article in the August issue, airs September 24 at 10 p.m. Call Becky at 2653-6779 for information.

Nibbana Restaurant is now operating under ownership of Michael Holly, of Ohio. Reservations at 2653-2222 or 1652-0447.

Dragonfly Restaurant also has changed hands, and is now operated by Rana and Dario Notte. Reservations at 26531506.

Surf Report Ellen Zoe Golden (ellenzoe@aol.com)

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t’s a very important time in the Costa Rican surf world. First and foremost, the Gran Finales of the Circuito Nacional Olympus 2013 will take place in Playa Hermosa on August 24 - 26. By the time you read this, we will know how this year’s extremely complicated ranking of Open surfers panned out.

Turns out, points leader Jair Pérez of Jaco, did not surf in the Gran Finales, having opted instead to participate in the WQS in Virginia Beach, Virginia. What that meant for the last date of the Circuito is that one of the nine next closely ranked competitors very likely won the date in Hermosa, earning enough points mathematically to usurp him.

The total list of possible winners of the championship trophy (besides Jair, who indeed could still claim the title en absentia) includes Noe Mar McGonagle (Pavones), Anthony Fillingim (Santa Teresa), Gilbert Brown (Puerto Viejo), Ramón Taliani (Santa Teresa), Jefferson Tascon (Jacó), Diego Naranjo (Jacó), Carlos Muñoz (Esterillos)—also surfing on the WQS circuit, and Maykol Torres (Esterillos).

The Playa Hermosa date awarded 2,000 points. Surfers will add up the points from their best four dates this year to come up with the ranking points that will determine the 2012 national championship.

You may have noticed a strange name in that list of potentials— Ramón Taliani (photo). He is one of the new talented surfers making the competitive rounds from the Santa Teresa/Malpais/Playa Carmen area, which just happened to be the location of the sixth date of the Circuito Nacional Olympus 2012. Anthony Fillingim is also a local there.

This is very interesting because, at the torneo in Playa Carmen on July 28 and 29 in front of Bar Cocoloco, Taliani came in first place and Fillingim second.

Local knowledge of the wave, which behaved as the locals expected, was very difficult to read, with great size and moderate speed. Of course Photo: Fabián Sánchez that shows, once again, how important home field advantage is in this country-wide contest.

Also in that final with Taliani and Fillingim was McGonagle, and a newcomer to the podium, Andres Montes of Jacó.

As is the case this year with the strong talent, the final itself had surfers seesawing up and down positions. At the start, McGonagle was the leader after macking a wave to 6.67, but Taliani and Fillingim answered by putting up waves that scored 7.0.

While it looked like Fillingim owned the lead the longest, Taliani surfed two long rights with a variety of maneuvers, fluency and accuracy for a final total score of 13.70. Fillingim nipped at his heels with a 13.53.

“The first thing I did was congratulate Anthony because the truth is he surfed incredibly,” said Ramón. “But I am happy because I’ve rarely won and I did it in front of my friends and family who have always supported me. We managed to be the best here in our home.”

The women know how to thrill don’t they? In Playa Carmen, Nataly Bernold (Jacó) won her second date of the year, and now ties with Lisbeth Vindas for top spots this year on the podium. This fight is for the national title, which would give Nataly her third, and Lisbeth her tenth. And don’t count out Eve Johnstone, who could slip in a big championship if each of the other two ladies makes a mistake and doesn’t place at all in Playa Hermosa.

Santa Teresa Banana Boat Surf Challenge July 28 - 29, 2012 Open 1 - Ramón Tailani 2 - Anthony Fillingim 3 - Noe Mar McGonagle 4 - Andres Montes

Boys 1 - Leonardo Calvo 2 - Leon Glatzer Williams 3 - Daniel Pozuelo 4 - Noe Mar McGonagle

Juniors 1 - Noe Mar McGonagle 2 - Manuel Mesen 3 - Josue Rodríguez 4 - Bruno Carvalho

MiniGrommets 1 - Malakai Martínez 2 - Aido Chirinos 3 - Sage Guinaldo 4 - Luke Guinaldo

Women’s 1 - Nataly Bernold 2 - Lisbeth Vindas 3 - Leilani McGonagle 4 - Tailor Alsager

Longboards 1 - Anthony Flores 2 - Adolfo Gómez 3 - Christian Santamaria 4 - Carlos Rojas

Junior Women’s 1 - Emily Gussoni 2 - Leilani McGonagle 3 - Arisha Griotti How much do we love Andrea Díaz (Tamarindo) and Craig “Tequila” Schreiber (Limón) as well as the whole Costa Rica National Masters Team? They really made us proud this year when they surfed against twenty-six countries in July at the in the International Surfing Association’s (ISA) World Master Surfing Championships in Playa Colorado, Nicaragua. (continued page 18)

From Ic

I made it From Alaska to Tierra

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n the way into Valparaiso the highway along the coast reminded me of the scenery of Oregon. I enjoyed it. December 25 I entered the huge bay of Valparaiso with all its coloured houses of many epochs. In its history the harbour was the source of income. Since the Panama Canal is open money has been lacking anywhere to make renovation on the historic houses and famous elevators, the funiculars as they call them.

Afterwards I continued towards Santiago to spend New Year’s Eve. To avoid the traffic I didn’t choose the direct road. The treasures are hidden and conserved in the old villages; there are huge trees that cover the streets with old elegant houses and residences along them and local farmers who sell their vegetable and fruit on stands.

In Santiago I found the home where all the other cyclists got together and rested there for two weeks. Towards mid-January my old friend Matt showed up in Santiago.

We had cycled from San Francisco all the way down to El Salvador a year before. We were happy to push on together as we knew and liked each other like brothers.

I was looking forward to visiting Bariloche but we soon learned that it had changed into kind of a cultural island.

It is almost all about money: February 1 we arrived in Puerto Montt, a dirty port city.

Not only the pedalling but also some cold days with rain while crossing the Andes wore us out. So we were pleased to rest there four days. Finally we started another great goal of the long tour: Carretera Austral, initially built by Chile’s ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, now a cyclist destination: There are plenty of wild forests and rivers to camp and cook, an awesome scenery of mountains, glaciers and a couple of fjords which attract dozens of cyclists, especially Chileans. Matt left to meet his girlfriend in Buenos Aires so I carried on alone again. Often I camped alone on a lake or a river, lit a fire and enjoyed cooking.

I just lived in a natural rhythm in the wilderness, what I often described as living like a wild animal.

Arriving at Lago O’Higgins, a strike by road blockades brought to the area a shortage of fuel. Often I saw cars standing out in nowhere which had run out of fuel. Even the boats on Lago O’Higgins did not run regularly anymore so that about 17 cyclists got stuck in Villa O’Higgins for 13 days in a row. I was lucky to get a boat three days later. Crossing Lago O’Higgins towards the border station to Argentina was a beautiful ride in “glacier milk” water.

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ce to Fire

Story: Christoph Mueller 33,000 km!

Edited: David Mills a del Fuego - by bicycle.

Crossing the border into Argentina I arrived at Laguna del Desierto, where I twisted my ankle. When I fell and then lay on the pavement with terrible pain, I thought my ankle was broken and the tour was over. For three days I could hardly walk, then at least pedalling was possible again. Two days later I arrived at El Calafate where I spent my 30th birthday.

To reach 33,000 km I needed a few more klicks, so I extended the tour by riding to glacier Perito Moreno.

It turned out to be a lovely journey: Camping in the Glacier NP was awesome as I heard the falling ice blocks crashing into the lake all night long.

I arrived at Puerto Natales, a lovely place, just beside a fjord and surrounded by woods, then I came to Punta Arenas where, for the first time, I caught sight of the island Tierra del Fuego. I slept behind the new ferry station and caught the early morning ferry. Stepping on the island my emotions rose while thinking: “This is now the Tierra del Fuego I have been pointing my eyes upon for more than 21 months since Alaska.”

In Tierra del Fuego I visited a colony of king penguins, beautiful but clumsy creatures that have settled for a year as there is enough fish in the bay’s cold water.

All over Chile I often got the impression - when I talked to the older Chilean generation especially - that there is still an imprint due to dictator Pinochet’s time. The people often appear meek and humble and talk still with kind of awe about government.

In Argentina I sampled the mate custom, a central part of South American culture. Herbs of tea are put in a cup and many times hot water is poured in and soaked out with kind of a tube instrument.

The last day with sunshine and snow-covered mountain peaks over coloured forests I passed the mountain range and caught sight of the Beagle channel. The moment hit me and emotions arose. Then the towers at the entrance of Ushuaia showed up and right behind the bay with the city around appeared. What a beauty!

I had to stop a moment as I was overwhelmed with emotions. Anticlimax! I had done it!!! And where do I go now? And what do I do now?

I had two days waiting for my flight out to accept that IT was all over.

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Barbara’s Pet Stories Coatimundi

Surf Report (from page 15)

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i, it is me again: NASI! Do you remenber me? So, last Monday I ¨met ¨ some of my family, but it was more by accident. There is a bodega next to the house, and in this wall from the house is a cat door. So the cats can jump on the roof from this bodega and then walk into the house. As there are food bowls on the wall inside the house, the cats can have a snack without being molested from the dogs, who always want to eat the cat food. So it happened last Monday, when some of my relatives came into the house, the smell of the cat food attracted them.

It was my Dad, his name is Betto, he lives here since 2006, and one of my cousins, Nero, who was born here three years ago. I climbed up the shelf to say hi to them; we do this in form of a sniff. My Dad was fine, he looked happy to see me, but my cousin was mean, he was trying to bite me and kicked me down to the floor. My Dad got angry and kicked my cousin down to the floor, too, where Nero ran after me into the sleeping room. I was trying to hide myself under some cushions, but Nero found me and started to buzz at me. I was so afraid. I am five months old now, but I am still small, tiny..and this big coati looked so mean at me. Just in this second when he wanted to hit me with his long claws, Tamara came around the corner. Tamara is a mud dog, big and heavy, about 100 lb. She threw herself on top of Nero, who now instead of buzzing started to cry and he hit Tamara into her face. She then got away from him, buzzed at him and Nero took off. Oh, my poor Tamara... she was bleeding out of her snout. With all this buzzing and crying and squeaking sounds Barbara came running into the house...she started to rant and rave. I was still hiding under the cushions and Tamara was bleeding. Well, at the end, Tamara got a bandage around her big snout, she took me into her arms and we all went out to the patio, where she fed us with these tiny little dogs’ cookies....

Tequila, who already owns a Gold medal for first place in last year’s El Salvador’s Master games Grand Kahuna division (over age fifty), scored a Copper medal this year in Nicaragua for his fourth place finish in the same category.

Then there’s the sad story of Díaz. She was primed and pumped to take home a medal in the Women’s (over 35) Without much notice or training last year in El Salvador, she placed fifth in the world. This year, she was doing the difficult bootcamp with Tamarindo physical trainer and surf instructor Scott Kadowaki and could often been Photo: Marco Montero seen on other days running from her home in the nearby town of Villarreal to her Waves Costa Rica surf shop at the Best Western Tamarindo Vista Villas. And of course surfing like crazy.

Let me tell you first the good news. The Costa Rican Tag Team came in third place and earned bronze medals for the ISA Aloha Cup. This is the event where four men and one woman surf two waves each for a team score. That woman, of course, was Díaz.

However, during the Aloha Cup, while shooting a floater, Díaz heard her ankle pop. After the contest, she was in pain, but they were in such a remote location that a doctor was unavailable.

The next day, Díaz rallied for her heat, which was the Repercharge finals. If she placed 1st or 2nd in this heat she would have gone on to the principal finals, where every surfer earns a medal. However, the pain was too much. She ended up placing third (“better than fourth,” she told me), once again becoming the fifth best Women’s over-35 surfer in the world. Nothing too shabby, I say.

Tequila’s copper, and Diaz’s 5th place finish, along with the rest of the team’s work during the week, helped put Costa Rica at #10 out of 26 countries.

Here’s how the countries panned out: 1 - Hawaii 2 - United States 3 - Australia 4 - Brazil 5- Venezuela 6 - Perú 7 - Puerto Rico 8 - Japan 9 - Argentina 10- Costa Rica Wrapping up the month’s report is Carlos Muñoz who, I mentioned earlier, is surfing on the WQS. In a perfect world the WQS surfers rank high enough to turn over to the WCT, the pro circuito, but realistically this is Muñoz’s first year and we look to his results for experience.

(continued page 29)

Your Stars in September

Aries: 21 March - 20 April

Libra: 23 September - 23 October

Taurus: 21 April - 21 May

Scorpio: 24 October - 22 November

Gemini: 22 May - 21 June

Sagittarius: 23 November - 21 December

Cancer: 22 June - 22 July

Capricorn: 22 December - 21 January

Leo: 23 July - 23 August

Aquarius: 22 January - 19 February

This month, once again, holds some serious stress for you as the Uranus/Pluto square is in full force as Pluto stations at seven degrees of Capricorn in your solar tenth house. Couple that with an opposition from the Sun in Libra at the end of the month and you may have trouble with your partners too. Proceed with caution as angry words could set some damaging financial dominoes in motion. Best days to do good for yourself are the 2nd, 3rd, 29th and 30th.

While there is definitely some upheaval happening within your beliefs and inner life, you can experience some improvement in finances due to Jupiter in your solar second house of assets. With Mars in your solar seventh house, your partner may make some demands on you, too.

Both aspects will give a boost to your security so don’t panic, if you have to compromise on something. Might be a nice time to remodel, redecorate or entertain in your home, too. Best days are the 4th and 5th. ­

Your ruling planet, Mercury, joins the Sun in Virgo this month giving you the inclination to tackle some organizational projects in your home. Donate superfluous items to charity for some good karma points and get busy with an exercise program as having Jupiter in your sign may cause some weight gain. Don’t be surprised if someone in your professional network relays some scandalous and shocking news. The 7th and 8th are your lucky days.

The month has some favorable vibes with Venus still in your sign but there’s some limitation to your happiness due to a square to Saturn in Libra. Partnerships are a problem this month so if you are negotiating a lease, or change in business location it would be better if you put it off for six weeks or so as some powerful but dark forces are calling the shots now. Pull back and wait for better timing. The 9th, 10th and 11th are days to enjoy and rejuvenate.

Venus enters your sign on the 6 , bringing some good social opportunities and the potential for new friends to your door. There’s an increase in money coming in with favorable planets in your solar second and eleventh houses. Mars in your fourth might indicate that you need to have some repairs done in your home. Your love life isn’t really going to take off right now so stay home and do something to rejuvenate your good looks. Good days for some good times are the 12th and 13th. th

Virgo: 24 August - 22 September

With Mercury in your sign this month and Jupiter at the top of your chart you can bank on some solid gains with your profession. You haven’t had this combination luck and precision for twelve years so you will find people taking notice of your talents and abilities like never before. There’s much to be gained by attending as many networking or professionally linked events as possible. The 14th and the new moon on the 15th start off a new and positive cycle for you.

by Jeanne Callahan (jeannecallahan007@gmail.com)

With Saturn at the end of your sign in your first house, you should be solidifying internal changes. There will still be some inner soul-searching to do this month with planets transiting your twelfth house but fundamentally you are establishing a new foundation of stability and centered power.

Venus in your tenth house is helping you form new professional links now, so allow it to happen. The 16th and 17th are your best days, though the 17th could be very stressful for early Libras.

Mars is in your sign this month, right where it likes to be, so you are a force to be reckoned with for the next five weeks. Be aware that some partnerships may come to an end in the next 18 months so pay attention to details and honor agreements so that doesn’t have to happen. This is a time to honor your integrity in all ways. There may be a windfall, tax refund, inheritance or insurance settlement coming your way within the next year. The 19th and 20th are your most fortunate days of the month.

This is a good year for partnerships for you, both professional and personal, as Jupiter is in your seventh house. If you are looking for new business opportunities, they are available within the next two months. Idealism is fine but make sure you have a sound and detailed business plan to go with it. There could be some odd problems surrounding your neighborhood now so don’t ignore unusual occurrences, people or changes. Your best days are the 21st and 22nd.

While there is some gain surrounding your work situation, there’s also potential for some personal upheaval and a move. You possess great power but can appear overbearing and erratic to many people. Tone it down a bit and stop trying to control all the outcomes. Resist any temptation for underhanded behavior as this could trigger disastrous consequences for you, particularly around the 17th. Your significant other is feeling very loving towards you now. The 23rd and 24th are favorable days for you.

This is a good month for a vacation or some kind of fun activity. Actually the next year holds much enjoyment for you if you can find the time to take off. There will be some new career demands this month and for the next 2.5 years as you reach a new level of respect and responsibility.

Venus entering Leo and your seventh house brings the potential for love and relationship to the forefront and you may find yourself being pursued by several people. The 25th and 26th are times to push for your agenda.

Pisces: 20 February - 20 March

Not everything is as it seems for you this month as Neptune being opposed

by Mercury on your horizon line brings in some awareness of how unclear boundaries and expectations create problems in relationships. Use the rest of the month to define responsibilities clearly and stay out of the old victim mentality. If you’ve already experienced a move, the new location should work out very positively now, but money could be erratic for a short while. The 1st, 27th and 28th are your days for gain.

Namasté Visit Jeanne’s site at CelestialAdvisor.com

Flying to Liberia (at gunpoint)

Robert Darmsted

S

hortly after the start of the 1948 revolution in Costa Rica the revolutionary party, led by José “Pepe” Figueres, with the collaboration of TACA International management, spirited away three TACA aircraft to be used for collecting arms, men and supplies from Guatemala to aid in the insurgency. Nineteen such trips were made. One aircraft, a fairly new DC-3 airliner, stayed at La Sabana airport in San José as it was privately owned by a U.S. corporation.

Several days after the revolution commenced a squad of soldiers – eight or so plus an officer – arrived at La Sabana airport, where I was working for TACA, and demanded the aircraft. I explained to them the legal status of the DC-3, to no avail. The officer told me, in perfect English: “We are taking your pretty little airplane and you are going to fly it.” Gulp!

The pilot, Capitán Juan Ignacio Pérez, was brought out in handcuffs and ordered to sit in the pilot’s seat; I was put in the co-pilot’s seat, and we were ordered to fly to Liberia. The soldiers, without their commanding officer, were boarded, one of them standing between the front seats holding a sub-machine gun, which he alternately poked in my face or Capitán Juan Ignacio’s. As we started towards the ramp an airport employee, who had been listening to the soldiers’ conversation, got close enough to Juan Ignacio to tell him that we were to be killed for our conspiracy in “disappearing” the three TACA aircraft. Big gulp!

We took off and arrived at Liberia at 2 p.m. This was March, when the very strong winds blow, and flights were normally made in the morning while it was still calm. At Liberia it was obvious that the crosswind was too strong to attempt a landing. With the machine gun in our faces we made two hopeless passes and eventually convinced the soldier that it was impossible, so he ordered us to fly to Filadelfia, with the same result.

The soldiers were angry and didn’t believe that we couldn’t land, but they ordered us to Cañas where we were able to land. We were met by an excited crowd, as we were the first plane to land since the revolution started and they were starved of news – no electricity, no radio, no newspaper, no phone.

Juan Ignacio and I squatted in the shade of the wing and discussed our situation, which was not rosy as people kept looking in our direction, and we were the object of a discussion. We knew there were no other pilots in the mob, so we would be needed to take the plane and passengers to San José, which we did, arriving with the soldiers and several passengers. The original purpose of our trip, foiled by the winds, was to bring back some diputados (politicians) who were needed by President Calderón to help legitimize his illegal seizure of the presidency.

The story ends with Juan Ignacio being led off to prison, where he stayed for the duration of the revolution. No one paid any attention to me, and I slowly edged away from the knot of soldiers and walked the hundred and fifty yards to the TACA administration building – unmolested. Ever walk on eggs?

Now Begins the Study of Yoga

H

Hip Warm-up

Lunge II

Hips Part I

ealthy, happy hips are a wonderful thing. For those of us who spend too much time sitting, opening the hips can help low back or hip pain, and is one of the biggest requests in my classes. In all of these poses, start gently, finding the sensations in each stretch, breathing into your hips as you hold the pose. Remember to balance ease and effort.

The first pose is a hip opener that is done lying on your back. Bend your legs and place your heels in line with your sit bones. Cross your right (R) ankle over your left (L) thigh. As you bring your legs into your body, hold onto the back of your L thigh with both hands and extend your L leg up. On an exhale gently pull the legs into your body until you feel a stretch on the outside of your R hip. Hold for 5-10 breaths, release and do the other side.

Next, sit in a cross-legged position. Simply sitting like this can be a nice hip opener. If your knees are higher than the bony points on the front of your hip bones, then sit on a blanket or two, or a block to help you relax the knees down. Stay here for 10 breaths or more, then switch the cross of your legs and sit for an equal amount of time.

Next up are lunges. I include lunges in Sun Salutations because they are good for warming up the hips. From Mountain pose, fold into forward bend, then take your R leg back. Make sure that your left knee starts off above your ankle. Put your back knee and top of your foot on the ground. Compact your hips towards each other, then gently move your pelvis forward, lengthening your tailbone, and lifting in and up through the pit of your abdomen. Move your shoulder blades towards your waist and lift up through your sternum. Stay here for 5-10 breaths and switch sides.

Begin Lunge II in the same position. Once you have your pelvis forward, inhale and raise your arms up in the air.

Again stay for 5-10 breaths, then switch sides. For Lunge III keep your back leg lifted. Make sure your R knee remains above your ankle, stay on the toes of your L foot, and engage the back leg. Compact the hips, lengthen the tailbone, lift your low back as you lift in and up through the pit of the abdomen. Place your hands on your knee or lift your arms overhead. Stay for 5-10 breaths, then switch sides.

Now you are warmed up, next month we’ll go into some deeper hip openers. Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Namaste, Mary

Mary Byerly is one of the owners and the yoga teacher at Panacea.

An oasis of tranquility and health 10 minutes from Tamarindo.

Discover Paradise and Bring a Peace Home www.panaceacr.com • 2653-8515

Sitting Cross-legged

Lunge I

Lunge III

Letter re: Water Problems in Langosta The problem of not getting water in Langosta started back in April/May 2012. At that time we were one or two days with no water. I mentioned the problem several times at the AyA Tamarindo. Nothing was done and they waited until July 9 when the entire area of Langosta was without water.

The Tamarindo office kept on saying “we can not do anything, here in the office we are only doing the administrative work...”

All the businesses suffered from the lack of water, private houses and hotels like Capitán Suizo, Cala Luna, Barceló, etc...

At no time did AyA inform us what the problem was nor what they were doing to solve it. The situation became so bad that they finally sent a water truck to distribute water. However, the truck that came only carried six cubic meters of water and, since the residents did not know it was coming, a lot of us did not get water.

As of today (July 29), Langosta is getting water during about one hour early in the morning and since there is so little pressure it does not enter into my tank.

I was promised last week that they will do some work on the major pipe in the street in front of my building. They never came, they never informed me.

We are all losing a lot of money since we can not operate businesses without water. Yesterday and today I called the emergency numbers in Tamarindo and in Santa Cruz to let them know that I still had no water. The answer was that I must be patient; the water should come soon.

All this is not acceptable; it is a total lack of respect, customer service, etc. We are paying the water at a very, very high price.

We are paying for a service that we are not getting. They probably forgot that we are the ones that are paying for their salary.

Tamarindo AyA does not care.

Fortunately, there is another water company located in Tamarindo around Oro del Sol that is doing a research to provide water to Langosta. If that works out, a lot of residents here will switch in a second.

Muriel Cuny

A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.

John D. Rockefeller

Doctor’s Orders Jeffrey Whitlow, M.D. jwhitlow82159@gmail.com

I

would like to discuss the issues of drugs, substance abuse, and antidrug laws. We actually began this discussion last month, when we spoke of how designating certain substances as “illegal” has led to a slippery slope that now has Coke lovers buying three small drinks at a time instead of one jumbo one!

To reiterate a point we made last month, very few people know or remember that, up until the 1950’s, marijuana, cocaine, and even opium were legal substances in the US and other countries, such as China.

Industrial hemp, made from marijuana plants, played a major role in the US WWII effort. The “hippie movement” of the 1960s was the predictable backlash to the anti-drug laws that were passed in the ‘40s and ‘50s, and for a while it looked like sanity would return to the world, as marijuana and other drugs were decriminalized and/or ignored.

But then came Nancy Reagan and her “Just Say No” mantra, and all of the sudden, the inmates had control of the asylum. It would seem that no law could be more ill-crafted than a law that dictates what a “free” adult can do in his/her private life. Yet the anti-drug laws, especially those against “hard drugs” like cocaine and opium and its derivatives, enjoy majority support in the US, even though these laws are illogical and appear to be antithetical to the beliefs of those who feel that the US is the freest country on Earth. What makes these laws even more absurd is the fact that the last four presidents have all admitted to using illegal drugs at some point in their lives. If such is the case, then maybe these drugs are not such a bad thing after all, as they certainly don’t appear to be a barrier to high achievement!

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Millions of people are locked up all over the world for the “crime” of ingesting or marketing substances that only cause harm to the individual that consumes them, if they are consumed in excessive amounts.

Also, the policy of making the drugs illegal drives up the price of the substance, and thus encourages criminal behavior among those who crave the drugs, but do not have the money to pay for them. It seems like a no-brainer that these laws should be done away with, yet when reasonable people, like the leaders of some Central American countries, suggest this course of action, their ideas and statements are met with derision, disbelief, and scorn.

In my opinion, it is foolish for drugs to be illegal. There is a policy that has proven effective for these issues, and it is perfectly illustrated by the anti-smoking campaign that has been in place in the US since the 1970s. Forty years ago, almost 50% of Americans smoked cigarettes.

Now, after 40 years of education, that number is down to less than 20%. If a similar effort were undertaken in regard to “drugs”, the same reduction in demand could be realized. If that approach were combined with decriminalization, the US could save the billions it spends locking up these “criminals”, and the countries that produce these substances would see a huge decrease in the criminality and violence that presently pervades the illegal drug trade.

Next month, we will begin the process of education, by talking more about these drugs to dispel the myth that they are glamorous and harmless.

English Beauties Today on a train I spied two English Beauties freckles youth & hope their only make-up smooth knees & fresh milk beauty spoils with time leaving memories of these days of spring remembered & recalled by the smile of their child’s child now screaming two prams in a row But today, riding the metro Their knees flashing Skin pulled taut under A bouncing baby cheeks blushing Oh what beauties still! from “Pardon Me While I Eat My Young” Geretta Geretta Wash-a-Gogo Launderette

Excerpt from a blog by author Nadine Hays Pisani:

THE HOWLER MAGAZINE Holy Toledo! I’ve been reviewed in the March issue of The Howler Magazine (page eleven for all you inquiring minds). I can’t tell you how happy this makes me, because The Howler magazine is one cheerful periodical.

The Howler gives you precisely the right amount of current affairs one requires while living in Costa Rica. Who needs to know about the Republican Primaries when the best frozen daiquiris are being served at Chillerz in Tamarindo? Or that high tide is 9:08 tomorrow morning, a perfect time to get out that boogie board and get some exercise?

I remember reading an issue before I moved here and thinking it would be so awesome to live like this. Now I’ve been reviewed in one, next to an advertisement for Las Brasas Steak and Pasta Restaurant (closed Tuesday, reservations preferred).

I feel like I made it. I think I’ll celebrate with a frozen daiquiri.

Alcoholics Anonymous Schedule of Meetings

Flamingo

Tuesdays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open) Fridays: 5:30 - 6:30 pm (open)

Location: Hitching Post Plaza Unit 2, Brasilito Contact: Don H. at 2-654-4902

Tamarindo

Saturday: 10:30-11:30 - Open General Meeting Monday: 5:30 - Open Meeting Thursday: 5:30-6:30 - Open Meeting Location: Behind Restaurant La Caracola Contact: Ellen - 2-653-0897

Surviving

C hapter DXXIII

COSTA RICA

T

hose of you familiar with this column and its writer’s occasional lack of ideas have come to recognize one of those frequent endeavors completely bereft of any kind of topic or storyline. It must be noted at this time that I finally worked the word “bereft” into one of my columns which in itself makes it “Howler Worthy” and I could probably stop right now if it weren’t for the editor’s persistent need for at least eight hundred more words. I must confess also that I’ve had to use spell check both times I tried to spell “bereft”.

Oops, make that three times.

I made it clear to said editor a couple of days ago that I was having a harder time than usual in coming up with something by the deadline, which is, at this moment, two days ago. The editor pretended sympathy and told me not to worry. Just give him something to fill a page.

As luck would have it that night at Bingo I won the grand ticket raffle prize for the night which turned out to be a quarterpage ad in none other than “The Howler magazine” courtesy of same editor previously mentioned.

One doesn’t ignore this kind of opportunity delivered from Bingo Providence, and I immediately started thinking of some kind of hook.

What really clever idea could I come up with to fill an ad in the Howler? You’d think it’d be easy but it ain’t. Even the ideas I came up with while writing this thing were so embarrassing I had to delete them.

I got one of those time-honored local reprieves when the Amnet Internet System completely collapsed due to an unusual weather phenomenon known as “rain” and I was able to claim for a while that

No Excuses

I couldn’t e-mail him, giving me a little more time.

Sometimes just asking around for ideas works.

I ran into someone at the Auto Mercado who suggested I write about the terrible road to Playa Langosta. In my desperation I thought that maybe that’d work.

I’ve mentioned that road in this column less than a hundred times and have also written a couple of songs about it as well as a epic poem still in the writing, but maybe I could do just a little bit more for old times sake.

Will the person or persons involved in the maintenance and management of the road leading to Playa Langosta please reimburse me the damage and replacement costs for four tires, a CD player, a front end, and most recently a horn? Thank you.

My wife chipped in with a suggestion to just write about my everyday life, which she has always thought was a fascinating subject.

I normally wake up around 8:30 depending on whether there’s a repeat episode of “The Wire” on HBO. My first stimulant involves caffeine in a liquid form after which I move on to the “Hard Stuff”. By late morning I’m ready to take on a project for the day; sometimes it’s making a frame or desperately trying to write a column, or maybe just something easy like tying shoelaces. That takes me through most of the afternoon after which I watch the evening news and then take the dog for a walk. Sometimes at night I play music and sometimes

Story by Jesse Bishop (owlhumm@hotmail.com)

I cook dinner for my wife, watch “True Blood” and then go to bed.

The End. I then came up with a music idea! I’ve wanted to go play bass with MatiXando, Tamarindo’s wildy soulful and eclectic Latin band that was playing that night at their usual gig at Chillers. The MatiXando Band has the unique distinction of having the approval of The Howler’s editor, no mean feat! I’d heard the boys had migrated to the Backpacker’s Hostel, somewhere in deepest Tamarindo, and after a rigorous half-hour search of our hostel community I found Don David, the band’s mystic minded leader and sort of a Costa Rican Bob Marley who thought it was a cool idea.

I had visions of a wild night involving strange anecdotes, weird behavior and colorful characters; all of which ended up happening.

Problem was I was having so much fun playing bass, which I get to do maybe once a year, and I forgot to pay attention to why I was supposed to be there. Roy from the Leatherbacks was also sitting in on congas and the band’s tunes ranged from Latin Didgeridoo Rock to Pink Floyd and a bunch of Reggae.

I’m planning to go back again. Maybe I‘ll pay attention this time, or maybe I won’t be desperate to write a column.

In any case I think I’ve managed to have pretty much come up with enough words to fill up the required page for this month’s Howler. On a technical side I might recommend that the editor keeps the spaces between the columns segments and maybe use a larger font. I’ve also included a photograph of me tying my shoelaces.

Quotes Out of Context Tom Peifer (peifer@racsa.co.cr)

F

Stop this world, let me off, There’s just too many pigs at the same trough, Too many buzzards, sittin’ on the fence, Stop this world, it’s not makin’ sense.

Mose Allison

or those along the Gold Coast who have looked up from the daily struggles of living in a collapsing economy long enough to read the news, you realize that food—the stuff you put on your plate--is going to be, well, in the news more and more in the future.

The reasons are many, as always, but the drought hitting the Corn Belt of the US is a prime factor. Turns out the golden grain is found in something like 70% of the food products on supermarket shelves, often in forms we may not recognize.

In a transcontinental exchange on the looming food crisis with an old friend in Europe, he remarked, “For the human race, what is lacking is not sufficient food, but sufficient wisdom.” In editorial deference to the sarcastic musings of Mose Allison quoted above, I’d delete “wisdom” and replace it with “common sense.”

As that other great cynical observer of human nature, Mark Twain, once observed, “Common sense is a very uncommon thing.”

Now there’s a statement you can take to the bank. For the sake of illustration, let’s pull an example out of the ‘inbox’ of miscellaneous news on the wire as I write.

The state of Oklahoma, the starting point for the westward migration of poor farmers that set the stage for John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is, once again, suffering a prolonged drought that is affecting 100% of the counties in this largely agricultural state. Ironically, their man in Washington, Senator James Inhofe recently wrote arguing that his own climate change denial— and voting record--is biblically inspired “…because only God can change the climate.”

On the other hand, when it comes to campaign fundraising, the senior senator from Oklahoma doesn’t just pray to the heavens and wait for the manna to miraculously appear. Au contraire. Between 2007 and 2012 Inhofe received just over $500,000 from oil and gas companies. His voting record in Congress would appear to confirm that he knows very well which side his manna is buttered on.

He has been one of the staunchest opponents to any form of legislation directed at measuring or reducing the carbon emissions likely to bring the ‘grapes of wrath’ back to his home state in permanent fashion.

In the case of Senator Inhofe, the words of the muckraking author Upton Sinclair come to mind, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on not understanding it.” But, one wonders, what about the voters in Oklahoma who continue to keep this guy in office?

What’s the ‘common-sense quotient’ of a bunch of people who are simultaneously able to bear witness to their home drying up and blowing away and yet not doing a thing to prevent it?

Here, please forgive me if I don’t subject the esteemed reader to that common literary device of posing a question only to pull the rabbit out of the hat with an omniscient response. In this

case, the answer is far too complex, but it at least sets the stage for some pertinent observations that have been made over the course of the years.

Depending on your political perspective you can identify which of the recent occupants of the Oval Office best fulfilled this prediction: “As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken

As far as I can tell, the ‘plain folks of the land’ have been dumbed down, mesmerized and rendered increasingly impervious to complex rational thought –and social activism--far more than in the age of Mencken.

The 20th century produced two conflicting visions as to how ‘thought control’ would be accomplished in the future. In the novel 1984, George Orwell warned that we would become subjected to an externally imposed oppression—something like North Korea, or like we have seen revolts against in the ongoing ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings.

But in Aldous Huxley’s vision, fleshed out in Brave New World, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore and become addicted to the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

As Neil Postman put it, “People of a television culture need “plain language” both aurally and visually…the Gettysburg Address would probably have been largely incomprehensible to a 1985 audience.”

Surprisingly enough, the legendary TV anchorman and reporter magna cum laude, Walter Cronkite, lobbied long, hard and unsuccessfully for an hour-long network news format. As he put it, “ A functioning democracy is incompatible with the voters receiving the majority of their information on the issues, condensed into the sound bites of a half-hour format.”

I distinctly recall a literacy study in the US, before I moved to Costa Rica almost 20 years ago, that proclaimed 50% of the US populace to be functionally illiterate. “Literacy” was defined as being able to read an article and then summarize the three or four main points. Notwithstanding the much-lauded achievements of Costa Rica’s educational system, I would have to say ditto for here. For back up, I can remember an article in La Nación on the 4-6 hour daily average in front of the ‘boob tube’. They referred to a study that documented deleterious effects on attention span, vocabulary development, reading comprehension skills—just the kind of capabilities that voters need to wade through the mountains of mud and piles of BS that characterize political campaigns in ‘modern democracies.’ (continued page 28)

Our cover girl, Tamarindo artist Susan Adams, opens her exhibition “Costa Rica Mía” at Hidden Garden Art Gallery in Liberia, 5 km west of Liberia International Airport.

The exhibition runs until Sept. 14. hiddengarden.thevanstonegroup. com theadamsartgallery.com

RAIN GAUGE

7.0 6.0

RAINFALL - July/August 2012

c 5.0 m

Maricle Meteorological Observatory

4.0

Villarreal de Santa Cruz

3.0

Total rainfall: 8.5 cm (3.4 inches)

s 2.0

(from page 27)

The techno-entertainment-fantasy steamroller shows no signs of slowing down. Shifting into overdrive is more like it.

Campesino families in my neighborhood may awaken with no coffee and sugar, but the cell phones have been recharged with the last 1,000 colones available so the kids could amuse themselves with text messaging into the wee hours.

As Huxley predicted, we need no Orwellian Big Brother apparatus to monitor the reading of books. There is no reason to ban a book, for the simple reason that there’s practically no one who wants to read one. With the availability of 24/7 full spectrum infotainment, why, there’s scarcely any time left. Not to mention any interest in stepping back and observing a bit, as Huxley did a half-century ago, just where all this has landed us.

Whether it’s wisdom or common sense, a lot of both used to get handed down, passed along, generation to generation, among both the ‘plain folk’ as well as the literati, in popular sayings and proverbs. These appear to be a near universal facet of culture and many draw from the bygone rural experience of a common agricultural past. Among the many local expressions that have English similes or equivalents you find: Two birds with one stone; Gift horse in the mouth; Once bitten twice shy; Early to rise; Chip off the old block; The squeaky wheel gets the grease…

1.0 0.0

Quotes...

16

20

25

31

July

10

August

Year-to-date 2012: 68.3 cm 2011: 131.9

Rainfall July/Aug 2012: 8.5 cm 2011: 27.5

September ( a l l

5

t i m e s

2012

l o c a l )

Sun

1st - rise 5:34; set 5:53 15th - rise 5:33; set 5:44 30th - rise 5:32; set 5:34

Last quarter: New: 1st quarter: Full:

Moon

8th 15th 22nd 29th

7:15 a.m.

8:11 p.m.

1:41 p.m.

6:10 a.m.

15

Codified in “dichos” or proverbs, these snippets of popular wisdom convey a meaning much broader, more relevant to the human condition, than a merely literal interpretation of the few words in each. As to relevance, Aldous Huxley himself remarked, “Proverbs are always platitudes until you have personally experienced the truth of them.”

Perhaps nothing could better exemplify the thorough purging of folk wisdom by the onslaught of mass media-based culture than the pervasiveness of debt into which so many of us have fallen.

Somehow we forgot, or became immune, to the hundreds of warnings issued by philosophers, writers, dramatists and others over the years and are now learning the hard way. To cite just one example among hundreds, Benjamin Franklin: “Better to go to bed hungry than to wake up in debt.”

While there may not be a magic bullet to restore sanity, wisdom or common sense, another facet of human adaptation to trying moments in life or in history always seems to come in handy: Humor. Early on in the debate about the effects of television, the comedian Groucho Marx wryly observed: “I think the television is highly educational. Whenever someone turns it on, I go into another room and read a book.”

And for those who want to come back at me with the overused canard about misinterpreting citations, I’ll give you one of the best comebacks for disarming an argumentative opponent. As my former philosophy professor, Herbert Marcuse once told me in rejoinder: “Young man, by its very definition, a quote is something that is taken out of its context.”

You know, when you think about it, that’s kind of common sense.

Tom Peifer is an ecological land use consultant with 16 years experience in Guanacaste. 2658-8018. peifer@racsa.co.cr El Centro Verde is dedicated to sustainable land use, permaculture and eco-development. www.elcentroverde.org/

Surf Report (from page 18)

To wit, the 19-year-old did very well at the Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco in July. The ASP, the governing body of the event, sent out a press release which said he “was a standout throughout the entire event, displaying an array of progressive airs and turns.” Our star advanced to the final day, and the Semifinals, where he finished third.

“The waves were inconsistent and it’s really hard out there, but I tried my best,” Munoz said. “I was waiting patiently and I couldn’t find a good one, but I’m happy to be here doing events in Latin America.”

New Banknotes in Circulation Commencing August 27 past, new banknotes of ¢5,000, ¢10,000 and ¢50,000 were introduced into circulation. The older notes of ¢5,000 and ¢10,000 will continue as valid methods of payment until December 31 of this year.

From January 1, 2013, the old denominations of ¢5,000 and ¢10,000 will not be accepted as payment, but will be acceptable for deposit at national banks until April 30.

From May 1, 2013, the old denominations will only be accepted for exchange at the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

“I’m trying to qualify for the prime events and the points are going to help,” Munoz added. “It’s been great to have these events in Latin America and hopefully we’ll have more in the future.” Carlos is currently ranked 146 out of 703 surfers.

Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco Final Result: 1st – Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 12.33 2nd – Leigh Sedley (AUS) 5.54 Semi-finals: 1: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 8.80 defeated Michael Powell (USA) 8.77 2: Leigh Sedley (AUS) 12.10 defeated Carlos Munoz (CRI) 7.00

Olympic Moments

Quarter-finals: 1: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 9.07 defeated Gavin Gillette (HAW) 8.15 2: Michael Powell (USA) 7.46 defeated Colin Moran (USA) 3.87 3: Carlos Munoz (CRI) 12.10 defeated Michael Dunphy (USA) 10.23 4: Leigh Sedley (AUS) 13.33 defeated Miguel Tudela (PER) 11.14

That’s all I’ve got. Looking forward to hearing what you think.

Keep those emails coming at EllenZoe@aol.com. Send your comments, information, errors or praise, because I can’t do this column without you, the real surfers.

“I don’t care if he is King Carl Gustav of Sweden, he’s still shouting too loud”

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction”.

Blaise Pascal

“O.K., so I didn’t win, but at least I can now say I am an Olympic swimmer”

1S

2S

3M

4T

5W

02:59 09:07 15:18 21:24 03:41 09:49 16:00 22:03 04:21 10:28 16:39 22:41 04:59 11:07 17:19 23:17 05:37 11:45 17:58 23:55

9.5 0.0 9.3 -0.2 9.7 -0.1 9.3 -0.2 9.7 0.0 9.1 0.0 9.5 0.1 8.7 0.4 9.1 0.5 8.3 0.8

SEPTEMBER TIDE CHART

6T

06:15 12:24 18:40

8.7 11T 0.9 7.8

7F

00:34 06:56 13:07 19:25 01:17 07:42 13:55 20:17 02:08 08:36 14:51 21:19 03:09 09:40 15:55 22:26

1.3 8.2 1.3 7.3 1.9 7.7 1.8 6.9 2.3 7.3 2.1 6.6 2.6 7.0 2.2 6.6

8S Last Qtr 9S

10M

12W

13T

14F

15S New Moon

04:18 10:46 17:00 23:28 05:25 11:47 17:58

2.6 16S 7.0 2.1 6.9 2.3 17M 7.3 1.7

00:22 06:22 12:40 18:47 01:08 07:11 13:27 19:31 01:50 07:56 14:10 20:13

7.4 18T 1.8 7.8 1.2 8.1 19W 1.1 8.3 0.7 8.8 20T 0.5 8.8 0.1

02:31 08:38 14:52 20:53 03:11 09:20 15:34 21:35 03:53 10:03 16:16 22:17 04:36 10:47 17:01 23:01 05:21 11:33 17:48 23:49

9.4 -0.1 9.2 -0.3 9.9 -0.6 9.5 -0.6 10.2 -0.9 9.6 -0.7 10.3 -0.9 9.5 -0.6 10.1 -0.7 10.2 -0.2

21F

06:10 12:22 18:40

22S 1st Qtr

00:40 07:03 13:17 19:38 01:39 08:04 14:19 20:44 02:47 09:14 15:29 21:57 04:04 10:28 16:43 23:09

23S

24M

25T

9.7 26W -0.3 8.8 0.3 9.2 0.2 8.3 0.9 8.6 0.8 7.9 1.3 8.1 1.1 7.8 1.6 7.9 1.2 7.9

27T

28F

29S Full Moon 30S

05:19 11:38 17:51

1.4 1M 8.0 Oct 1.1

00:13 06:25 12:39 18:48 01:07 07:19 13:30 19:30 01:54 08:06 14:16 20:20 02:35 08:47 14:57 20:59

8.3 1.1 8.2 0.8 8.7 0.7 8.5 0.5 9.0 0.3 8.7 0.3 9.3 0.1 8.9 0.2

2T

3W

4T

5F

03:14 09:25 15:36 21:35 03:51 10:01 16:14 22:11 04:27 13:27 16:51 22:47 05:04 11:13 17:29 23:23 05:41 11:51 18:09

9.4 0.0 8.9 0.2 9.4 0.0 8.8 0.4 9.2 0.1 8.5 0.6 8.9 0.4 8.2 1.0 8.5 0.7 7.8