Evening star., 1936-01-19
Rare Scenic.
TreatSFOund.
InCOsta .Rica
Beautiful Country Is
Within s Days
of New York.

IAN JOSE, Costa Rica. January
l8.-Purple mountains piled
against the sky. white houses
- flashing on the hillsides, snowy
crests of beach cleaning through the
lace-work Of coconut palms. and mag
nificent panoramas on every hand
such Is Costa Rica.
CHRISTOPHER Columbus discovered
this land and named it Costa Rica.
which in Spanish means Rich Coast. =.
That was in September, 1902. Today
1t is rich in agricultural products. no.
tably bananas, coffee and pineapples.
It is q country of many mountains,
table lands, valleys and swiftly rush
Ing rivers.
Costa Rica lies but eight steamship
days from New York (including stops
at Hanava and Kingston, Jamaica =,
and her railroads, motor roads and
new hotel in the mountain capital
combine to lure thousands of passen-
gers down every year. The Atlantic
seaport is Limon and it is here that
the travellers interest is torn between
the slotlls which swing awkwardly in
the park and the giant turtles which
weigh four or five hundred pounds
apiece and which are impounded in
watery corrals in the estuaries near by.
For little or nothing the local young
sters will dive into the pool and wrestle
with these giants which register fe-
eocious objection by Tapping enormous
and sharp flukes. These monsters.
which furnish the green turtle soup,
are brought North by ship in indl-
vidual pools of fresh water and are
delivered in New York very much
alive and kicking.
THE rail trip from Port Limon to
San Jose, the mountain capital, is
100 miles. In the cool of the morning.
with the dew still sparkling on the
.oconut fronds, the parlor cars are
whisked along the margin of the shore.
Suddenly the line cuts straight into
the jungle country and passes through
miles of cleaning green banana plants,
skirting the Reventazon River, and
affording spectac cular views of water
tumbling over the rocks. and an ever
changing vista of valleys and hills
in the distance. Then, as the train
puffs up the grade and works its way
up precipitous mountain sides. the
while vast valley land spreads like a
carpet many hundreds of feet below.
The river looks like a silver ribbon.
threading its way through banana and
sugar plantations. only to lose itself
at length in the jungle far behind.
Finally the Continental Divide is
reached, an altitude of 5,137 feet. and
the train then drops gradually down to
San Jose. nestled in its mountain
plateau.
The capital is modern. with good
hotels, well-paved streets, an abun-
dance of parks, cathedrals and inter-
esting examples of the Moorish archi-
lecture. The modern and the ancient
vie with one another in San Jose. 1t
Is not at all unusual to see a high
priced limousine challenging a creak-
ing oxcart for the right of way. In
the one is seated a beautiful Costa
Rican girl, dressed in the latest Pa
risisn mode. while before the other
patiently guiding the span of oxen
with stick plods an Indian, wearing
the colorful typical dress of Costa
Rica century ago.
GAN JOSE is but one of several large.
thriving cities in this mountain
region. There is ancient Cartago at
the foot OF Mount Irazu and there is
Turrialba and Heredia All of these
are in the very heart of Costa Rica's
richest coffee country. Motor roads
make readily available comprehensive
Journeys into these coffee beneficios.
A white race of pure Spanish stock
makes up the population of Costa
Rica. Less than per cent of the