Travel Blog Costa Rica

Costa Rica has no operational railroad at present. The tracks are still there though and are remains of an illustrious history. In the late 1800’s the only port of importance was Puntarenas and the Costa Rican government was looking for an easier way to reach the European market by developing the port on the Atlantic coast; the city of Limon. In 1871 the contract were signed to construct a railroad from San Jose in the Central Valley to the Province of Limon. The company to build the railroad was owned by Henry Meiggs, a New Yorker who was a known con man and entrepreneur. After leaving San Francisco where his fraudulent affairs were about to be discovered, he started a successful career as railroad builder. After building the fist railroad in Chile, he started building the railroad in Costa Rica in 1871. The first phase of the railroad from San Jose to Alajuela was completed in 1873. It took 17 more years to complete the entire track to Limon, since the railroad had to cross the mountains of one of Costa Rica’s most extensive and mountainous National Parks, the Braulio Carillo. This railroad played a prominent roll in the history of the development of banana plantations in Costa Rica and the birth of the United Fruit Company after Minor C. Keiths took over the business from his deceased uncle Meiggs in 1877. The railroad to the Pacific that connected San Jose and Puntarenas was a much easier project and was completed just thirteen years after signing the contract in 1897. In 1910 this railroad carried its first passengers and played an important role in the development of the Province of Puntarenas. In the 1990’s both railroads in Costa Rica were closed, because of financial and engineering problems. Who want to experience a virtual train ride should read Paul Theroux’s book ‘The Old Patagonian Express’, where both lines are described. Nowadays small parts of the railroad are back in use for commuter trains in the metropolitan area of San Jose. Driving through San Jose you can still see the train tracks and don’t be surprised to see a slow moving train finding its way through the morning rush hour traffic on the 10 kilometers track from Pavas to San Pedro. Close to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province you can find the work of a Swiss farmer who built a 3,5 kilometer long railroad, complete with two tunnels and bridges. Nowadays it’s operated by Hotel Los Heroes and a small track train is used to bring tourists to a revolving restaurant that offers an impressive view on the volcano. Strangely enough this is the only railroad in Costa Rica that uses its entire track as it was designed.

The mysterious stone spheres of Costa Rica were discovered in the 1940’s in the southern part of the Province of Puntarenas, near the towns of Palmar North and South. The stone spheres were discovered when the United Fruit Company started to develop banana plantations in this part of Costa Rica. The first scientific archeological reports were published in 1943 and since then the spheres have attracted the interest of scientists ever after. The stone spheres are made out of a hard stone called granodiorite and vary in size. The smallest spheres only have a diameter of a couple of centimeters, the biggest known sphere’s diameters more than two meters. Speculations about the origin and purpose of the Costa Rican spheres have risen to preposterous dimensions. The indigenous people who made them possessed a substance to soften stone, the spheres originate from the Lost city of Atlantis, extraterrestrial influences are involved and a lot of other stories. It is estimated that there are a couple of hundred stone spheres, but unfortunately the majority is relocated. All over Costa Rica, especially in front of official buildings, a sphere is a favorite decorative item. Some of the stone spheres were placed in groups, that suggest that a connection with the magnetic north, but since few stones were discovered in their original position, this theory has little substance. Archeologists and anthropologists reached some consensus on the fact that the stone spheres were made by the indigenous forefathers of the present day Boruca, Teribe and Guaymi tribes and can be dated somewhere between 200 before Christ and 800 AD. The story goes that the spheres are perfectly round, what must have been hard to achieve since the shaping of the hard stone must have been a painstaking process. Recent laser measurements however show some design flaws with an average accuracy of 96%. The stone spheres could be shaped by using stone tools and using the method that by heating and suddenly cooling the stone, parts could easily be chipped off. Polishing would be the last stage. As said before most of the stone spheres have been relocated all over Costa Rica and have been damaged by moving or excavation which makes it hard to come to scientific hard conclusions. For anybody who wants to get in touch with the scientific results about the stone spheres of Costa Rica should do some research and check out the website by J.W. Hoopes, Department of Anthropology of the University of Kansas. That way you can make up your own mind what srories you believe about the stone spheres of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has a flag with five horizontal bands. The upper and lower bands of the Costa Rican flag are blue, the one in the middle of the flag is red and under and above this band there are two white stripes. The red stripe has twice the size of the blue and white ones in the flag. Every colour in the flag has a symbolic meaning. Blue in the flag of Costa Rica refers to the sky, goals that can be achieved, idealism, perseverance and religious and spiritual desires. The colour white in the Costa Rican flag symbolizes wisdom, peace and happiness. The most intriguing colour in the Costa Rican flag however is red, which is symbolic for the blood of those who died in the struggle for independence as well as the joy for life and the generosity of the people of Costa Rica. It’s not a coincidence that the flag of Costa Rica has the same colours as the one of France, because it was inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution. The flag of Costa Rica as it is nowadays became official in 1906. The design of the Costa Rican flag however dates back to 1848, when it was made by the wife of the Costa Rican President. And for the lovers of trivia it is good to know that the first official Costa Rican flag had totally different colours; blue, yellow, blue. This Costa Rican flag, where blue refers to the two oceans and yellow to ´golden´ America, has only been used briefly between 1821 and 1823. It was this flag that was carried when Costa Rica gained independence from the Mexican empire. After this there were six consecutive other official designs of the Costa Rican flag in use. One of the more interesting designs consisted of a completely white field with a red 5 pointed star. This Costa Rican flag did not have a large lifespan and was only used briefly from 1823 - 1824. After that the Costa Rican has been basically light blue and white. But in 1906 the blue, white and red flag of Costa Rica was finally introduced and up till today can be seen on many locations. Also the national anthem of Costa Rica is dedicated to flag: Noble patria tu hermosa bandera (translated as ‘Noble motherland, your beautiful flag). The flag of Costa Rica is firmly embedded in the hearts, beliefs and values of the Ticos.