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Ticos near Finca Las Brisas, Costa Rica |
Tico is a colloquial name for the natives of
Costa Rica. The locals refer to themselves as tico or tica
(female). The tico ideal is that of a very friendly,
helpful, laid back, unhurried, educated and environmentally
aware people, with little worry for deadlines or the
"normal" stresses of life in the United States. Visitors from
North America are often referred to as gringos, which is
virtually always used in a good-natured way.
In
general, we have found many gringos to be the most
friendly and helpful Americans we have met anywhere in the
US or abroad.
Costa Rica also has no
military or
navy, but an abundance of
wildlife, it has been said that the
soldiers are the leaf cutter
ants,
the
pilots are the
macaws and the navy ships are the
whales. Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected
forests and reserves.
The tico above is one of our neighbors
and we first met him when he was walking his two prized
oxen with traditional headdress up the road. The tico to the
left came to the fiesta we had to meet our neighbors and
raise money for the local school.
Following this local use of oxen, and in our attempt to practice
green and sustainable building practices, we have used oxen to
pull downed trees from our forests.
When you drive down a road near your Costa
Rica property you are likely to encounter more than just other vehicles.
People walking, riding bicycles, and on horseback. Also seen
on most drives are dogs, school children, cows, iguana,
tropical birds, horses - all who seem friendly and
unhurried. Dogs for example seem to be found in most places
including restaurants and they all seem to get along
everywhere we have gone.
So right now, we are broadly using tico
to refer to all of the wonderful people and creatures of
Costa Rica. International people who are legal
residents and who have have raised families, we still tend to
think of them as German, Gringo, Italian, or Swiss.
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Typical dogs found in most restaurants
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Black iguana found everywhere |
Some of the older gentlemen who play checkers with bottle
caps at the local place we frequent for lunch |
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One of our neighbors Santos Garcia |
Coto, Wayne and Howie |
This dog is in every cafe |
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There are at least 10 local sawmills close
by |
One of our neighbors |
Local children's art |
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One of our workers wife and little girl |
Drying bean on the mountain road above us |
During dry season the local farmers make
molasses from sugar cane for their cattle |
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Local boys walking to school |
Friends found in many local restaurants |
On the road to Mel Gibson's finca |
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Local tico gathering dinner |
Soccer team at the school playing a game
at the fiesta we held to meet our neighbors |
One of our neighbors with his prized
oxen |
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Copyright 2006-2011 Arjuna
Limitada
LLC. All rights
reserved. Finca
Las Brisas (FLB) d/b/a Arjuna Limitada LLC.a Costa Rica corporation.
