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Anyone know the predictions for when Little Summer will happen this year? I have to book my flight to CR and it would be great if I could time it so it’s not raining every day, at least for part of the time I’ll be there.
Maravilla
I have been worried about safety in costa rica. I just read about how you brought a buffalo skull and a travertine sink and obviously made it to wherever you were going. I shouldnt worry anymore. : )
Have a great day!I traveled to Costa Rica ten times in the last 18 months, by myself. I’m a pretty savvy traveler but was scared sh**less before I went the first time after hearing all the stories about crime, etc. I never once had a problem, and I traveled around a bit, too. But then, I do speak Spanish, and am highly intuitive about dangerous situations. basically, I just floated through the experience and never really worried about anything once I got there. Nobody has ever hassled me in Costa Rica; not the cusoms agents when I bring in all manner of odd things like the buffalo skull and the sink (both on one trip!), nor the locals, whom I treat like my best friends, or even the guys milling around the airport when you clear customs — one of whom loaned me his cell phone to call my driver to find out why he was late. I think a lot of how you perceive Costa Rica is your level of fear. Once I got there, I had none, and now it’s my new home, so don’t worry, be happy, and have a lovely time!
Sorry I don’t know about Little Summer this year, but I just got from a couple weeks in Costa Rica and felt extremely safe (i was not in san jose though). I had a blast practicing my spanish on the very forgiving locals, made some great new Tico friends, and did not ever feel under threat. One night someone tried to sell me weed in the driveway of my hotel and I scolded him and he got a really sad look on his face, I felt so bad! I think my semi-hippy look made him think I would be happy to see him. Anyway, if you go with your guy instincts and don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home, you should be fine. You wouldn’t leave a camera on the front seat of your unlocked car at home, you wouldn’t want to flash a lot of cash (or leg) late at night in a yucky neighborhood…. Just use common sense and enjoy!
Yep, on that trip I brought everything, including the kitchen — or in this case — bathroom sink. then I had a suitcase full of doorknobs, cabinet knobs, and all kinds of gadgets for my house. Customs never blinked an eye, even when they put the skull through the x-ray machine. Maybe people bring those things in all the time, who knows.
I will go with my gal instints Henna ;). My hubby is 6’5″ and the other guy is around 6’2″. My friend and I will stick between them. I am about packed. No skulls though : )
Check out this article (in Spanish) from a CR meteorologist regarding “Las Pintas”, the “Veranillo de San Juan”, and other Tico climactic periods.
For those of you unfamiliar, “Las Pintas” is kind of like the Farmer’s Almanac. The first 12 days of the year supposedly tells you what the weather will be like for the next 12 months. I haven’t been able to find it, but after those 12 days there are further and more detailed indications about the coming weather in this colorful folklore. There’s gotta be a book about it somewhere – perhaps at Universal or La Lehman bookstores.
While it’s always been debatable whether this is myth or science, everyone agrees that global warming has further reduced its reliability, as CR’s climate has changed radically over the last 15 years or so.
Here’s what the author says about the veranillos:
“El veranillo de San Juan es una merma de las lluvias en las cercanías del día de San Juan, el 24 de junio. Los “veranillos” son periodos secos de pocos días que se presentan durante la estación lluviosa, especialmente en Guanacaste y el Valle Central. Además, están asociados con lluvias en la vertiente del Caribe. La primera y la segunda canícula, al igual que el veranillo de San Juan, son veranillos que se observan respectivamente a fines de julio y principios de agosto.”
GringoTico…I am working on my Spanish but it would be nice to be able to read this in English so I could help me improve my Spanish.
Terry From TexasEdited on May 24, 2007 09:49
Try to cut and paste it into the translate window at http://www.ets.freetranslation.com and you will get a (loose) sense of the meaning (for free).
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