Blog
The Invisible Enemy
Saying that we are eating plastic sounds like an overstatement, but it’s literal. Although plastic isn’t served for lunch, or with our coffee, we can find it hidden in water, in salt, in fish, and...
Between two waters
In 2016, Jurgen and I visited Playa Ventanas for the first time, in Ojochal, in the Pacific Southwest of Costa Rica. It is very easy to get to: it is about 30 km south of Dominical, on the Costanera...
The language of stones
Visiting the cultural centre in Trench Town was the best decision we made during our trip to Jamaica. Not only did we learn, in a more genuine way, how Bob Marley got his start in music, but we also...
In Praise of Bacteria
In his wildly imaginative book Imaginary Magnitude (1973), Polish author Stanislaw Lem introduces Eruntics, a fictional treatise in which a philosopher describes how he taught English to a colony of...
Teaching to Protect
When I read about the ecological challenges facing Latin America, I realize how urgent it is to change our perspective. I’m increasingly convinced that education is one of the most powerful tools we...
Multicolored squawk: A Telaraña about toucans
In January 1854, after a three-month journey from Germany to San Juan del Norte, in Nicaragua, naturalist Carl Hoffman was about to arrive to Costa Rican. The greatest adventure of his life was...
Will women save the planet?
In the 1960s, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring (1962): one of the most influential works on environmental protection ever written. Her message went viral, long before that concept became popular....
I’m bad, so what? A “Telaraña” on hate speech
It all started with Silvio Berlusconi. Despite being accused of tax evasion, abuse of power, money laundering and rape of minors, Berlusconi was elected three times as Italy's prime minister. He was...
Kamikazes
About 25 years ago, the festivities in my town, 'Churuca', were among the most outstanding in Cartago. They were renowned for their family atmosphere and the quality of their gastronomy, with...
The Color of Hope
From prison, Otto recalls how not wearing his uniform fully marked the beginning of his distance from school and his approach to crime. He felt stupid, ridiculed and preferred to "hang out with...
Working to exhaustion
Last Tuesday, January 21, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly passed favorably the 4x3 exceptional workdays bill, known as 12-hour workdays, and sent it to the plenary to...
Waste Management Crisis in Costa Rica’s Greater Metropolitan Area
In October 2024, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health raised alarms about the accelerated decreasing lifespan of landfills in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM). The GAM is home to half of the country’s...