When Twitter crashed and Facebook had problems yesterday, the Blogs exploded with it. When Twitter finally came back online, the Tweets peppered the Social Media website of crying, bitching and blab blab blab. So how does this effect Costa Rica? It is pretty simple actually; the Tweets go to the profiles of the Twitter, who nonchalantly ask people to follow them. Their links they usually … [Read more...]
Is Skype Shutting Down In Costa Rica?
08/04/2009 by 3 Comments
When Skype voice over-the-internet system was offered in Costa Rica, it was a welcome alternative to ICE's monopoly on phone services. For a flat rate, Costa Ricans could call just about anywhere for a fraction of the cost … now that may change due to a legal spat over a licensing agreement. Online retailer eBay bought Skype in 2005 for about US$2.6 billion. HOWEVER, that deal didn't include … [Read more...]
Costa Rica NatureAir – Kids Fly Free – Flying Tips
07/31/2009 by Leave a Comment
Getting around Costa Rica can be a pain in the ass when taking land transportation, like renting a car or any type of bus, either public, shuttle or private. When one vacations, just traveling from San Jose to Jaco (the closest beach) the 1 1/2 hr drive can be a full day of adventure, but more likely, stressful, due to traffic and weather conditions ... so flying is the way to go to allow more … [Read more...]
Medical Tourism in Costa Rica – Wellness, Rehab, Surgery
07/22/2009 by Leave a Comment
The other day, an question was asked in Yahoo answers, "Why is everybody wearing nurse scrubs?" Adding sarcastically, "God you can't tell me that every single person in this country wants to be in the medical field." First, I'm, proud to say, every answer was something like this, "The medical industry is one of very few industries actually growing during the recession" or "Powerful professions … [Read more...]
Brief History of Quepos, Costa Rica
07/10/2009 by 1 Comment
Quepos is known for, a place where the rainforest meets the sea, and is on a tropical inlet about halfway down Costa Rica's Pacific coast on the Puntarenas Province. The town gets its name from the Quepo Indian tribe, a subgroup of the Borucas, who inhabited the area at the time of the conquest. As a result of diseases brought by Europeans, warfare and other Indian groups, and … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Worst Tourist – The French?
07/09/2009 by Leave a Comment
A few years ago I watched a French guy literary tear this poor waitress apart in verbal abuse. I don't know what cause him to rip into her, all I know is the poor girl was in tears and I felt sorry for her ... maybe this article explains a lot ... PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according … [Read more...]
Underwater MP-3 – A Must For Costa Rica Recreation
06/18/2009 by Leave a Comment
When I find a cool new product especially one that is designed for sports and recreation (ziplinging, surfing, hiking, sportfishing, river rafting etc etc) this is going to be almost a must when traveling to Costa Rica. Unlike ipods (which get damaged easy, expensive, and the waterproof case that one pays extra and leaks all the time) this 2 GB Audio WATERPROOF MP3 Player with arm strap and … [Read more...]
Shipping and Moving to Costa Rica – Cars – Personal
06/14/2009 by 17 Comments
Okay, you want to pull up stakes and move to Costa Rica ... now what is it going to cost? It's important to understand that shipping anything to Costa Rica, expect the unexpected, because Costa Rica is known for its very high import duties. The two shipping ports are Limon (Caribbean side) and Puntarenas (Pacific Side). After several garage sales and dealing with idiots on Craig's List, … [Read more...]
WHO Declares Swine Flu A Pandemic
06/11/2009 by Leave a Comment
The World Health Organization declared the swine flu a pandemic today (Thursday) — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere. Tico Times editors note: As of this writing there have been ONLY a couple of new reported cases of swine flu in Costa Rica and no reported new deaths. Costa Rica is still a safe … [Read more...]
Tourism and Airlines Tickets Are Down
05/31/2009 by Leave a Comment
No doubt Costa Rica's tourism is down due to the instability of the economy, particularly the US were Costa Rica gets a majority of their tourists. This in turn has also lead to the layoffs of 1000s of workers and off course the belt-tightening of businesses. However, all is not lost, and if there was a time to take a trip down south, this is the best time to do it. Several things are … [Read more...]
Rising Costa Rica Credit Card Fraud
05/26/2009 by 1 Comment
With the economy suffering, credit card fraud is higher then it has ever been in Costa Rica. In the last few months, just the Tico Times Directory, the fraud attempts have tripled. A month ago, we received payment for a statewide ad to rent a car, condo and cell phone. Ten days after the ad was placed we were informed by Paypal the card was unauthorized and the money removed from our account. In … [Read more...]
Worst Motorcycles Drivers Are Costa Ricans
05/19/2009 by 2 Comments
I'm in the technology business and own a tech company here in San Jose. My favorite past time is riding my Harley Davidson as it has been for the past 40 + years. I've lived in a number of countries and have ridden in many more but I have to say the worst motorcycle riders I have ever seen are here in Costa Rica. Tico Times Directory Editor's Note: Raising gas prices have caused a surge of … [Read more...]
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