Dogs In Costa Rica – Stray, Puppy Mills and Abuse

  About 2 to four times a month we get these heartbreaking emails from animal lovers about stray dogs that wander the streets.  And of course the story of the man who took a machete to a street dog, who only survived by a generous veterinary,  pretty much had animals lovers in rage. Those loving and caring pet owner know that owning pets, especially dogs, is a big responsibility. … [Read more...]

Increase of Phone Solicitations in Costa Rica

At the end of January two major events took place in Costa Rica. 1) The iPhone craze finally took place when three primary cell phone operators (ICE Kölbi, Móvistar and Claro) started selling the iPhone 4S with numerous plans. At some of the major shopping centers customers bounced like pin balls comparing prices and plans - all three companies say sales have been [very] good in the last … [Read more...]

What Does SOPA and PIPA Have To Do With Costa Rica?

Yesterday many websites were in a World-Wide Blackout against The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, and it's sister bill, Protect IP Act (PIPA), that is currently working their way through the United States Congress and the Senate. These new bills threaten every facet of the internet by letting government regulate what can and can not be seen; a form of censorship -  just like China and Iraq … [Read more...]

Costa Rica’s Unions Strikes – Benefits & Privatization

I don't know if it is just me, but it seems like every time you turn around Costa Rica is having some sort of labor strike. Last Monday, about 2000 union workers of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) (government monopoly on power and light company) went on strike, and snarled traffic on several major streets in and around San Jose. They were protesting a bill in the Legislative … [Read more...]

Costa Rica’s Internet Future – IPv6, Competition and Fraud

The world’s most advance technology will have it  20th Birthday on Aug, 8th; thats when the “World Wide Web (www)” first gained a public face in 1991. CERN, which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, publicized the new World Wide Web project, two years after,  British scientist Tim Berners-Lee had begun creating HTML, HTTP and the first few Web pages at CERN. The World Wide … [Read more...]

Costa Rica and China Make Another Free Trade Deal

One of the biggest bummers in Costa Rica is their infamous import tax, a horrendous tax that is applied to so-called luxury items, such as boats, vehicles and electronics. A tax that makes these items VERY expensive. Anyone that has tried to import a vehicle knows how a $10,000 vehicle can quickly become a major investment and/or headache. However, this week may have changed that.  It is no … [Read more...]

Tipping Now Taxed In Costa Rica’s Restaurants and Bars

A tip (also called a gratuity) has always been a special thanks to a server for good service. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom and etiquette and usually are around 10%  plus of the total bill. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. In Costa Rica, those that provide services in restaurants and bars or unskilled labor make less than $2/hr (more like $1/hr … [Read more...]

Marketing Your Business in Costa Rica – Articles

There are many ways to market ones Costa Rica business and one of them was to submit articles.  There are websites called, article directories (dubbed, Content Farms) that accept numerous articles from numerous authors. A couple of well known places are EzineArticles.com and Buzzle.com. These Content Farms helped send traffic (by your author and/or business link) over to your website. But … [Read more...]

Costa Rica Fire Department – Lack of Funds

When it comes to fires, search and rescue, protecting life and property and when disasters strikes there is no public and volunteer respectable service as a cities or nations Fire Departments. So when Costa Rica's Finance minister, Fernando Herrero Acosta proposed a new tax plan this week to allocates a percentage of tax money for Education, social programs, security and justice for a total of 68 … [Read more...]

Tobias Bolaños International Airport Security – Pavas, Costa Rica

Most tourist think that Costa Rica has just two international airports, Juan Santamaria International Airport and Liberia's, Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport -  thats not so. Tobias Bolaños International Airport in Pavas, San Jose is getting known as a private hub for the rich and famous, main airport for various activities of the industry and for its domestic and  international small … [Read more...]

Stupid, Bizarre and Lack of Common Sense Questions on Costa Rica

We get a lot of questions asked about Costa Rica everyday and some are very good and well others … well, let me put it this way, we wonder about the brain cells of some of the teachers that are teaching  schools nowadays. So in the last year, we have collected a bunch of questions that users have asked at Yahoo answers, Frommers, and other chat or forum or travel websites and thought we would … [Read more...]

Poaching of Costa Rica Sea Turtle Eggs – Turtle Poll

If you are over 50, have traveled a lot or lived in Mexico or Central America, particularly the coastal areas, you ate turtle. Sea Turtle is an awesome tasting seafood, whose bright-red, bloody meat would turn angel white just seconds after hitting a fry pan that was lightly seasoned in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Turtle meat and eggs are a delicacy and a way of life in many countries, … [Read more...]