If you want to get a overall look at Costa Rica's country side there is nothing like Aerial photos of cities, hotels, beaches, towns, landmarks, coastline and general landscape. Some of the photos include, Flamingo Beach, Osa Peninsula, Palo Seco, Gulf of Papagayo, San Jose, Santa Ana, Dominical, Playa Conchal, Quepos and Golfito. Click on any photo to start the slideshow. … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Street Signs and Addresses. “ We don’t need no stinking street sign!”
07/03/2012 by 6 Comments
I had to laugh the other day when the Wall Street Journal wrote an article on how Costa Rican's find addresses - a country where street names or addresses are fictional. Any expat will tell you, "It is a challenge, hassle, and at most time’s pure frustration to find any home, residents, or business." Costa Ricans use the infamous Landmark System (based on distances). Wall … [Read more...]
Trivia, Odd and Weird Facts About Costa Rica
05/14/2012 by 4 Comments
Below are some interesting, odd, trivia, tidbits and weird facts about Costa Rica. Some will make you smile, relate to and may even be educational. All in all, if you have some more, please put them in the comment section at the end of this this article. FOOD The first fast food chain was McDonald, which began in operations in Costa Rica in 1970. But in May 2011 it was shut down (and another) … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Dry Law – Eliminate the Prohibition Ley Seca?
03/30/2012 by 2 Comments
One of the things that Gringo's have always been puzzled on is Costa Rica' very old "dry law” (Ley Seca); a liberal law that prohibits sales of liquor, wine and beer at Easter and Christmas, besides elections and such sectarian holidays as Sept. 15 (Independence Day). Bars are supposed to be closed … but as most know, it usually is the front door only! Establishments … [Read more...]
Increase of Phone Solicitations in Costa Rica
02/10/2012 by Leave a Comment
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?
01/19/2012 by 1 Comment
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...]
Thanksgiving in Costa Rica
11/24/2011 by Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago at the Auto Mercado in Jaco, it was very evident that even if Thanksgiving is not a Costa Rican holiday, is sure is one of the most celebrated American holidays in Costa Rica. Signs were up for the holiday and products were already being displayed. Frozen turkeys, stuffing mix (including popular brands like Stove Top), salad fixing, sweet potatoes, green bean casseroles, mashed … [Read more...]
Halloween in Costa Rica – Sexy Costumes and Partying
11/15/2011 by 3 Comments
For the last four years I have been drawn like a magnet to San Jose, Costa Rica for Halloween. A few years prior I read a blog where the Blogger wrote how Halloween in Costa Rica is considered nothing but a "Gringo's" pagan holiday, that was designed to seduce small children with candy and "not" an acceptable celebration among Ticos. Then it went on about this haunting, peasant folklore of El … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Unions Strikes – Benefits & Privatization
10/04/2011 by 2 Comments
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
08/05/2011 by Leave a Comment
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 Tourism; Quest for Pura Vida & National Convention Center
06/18/2011 by 2 Comments
Costa Rica Tourism is back on the rise after a relatively flat 2010. Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) reports that total number of visitors is up 7% or 45,000 more visitors in the first quarter of 2011. This is great news for tourism and there are even bigger changes on the horizon. Tourism is Costa Ricas’ number one industry and if the size and scope of many projects and initiatives on the table … [Read more...]
Uranium Weapons Banned in Costa Rica – No Free Trade Zone
04/29/2011 by 2 Comments
This week Costa Rica got a lot of world-wide attention with three hot news stories. A Costa Rican court sentenced former president Miguel Angel Rodriguez to five years in prison Wednesday after finding him guilty of taking bribes from French telecoms giant Alcatel. Alcatel is no stranger to kickbacks, in Dec, 2010, US Securities and Exchange Commission nailed them with 137 million U.S. … [Read more...]
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