A.M. Costa Rica file photo Cutting them in half helps remove large pit. Time draws near for festival of the palm nuts in Tucurrique By the A.M. Costa Rica staff If it is October, the national pejibaye festival is in Tucurrique. And it starts Friday. But this is not a Weight Watchers-approved event. The little pejibayes or palm nuts each are about 1,100 calories because they are heavy in oil. With a little mayo, an appreciative adult can much down 20 or so. More than 150 pejibaye farmers will bring their crop to Tucurrique for the 10-day festival. The fair has been going on for 14 years, and more than 30,000 persons go a year. The town is some 14 kms (about 9 miles) from Cartago centro. Pejibayes are the green, brown and red globes bouncing around in the hot water tank at the local supermarket. Although they can be consumed raw, cooking brings out the flavor, makes them less caustic and makes them easier to peel. Tucurrique puts out 400,000 pounds of the palm fruit each year, and the fair is a way of popularizing the product and attracting tourists to the area. A lot of foods made from pejibaye will be offered for sale. The palm nut can be dried and ground to make a flour. It also can be deep fried. One favorite is a pejibaye soup made from the ground fruit, some pan-fried onions and milk or cream. For those who fear the calories, the town also will have a number of activities, including horseback riding and dancing to balance out the calories, said organizers. For those who like to live dangerously, pejibayes can be fermented into what Purdue University in Indiana calls a strong alcoholic beverage. The drink is so strong is is said to be illegal in some Latin countries.  Sounds like a challenge.

Phone book deadline nears


Monday is the last day to make revisions of entries in the 2008 telephone book, said the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.

The Guía Telefónica 2008 will be closed to corrections after that day, the national communications company said.

Those who want to make changes can make inquires at 115 or at the local branch of the company, a release said.

Two held in Escazú carjackings


Two men, one 25 and the other 30, were detained in Escazú Tuesday on the allegation that they were the pair that has been robbing motorists of their vehicles at gunpoint.

The technique is known as bajonazo. That is when a passerby or a motorcyclist sticks a gun or a knife in the ear of a driver and takes over the vehicles.

Raids took place at Bello Horizonte and El Bajo de los Anonos.

Agents said they were investigating crimes in which extreme violence was used against motorists.


Iguanas are virility food,
in campo, reader reports

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Hunting iguanas is not all about rice and beans.

In reference to the Monday article, iguanas here in Costa Rica being threatened by “hunting pressures” is close to the point.

I lived with a Tico family for six months near Orotina and the men hunted for Iguana on a regular basis. It was seldom because there was no money to buy beef or pork but rather an ignorant belief.

These men hunt for the eggs of pregnant iguanas and claimed that it increased their “male prowess.” So not only do people hunt them for food, but they are hunting the pregnant females who can carry on the species all in the name of “keeping it xx” with their lady friends.

Education can play a big role in protecting this species from extinction if people would acknowledge some of these ridiculous beliefs.

Have you seen these stories?