With China investing heavily in Costa Rica in the last few years, it appears that the Middle East country of Qatar may be taking an investment interest in Costa Rica also. The ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is now in Costa Rica and staying at, The Four Seasons on the Papagayo peninsula. The hotel's ownership is heavily Saudi Arabian and it is the place for those with Muslim … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Internet Fraud On the Rise – Haiti Earthquake Scams
01/18/2010 by 2 Comments
I got an panic email last Saturday about a small Costa Rica online store whose owner got scammed when she went to buy a product and was taken to a phishing website. She elected to pay by e-check, her second biggest mistake. Within seconds her account was cleaned out of several hundred dollars. She asked me what we could do to get her money back? I was sorry to say, "Nothing." Adding, all she … [Read more...]
Billfish Foundation – Presidential Challenge of Costa Rica
01/13/2010 by Leave a Comment
Back in April, 2006 in Playa Carillo, Costa Rica twenty seven anglers kicked off of the Tenth Anniversary Season of the Presidential Challenge of Central America Conservation Series. The Fishing Tournament was design to help conserve and protect Costa Rica's Sportsfishing industry. It has been a long battle to protect Costa Rica's sport fishing of billfish, and no one knows that more than The … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Turrialba Volcano Erupts
01/08/2010 by 1 Comment
Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano erupted on January 6th for the first time in more than a century, spewing ash and prompting the evacuation of about 25 people living in nearby communities. Emergency crews have been watching the volcano for two years. Last week we posted on Volcano Poas Erupting on Christmas day and mentioned that this could be a preamble of what may be in the horizon for the … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Copyright Protection – Government Involvement
01/04/2010 by Leave a Comment
Sometime ago we wrote about how San Jose is cracking down on street vendors. The biggest complains were, hassling of customers in front of stores, illegal aliens, and the big one, selling of pirated CDs and DVDs and counterfeit products like designer clothes. For some time now Costa Rica has been under fire for their lack of enforcement of pirated software, movies and music, even if the … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Volcano Poas Eruptes
01/01/2010 by Leave a Comment
When it comes to Costa Rica volcano's tourist usually think of Arenal, when in reality, the Pacific Ring Fire Circle, Costa Rica has over 200 identifiable volcanic formations However, only 100 or so show any signs of volcanic activity, while just five are classified as active volcanoes. Most of the volcanoes in Costa Rica lie in the northern part of the country and in the Central … [Read more...]
Medical Costs in Costa Rica vs. U.S.
12/28/2009 by 5 Comments
With the cost of medical on the rise, medical tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe should definitely compare the cost of medical treatment in Costa Rica to what it would cost at home. You can reach Costa Rica from just about everywhere in the U.S. and Canada in 12 hours or less; from Europe in well under a day. Costa Rica has eminently qualified doctors, excellent hospitals, … [Read more...]
First IMAX Theater Opens In Costa Rica – 3-D Viewing
12/25/2009 by 6 Comments
IMAX (short for Image MAXimum) is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation whose technology is geared to the 3D. So there is lot of excitement about the new IMAX theater going in Escazú, and no one is more excited than Repretel, the theater operator. Repretel runs several Costa Rica television stations, and viewers have been hammered with lengthy … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Hosts First Medical Tourism Conference
12/22/2009 by 3 Comments
The cat is out of the bag for Costa Rica Health. This week the Central American country found out it will host the first Medical and Well-Being Tourism Conference in late April, 2010. This will reunited some 350 plus operators of health services from more than 20 countries, including insurance companies, self-insurance companies, medical tourism and wellness agencies and investors in the industry. … [Read more...]
Villalobos Investors Suing Costa Rica Government Over Ponzi Scam
12/19/2009 by 18 Comments
Since about 1984 I have pretty much followed the infamous Villalobos brother’s Ponzi scheme of high investment returns who defrauded clients–mostly American and Canadian retirees–out of $400 million in a 20-odd-year unregulated loan scheme that started in the late 1980s. They promised interest rates of 3% per month on a minimum investment of $10,000. Villalobos moved money through shell … [Read more...]
Canada and Costa Rica – Free Trade Treaty and Visas
12/16/2009 by 2 Comments
It’s no secret that North Americans are the dominating foreigners that live in Costa Rica. And because of that, Costa Rica also would like to increase Canadian tourism. It is estimated that some 100,000 Canadians come to Costa Rica each year and about 10,000 Canadians live there, compared to 10 times that amount of Americans. And because of the Canadians tourism and expats, both governments … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Gas Prices Keep Rising – Again In January
12/13/2009 by 1 Comment
For a country that is almost a stones throw from Venezuela , (major oil producer) it would seem the poor Costa Rican would get a break in gasoline. No such luck! About 4 times this year the poor people have seen major gas increases. In fact back in July, a group of 60 commercial tractor trailers backed up the streets between El Coyol de Alajuela and Paseo Colón, on the western side of San José … [Read more...]
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