The Tico Times

Costa Rica takes pride in two of its most iconic food traditions – coffee and tamales – which come together as beloved centerpieces of the festive Christmas season. Families gather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to share hearty tamales stuffed with chicken, pork, rice, vegetables, and olives, the masa […]

Get ready to immerse yourself in the festive spirit of Costa Rica’s unique Christmas traditions and celebrations. From savoring the rich and creamy rompope, the local take on eggnog, to unwrapping the mouthwatering tamales that grace every Costa Rican Christmas table, this list has something for everyone. Whether you’re captivated […]

With elementary and high school students on extended vacation, popular beach destinations like Puntarenas and Guanacaste are bracing for a major influx of domestic tourists this January. In anticipation of the heightened traffic along the route leading to these locations, a series of transit management decisions have been authorized by […]

Tamales are serious business come Christmas in Costa Rica. Unwrapping the steamed banana-leaf covering of a Costa Rican-style tamal is like opening a present. But considering the estimated 196 million pairs of tamales eaten during December — three tamales per Tico per day, according to a study by the University of […]

We’ve been enjoying a harvest of one of our favorite novelty squashes of the tropics. Known as musk cucumber in English, its common name here is  Cohombro (Sicana odorifera). This is one of the most unusual plants in the tropics. Its large, 12- to 14-inch long, maroon-colored, sausage-shaped fruit is […]

Wondering where I was going to get the pan drippings for the gravy and mashed potatoes I agreed to make for an expat Thanksgiving this year, I started thinking about last year’s turkey. It was my first Thanksgiving in Costa Rica and away from family. As we sat down to the […]

Costa Rican authorities dealt a major blow in the fight against illicit narcotics by dismantling the first fentanyl production and distribution operation uncovered in Central America, seizing over 1,100 doses in the process. The trafficking cell was brought down this week in a series of coordinated raids across the capital […]

The rain begins outside. Carlos Cordero knows what the next morning will do to him. He’ll feel stuffy. Coworkers will ask him if he’s upset. But he’s not feeling gloomy – Cordero just has allergies; awful, awful allergies that worsen during Costa Rica’s soggy rainy season, which typically lasts through […]

Consider, if you will, the lowly Costa Rican land crab.Sure, it’s not adorable like a monkey, hard to spot like a sloth, spectacular like a scarlet macaw or precious and venomous like a poison-dart frog. But pound for pound, the little red and purple crabs that scuttle from hole to […]