ad astra

So the students have completed their first 2 weeks of core seminar, which means that last weekend we had our first trip as a group to Limón.  Limón is the name is one of the 7 provinces of Costa Rica, as well as the name of the capital city of the province.  It’s on the Caribbean side of the country, which means that in a lot of ways it has more in common with other Caribbean countries (Cuba, Dominican Republic) than it does with the rest of Costa Rica.

One thing that is noticeably different is the huge impact which Afro-Caribbean culture has had and continues to have in the province.  Afro-descendants arrived to Limón in two main waves, the first during the colonization of the region and the second to work on the construction of the railroad.  Many came from Jamaica, and for that reason English, not Spanish, was the primary language spoken in the province for many years.

Limón is a province of contradictions, the most notable having to due with the economic situation which most its inhabitants find themselves in.  For example: 80-90% of all commerce which enters Costa Rica passes through the Caribbean ports in Limón.  Yet Limón is by far the poorest region in Costa Rica, with certain districts having development indices similar to the poorest African nations.  Limón could potentially be the richest region in the country, given the economic activity and its plethora of natural resources.  Yet it remains stigmatized as a dangerous and impoverished region which is best to be avoided.  Some blame these problems on racism, others on the privatization of the ports, others on unemployment; the truth probably lies in a combination of these and many other factors.  However, despite all this, and despite what Ticos from the Central Valley (San José) might say about Limón, I think it’s an amazing place which should be visited by anyone who visits Costa Rica.

One of the things I like most about Limón is how different it is from San José.  Don’t get me wrong - I love San José - but an occasional break from it can be nice.  Where as San José is constantly moving, noisy, and hectic, Limón, at least on the surface, is much more tranquilo.  On Sunday morning we were eating breakfast at a soda at 7 AM and the streets were empty (alright…so there was the strange exception of a man who had rigged up a contraption allowing him to fasten 20+ inner tubes to the back of his bicycle, presumably to facilitate their transportation to the beach to rent to gringos…I was impressed…but that’s beside the point).  If I ever saw the streets of San José empty at 7 AM, I would have to assume that the Lord had returned.

Another thing I love about Limón is the food.  Again, I have nothing against the culinary delights of the Central Valley (keep that gallo pinto coming), but Limón is refreshingly unique.  The most well known dish is called “Rice an’ Beans.”  And that isn’t a translation from the Spanish - I mentioned above that Limón has a linguistic history of English, which is often reflected in it’s cuisine.  Limón’s twist on the typical Tico fare is the addition of coconut milk.  I love rice, I love beans, and I love coconut, so eating in Limón is far from a problem for me.  Then there are patí (the Spanish phonetic spelling of patty) which are basically just empanadas filled with meat and magic.  This year I also got to try agua de sapo (which translates to the less than appetizing “Toad Water”) which is a delicious blend of ginger and lemon, enyucados (imagine a giant french fry but replace the potato with yuca and stuff it with meat), mondongo (tripe soup - don’t knock it ‘till you try it), and pan bon (bread with dried fruit and molasses).  Most of these delicacies were made for us by a wonderful woman called Doña Mimí, who reminded me of a bearded, Spanish-speaking Aunt Jemimah.  She runs a soda in Limón which must people would probably walk by, but it was written up in La Nación (Costa Rica’s newspaper) for being the best food in Limón, and I dare say that they weren’t wrong.

The trip was a lot of fun for me and the students, and I think they all benefited from seeing a new side of Costa Rica.  We spent Saturday first at an indigenous reserve, then at the beach, and finally at a little dinner/dance (where I commented to Javier, and rightly I propose, que no hay nada en el mundo más feo que un grupo de gringos bailando).  We made it back Sunday afternoon without any problems, and will be back to the swing of core seminar tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow’s topic:  US-Latin American Relations from a Latin American perspective.

So there you have it - a summary of my limited knowledge of the economic situation of Limón which you were probably all dying to know, and a run down of delicious comida limonensa, the thought of which has now made me hungry again despite the fact that I just consumed the second of today’s heaping helpings of arroz con pollo.  Así es la vida.