Costa Rica

From Hong Kong we move on to Costa Rica, to another one of the, 'oh it has arrived so long ago' cards.

The card shows an ox-cart, which is like way more beautiful than the usual ox-carts one is used to seeing. It makes you wonder if this is indeed used in everyday life or is it just like a museum exhibit.

But, the ox carts in Costa Rica indeed have a long, deep history in economics and the arts. These carts are not just a means of transportation; they represent the spirit of a country and even though  these days they are mainly used as ornaments there are still some places in Costa Rica where the roads are too rough for modern vehicles, or where the locals just can’t afford a car and these are the places where genuine use of ox carts is still prevalent. The art of hand-painting each ox cart is a tradition, and a symbol of a people, that has been passed down through the generations, and is a skill that some possess even today. 

The colours are just so beautiful and vibrant and all those small details as well.

I like buying souvenirs when I travel, but if I ever have the chance to go to Costa Rica, hopefully I won't come back with an ox-cart :D

the stamp here is actually a kind of a sticker, which has been used as postage since 2007. So unfortunately, cannot give any further details about it.

Blue Morpho, Costa Rica

Posting that Cuba card last time made me realize that i haven't posted a Costa Rican card either since 2008...and here comes a truly beautiful one that arrived from Glenn this year

It is not cos blue is my favourite colour...this butterfly is just really really reaaaally beautfiul!!!!!!
this is considered to be the most common butterfly in Central America and Costa Rica, it can be found throughout the country in all kinds of forest and in most regions. It is most often spotted along habitat edges—of forests, fields, rivers, or oceans.
Different species of morpho show a variety of color schemes, although most have the characteristic metallic coloration. Within the Morpho genus, adult colors range from a shocking pearly white to a lighter blue to a heavier violet shade of blue. Some species have the black border around the wings that this particular species has, but others have a paler edge color or none at all. Females are generally less colorful than the males.

so what do you think, is it a male or a female on the card? :)

Glenn used three cool stamps on the card, all issued in 2007. Both the left and the right stamp come from the set representing Musical Instruments from Guanacaste. The left stamps shows the Marimba, while the right one shows the Quijongo. The stamp in the middle is from a set of 5 Pre-Columbian Art stamps.

Thanks a bunch Glenn!!

Barra Honda, Costa Rica

and.....ta-da-da!!! A new country! Costa Rica!


If you had told me a few months ago that i was gonna have a postcard from Costa Rica, written and stamped from there, i dont think i would have believed it :)

What you can see on the card are the Barra Honda Caverns...whenever i see stalactites or stalagmites, i think of the Postojna in Slovenia...the only reason for that is that when we learned about stalactites and stalagmites in primary school, we learned that they existed in Postojna in Slovenia...and we had repeated that over and over and over and over again, mainly so we learn to say the words correctly, since they were a bit different from all the things we had learned so far....plus we had to learn which are the stalactites and which are the stalagmites...so there was no other way but to have the name of Postojna engraved in my head when it comes to stalactites/stalagmites....

there is a nice text on the back of the card, both in English and Spanish and i think im gonna write them both...i do need to get back on track with my Spanish....of course, you dont have to read them both ;-)

- Barra Honda Caverns, Barra Honda National Park (Peak, Cavern and Stalactites). Barra Honda is the most important cavern system discovered until now in the country. It is 300m high and one of the many calcareus hills in arched form, located in the Guanacaste Province. 19 caverns have been explored, with independent development. These caverns present massive formations of stalactites and stalagmites of singular beauty.

- Cavernas de Barra Honda, Parque Nacional Barra Honda (Cerro, Caverna y estalactitas), Barra Honda constituye el mas importante sistema de cavernas descubierto hasta ahora en el pais. El cerro Barra Honda de 300m de altura, es una de las muchas colinas calcareas en forma arqueada que se localizan en la provincia de Guanacaste. Se han explorado 19 cavernas, con desarrollo independiente. Estas cavernas presentan formaciones masivas de estalactitas y estalacmitas de singular belleza.

Now, i cant say about the Spanish, but the English version had several mistakes...couldnt help but fix them :P

btw, the sender wrote a quote:

"When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Prize, she was asked: What can we do to promote world peace?" - She answered: "Go home and love your family"

Thats nice...if everyone was aware of that or knew how to do it...unfortunately, the more time goes by, the more i can see people and families get alienated....

I just wonder...is it just a coincidence the quote is by Mother Teresa or purpose? :) If we have in mind where she was born, thats why i got curious :)