Category: Costa Rica

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How & Where are MLB Baseballs Made?

Ever Wonder How and Where MLB Baseballs are made? Watch this fun video:

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Or if that button doesn’t work, use this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=ddWRAcbg7Fk

Now those cheap minor league baseballs are made in China by machines, but the good ones for MLB games are made or sewn by hand in the Rawlings Factory in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Yep! That’s the

town south of San Jose I traveled to recently by bus to spend 5 days at Rancho Naturalista photographing birds. But I just recently learned that the best baseballs in the world are made there. Its also near the most active volcano in Costa Rica, also named Turrialba.

And What is the Irony of This for Costa Rica? Click and read this interesting article about how the best  baseballs in the world are made in a sports-minded country that does not include baseball as one of its major sports. Oh well. Life is full of ironies! As in most of the world, futbol (the real name for soccer) rules with debatable rankings after that for volleyball, surfing, basketball, and then maybe baseball. Interesting for the country where the best baseballs are made!  🙂

Or read this article about the factory in Turrialba and learn how dangerous sewing can be!

Workers on Lunch Break at Rawlings Baseball Factory
Turrialba, Costa Rica
A bigger irony is that in this NY Times article about The Poor Sewing for Millionaires. 
Or maybe even the biggest irony is that the poor man sewing baseballs a low wages is happier than most of the millionaire ballplayers!  🙂   ¡Pura Vida!

And oh yes, a fun aside for this former Tennessean is that the leather is tanned in Tennessee!  🙂

-o-

I am no longer encouraging people to retire in Costa Rica because I think there are already too many North Americans living here, many trying to “Americanize” or change the charming, slow, relaxed culture of this small, simple, peaceful nation. But since I know some of my readers are considering a move here for retirement or otherwise, I share another positive article from Christopher: 
12 Reasons it is Now Easier than ever to Relocate to Costa Rica.   And though I seriously don’t want many more Americans down here, I will gladly advise by friends and readers which starts with advising you to take one of the relocation tours and join the ARCR, Association of Residents of Costa Rica and attend their seminar, which is much better than what International Living offers. Christopher’s “Live in Costa Rica Tour” includes the seminar. 
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Waiting for his turn at the feeder in my garden
 on a cloudy, rainy day in
 Atenas, Costa Rica 
A family of these Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds have taken over my two feeders, meaning I watch them literally every morning at breakfast, nice, but . . .  also meaning I do not see other varieties of hummingbirds like I used to. I do still get a wide variety of other kinds of birds in the trees.

See my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.


Sports News:  

  1. Costa Rica qualified for the International Futbol Event in Russia by tying Honduras last night. 
  2. Costa Rica will have 522 persons running in the Chicago Marathon, 3rd largest group from Latin America after Mexico & Brazil and more than some European countries! 
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Rose-throated Becard

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

This is my first sighting of this particular bird, a breakfast treat off my terrace. Not super photos because of shooting between leaves, but fun! And I thank Yeral Jiménez Porras for identifying it by the technical name of Hembra de Pachyramphus aglaiae. “Hembra” is Spanish for “female” in the birding world. The common Spanish name is: El anambé degollado  He identified it for me in just minutes after I posted these photos on the CR Facebook group Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica.

See all my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.

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Still Confusing Costa Rica & Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico is in the Eastern Caribbean Sea and I (Costa Rica) am between the Southwestern Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is 1,290 miles (2,000+ kilometers) from our San Jose Airport or a more than 5 hour flight. It takes half as long to get to Miami or Houston or Dallas by plane. Above is a Google Map giving directions from San Jose, Costa Rica to San Juan, Puerto Rico. And the “Juan Santamaria” is just the name of our main airport near our capital city of San Jose.

The best explanation map I’ve found online won’t let me copy it, but here is the link:
http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-costa-rica-to-puerto-rico

It is very easy for North Americans to get the two places confused because they sound a lot alike, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, and they are both tropical with beautiful beaches. But believe me, there is a huge difference beyond that!

And I appreciate the prayers and the thankfulness that I am okay. It is rainy season, but no hurricanes or earthquakes hitting us now. We are getting extra rain because of a tropical depression off the coast of Nicaragua & Honduras that is headed north toward the states (TX to FL panhandle) as Hurricane Nate. Unusual for one to start near us but possible. Learn more about it at:
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-depression-sixteen-tropical-storm-nate-caribbean-gulf-of-mexico

And here is another map showing ALL of Latin America and all our relationships.

Hoping this will humble my friends in the States.
See how you are just one part of the Americas?
And more countries speak Spanish than English.

Pura Vida from COSTA RICA  in Central America, 1,290 miles from Puerto Rico!   🙂

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“I want to touch snow!”

In our conversational English club at the high school yesterday I continued to work on getting them to talk – in English that is! Like most teens, they chatter a lot to each other, but in Spanish! One way is to ask a question and go around the room with their individual answers, in English of course! So . . .

One question yesterday was “What do you want to do in the USA when you get there?” One boy answered: 

“I want to touch snow.”

Remember, these kids have lived their entire lives in a tropical country that does not have snow. They have never seen nor felt it! They will have a good chance to in January in Virginia.  🙂 Another boy, almost copying him, said “I want to do a snowman.” That gave us an opportunity to talk about “do, make or build” as verbs and how used in the states. This is challenging! But fun!  🙂  And I hope a little bit of help to them! They will get more out of their student exchange trip if they can speak some in English.
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Caribbean Signs

OOPS! I found this old post never posted. It was the least important of all the photos I made on my September trip to the South Caribbean, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. The day I walked into town by way of the beach, I found many colorful signs in Puerto Viejo and put together this little collection. Remember, all businesses in Puerto Viejo are locally owned “Mom & Pop” business with no chain hotels or restaurants there. Signs in no particular order. Last one best! 🙂  The simple tourism on the Caribbean coast reminds me of going to Panama City Florida in the early 1950’s.

 

Downtown Map located most businesses
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Imperial is the main beer company
in Costa Rica and thus makes many of the business signs!
All Over Costa Rica

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trip Gallery for this trip a few weeks ago has more interesting photos than these!  🙂
Caribbean Beaches photo gallery
2010 Tortuguero Visit  trip gallery
2010 Getting to Tortuguero  trip gallery including Banana Plantation

 

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Palmares

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mercedes 
 The primary Catholic Church in
 Palmares, Costa Rica
One of very few in Costa Rica of stone, built 1894-1914

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mercedes
 Palmares, Costa Rica 
Palmares Central Park is Partly a Tropical Garden
 Palmares, Costa Rica

Unlike a lot of towns’ central parks
 Palmares, Costa Rica 

But also has the traditional sidewalks, benches & band shelter
 Palmares, Costa Rica 

Some high school kids came dressed for a church festival
 Palmares, Costa Rica 

Including their band!
 Palmares, Costa Rica  

Palmares is a 50 minute bus ride north from Atenas over one of the most winding mountain roads near us and a beautiful drive through something like the Appalachian or Ozark Mountains to this cowboy town where the biggest Tope (horse parade) happens once a year. It is much bigger than Atenas with 31,000+ plus people.

This was my “practice” bus ride here and then on another bus for the shorter ride to San Ramon where I am going by bus in November to be picked up by the staff of Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort which is north of San Ramon. 
I’m getting better at bus travel and even made a last minute change today. Aeropost sent me an email saying my CPAP supplies were ready to be picked up in Alajuela. So instead of returning to Atenas from San Ramon (through Palmares), I got the direct bus to Alajuela for my package, ate lunch at Jalapeno Central Restaurant and then my regular Atenas bus back home. 
I was particularly impressed by the bus station for one bus company in Palmares. See photo below. 
Terminal Buses Carbachez 
 Palmares, Costa Rica 

This reminded me of the nice one I used in Turrialba. There are many competing bus companies in Costa Rica and they build their own terminals, not shared with other companies. Think of the old competition between Greyhound and Trailways in the states. This station is for Carbachez buses. Had I come here on one of our CoopeAtenas Buses, I would have gone to a different terminal that is not as nice. And I left from a third terminal to go to Alajuela. It was clean, but smaller and not as nice as the one above. 

And a few buses between towns just stop at a bus stop on a main street, no terminal. For example: when I went to Tarcoles with Ed we caught our bus at a main stop on Ruta 3 highway going through town. You have to learn how to ride buses and there is a great website with schedules, though going through Palmares to San Ramon did not come from them! Got that locally! The site routed me through Alajuela which is longer. But then I came back that way anyway!  🙂
As a Senior Adult (Adulto Mayor). I rode 3 of my 4 buses free and the San Ramon to Alajuela longest trip was just 75¢ or half price! Buses are the economical way to travel here even if you pay full price!

Google Map of Atenas to Palmares  We went the shorter route, Hwy 135, but bus takes longer than car with many stops along the way!   🙂 

I did a Trip Gallery with these photos and two are also in my Costa Rica Churches gallery

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Walkabout Apparel

Cap & Sunglasses 
 I wear every day when I walk to town.
 Here on a table in Soda while I drink coffee.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

And you might be interested that I have caps and sunglasses of many colors to go with my many colors of T-shirts!  🙂  I’m a fashionista gringo! ¡Soy un gringo consciente de la moda!

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Home Business: Corner Grocery

A “Junkier” Corner Grocery (Pulperia)
 than the El Pinguino I showed earlier
Atenas, Costa Rica

Though that is a home to left, I believe the owners live
 behind and to right of store, behind the tree.
Atenas, Costa Rica

Though I occasionally visit or use some of the home businesses, this one has never appealed to me. It just looks too dirty to sell food, though they are sometimes busy! I keep wanting to take them a few gallons of paint to freshen up the place! But continue to just ignore it as I walk by nearly every day.  

Link to my photo gallery of Home Business Signs