Liberia  

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Liberia is a regional center and capitol of the Province of Guanacaste.  This part of Costa Rica, in the northwest, faces relatively cool waters of the Pacific Ocean and is blocked by the central mountains from the warm, wet winds of the Caribbean.  Therefore, this area has a pronounced dry season, and the resulting biome is a Tropical Dry Forest.  

The tropical dry forest is better covered in the Santa Rosa pages; this is simply an introduction to a nice little town.  The town is centered on the town square, a lovely little park in the middle of the city.  The park is bordered on one side by the Catholic Church there; in 2005 we visited on Pentecost and were able to see some of the service.

During the day the town is a beehive of activity.  A nearby airport, with service from San Jose, brings in tourists on their way to the Pacific beaches or into the mountains. A bus terminal allows the more budget conscious (us) to move about the country as well.  In the picture here, Dr. David Brown confers with Eladio Castro  about our transportation needs.

I couldn't talk about Liberia or Santa Rosa without mentioning Eladio.  Eladio is our man in Liberia, arranging for our transportation.  A champion surfer himself, his business these days is catering to surfers and ecotourists.  He specializes in getting them to otherwise inaccessible beaches (see Playa Nancite), and works regularly with researchers including Dr. Dan Janzen.  He was a big help to us on both trips, and exposure to Eladio gives students an entire multicultural package in one bite.  Here is Eladio with his son (also named Eladio) and Carrie in 2005.

The center of our social life in Liberia on both trips was Rancho Dulce, a small soda just off the square.  They have good food at a good price (here some of the 2007 crew wait for lunch after arriving from Monteverde).  We could plan our activities and then set off for the square to see a bit of the nightlife in the town.

Liberia is fascinating at night, particularly around the town square.  In 2005, we were treated to a band concert.  Not only did we get the entertainment from the band, it was fun to watch the couples and families parade around the square.  In 2007 we were there on a Friday night and a younger crowd prevailed; the "entertainment" was a group of skateboard riders and trick cyclists.  One new aspect for the 2007 trip was a visit to an ice-cream parlor (heladaria), in part to make up for the fact that the soda we went to for lunch at Rincón de la Vieja didn't serve meals any more and they only wanted 3,000 colones ($6) for a bag of chips.

As I said, Liberia was our transportation center; in 2005 it was the beginning of our trip around the country as our first stop off the bus from San Jose, while in 2007 it was the end of the trip an here is some of the crew waiting for the bus to take them to San Jose, the airport, and home.