Seductive Beauty: The Lure and Lore of Orchids

THE BEACH TIMES — Explorers have long met gruesome fates in search of treasure, zealous in their thirst for power and glory. But it was another kind of obsession that killed the men listed above: flowers. Fresh and dewy, aromatic, mist-covered flowers—orchids specifically—brought these soldiers down. And while their circumstances were unique, historians say it’s not...

Some Memories Never Fade, Vets Say

THE GOLDENDALE SENTINEL — Each one of the tattooed barbs on Rick Waddell’s arm represents a fallen soldier—the Marine is willing to concede that much. Furthermore, he will tell you that each Memorial Day he does something special to honor them. Beyond that, the matter is private. Some things, he says, you don’t even tell your wife. “I lost 11 Marines total and not...

Two-Year-Old Shows Family His Will to Live

THE GOLDENDALE SENTINEL — Belinda Cuevas was secretly hoping for a boy. When the ultrasound technician announced she would get her wish, the mother-to-be was thrilled: her baby’s heart was beating, his body was moving and, according to doctors, everything looked normal. She and her husband Joe left the...

Hilltop Turbines Signal The Winds of Change

THE BEACH TIMES — Twelve years ago, a train of cars headed up the long, dirt road that winds towards Arenal, loaded with piles of steel, concrete and rebar. The final goal was to erect 57 wind turbines along the top ridge. At the time, wind energy was nearly unheard of in Central America and, in a developing country still 73 per cent hydroelectric, one might have called the $35 million project visionary. At the...

Nicaraguan Migrants Feel at Home with Baseball

THE BEACH TIMES — From the end of the dirt road heading away from Playa Potrero, muffled yells and hollers can be heard. As one approaches, a dusty field comes in to view where a distantly boisterous scene is unfolding. The field sits back from the road between two encampments of...