A polemic representative from the province of Guanacaste before the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica has unceremoniously left his political seat. Many readers of The Costa Rica Star are probably familiar with legislator Ronal Vargas from the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party; Mr. Vargas is particularly known for his support of the separatist movements of Scotland in the United Kingdom ...

One of the most grueling adventure races in the world is the Coastal Challenge, sometimes known as the Rainforest Run in Costa Rica. The Coastal Challenge is in the category of long-distance trail running, and this Friday the competition wrapped up with an absolute and dominating victory by South African adventure racer Iain Don-Wauchope. According to Fiorella Masis of national newpaper La Naci...

Hacker Paradise, a unique tropical school for entrepreneurial hackers located in the pristine beach town of Playa Carrillo in Guanacaste, recently completed its programming retreat in Costa Rica. Readers of The Costa Rica Star will remember when we first wrote about this interesting academy: At a boutique hotel in the picturesque beach town of Playa Carrillo,province of Guanacaste, a group of pro...

Playa Junquillal is part of the charming communities that make up the Gold Coast of Costa Rica. This quiet beach town is located about 30 kilometers west of Santa Cruz and 20 kilometers south of the major expat enclave of Tamarindo Beach. Playa Junquillal is about as quiet, serene, relaxed, and authentic as you can get in Costa Rica. Here you can find an estuary, choice breaks, a savannah, a handf...

U.S. State Department The most recent batch of nominations sent to the United States Senate by the White House was announced yesterday. These nominations include posts in the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Transportation Safety Board; furthermore, within the nominations we find the future U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Star herewith includes the bio ...

Wikimedia Commons One of the most lucrative crops in Costa Rica has come under heavy criticism from environmental activists and farmers who are concerned about the sustainability of their soil and ecosystems. Pineapples are one of the most enticing cash crops in Costa Rica thanks to heavy demand from developed markets such as Europe. Unfortunately, the mass and indiscriminate farming of pineap...

Source: Amazon Costa Rica is increasingly being chosen as a fictional backdrop by authors who specialize in crime and adventure novels. A few months ago, The Costa Rica Star featured two exciting excerpts of The Specialist: The Costa Rica Job, a novel penned by Charles Peterson Sheppard in collaboration with his brother, reality television star Phillip Sheppard. Now we have David Putnam, a ...

Wikimedia Commons A smoky and hazy issue seems to be unfolding between the Ministry of Public Health (Spanish initials: MSP) and the Chamber of Hotels in Costa Rica. Chamber members are fuming because they consider that the MSP is misinterpreting the Anti-Tobacco Control Law #9028, which has been a source of discontent with regard to its interpretation, implementation and enforcement over the ...

Roxy team surfer Nataly Bernold (PRWEB) February 05, 2015 Chica Surf Adventures offers women of all ages a chance to learn how to surf. They organize exceptional surf camps in places like Costa Rica, Hawaii and Panama. Choice locations, beautiful waves, experienced surf instructors and well planned itineraries make vacationing with Chica Surf Adventures an unforgettable experience. Its surf ca...

Source: Ricardo Retana - Twitter The participation of a top-level public official in the recent march in memory of Jairo Mora has become the subject of political controversy. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star: With picket signs, banners, slogans, songs, and a general feeling of indignation, a march in memory of slain environmentalist Jairo Mora took place in San Jose on Thursday, ...

Source: Spot Serving Costa Rica as a park ranger is a task that can be fraught with peril, particularly when it comes to being assigned to wild nature preserves such as the Corcovado National Park, located in the Osa Peninsula of our country's Southern Pacific coast. The dangers at this pristine, yet dangerous, national park include: snake bites, twisted or broken ankles, exhaustion, dehydrati...

Source: El Sabanero New York, NY (PRWEB) January 21, 2015 - Drishti Yoga Teacher Training today announced that Kurt Reichenberger, owner of El Sabanero Eco Lodge near Tamarindo, Costa Rica has built a brand new yoga shala for their upcoming yoga teacher training in March 2015. For the second year in a row Drishti Yoga Teacher Training announces their Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica will...

Source: Maria Jose Trejos A very stylish and highly sustainable residential housing solution in Costa Rica was designed by architect Maria Jose Trejos on a spec assignment from a client who works as a professional photographer. The idea was to gain inspiration from the work/play philosophy practiced by tech companies such as Google; in essence, to create a space to foster creativity and indust...

Rainforest Alliance In November, the Rainforest Alliance announced the Follow the Farmer contest as part of its popular Follow the Frog campaign. In partnership with the Guardian, a global leader in digital journalism, Follow the Frog 2014 lives under Vital Signs – a destination platform that features a mix of fresh, educational and interactive content developed by the Guardian’s award-winning...

Wikimedia Commons For many young football fans from around the world, their most endearing dream is to one day meet Lionel Messi and Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., the star strikers of the stellar Futbol Club Barcelona team of La Liga in Spain. After all, Argentinian Messi and Brazilian Neymar are widely considered to be the closest embodiments to football legends Diego Armando Maradona and Pelé....

Source: Wikimedia Commons Solo travelers make up an interesting segment of the tourism industry. They are mostly middle-aged women who enjoy traveling by themselves from time to time. Many solo travelers are married and have families with whom they enjoy vacations with most of the time; still, these tend to be affluent and educated tourists who may wish to explore Costa Rica or participate in ...

Source: Pura Vida Bracelets An enterprise previously featured by The Costa Rica Star is now being recognized by the prestigious business magazine Forbes. Paul Goodman and Griffin Thall are the cofounders of Pura Vida Bracelets; in the past, we described their entrepreneurial spirit as follows: When Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman traveled to Costa Rica in 2009 after graduating from San Diego S...

Twin ultrasound. Source: Wikimedia Commons Earlier this year, a couple from Tabarcia, a semi-rural and suburban community in the province of San Jose, arrived in the San Juan de Dios Metropolitan Hospital with high hopes of experiencing the delivery of twin baby girls. This expectation was based on five ultrasound imaging procedures, which showed Ms. Leidy Ureña was pregnant with two girls. Ms...

Rainforest in Costa Rica San Jose, Costa Rica (PRWEB) January 30, 2015 - During the winter months, Getaways Resort Management knows that many travelers want to be able to find amazing destinations that will offer them sunshine and sandy beaches while snow flurries set in back home. Fortunately, there are many of these all around the world, each more beautiful than the last. Costa Rica is one o...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Despite a recent decision by the Central Bank of Costa Rica to allow the United States dollar (USD) to float freely against the colon (CRC), the country’s sovereign debt remains very high while the deficit becomes tougher to manage. As a result, The Costa Rica Star has recently published press releases from Fitch Ratings, which indicate that the sovereign debt outlook...

Source: Green Lava Longtime readers of The Costa Rica Star are probably familiar with how much the video game development industry has grown in our country over the last few years. Now the time has come for this burgeoning industry to take its first steps towards economic maturity and begin earning recognition in the international stage, which is precisely what the press release below from ind...

Go Film Magazine Later this year, film lovers in Costa Rica will once again be treated to a unique, international festival that highlights the many facets of short cinema. The shnit International Shortfilmfestival is hosted around the world in various cities, and San Jose has been once again selected to host this special cinematic event. Go Film Magazine, a publication dedicated to the digi...

Students at Bethel Campus Over the last two decades, the Costa Rica Board of Tourism (Spanish initials: ICT) has been focusing on marketing our country as a premier destination for all types of visitors. Although Costa Rica has traditionally been considered a major destination for ecotourists and adventure travelers, ICT has been successful in attracting visitors who may visit our country for ...

Giamo Jackson Carter Each year, dozens of people from around the world arrive in Costa Rica to volunteer in various special programs and projects that aim to improve the living conditions of both Ticos and foreign visitors in our country. There are many wonderful volunteer opportunities in our country, and one of them is in the teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) field. Despite the ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is probably one of the most recognized professional athletes within the National Football League (NFL) of the United States for several reasons, and one of them is his connection to Costa Rica. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the entire world, and the honor of winning NFL Super Bowl XLIX, whi...

Source: Flick Commons Carry a beer, lose your gun. In essence, such is the gist of a new rule promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica. According to a news report filed by Jason Torres of online news daily CRHoy.com, the new rule calls for law enforcement officers in Costa Rica to confiscate weapons and the actual permit to bear arms from individuals are determined to be in...

Source; Central College News Following a class trip to Costa Rica in 2014, two university students from the United States returned to their campus in the midwestern state of Iowa and sought to complete an environmental science project inspired by their accommodations in our country. While in Costa Rica, Amy Andrews and Ethan Van Koote stayed in little shacks powered by solar panels; in essence...

Mr. Ross Denny This press release is kindly provided by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Costa Rica & Nicaragua From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office First published: 3 February 2015 Part of: Foreign affairs, Costa Rica and Nicaragua Mr Ross Denny has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of...

Partial Endocrine System February 02, 2015 12:21 PM - JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) will convene the first-ever, Pan-American Scientific Symposium: Clinical Endocrinology in Latin America on February 26-28 in San Jose, Costa Rica. “It’s a transcultural opportunity for us to share and adapt our AACE guidelines and educationa...

Hotel Iguanazul Introducing the new Hotel Iguanazul - a truly unique Costa Rican experience Beautifully updated Costa Rican hotel on the Pacific (TRAVPR.COM) CANADA/COSTA RICA - February 2nd, 2015 - The Hotel Iguanazul, a boutique hotel located in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, has recently undergone a wonderful transformation. The upgraded hotel features 24 comfortable guest rooms tha...

Far Corner Theater in Costa Rica Honolulu, HI (PRWEB) January 31, 2015 - Far Corner Community Music Theatre announces that its Costa Rica Program, Musical Theatre Connections, is currently enrolling both high school participants and college interns for youth international programs this summer. Far Corners Community Musical Theatre, a small non-profit organization, brings musicals and other per...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Shortly after law enforcement agents in Sweden conducted a spectacular raid on a data center located just outside of Stockholm, the legendary and notorious file-sharing site The Pirate Bay appeared to have sailed to Costa Rica, landing at the thepiratebay.cr. As reported by The Costa Rica Star just a few days before Christmas, the legitimacy of The Pirate Bay hosted i...

Traveling on a shoestring budget and backpacking through Europe seem to be vestiges of travel trends from the late 20th century. Luxury travel and upscale, all-inclusive vacations are the current hot tourism trend, and Costa Rica seems to be doing quite well in that regard. According to this amazing press release from the Travel Leaders Group in the United States, Cuba is one of the up-and-comi...

The Greenback Starting this Monday, February 2nd, the strongest international currency in the world will no longer be subject to the caps and limits imposed by the Central Bank of Costa Rica over the last eight years. Since October 2006, the value of the United States dollar (USD) against the colón (CRC) was controlled by “bandas cambiarias” (exchange bands), which established a floor and ceil...

Source: Ricardo Retana - Twitter The senseless murder of environmental activist Jairo Mora Sandoval in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica has shaken up the country no only due to its gruesomeness but also because justice has failed to bring closure. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the seven men believed to be responsible for the killing of Jairo Mora Sandoval in late May 2013 were...

In late 2014, when crude oil prices were plunging in the commodities exchanges around the world, consumers were delighted to finally find relief at the pump. In Guatemala, for example, gasoline and diesel prices in December dropped by 23 percent on a year-over-year basis. In Costa Rica, however, the reduction did not even reach 10 percent, and the country still features the most expensive fossil f...

Azimo Screenshot Azimo, a new money transfer network based in London, is quickly expanding its operations with a very enticing offer for people who send remittances to their families abroad. Azimo operates solely online for the purpose of keeping their overhead low and offer the very reasonable fee of just one euro per transfer. In Costa Rica, the physical (brick-and-mortar) cash pick-up l...

The Sarapiqui River A journalist investigating the death of a woman from the United States was physically assaulted by an entrepreneur who provides river rafting tours in Costa Rica. Such was the report published by Diario Extra, the daily tabloid which assigned Alfonso Gatjens to look into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Amanda Hellman, a woman from the U.S. who died in the ...

Source: Tulemar Resort There is a growing list of resort properties in Costa Rica that have been earning the coveted TripAdvisor Awards. This latest TripAdvisor Award recipient is located in the pristine Manuel Antonio National Park in the Southern Pacific coast. Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica (PRWEB) January 30, 2015 - The annual TripAdvisor "Traveler's Choice" awards have been announced, and ...

Playa Hermosa Guanacaste This past Monday, a retired woman from Montreal and her two-year old grandniece tragically drowned in Playa Santa Teresa, located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. According to the Toronto Sun, Andree Hamel rushed into the surf to save little Jasmine, who was born in Costa Rica; alas, both were caught in the strong undertow produced by dangerous rip current condition...