Costa Rica 1957? or 1977

 Costa-rica-1957-or-1977.html

Costa Rica 1977 SBT=StoneBearTracks

Summer 1977 in Costa Rica. Ride along on this journey into Latin America when it was still a pristine paradise. From San Jose, to Cartago, Puntarenas, Quepos, Playa del Coco, hiking into the eye of Irazu, into the jungles to the remaining tribe of the Boruca indians,... ride the jungle train down to Limon, then onto Cahuita. This was a life changing journey. ALL Blog posts and photographs Copyright MCMLXIII ALL Rights Reserved

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Costa Rica 1957? or 1977

Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright MCMLXIII Uncle Hargus ALL Rights reserved

ROF= Ring of fire Odyssey  MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus 

StoneBearTracks       Journey into Latin America 1977

Costa Rica 1977.... or ?1957?       Uof Ala independent study

Walking around San Jose in 1977 it was very common to see older vintage cars.

This looks like a 1957 ?Plymouth Savoy?

In international trade tariff rates determine the imports into a country. On luxury items like cars, the tariff rate was was often 100%. That meant if an automobile - in 1977 - cost $10,000... at the dock a customs tariff was added onto the item as a tax that went to the country.

That new 1977 auto that cost $10,000... at the import dock, now cost $20,000USD. So older cars were fixed, repaired, and maintained as they were really worth twice their value.

I saw many autos that would be considered vintage in the states.    That is Dan Flynn by this old Plymouth.

Same with durable goods... ie... a refrigerator. Costa Rica was a primary agrarian society. Most campesinos didn't own a refrigerator because it was very expensive... and many mom and pop small business vendors sold local produce and you went to the Mercado -- the local market-- every day to buy food.

There is no such thing as frozen chickens in the supermarket. This is how you buy a chicken for dinner in 1977.

This couple had a small business store inside the Cartago Mercado, the market. Notice the bananas on the shelf for sale. Those were probably picked fresh within 24 hours and let me tell you a banana dacuri made with real fresh bananas had a taste that would knock you down it was so good.

People in the US don't really understand fresh. In the supermarkets when they buy a banana... that banana -- a hand of bananas is the whole stalk picked off the tree... the rings of bananas are "fingers" of the hand of bananas-- was picked green 6 weeks before. Transported to a collection point and sold at auction for pennies. then transported to the docks in Limon on the Carribean,... or to Puntarenas on the Pacific,... to load onto a ship for transport to the US.

In a US supermarket these bananas are green and still not ripe.

It may be 3 to 4 days before a ship comes to port... maybe a week. Loading ship... might be another few days; ship won't leave port until it's full of cargo. A few days ship to Savannah, or Philly/ NYC on the East coast. ... to LA/ San Francisco/ Seattle on the Pacific coast.

Unload at the docks into trucks for 300 mile radius markets... Rail for longer distance markets. And when you pick that banana off the shelf at the supermarket... with a still green hue... it's maybe 4 to 5 weeks since it;s been picked. A few days on the kitchen counter and you banana turns to the ripe yellow... you eat it and think this really tastes good; I like ripe bananas and fruit.

These are starting to ripen... a little more yellow... still green.

Trust me... you eat a fresh banana picked ripe that morning... you are spoiled forever!

This street vendor had mostly pineapples on his cart. I'd buy a pineapple for a Costa Rican Colon C-8.54: to 1 US Dollar. A pineapple-- fresh picked that morning cost 8 1/2cents. I'd buy a pineapple and cut with a pocket knife... absolutely wonderful rich fresh taste.

Same thing with pineapples. they are picked green and shipped.

This pineapple in a US supermarket has not even begun to ripen.

One of the things I enjoyed was to stop in local cafes and get a fruit plate for breakfast. A big bowl of fresh Costa Rican fruit would cost 2 to 3 Colon... a quarter, and they were fantastic! An expresso coffee and a fruit plate in the morning in Costa Rica in 1977... you were ready for the day!

Still too green, this pineapple needs maybe another week+, and will begin to develop a reddish color.

This guy had FRESH pineapples he picked that morning and tasted great!

This reddish color is getting closer to being ripe.

*** also ... Platinos... "Plantaines" is what they are called in supermarkets. Platinos is the slang name. They look just like bananas... but they are a fruit/ vegetable??? .... they are close to a potato/ starch vegetable... skinned like a banana they are cut into rounds and fried. similar to french fries... a dash of salt and pepper and they taste good!!!

Plantains... Platinos are NOT bananas. 

Platinos are served as a side order on a "casada" plate... the "blue plate special" in Costa Rica. A casada plate would be served with some pollo - chicken meat... or some pork... arroz - rice, cooked w/ some matequella= butter/ lard... some fried platinos... and some refried beans... a really good plate / dinner for 6 to 8 Colon... about 50 to 75c cents for a lunch plate.

One of the days I traveled with Gary West we ate in a Costa Rican cafe... and as we finished eating a Tico guy came around and offered us to buy a cigarette -- an after dinner cigarette-- for 3 cents out of the/ his pack; that was his business... selling cigarettes. This was Latin America at its best in 1977/ pristine. Glad i got to see this.

You never drink twice from the same stream. 

StoneBearTracks Copyright Uncle Hargus MCMLXIII ALL blog posts/photographs/video ALL Rights reserved 

ALL Blog posts/photographs/video Copyright MCMLXIII ALL Rights Reserved