Stables and ox cart

This is the horse corral at Hacienda Guachipelin, with a traditional Costa Rican ox cart. The horses that I showed yesterday wait in the corral for riders during the day, before returning to their pasture.

Farmers and ranchers take pride in the hand painting on their ox carts. It is still possible today to see ox carts in use in rural parts of Costa Rica.

Costa Rican farms tend to be smaller family farms than are typical in many other countries, and there are a lot of small family farms that are still a backbone of the economy today. This is possible because the major crop is coffee, which is grown in small plots rather than large plantations, unlike bananas.

Much of the central valley areas of Costa Rica are still small farms and villages. In the dryer northwest province of Guanacaste where Tamarindo is located, there are still small family farms, although large cattle ranches are also common, with some land holdings going back in time to the Spanish land grant days.

Hacienda Guachipelin is an example of one of those large cattle ranches, although it is today also used for eco-tourism and adventure activities such as what I have shown on this website during the last few weeks.

I will show a closer view of the ox cart tomorrow so that you can better appreciate the fine details of the painting, and will discuss further the culture of the ox carts.