Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [482]
OCTOBER
Día de la Raza (Columbus’ Day; October 12) Puerto Limón celebrates with gusto the explorer’s landing at nearby Isla Uvita. The four-or five-day carnival is full of colorful street parades and dancing, music, singing and drinking.
NOVEMBER
Día de los Muertos (All Souls’ Day; November 2) Families visit graveyards and have religious parades in honor of the deceased.
DECEMBER
La Inmaculada Concepción (Immaculate Conception; December 8) An important religious holiday.
Las Fiestas de Zapote (December 25 to January 1) A week-long celebration of all things Costa Rican (namely rodeos, cowboys, carnival rides, fried food and a whole lot of drinking) in Zapote, southeast of San José.
PRACTICALITIES
Electricity Electrical current is 110V AC at 60Hz; plugs are two flat prongs (same as in the US).
Emergency The local tourism board, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT; www.visitcostarica.com), is located in San José and distributes a helpful brochure with up-to-date emergency numbers for every region.
Magazines The Spanish-language Esta Semana is the best local weekly news magazine.
Newspapers The most widely distributed newspaper is La Nación (www.nacion.co.cr), followed by Al Día (a tabloid), La República (www.larepublica.net) and La Prensa Libre (www.prensalibre.co.cr). Tico Times (www.ticotimes.net), the English-language newspaper, hits the streets every Friday afternoon.
Radio The English-language radio station on 107.5FM plays current hits and provides a regular BBC news feed.
TV Cable and satellite TV are widely available for a fix of CNN, French movies or Japanese news, and local TV stations have a mix of news, variety shows and telenovelas (Spanish-language soap operas).
Video Systems Videos on sale use the NTSC image registration system (same as in the US). DVDs in Costa Rica are region 4.
Weights & Measures Costa Ricans use the metric system for weights, distances and measures.
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FOOD
Throughout this book, eating listings are given in order of budget, according to the average price of a meal. The budget category covers meals costing up to ₡5000, midrange is between ₡5000 and ₡12,500, while top-end category includes prices over ₡12,500.
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GAY & LESBIAN TRAVELERS
Let’s start with the good news. In Costa Rica, the situation facing gay and lesbian travelers is better than in most Central American countries. Homosexual acts between two consenting adults (aged 18 and over) are legal, though note that travelers may be subject to the laws of their own country in regard to sexual relations. Most Costa Ricans are tolerant of homosexuality only at a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ level. This is undoubtedly a side effect of the strong role of Catholicism and the persistence of traditionalism in society.
Here’s the bad news. In the past decade, there has been an increasing number of outward acts of prejudice. In 1998 a gay-and-lesbian festival planned in San José was canceled following heavy opposition from Catholic clergy. The church also forced the cancellation of a gay-and-lesbian tour to Manuel Antonio, and encouraged the boycott of a coastal hotel hosting a gay group. Things took an embarrassing turn in 1999 when the tourism minister said that Costa Rica should not be a destination for sex tourism or gays. The gay community made it clear that it was against sex tourism, and that linking gay tourism with sex tourism was untrue and defamatory. The official position in Costa Rica was then modified, stating that gay tourism was neither encouraged nor prohibited.
Although homosexual acts between consenting adults are legal in Costa Rica, gays and lesbians continue to suffer from discrimination in society. Fortunately, discrimination usually takes the role of subtle nonacceptance, as opposed to violence or outright persecution. Homophobia has declined in recent years, especially in heavily touristy areas – one