Well, you knew it was going to happen, and it did. Personally, I would have bet on Guatemala or Nicaragua claiming the first case. But Central America's Costa Rica confirmed its first case of swine flu in a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman who returned to San Jose from Mexico. Hours before the case was confirmed, assembly president Francisco Antonio Pacheco asked legislators to avoid handshake and … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2009
Golfito – Costa Rica’s Ecotourism & Sportfishing
04/27/2009 by Leave a Comment
The first time I heard of Golfito, I thought it was some golf resort - not a sport that many (if any at all) Costa Rican's knew about. Golfito, literally meaning, "little bay" in Spanish, is referred to as the last frontier. It is considered a remote and secluded region of the country, Southern Pacific portion of the province of Puntarenas that’s separated from the open Pacific Coast by the … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Lifeguard Service
04/25/2009 by 6 Comments
One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "How safe are Costa Rica's beaches?" And having been a competition swimmer, driver, surfer, and former lifeguard in San Diego, my answer is three questions, "How good of a swimmer are you?" and "Can you spot a rip current and how to get out of one?" Since about the early eighties when US surfers discovered the unreal wave action in Costa Rica, … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Drug War – New Hub For Drug Traffickers
04/22/2009 by 1 Comment
With Mexico’s violent Cartel Drug War prompting the US State department to issue warning to Mexico travelers, the question now becomes, “Is Costa Rica Becoming the New Hub of Drug Traffickers?" The US $200 million aid to Mexico hasn't help stop the drug trade violence which is getting worse. Kidnappings and random killings are now a everyday occurrences. With that said, the traffickers are … [Read more...]
Tipping and Gratuities – Costa Rica
04/20/2009 by 4 Comments
Foreigners are told that hotels and restaurants add a percentage (usually 10%) into the bills to tip the employees, so there is no need to tip. Grant you that is true, but that percentage is suppose to get dispersed in fair and equal percentage to all the employees, like the busboy, cook, kitchen help etc. However, the time it filters down to the poor little waitress, that ran her ass off to … [Read more...]
Costa Rica, Rod Blagojevich and Robert Vesco
04/16/2009 by Leave a Comment
When I heard that the ousted major of Chicago, Rod Blagojevich, who pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering and fraud charges last Tuesday is trying to become a contestant in a reality show to be filmed in Costa Rica, my head shook slowly, dropping to my chest. I understand that Costa Rica’s economy is bad right now (tourism down 50%) but really, is Costa Rica that hard up? It appears the … [Read more...]
Cell Phones in Costa Rica. Renting, ICE and Coverage
04/15/2009 by Leave a Comment
Time and time again, I get questions about cell phones, whether or not US cell phones will work in Costa Rica. First, let’s make it very clear; Costa Rica is not like the US cell phone companies, where there are a bunch of “competition.” Costa Rica has only one cell phone company, and it is a government run and operated monopoly, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE). “Okay. No big … [Read more...]
Monkey Population Declines In Costa Rica
04/14/2009 by 2 Comments
A few days ago I wrote about how over feeding monkeys can kill them. The other day I read a recent report of, how Costa Rica has lost over half of its monkey population since 2000. What these eco- gurus are saying, "There are three reasons why the population is dwindling. 1) Developers are the main cause by expanding their developments into the monkeys habitat, thus it isolate them in small … [Read more...]
Common Sense Travel – How Not to Get Robbed in Costa Rica
04/12/2009 by 8 Comments
On a recent post in Yahoo Answers, one of the major contributor’s wrote; He was not even in the country for 30 minutes when he got robbed in the parking lot. San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and the hub of all travelers with San Jose Airport, has been having real problems with violent crime these days. You have to remember, it is a major city, and with that said, there are a lot of poor … [Read more...]
Feeding and Killing Costa Rica Monkeys
04/10/2009 by Leave a Comment
Someone told me or I read, how humans discovered chocolate was monkey’s eating the beans. So, the old story that monkeys mimic humans, isn’t it the other way around? In reality, there is nothing more thrilling to feed a wild animal, and in Costa Rica, monkeys are no exception. However, there is harm when over-feeding monkeys as there is with any wildlife. Monkeys are highly susceptible to … [Read more...]
Costa Rica and China – Caribbean Refinery, Investments, Bonds and Aid
04/08/2009 by 1 Comment
Is China using its $1.8 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest such cache of foreign currency, to further its political and diplomatic goals, despite promises that it would not do so? Are they using these reserves to win the support of the people, by first building the $84 million, new National Soccer Stadium in Parque La Sabana for the Costa Rica Sports and Recreation … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Federation of American Football – FCFA
04/06/2009 by 19 Comments
Every time someone asks the question in Yahoo Answers, “Is [American] football played in Costa Rica?” the answers are usually somewhat, rude. “Look idiot, Soccer is Futbul you lame brain!” or “That’s a stupid American game!” For years, any American style football played in Costa Rica was usually a bunch of college kids or ex-football players, playing touch or flag on some beach or soccer … [Read more...]
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