Cuba & Costa Rica Blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- Last blog post on Costa Rica and Cuba
- First-ever group motorcycle tours of Cuba successful
- Cuba’s Mariel port readying for Panama Canal expansion
- Musings on wildlife encounters on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
- Cuba’s Steam Trains puffing their last gasp
- My top five thrilling activities in Costa Rica
- Cuba’s fun February festivals include Harleys, Books, Cigars
- Five top volcano viewing experiences in Costa Rica
- New road along Costa Rica / Nicaraguan border mired
- Cuba’s Hotel Campoamor at Cojímar to be restored?
- Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez honored in new book
- Christmas challenge for Costa Rica’s sexually abused girls
- Costa Rica opens Chinatown in downtown San José
- David Soul films Hemingway’s car restoration in Cuba
- National Geographic Expeditions receives license for Cuba tours
Cuba's cabarets - more than meets the eye!
"Señoras y señores....showtime!"
Rumbling drums. Trilling trumpets. Whirling spotlights.
The lights go down as a troupe of showgirls in silver thigh-high boots and glowing chandeliers atop their heads appear at the back of the auditorium.
Welcome to the Tropicana, the most famous of Cuba's pre-revolutionary open-air extravaganzas–now in its seventh decade of Vegas-style paganism. more >>
The latest mood in Havana
I´ve been in Havana now for 10 days. I´ve made at least one visit to Cuba every year over the past 16 years, but this is my first total immersion in the capital city in three years. My feet are killing me! In fact, I had to take today off (my first rest day) as I´ve walked blisters onto my feet researching the new edition of Moon Cuba. more >>
The Alfaro workshop keeps Costa Rica's oxcart tradition alive
Sarchí is famous as the home of gaily decorated wooden carretas (oxcarts), the internationally recognized symbol of Costa Rica.
At the height of the 19th-century coffee boom and before the construction of the Atlantic Railroad, oxcarts were used to transport coffee beans to Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast. In the rainy season, the oxcart trail became a quagmire. Costa Ricans thus forged their own spokeless wheel to cut through the mud without becoming bogged down. In their heyday, some 10,000 cumbersome, squeaking carretas had a dynamic impact on the local economy, spawning highway guards, smithies, inns, teamsters, and crews to maintain the roads. more >>
Two cases of swine flu identified in Costa Rica
The first two confirmed cases of H1N1 ("swine flu") surfaced last week in Costa Rica, triggering activation of the nation's influenza pandemic plan by the Costa Rican Nutrition and Health Research Institute (INCIENSA). Both individuals arrived in Costa Rica from Mexico on separate flights. Officials have attempted to contact all other passengers who traveled on those two flights. An additional two cases – one involving a 53-year-old man with no known ties to Mexico -- were reported in Costa Rica over the weekend.
Costa Rica is the first Latin American country outside Mexico to confirm the presence of H1N1. Colombia became the second when it confirmed a single case over the weekend.
President Oscar Arias immediately decreed the disease a national emergency, releasing funds for the nation's containment plan. "Controlling the proliferation of this virus is practically impossible,” said Arias in a televised press conference last Wednesday. more >>
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