The Seaside Disappears and a Festival of Arts Arrives!

I was critical of Limon municipal council a couple of columns ago, but credit where credit is due, our municipal council ~ Perez Zeledon ~ gets things done.

The stretch of rough ground between the Cathedral and the central park was transformed into a palm-spotted beach with loads of sand for the kids to enjoy over the ‘summer’ school holidays.

But one day its being dug up – we think ‘what killjoys’ – but its being transformed for a National Festival of Arts arriving! Organised by the ‘Ministry’, this was a 10 day long bonanza for the Brunca region. Though the major activity was centred in San Isidro, ‘caravans’ of entertainment radiated out to six towns in the south.

With a load old barrels welded together to form columns, cardboard transformed into huge flowers, and armed with a load of paint, enterprising art students soon created a colourful festive atmosphere in the square.

The walkways were lined with stalls selling the best of Tico crafts and indigenous Indian arts ~ here ladies from our near bye Boruca community with traditional weaving and carved products. Lots of wood carvers, artists and jewelry makers gave demonstrations of their skill while stand-up comedians, jugglers and acrobats provided non-stop entertainment. A local Mariachi group added great beat to the atmosphere ~ we just loved that bamboo orb … shame it’s a bit big for a spot in the garden!

Not surprisingly, given this country’s love of children, the kids had a whale of a time with bouncy castles, train rides, puppet shows and bags of candy floss. Sponsored by the Cultural Centre of Spain, a great selection of wooden toys kept them captivated, and we adults enjoyed them too!

Sadly, the face painting was strictly for the kids – and I promised this lady she would feature in the column – so creative; she made lots of little people very happy!

There were 4-6 groups playing every evening, but two highlights we thoroughly enjoyed ~

* the National Symphonic Orchestra concert in the Cathedral ~ just too short a programme but absolutely excellent, and

* Peregrino Gris ~ a group of Ticos who play Celtic music, complete with fiddles and bagpipes! They play dance music for the annual Burns Supper in San Jose and do that brilliantly, but their performance on the big stage here was entirely different – jazzed up, sort of ‘fast Irish jig’ style, and a finale with the bagpipes player leaping around the stage and wailing rock at 100 decibels is impossible to describe! Stirred the patriotic blood, a great night!

A huge congratulations and thanks to the Ministry and all concerned – this was the liveliest week we’ve enjoyed in our 3 years in this amazing little country.

Back at the ranch, there’s serious work to be done – still loads of clearing up after a freak wind storm left the garden looking like a bomb site. John and UK friend Ian (supposedly on holiday!) felled the last broken tree, fallen timber has nearly all been collected and the bonfire has been blazing. Ticos will all be on the road over Semana Santa ~ a very good reason to stick with the gardening! We’ve some wonderful orchids in flower – more on that next time.

[custom_script adID=97]

Written by VIP Member Sheelagh Richards. Sheelagh is originally from Scotland and her husband John who is from Wales are two inveterate British travellers who fell in love with Costa Rica, the beauty of the Talamanca mountain range and the perfect climate of the Rio General valley where they have established a small Bed & Breakfast called Casa de Los Celtas. You can see a free online video interview with John & Sheelagh Richards here.

You can see more about John and Sheelagh’s very affordable B&B outside San Isidro here and photographs and prices here.

Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors working in the area: James Drews, Daveed Hollander and John Wieland, by using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.