After showing photos of the luxurious Four Seasons, I thought I would show a very different side of Costa Rica. This is a local Tico house along the banks of the Penas Blancas River in central Costa Rica. It is near the Arenal Volcano area.The nearby river is used for raft trips for viewing wildlife by tourists visiting the Arenal Volcano area. To break up the river float trips, some tour operators have organized a little excursion for tourists to get out of the rafts for a little while, to have a refreshment at this farm house, and to be able to walk around this simple farmstead.
You will notice that the house is built on stilts, with the ground floor a shaded area under the house. This also provides protection from flooding if the river overflows its banks.
Where I grew up in Illinois in a city on a bluff above the Mississippi, this is exactly how the houses below the bluff and on the banks of the river were built. Even then, there were times when they would get flooded in the spring when the river started to rise.
ReplyDeleteQuite a contrast in life styles there, as it is in most places.
ReplyDeleteElevated houses are also good for warm countries. The air circulates underneath and comes in through the floor boards. Many houses in the Philippines used to built this way — we should go back to it.
ReplyDeleteQuite a contrast but very charming.
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