|
|
A.M.
Costa Rica
Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
 |
| (506) 2223-1327 |
Published
Monday, April
25, 2016, in Vol. 17, No. 80
|
Email us |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
|
|
|
San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April 25,
2016, Vol. 17, No. 80
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Go to Page 5 HERE! Go to Page 6 HERE! Sports is HERE! Opinion is HERE! Classifieds are HERE! Plus useful links |
NEXT PAGE |
|
Blaze lights up sky in San José By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A spectacular blaze consumed two wooden homes in San José Sunday night. The location was some six blocks north of Paseo Colón. The fire broke through the roofs of the two wooden buildings and lighted up the entire neighborhood. Police said that there were no injuries. Bicyclist dies on highway in Jacó By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 36-year-old man riding a bicycle died Sunday just before 10 a.m. when he was struck by the rear wheels of a tractor trailer. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the man appeared to have lost control of the bike and somehow got into the traffic lane. He was identified by the last name of Vargas. He was believed to be in training for a bike race.
International festival features
multimedia
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country will host its first international multimedia festival from May 12 to 15 in the Teatro de la Danza, Parque España and Parque La Libertad. This is the VI Festival AlgoImagen Costa Rica 2016, that is featuring artists from Colombia, México, Argentina, Spain and France. The artists will put on a number of performances but also conduct workshops in dance, theater, the visual arts and circus skills, said the Ministerio de Cultura and Juventud, a sponsor. The dance theater is in the Antigua Aduana on Calle 23, and Parque España is downtown, Parque La Libertad is in Desamparados. Heredia train service suspended today By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Commuters from Heredia or those going to Heredia will have to find transportation other than the state train service. Repairs on a bridge have been slower than expected, and the train service has been suspended at least for today. The bridge took a hit from a truck a week ago, and work crews are replacing the span. The Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles has been plagued by difficulties, including the head-on collision of two passenger trains in Pavas two weeks ago. There also have been derailments.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this
Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Ro
Colorado S.A 2065 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
||
|
San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April
25, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 80
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Tourism
minister says country well positioned to compete with
Cuba |
|
|
By Rommel Téllez
Special to A.M. Costa Rica Mauricio Ventura, Costa Rica's tourism minister said he feels confident to compete against Cuba in the battle to attract visitors from the United States, now that travel restrictions to the island have been eased by the Obama administration. On March 15, the U.S. government announced new rules that allow American citizens to visit Cuba on their own for educational and people interaction purposes without a special permission. Visitors are required to keep a journal of the trip for 5 years, according to the Department of State. According to Ventura, any change in the Caribbean touristic offer will be carefully monitored. However, Costa Rica tourism authorities not only keep an eye on the island but also around the world, he said. |
“Cuba
has specific well-known destinations, like Varadero
Beach. In contrast, Costa Rica is well known in the
world as a whole country. Our brand is Costa Rica
itself. Visitors usually go to different parts all
around the country. This phenomenon democratizes the
income” he said. Last year, Costa Rica attracted 2.66 million tourists who generated a total revenue of $2.8 billion, said Ventura. On the other hand, Cuba received 3.5 million visitors, according to the state-run daily Cubadebate.cu “Costa Rica also offers nature and relaxation as products, while Cuba usually sells historic and political experiences.” Ventura added. “We are number one in the world in touristic competitiveness and number 2 in adventure experiences. It's like we are champions in the tourism olympics, so we remain calm.” he affirmed. |
| Gas
prices will increase due to hikes in the world price of
petroleum |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
There is no surprise that gasoline prices will be
going up because international petroleum prices have
bounced back from historic lows.The Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos said Friday that regular gasoline would increase 38 colons per liter and super would go up 40 colons per liter. Diesel will decline 9 colons per liter. |
The
changes are identical to the changes in the world price
on shipments from the United States, the agency said.
The Autoridad Regulador recalibrates the price every
month. The state monopoly, the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, imports all its fuel and for years has not actually done any refining. The price regulating agency also noted that taxes represent from 48 to 40 percent of the pump price. |
 |
| |
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this
Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced
anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | ||
|
San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April 25,
2016, Vol. 17, No. 80
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Zika
virus worries do not seem to be affecting flow of visitors
yet |
|
|
By the Medical Vacation in Costa
Rica staff
The latest outbreak of the mosquito-born zika virus is not a big worry in Costa Rica, unlike in neighboring countries. Consequently, tourists and those seeking reasonable medical care are not being advised to take any precautions except those usual to guard against mosquitoes. The health ministry has discarded 161 cases of possible zika infections since the beginning of the year, according to data provided by the Ministerio de Salud. According to Daniel Salas, director of the health monitoring unit, the only eight confirmed cases of zika have been discovered in Sámara and Nosara in the province of Guanacaste on the far Pacific coast. There, six women and two men got the disease. In a couple of cases, the individuals appear to have gotten the disease from Nicaragua. A pregnant woman who was found to be zika positive already delivered a healthy child, the ministry said. There may be another case that showed up after Salas gave his statistics. Doctors have said that pregnant women could be at risk of delivering children with smaller heads if infected. Salas said that the success in killing the mosquito and its larvae has been due to alertness from the communities who had been fighting dengue for years. Dengue is carried by the same mosquito species, and every year there are extensive programs to eliminate the mosquito vectors, particularly in the coastal communities much prized by expats. Tourism authorities have remain calm and trust the Costa Rica |
health
system to deal with the virus accordingly, so that it does
not affect the flow of tourists. “This is a high sensitive industry and any threat may have a negative impact on it. However, we are the Central American country that has better dealt with the disease, so we don´t see any impact on our business on the short term.” said Mauricio Ventura, minister of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. Health workers have also heavily fumigated non-traditional waste, such as old tires, furniture, TV sets and other home appliances where zika larvae grow, he said. There are extensive government fumigation efforts in many municipalities of the country, and responsible tourism operators also have private fumigation schedules at their hospitality sites. Some spray every day. Private companies have also collaborated by providing volunteers who perform regular street cleanups. The use of two larvicides have proven to be very effective: Abate and spinosad. The chemicals destroy zika eggs that have been laid on rugged surfaces hard to reach with traditional fumigation. Zika has raised bigger concerns among population for its neurological effects and that makes people more engaged in avoiding the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that mosquitoes that spread zika usually do not live at elevations above 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) because of environmental conditions. Travelers whose itineraries are limited to areas above this elevation are at minimal risk of getting zika from a mosquito. |
Here's reasonable
medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
|
A.M. Costa Rica's
Fifth news page |
 |
|
San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April 25,
2016, Vol. 17, No. 80
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
 |
|
in Mexican student search By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A year-long independent investigation into the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico has failed to determine what happened to the young men in the face of what researchers call obstructions by government authorities. A five-member panel appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous arm of the Organization of American States, issued its final report Sunday in a case that has rocked the country and drawn international attention. The team arrived in March 2015 to Iguala, in the southern state of Guerrero. It was the last place the students, who attended the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College, were seen in public on Sept. 26, 2014. They have not been heard from since. According to the government, local police detained the students after they hijacked buses to attend a protest. They then turned the men over to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang that burned their bodies in a nearby garbage dump. But the public, especially the families of the missing, have questioned the official story and protested what they call a lack of transparency in the case. Last September, the rights commission experts also rejected the government's theory, saying there is no scientific proof that an immense fire took place at the landfill in the neighboring town of Cocula. The 605-page report released Sunday falls short of claiming that federal police and soldiers were directly involved in the mass disappearance, but it notes that they were present at different locations that night. The panel said Mexican authorities showed little interest in moving forward with new lines of investigation, blocked them from re-interviewing suspects, and attempted to discredit the investigation. It also noted that a study of 17 of the approximately 110 suspects detained in the case revealed signs of beatings. Cubans and Cuban-Americans soon able to take cruises By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Cubans and Cuban-Americans can now travel to and from the Caribbean island by cruise ships, according to a statement Friday by Cuban state-run media. The Cuban government authorized, starting Tuesday, Cuban residents to enter and leave as passengers of cruise ships. But the statement stressed that Cubans living in the country must have a valid visa of the country or countries they plan to visit. Carnival Cruise Line is the first to sign contracts with Cuban businesses to sail from the U.S. to Cuba. The inaugural trip since the 1959 revolution will be May 1. “This is a positive outcome and we are extremely pleased. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen,” Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement. The statement on Friday also said officials are reviewing a ban on citizens from boarding recreational vessels such as fishing boats and yachts. Until now, Carnival had not allowed Cuban-born Americans to book the trips because a Cuban law that dated to the Cold War said they could not visit the island by sea. Carnival received approval from the United States government last year to sail to Cuba, followed by a go-ahead from Havana a day after President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the country in March. Carnival cruise lines previously said it would allow Cuban-born passengers to book travel to Cuba, but vowed to delay trips if the island's government did not change its policy allowing nationals to return by sea. Last week, Rep. Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat, stressed that Carnival should not sail to Cuba until the ban on Cuban-born passengers was lifted. “I would not forbid Carnival to sail through public action, but I would heavily discourage it and try to persuade Carnival not to sail to Cuba until the policy is changed,” Grayson told the Miami Herald newspaper in a phone interview. Around 300,000 Cuban-born Americans enter their homeland each year. Carnival's 700-passenger Adonia is set to sail every other week and dock in the Cuban ports of Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Chile. The cost of the week-long cruise starts at $1,800. Death toll in Ecuador now 654 dead and 58 missing By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Ecuador has risen to 654, officials said. The quake, the worst in nearly seven decades, injured at least 12,500 people and left 58 more people missing along the country's Pacific coast. “These have been sad days for the homeland,” said a visibly moved President Rafael Correa during his regular Saturday TV broadcast. “The country is in crisis.” Thousands of soldiers and police have been deployed throughout Ecuador to provide emergency relief, including temporary shelters and food. In addition, scores of aid workers from dozens of nations, including Spain, Peru, Cuba, Bolivia and Venezuela have arrived to assist in the relief efforts. Officials said 113 people had been rescued alive from buildings damaged by the quake, which struck eight days ago. The United Nations Friday appealed for $72.7 million to provide aid to 350,000 people over the next three months, about half the number it estimates are in need of help. The U.N. Children’s Fund reported that the quake has affected at least 150,000 children, having damaged 119 schools. Humanitarian organizations warn the country still faces huge risks, as the homeless are now prey to disease-bearing mosquitoes and dirty drinking water. Electricity and water supplies are only being slowly restored. Cruz and Kasich make deal to keep Trump from victory By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The effort to prevent billionaire Donald Trump from becoming the Republican Party's nominee for U.S. president took a new step late Sunday as his two chief rivals openly detailed their plan to work against the front-runner in three states. Since winning the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary, Trump has led the Republican race as candidates try to take over the White House when President Barack Obama's term ends early next year. But Trump's ascendant campaign, written off early as something that would quickly fade, has made many in the party uncomfortable both because of his controversial statements on immigration and foreign policy and questions about how wedded he is to the party and its positions. With less than three months before the Republican convention in Cleveland, Trump sits as the only candidate with a mathematical chance of reaching the majority 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. That has not stopped Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas or Ohio Gov. John Kasich from continuing their campaigns. They have repeatedly cast Trump as dangerous for the party and said that if he is chosen, then the Democratic candidate, likely former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would easily win the November general election. Sunday they announced their plan to keep Trump from hitting the 1,237 mark. Within a span of 15 minutes, the Kasich and Cruz campaigns released statements saying Kasich will step aside and leave the May 3 primary in the Midwestern state of Indiana to Cruz. Indiana has increasingly appeared as the key in knowing whether the bid to stop Trump will succeed. It has 57 delegates, 30 of which will go to the overall winner in the state. The rest will be divided up based on the winner in each congressional district. A collection of polls from last week put Trump ahead in Indiana with about 39 percent support, compared to 33 percent for Cruz and 19 percent for Kasich. If the Cruz-Kasich plan goes as planned, Cruz could cruise to a win and deny Trump an important batch of delegates. The Cruz campaign said the agreement with Kasich is about ensuring the Republican nominee is someone who can unite the party. "Having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in November would be a sure disaster for Republicans. Not only would Trump get blown out by Clinton or Sanders, but having him as our nominee would set the party back a generation." Trump has criticized both Cruz and Kasich for remaining in the race with no path to victory, saying last week they should drop out to unite the party. In return for not competing hard in Indiana, Kasich is getting a pledge that Cruz will similarly step aside and not campaign in the western states of Oregon and New Mexico. Oregon has 28 delegates at stake May 17, while New Mexico and its 24 delegates are up for grabs on June 7. "Our goal is to have an open convention in Cleveland, where we are confident a candidate capable of uniting the party and winning in November will emerge as the nominee," the Kasich campaign said. "We believe that will be John Kasich, who is the only candidate who can defeat Secretary Clinton and preserve our GOP majority in the Congress." Both the Cruz and Kasich campaigns said they will compete hard in every other remaining state. If Trump fails to reach a majority in the first round of voting at the convention, then delegates are free to cast their vote differently on subsequent ballots, meaning even Kasich, who trails far behind in delegates, could have a chance at the nomination. Polling on potential general election matchups suggests that if the November vote were to happen today, Republicans would be better off with either Cruz or Kasich. Major polls have Mrs. Clinton beating Trump by about 10 points and Cruz by about two points, but losing to Kasich by eight points. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has his own tough battle in trying to erase Clinton's big delegate lead, beats all three Republicans in the polls, with the margin closest against Kasich. Solar craft lands in California after dangerous Pacific leg By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A solar-powered plane has safely landed in the U.S. Pacific Coast state of California after completing the riskiest leg of its journey around the world, a 56-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean. The flight was dangerous because there were no emergency landing sites. The Solar Impulse 2 landed shortly before midnight Saturday at Moffett Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. Earlier in the day, the plane flew over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge to the delight of many spectators, but remained aloft until night time when winds decreased. Pilot Bertrand Piccard said landing in Silicon Valley will help link the plane's journey around the world to the pioneering spirit of the area. "Can you imagine crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on a solar-powered plane, just like ships did in past centuries? But the plane doesn't make noise and doesn't pollute," said Piccard in a live video feed from the plane. The plane also moves very slowly at 45 kilometers per hour, double that when the sun's rays are strongest. Solar Impulse 2 will fly across the continental U.S. to New York before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or North Africa before arriving back in Abu Dhabi, where the flight originated in March 2015. The carbon fiber single-seat Solar Impulse 2 has a 72-meter wingspan, which is longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747, and weighs about as much as an automobile. The 17,000 solar cells built into the wings harness the sun's energy and charge onboard batteries. The project is the brainchild of Swiss aviator Piccard and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg, who are alternating each leg of the historic flight. The duo say they are aiming to demonstrate that alternative energy sources and new technologies can achieve what some consider impossible. U.S. suicide rates are higher by 24 percent, statistics show By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that suicide rates have jumped 24 percent over the years between 1999 and 2014. The study published late Thursday showed that rates increased sharply after 2006, as the economic boom of the late 1990s faded and the onset of what became the 2008 recession began. Suicide rates for all men under age 75, the rate shot up 43 percent between 1999 and 2014. Among women under 75, the rate of increase was greatest among women between the ages of 45 and 64. The suicide rate among those women was 80 percent higher in 2014 than in 1999. The results show the traditional gender gap in suicide rates narrowing: while men usually are more likely to commit suicide than women, the rate of women who took their own lives grew much faster than among men. Methods of suicide have also changed, although men are still more likely than women to use a firearm, the study says, with some 55 percent choosing that method in 2014. Among women, 31 percent used a firearm, slightly less than the number of women who chose poisoning. Suffocation is more common now than in 1999, increasing from one in every five suicides in 1999 to one in four in 2014. In one piece of good news, the suicide rate for non-Hispanic black men was actually lower in 2014 than in 1999, the only ethnic group of either gender to see rates fall. While the overall numbers may seem grim, experts say most people who try suicide will not succeed, meaning efforts to dissuade a suicidal person are important. Research suggests that removing the means to take one's own life, such as a firearm or poison, can be an effective remedy for the immediate problem, making long-term treatment a possibility. The Centers said that suicide is increasing at a time of generally declining mortality, and is one of the 10 leading causes of death in each age group from 10 to 64 years old. From 1999 through 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States increased 24 percent, with the pace of increase greater after 2006. Suicide rates increased from 1999 through 2014 for both males and females and for all ages 10–74. The percent increase in suicide rates for females was greatest for those aged 10-14, and for males, those aged 45-64. The most frequent suicide method in 2014 for males involved the use of firearms (55.4 percent), while poisoning was the most frequent method for females (34.1 percent). Percentages of suicides attributable to suffocation increased for both sexes between 1999 and 2014. First night sleep problem traced to alert hemisphere By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Ever wonder why people do not sleep well the first night in a new place? New research may explain the phenomenon. Writing in the journal Current Biology, researchers from Brown University suggest that one-half of the brain remains more awake than the other, apparently to be prepared for potential trouble. The so-called first-night effect is commonly experienced by frequent travelers who often notice less restorative sleep during the first night in a hotel or other location. The phenomenon is also a problem for sleep scientists because test subjects are likely not to sleep well the first night in a sleep lab. "In Japan they say, 'If you change your pillow, you can't sleep,'" said corresponding author Yuka Sasaki, research associate professor of cognitive linguistic and psychological sciences at Brown. "You don't sleep very well in a new place. We all know about it." To reach their conclusions, the researchers conducted three experiments to monitor brain activity over two nights of sleep, a week apart. Among the 35 participants, the researchers found that during the first night, the left hemispheres of the subjects' brains stayed more active than the right. Subjects, they found, were more easily awakened when researchers stimulated the left brain by playing irregular beeping sounds into the subjects’ right ear. They found that “a particular network in the left hemisphere remained more active than in the right hemisphere, specifically during a deep sleep phase known as slow-wave sleep.” During other phases of sleep, there didn’t appear to be any difference in activity between the two hemispheres. On the second night of sleep, however, there was no significant difference between left and right hemispheres even in the default-mode network of the left hemisphere, which does make a difference on the first night, they said. "To our best knowledge, regional asymmetric slow-wave activity associated with the first-night effect has never been reported in humans," the authors wrote. While the researchers believe their findings explain the first-night effect, they are still not sure what happens during other phases of sleep apart from the slow-wave phase. For example, they do not know if the left hemisphere keeps watch all night, or works in shifts with the right later in the night. The default-mode network is also responsible for daydreaming during waking hours, according to some researchers and appears to remain active even when the rest of the brain may be less active. Researchers don’t know if other parts of the brain can enter an alert state in other phases of sleep. "The present study has demonstrated that when we are in a novel environment, inter-hemispheric asymmetry occurs in regional slow-wave activity, vigilance and responsiveness, as a night watch to protect ourselves," the study concludes. Shakespeare’s birthday bash celebrated in his hometown By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Thousands of people from all walks of life and from around the world descended Saturday on the streets of Stratford-Upon-Avon, the hometown of William Shakespeare, on the 400th anniversary of his death. Visitors, performers, literature buffs and notable people, including Prince Charles, gathered in the central English market town to pay tribute to one of the world’s most prominent playwrights. Shakespeare is regarded by many as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. A parade took place in Stratford to mark the anniversary. A band from the U.S. city of New Orleans performed a jazz rendition of "Happy Birthday" in honor of the British icon, as confetti flowed through the streets. Actors Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ian McKellen were among stars scheduled to celebrate the anniversary with performances from Shakespeare's best-known works at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The occasion was being marked across Britain with parades, church services and stage performances. Thirty-seven short films, one of each of Shakespeare's plays, were shown on giant screens installed along the River Thames in London. U.S. President Barack Obama attended a performance of scenes from Shakespeare's works, including the famous "To be or not to be?" from Hamlet, at the Globe Theatre, a reconstruction of a 16th-century part-open-air theater. Shakespeare was born in Stratford in April 1564. It is believed that he died there on April 23, 1616, but no record of his death exists. Right-wing Austrian party leads voting into a runoff By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Exit polls show the candidate of Austria's anti-immigration far-right Freedom Party winning the first round of presidential elections, gathering more than 35 percent of the vote and leaving five rivals far behind, including nominees of the ruling governing coalition. With more than 50 percent of the vote tallied Sunday, both candidates from the ruling coalition, center-left Social Democrat Rudolph Hundstorfer and centrist People's Party nominee Andreas Khol, were shown with about 11 percent of the vote. If the projections hold, a second round runoff will be held May 23. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica sixth news page |
|
|
San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April
25, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 80
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|||
|
Beauty tips for the lady who
gardens Manicure: a cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands performed at home or in a salon. Right. Does it include heavy duty
There are gardeners and there are gardeners. The first kind dons protective gloves, picks up the clippers, puts on a hat, and goes out to trim the rosebushes and pull a weed here and there. The second kind, the industrial gardener, dons two pairs of protective gloves, boots, and a hat, gathers eye protection, bug spray, a shovel, a saw, branch loppers (newly sharpened), pruning shears, plops them all in a wheelbarrow along with the fertilizer bags, and heads out for the morning. We are out there for almost four hours, digging, lopping, digging, moving logs, digging . . . . The latex gloves have holes in them after the first round of digging, but our hands are so sweaty we don’t notice. The next three hours, dirt is making its way through the outer gloves and clogging up under our nails. Wonderful. Our “hairstyle” is the plastered-down look that only perspiration and a funky hat can achieve. (The hat is no foo-foo affair with flowers. We prefer a brimmed cap with a nice long neck flap. After all, we are out there a long time.) As for cosmetics, well, makeup might start on the face but it would end up somewhere around the collar bone. It would be a smear of powder and mascara where it doesn’t belong. When we drag in from our labors, exhausted and drenched with sweat, all we care about is something cold to drink (think something tall, chilled, and alcoholic) and a long shower that puts the soil back in the garden where it belongs. A light lunch, a dip in the pool, and a session in the hammock and we are ready for anything. If we promise to clean our nails, arrange our hair, and wear some cosmetics, will you take us out to dinner? Please?
Plant of the week Tall and delicate the gloriosa lily (Gloriosa superba) has a fragile beauty and an eye-catching color. It is also a very particular plant with special needs. The gloriosa is a climbing lily with leaves that hold the supports instead of tendrils. Plant the seeds or tubers in deeply worked, well-mulched soil (neutral to alkaline) at the base of a tall trellis (7 to 8 feet or about 2 meters) or provide a rough surface for it to climb. In tropical climates, it is best to provide shade for the tubers while the plant and flowers bask in morning sun and relax in the afternoon shade. This lily is from the collection at the Villa Encantada Vivero in Nuevo Arenal. If you would like to suggest a topic for this column, simply send a letter to the editor. And, for more garden tips, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Arenal-Gardeners/413220712106845. |
| Costa
Rican
News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW
in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine
Dining
in
Costa Rica |
The
CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| From Page 7: Obama promotes trade pact in Germany By the A.M. Costa Rica
wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States and the European Union must move forward on a landmark free-trade agreement, despite strong opposition to the accord. It is indisputable that the United States has benefited from free trade, as have other countries that engage in it, Obama said during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover, Germany. The United States and Germany are among each other’s largest trade partners and hope to build support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Germany's government has pushed the partnership deal, saying it would boost the global economy and give small and mid-sized companies a better chance at competing on the world market, while reducing bureaucracy. Opponents have been critical of what they perceive as opaque negotiations carried out away from public scrutiny, and they fear the pact will hand too much power to big multinationals at the expense of consumers and workers. Officials have estimated the U.S.-Europe deal would add $100 billion annually to the economies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Obama argued some oppose the deal because they are unsettled by globalization, but most people recognize on balance that it is a good idea. He predicted a deal would be reached before he leaves office in January, although it will take longer to ratify. The United States will make every effort” to reach an agreement this year,” he said later at the spectacular opening of the Hannover Messe, a massive trade fair for industrial technology. |
