20 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



the headquarters of the Danish botanist, Anders Sandoe 

 Oersted, to whom some of the earliest scientific exploration 

 of Costa Rica is due. At Ciruelas a branch road runs off 

 to Alajuela. Beyond Cebadilla Station the Rio Grande de 

 Tarcoles is crossed by the longest bridge in Costa Rica, a 

 cantilever 452 feet in length and 300 feet above the water. 

 Tablets at the end of the bridge state that it was designed 

 and built by Milliken Bros, of New York. Alongside the 

 single track is a walk about three feet wide for pedestrians. 

 The bridge commands some fine views of Barba and Poas to 

 the northeast, the Aguacate Mountains to the north and 

 northwest and the caiion of the river. To the southwest 

 is a deep notch in the hills marking where the caiion opens 

 to the Pacific but the ocean itself is not visible. 



Atenas was the meal station and as we saw it in October, 

 1909, was an odd place. Under an open shed stood tables 

 on which all the comestibles were spread out to view. There 

 were no plates or forks. Everything was served on "tor- 

 tillas" or maize cakes; — broiled chicken joints, stewed beef, 

 sausages, "picadillo," cheese, omelettes — each portion was 

 laid on a tortilla and the customer picked up what he wanted 

 and finished the meal by eating his "plate." Most of the 

 things were excellent. For drinks there were milk, and 

 coffee "sin 6 con leche" but cooked with dulce or brown 

 sugar, in the Costa Rican style. The town of Atenas is five 

 miles (eight kilometers) distant from the station. Beyond 

 Atenas Station the train ran around the southern base of the 

 bare and steep Aguacate Mountains, wherein are the prin- 

 cipal gold mines of Costa Rica. 



In the wet season the track of the Pacific railroad was 

 often in very bad condition and trains were frequently de- 

 layed for hours owing to landslides. The worst place was 

 at Las Lapas, where the track ran on a shelf cut in a soft de- 

 composed rock which slipped and slid and carried the whole 



