CHAPTER XX 



GUANACASTE PUNTARENAS TO LIBERIA 



La Informacioii, a daily paper of San Jose, said in its 

 issue of January 6, 1910, "The Commission for qualifying 

 the teaching personnel, composed of Professors Obregon, 

 Tristan, Perez Martin and Orozco, leaves today for Guana- 

 caste to examine and qualify the teachers who offer service 

 in that province. The Commission goes to Liberia where 

 it will pass some days and thence to Santa Cruz where it 

 will pass others in fulfilment of its duties. The Commission 

 will be joined in Guanacaste by Don Salvador Villar." 



This Commission was sent out by the Ministry of Public 

 Instruction. Professor Tristan told me that the Subsecre- 

 tary of this department learned that he and I had been 

 planning an excursion to Guanacaste, the northwestern prov- 

 ince of Costa Rica, at this time (the long vacation in the 

 schools here) and gave orders, after receiving the consent of 

 the President of the Republic, that I should have the privilege 

 of accompanying the Commission. The expenses of the jour- 

 ney were paid by the Government for me as well as for the 

 members of the Commission and as I had had no thought 

 of such a thing and had made no requests of any kind this 

 action came as a great surprise. 



The railroad ride from San Jose to Orotina (which we 

 reached at 12.15 P- ^^•) ^^^ uneventful. At the latter 

 place the Jefe Politico called on us and we accompanied him 

 to the municipal building on the plaza. It was a two-storied 

 wooden structure, the lining of the walls and the ceilings 

 being of the same material. Repairs to the ceiling were in 



