Cuba & Costa Rica Blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- Last blog post on Costa Rica and Cuba
- First-ever group motorcycle tours of Cuba successful
- Cuba’s Mariel port readying for Panama Canal expansion
- Musings on wildlife encounters on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
- Cuba’s Steam Trains puffing their last gasp
- My top five thrilling activities in Costa Rica
- Cuba’s fun February festivals include Harleys, Books, Cigars
- Five top volcano viewing experiences in Costa Rica
- New road along Costa Rica / Nicaraguan border mired
- Cuba’s Hotel Campoamor at Cojímar to be restored?
- Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez honored in new book
- Christmas challenge for Costa Rica’s sexually abused girls
- Costa Rica opens Chinatown in downtown San José
- David Soul films Hemingway’s car restoration in Cuba
- National Geographic Expeditions receives license for Cuba tours
Anniversary of Cuban Missile Crisis—Sites to See
This past week marked the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war.
The nerve-wracking crisis at the height of the Cold War began on Tuesday October 16, 1962, when President John F. Kennedy was informed that the Soviet Union was secretly installing nuclear missiles in Cuba. The ensuing stand-off, in which Kennedy demanded their removal, lasted 13 days—a term now in common parlance to denote the event, which the Cubans call the ‘October Crisis’ or ‘Caribbean Crisis.’ more >>
San José, Costa Rica, finally gets street signs
It drives tourists crazy!
You arrive in Costa Rica eager to explore the capital city of San José. You ask for directions to the Mercado Central (Central Market) and are told that it’s “300 meters east and 100 meters south of Coca Cola.”
Er, no! It’s actually at the corner of Avenida Central and Calle 6 (Central Avenue and 6th Street). That shouldn’t be so hard. Except Costa Ricans never use street names and numbers. They don’t even know them!
Instead they use landmarks, such as Coca Cola… a reference to the old bottling factory that stood here decades ago but has long since disappeared. more >>
Cuba a reliable U.S. partner in drugs war
Two weeks ago I received an email from a long-time friend asking me if Cubans used narcotics, and what the position of the Cuban government was regarding drug use. His questions fostered an exchange in which his questions kept coming: “Do Cubans grow marijuana?” “What are the penalties if caught?”
I began to worry that he was planning a visit and wanted to smoke marijuana while there. I counseled him: “Don’t even think it!”
Thankfully I was premature. As someone who favors legalization of marijuana in the U.S., he was simply curious as to the Cuban reality. more >>
Canoeing Tortuguero with Costa Rica’s best nature guide
Last week I thrilled, finally, to the opportunity to take a personal canoe trip in the backwater channels of Tortuguero National Park, in Costa Rica, with naturalist guide Karla Taylor (see my blog post). more >>
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