“Las monjas también la pulsean”
Comedy, Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m., Teatro Sancheto, 100 m. west, 50 m. north of The Tico Times. Reservations: 8398-9409, 8913-8769.

Fencing
Interested in joining a team, contact Luis Cruz, 8325-1689, luisc@inii.ucr.ac.

10th Chunches de Mar Art-Camp Festival
National and international artists create art from items found on beach; art workshops for kids, teens, Jan. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24; art exhibit, concert, dance, Jan. 30, 11 a.m., Romelia Wildlife Refuge, Playa Grande, Montezuma, Puntarenas, www.chunchesdemar.com.

2009-2010 National Surf Circuit
Esterillos, Puntarenas, Jan. 9-10, www.surfingcr.net. 

Live From the Metropolitan Opera House
Operas shown on high-definition screen, “Der Rosenkavalier,” by Richard Strauss, Jan. 9, noon at Eugene O'Neill Theater, CCCN.

Ecology Hike
Guided by Luis Boza, from La Legüita to the Polca in Puriscal, leaving at 6:30 a.m., from the Coca Cola terminal at the Puriscal bus stop, further information at 2223-3186, 8306-6354, caminarshkuk@gmail.com.

Play “La Calle de los Títeres”
Jan. 10, 6 p.m., Templo de la Música, Parque Morazán.

Traditional Pilgrimage to Santo Cristo de Esquipulas Site
Jan. 10, leaving at 8 a.m. from the Metropolitan Cathedral to Alajuelita.

Joan Rivers wasn't the first to have problems with Continental Airlines in Costa Rica.

Michael Jensen, who frequents the country and got in touch with Rivers after she appeared on CNN television talk show “Larry King Live,” said he's seen people turned away for overused passports. He had trouble himself when his facial hair didn't match what was pictured in the passport.

“There's someone there who harasses everyone,” said Jensen, calling from Oregon. “It's too bad because it gives Costa Rica a bad image. That is the last thing people remember when they leave a country.”

Even stardom couldn't help Joan Rivers talk her way past an unyielding gate agent in Liberia Airport on Sunday.

The 76-year-old comedian and actress, who spent her vacation in Papagayo in the northwest province of Guanacaste, lost her seat on a Continental flight to Newark, New Jersey when an airline employee noticed a discrepancy between the name on the boarding pass and the name on the passport.

As people were boarding the last flight of the day, Rivers was called to the counter and told her seat had been given up. The reason? Her boarding ticket read Joseph Rosenberg and her passport read “Joan Rosenberg AKA Joan Rivers.”

See The Tico Times Online Feature Story and listen to the interview with Joan Rivers here.

The road through Vara Blanca, a crossroads town on the ridge between the summits of the Poás and Barva volcanoes, north of San José, is more dirt than pavement. In some places, the road is so narrow that two of the heavy-duty trucks hauling in dirt and gravel cannot pass without one of them pulling off to the side. In other places, strips of tape between posts warn drivers of steep drop-offs to the valley below. Long lines of dump trucks come, deposit their loads, and go. Although it looks like a major construction project, it isn't. The workers are still repairing damage caused by the earthquake that hit this area a year ago.

On Jan. 8, 2009, at 1:20 p.m., a magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook this area to its foundations, causing mudslides that pushed through and buried everything in their paths. At least 30 people were killed and untold numbers of cattle and other animals perished. Roads crumbled into valleys, taking cars, trucks and passengers down with them.

On a dry, sunny day a year afterwards, the dust hangs in the air and settles lightly on windshields and clothes. Buildings along the route are a mix of sturdy cement block that held together through the shocks and others that appear abandoned, with gaping front doors and windows. Some structures have caved in. The once-popular Vara Blanca Restaurant, famous for its local color and notes on napkins left by patrons, is closed, the front entrance gone.

Before the quake, tourism was an important contributor to this area's economy, which boasts the Poás Volcano National Park, the La Paz Waterfalls and beautiful mountain scenery. Strawberries and dairy products also boosted the economy. Tour buses and private cars, carrying national and international tourists, stopped along the way so that visitors could sample local products. Restaurants, art shops, fishing and rustic cabins catered to tourism. But a year later, these businesses continue to struggle.

“It's coming back, but very slowly,” said businessman Manrique Alfaro, pointing to a near-empty dining room. His restaurant and store in Poasito, just 14 kilometers below the crater of Poás Volcano, was a must-stop for tourists to stock up on snacks or caps and sweaters and hot coffee as they adjusted to the cold upland climate. Tour buses made this a rest stop.

See the Jan. 8 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.

Several Costa Rican government agencies reported Thursday there have not been serious health or natural resource concerns due to falling ash that began with Turrialba volcano's eruption Tuesday.

The Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) announced that the most recent samples from the National Water Laboratory are clean and indicated that the “population adjacent to the Turrialba Volcano can consume the water from their aqueducts.”

The institution said it has been in contact with the 24 rural aqueduct operators in the zone, known as ASADAS, all of whom reported “normality in their potable water systems.”

Officials from the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG) have also visited the zone throughout the past two days. On Thursday afternoon, press officials said that the “few millimeters of ash” that have fallen have not significantly affected crops and have not endangered livestock.

There are 143 registered farms in the zone that are home to 4,415 animals. MAG believes that 800 animals could be at risk if conditions worsen. Thus far, no mandatory animal evacuations have been ordered.

Both institutes have said they are on “high alert” and the heads of both government agencies will visit the affected areas near the volcano Friday.

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) inspected three additional communities on Thursday with a team of experts from the Health Ministry. The groups visited Las Abras, Los Bajos and El Tapojo, near the three communities that were evacuated on Wednesday, to examine respiratory conditions, test resident breathing abilities and check water sources.

On Thursday afternoon, the teams did not report any major concerns.

See this week's Tico Times Top Story for more.