|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Photo of the Month: |
|
Welcome to February's edition of Casa Holanda' s Newsletter. The weather here in Costa Rica has gotten warmer, drier and sunnier and so have airfares from North American to the country. Right now there are great specials running through our regional airlines,TACA. They have flights as low as $360 from cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. |
| Aspro Dolce to Give Concert at Casa
Holanda
On
Sunday, February 25th, invitees, friends and neighbors will enjoy wine,
food, and lute songs and solos from 17th Century England. She will be joined by another outstanding musician, Hank Heijink , an acclaimed Lutist. After completing a degree in computer science, in classical guitar, and getting a Ph.D. in social sciences, he studied lute and theorbo at the Royal Conservatory in The Haguewith Toyohiko Satoh, Mike Fentross, and Nigel North. Appearing in many festivals and performances across the globe. Aspro
Dolce , their
collaboration, was featured in last season's fringe of the Utrecht Early
Music Festival. Costa Rica's
Most Sacred Place: Cartago's Basilica The small city of Cartago lies
just southeast of San José, under the shadow of Volcán Irazu, and founded
in 1563 by Spanish conquistador, Júan Vazquez de Coronado. It was
originally the capital of Costa Rica until 1823, and most of its buildings
have withstood the test of time and earthquakes. Near the center of town
is the Basilica Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles, and on the feast day of the
Virgin of
the Angels (August 2) people make
their way on foot, or in some cases knees, from San José to Cartago to ask
for favor or to give thanks for favors granted.
The church has a statue of the Black Madonna
known as La Negrita, who supposedly had great
healing powers. The sick come to her statue in hope of a miracle
from
La Negrita. "According to folklore in Costa Rica, La Negrita appeared to a
young native girl named Juana Pereira, in 1635. The rock where La Negrita
made her alleged appearance is kept in a backroom in the basilica and is
revered as a sacred relic and object of inspiration. The rock is supposed
to be in the same location it was when La Negrita originally appeared, but
it has been moved as the basilica was rebuilt. It is common for pilgrims
to touch the rock in reverence."*
Above are some pictures that I
took while showing the writers around. The case is where, after being
healed, the faithful purchase a little metal replica of the body part and
leave it behind for a token of gratitude.
*
Quoted from Wikipedia.org. Please click on the link for more in depth
information.
Like from many of my guests here at Casa Holanda, you always tend to learn a lot from the people who pass through. Truly two renaissance men, talented writers, both speaking several languages, and of course, well-traveled, I gladly accepted their advice on great additions for the garden out back.
The book on Costa Rica, also partly written by writer
Nelson Mui, who also stayed with me in May
2005, will be out sometime this coming year. NEW! In-House Bicycles Now For Rent at
CH
A great way to enjoy Costa Rica's perfect weather and see Heredia
and its beautiful surrounding landscape is on bike. This suggestion was
given by a guest from Canada who loves to bike and I thought it would be
great to offer bicycles to guests as well. We have two
Upland
bicycles for daily rentals as seen in the photo above and demonstrated by
our new Assistant Manager, Christian. Guests will be responsible for their
own safety, but it is a great way to get some exercise (especially on
these slopes of the volcano) and explore the quaint villages, panoramic
vistas and coffee fields. James
Sings for the New Mayor of Heredia Special thanks to Pablo Gonzáles for the
invitation to this special occasion.
I don't know where this recipe came from, but I sure remember it on hot summer Saturday nights. I recently went to an Italian restaurant here in Heredia where they called Rissotto a la Roma Antigua . Whatever its origins, this dish is relatively healthy and very satisfying. You can substitute the risotto for the rice, but be sure to tweak it so that the risotto is cooked properly before combining. Casa
Holanda's Spanish Rice 1 large iron skillet Using a food processor or by hand, roughly chop the vegetables, somewhat fine, but not too much. When lopping off the tops of the bell peppers (with stems), save them for later. Separately, finely chop the herbs and set aside. Prepare the white rice according to directions on the package. In the iron skillet, take the ground beef and sauté in the olive oil over medium heat until cooked. Stir in onions, bell peppers, and garlic and sauté with beef two or three minutes until they begin to get tender. Turn heat down to the lowest it will go and stir in the slightly underdone white rice. Then stir in the tomatoes, and lastly add 1/2 of the herbs, salt and pepper and hot peppers. Let skillet mixture simmer for 20 min. covered, on the lowest setting you have, occasionally stirring. Stir in other half of herbs. Taste for flavor and adjust. When ready to be served, lay the 2 slices of cheese on top, sprinkle paprika for color, and place the tops of the sweet pepper on top of that, so that stems poke out of the dish. Serve hot in skillet to guests. Check
often at the website to keep up-to-date, and please tell your friends who
might be considering a vacation here. Costa Rica really is a very
beautiful and versatile country to spend an excellent vacation.
Chao! James 
"Casa Holanda" You
have been included on this e-mail because you have some connection |
*All photos in this newsletter are original and property of
Casa Holanda.
*+Photo used with permission by owner.
home | rooms | private tours |
location | your host | reserve now! / contact