Hi, dear friends of the IECR blog, 

I like to inform you that on June 10^th, the group of students of the Troy University visited the look-out Tiquicia.

This is a place located on the top of the mountains of the Western part of Escazù, about 6561.8 feet above sea-level. This is a spectacular place so as to appreciate a precious view all over the capital and a charming performance of folcloric dances of Costa Rica and the Carribbean region.

During our ride our guide provided us interesting information regarding the village of Escazú (where the lookout is located). The night was fabulous since we enjoyed a cloudless sky which allowed to observe the spectacle of millions of lights of the city.

By the way did you know that San Jose was the first city to be illuminated in whole Latin America? This was in the year 1888.

The night started by the sound of marimba music, which was the first “cultural ingredient”. Then our host explained to us the history of the place where we were.

In former times this place had been a sugar factory, which is called “trapiche”. The sugar canes were pressed by the help of oxes to obtain the sugar cane juice. Afterwards the juice had been cooked in huge bowls and then poured into big molds called tapas.  The finished product is called tapa de dulce.This building is more than 100 years old and has been conserved in very good conditions, which made its visit even more attractive.

After this part, a typical Costa Rican dinner had been served which included a special beverage called “witches´ blood” consisting in a combination of different local red-colored fruits. It was interested to learn that the village of Escazu is known to be a place where a great number of witches had been living in former times. That´s why this beverage is called “witches blood”.

After dinner the dancing presentation started where we felt to have stepped back into former Colonian Costa Rica. The dancers used clothing like in former times, with beautiful colors which put special emphasis on that night. The dancing performance had been divided into two times: the first one focus on the colonial style and the second one focusing on the dances of the Carribbean side of Costa Rica with soca and carnival dances that invited all the spectators to dance.

I recommend you to visit this place because it ´s representative for the architecture, dances, music and gastronomic part of Costa Rica.As the end of the event came closer, most of the visitors seized the chance and danced to the Latin music and we said good-bye to the city lights … it had been a marvelous night and I hope you will have the chance to have one too in this special place …. Till soon!