Source: Flickr Commons (Newswire.net -- January 13, 2015) Santa Fe, NM – According to Dr. Hedy Kober, a neuroscientist at Yale University, meditation improves the brain and psychological functioning on a variety of levels. Kober, who says she began practicing meditation to cope with the stresses of ending a relationship, discovered that meditation helped her handle stress and other unpleasant ...

Source: Marriott WESTON, Fla., Jan. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott Hotels, Marriott International's flagship brand, is putting a whole new "POV" on the guest experience by providing GoPro HERO4 cameras at 17 Caribbean and Latin American resorts and hotels. The exclusive offer allows guests to test drive a GoPro HERO4, the most advanced GoPro yet and capture and share all of their adventures...

Source: Cala Luna Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica - January 14, 2015 /MarketersMedia/ --  The online magazine PsychologyToday.com recently featured an article entitled "The importance of vacations to our physical and mental health" written by columnist Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. Dr. Whitbourne writes, "Taking a vacation may be necessary for mental health. The act of taking a vacation or ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons TORONTO, Jan. 5, 2015 /CNW/ - With a cold winter ahead, many Canadians will be escaping down south in search of warmer weather. In fact, Travelocity.ca reveals traffic to their website surges after the holiday season. A new Travelocity.ca survey revealed the majority of Canadians said they enjoy an all-inclusive beach vacation with 65 per cent saying they are easy and...

Source: Facebook The 63rd edition of the renowned Miss Universe international beauty pageant will be held on January 25, 2015 in Miami, and a beautiful woman from Heredia will be representing Costa Rica. It is widely held that the city of Heredia and its environs yield the highest percentage of pretty women in our country, although the communities may disagree on this fact. Still, only two pag...

A new April 2015 Southern Costa Rica: Birding and Nature Tour designed to explore Costa Rica’s rich avian diversity is announced by Naturalist Journeys. Houston, TX (PRWEB) January 01, 2015 - Naturalist Journeys, a top nature and birding tour company, announces a new Southern Costa Rica: Birding & Nature Tour from April 8-18, 2015. Travelers will explore Costa Rica’s stunning array of birds...

Wikimedia Commons When enrolling a foreign student in the educational system of Costa Rica, parents should take into consideration that bullying and aggression between classmates seems to be on the rise in our country. To this end, officials from the Ministry of Public Education (Spanish initials: MEP) advise parents shopping for schools that they should inquire about how the institution handl...

Source: Crocodile Bay Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (PRWEB) January 06, 2015 - Crocodile Bay Eco-Resort located in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, has announced its partnership with Sinergo Development Group to oversee the master planning and development of the first branded residential resort and marina within Costa Rica. The first phase of the project, named The Sanctuary at Osa Peninsula, is ...

Readers of The Costa Rica Star are likely to be familiar with the real estate saga of Hacienda Dorada in Playa Barrigona, province of Guanacaste; after all, the owner of this opulent mansion is none other than Hollywood legend Mel Gibson, who has been trying to sell this particular property over the last few years. It so happens that interest in this property is heating up, and more real estate...

Source: Flickr Commons Greeley, Colorado (PRWEB) January 08, 2015 - Icon Trips and broadcaster Roy Firestone are offering a Costa Rica vacation from June 20 – 27, 2015 with Buffalo football stars Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith. This exclusive vacation allows a limited number of guests to interact with 3 football legends while experiencing Costa Rica’s diverse highlights. Former B...

Source: ACAE The year 2015 will be crucial for a project being developed by the Central American Aerospace Association (Spanish acronym: ACAE), which aims to launch a satellite made in Costa Rica into space for the purpose of monitoring levels of CO2 concentration above the forests of Guanacaste.   According to a news report by Pablo Rojas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, this a...

Source: RREE Speaking from Beijing on January 8th, President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera used strong words to describe his new foreign policy as it relates to the unprecedented and massive economic agreement between the Republic of Costa Rica and the  People’s Republic of China (PRC). As published in a communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:   “We are not here to talk ab...

The luxury real estate market in Costa Rica is growing at a gradual, reserve pace. Until there is a significant surge in demand for luxury properties, homeowners who are looking to earn income from their lavish dwellings should look towards capturing the growing market of travelers looking for upscale accommodations in Costa Rica. To this end, Pure Hospitality Solutions is a firm dedicated to deve...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Geographic Society announced today the launch of National Geographic Private Expeditions, a new line of trips geared toward independent travelers, offered in partnership with Virtuoso®, the leading international network of luxury-focused travel agencies and advisors. Private Expeditions are unique itineraries to destinations all over...

Three elderly tourists from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have lost their lives at sea while enjoying a catamaran cruise off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Acting President Ana Helena Chacon, who is currently in office as President Luis Guillermo Solis is on an official trip to China, held a press conference during which she indicated that 106 passengers were rescued after the...

Source: Wikimedia Commons With regard to the horrific shooting at the offices of French publication Charlie Hebdo in Paris, which claimed 12 lives and was reportedly carried out as a terr or attack on human life and freedom of the press, the government of Costa Rica issued a firm statement of condemnation. Speaking from China on official business, President Luis Guillermo Solis stated: &...

Source: Cruz Roja Costarricense James Michael Lindsay was 67 years old when he tragically passed away in Costa Rica. He was standing in line at an airline counter of the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) when he felt ill and asked for help. Red Cross rescuers on duty at SJO determined that Mr. Lindsay suffered a cardiac arrest and started basic, and later advanced, lifesaving procedu...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Farmers and grocers in Costa Rica sometimes lament certain facts of free trade and globalization; to with: A significant portion of garlic, rice and even black beans, all staples of traditional cuisine in this country, are actually imported from China. Due to the agricultural economic background of Costa Rica, some may consider this to be a trade imbalance; however, s...

Source: Ylang Ylang Resort As 2014 comes to an end, beach resorts in Costa Rica are preparing special activities for their guests, visitors and residents. One such resort is the Ylang Ylang, located on the Puntarenas portion of the Nicoya Peninsula, right near the tip. This resort is close to the coastal town of Montezuma, a prime tourism spot in Costa Rica. Like other beach resorts, Ylang Yla...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Not many scuba divers are aware of the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica as an underwater paradise that begs to be discovered. Diving in this region of Costa Rica can be as rewarding as in the Caribbean; the trick is to getting the timing right. The right time is from now (December) until late April, and the reason is explained below.   Underwater visibi...

Source: Flickr Commons The cost of doing business in Costa Rica is getting a bit more expensive as the national economy adjusts to inflation. For the year 2015, the corporate tax (fee) on active domestic and foreign business entities such as sociedades anonimas (S.A.) and the simpler responsabilidad limitada (S.R.L) has been set at 201,700 colones (about $375 at today’s currency exchange rate)...

Playa Conchal The Westin Golf Resort and Spa in Playa Conchal, province of Guanacaste, has earned the coveted World Travel Awards in two important categories. This grand hotel and upscale golf resort in Costa Rica has been recognized as Mexico & Central America's Leading All Inclusive Resort 2014 as well as Leading Family Resort.   As described by parent company Starwood, &nb...

President Solis President Luis Guillermo Solis is hoping for an economic Chinese New Year in Costa Rica. According to a wire report by international news bureau Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) and published by online news daily El Pais, President Solis will visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in early 2015, and one of the most important items on his agenda is to drum up interest on the is...

Source: Ludacris Instagram Actor and musician Christopher Brian Bridges, better known as Ludacris, is celebrating his engagement in Costa Rica. According to online news website Rap-Up.com, the marriage proposal by the hip-hop star was handled with a lot of style:   Ludacris has put a ring on it. The rapper and his longtime girlfriend Eudoxie Agnan got engaged on Friday.   W...

File Photo An armed man was shot dead by Tourism Police officers in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica after a foot pursuit in a mountainous forest. According to a report by Evelin Andino Espinoza of daily tabloid Diario Extra, Tourism Police officers assigned to Punta Uva of Manzanillo, province of Limon, were in pursuit of various armed suspects when one of them suddenly fired multiple times...

After a false start and a brief period of uncertainty, wireless carrier Movistar quietly released the Alcatel One Touch Fire C smartphone, which is powered by the mobile Firefox operating system initially coded by the Mozilla Foundation as an open source project. As the first Firefox OS smartphone in Costa Rica, this mobile device presents an alternative to the Android, iPhone and Windows Phone un...

Costa Rica from the air Two of the hottest Christmas gifts received by tech and photography enthusiasts around the world were drone aircraft and GoPro high-definition cameras. According to a recent story in All Things Considered, a news program broadcast by National Public Radio in the United States, many YouTube videos posted on Christmas Day featured new drone operators crashing their new, e...

Source: Kirebe.com In keeping with the ongoing trend of upscale and luxury residential neighborhoods in Costa Rica, a renowned developer recently announced a new project that seeks to attract expats and locals who enjoy a safe and pampered, maintenance-free lifestyle. To this effect, residential development firm has acquire 33 hectares of land in a scenic area located 300 meters northwest of t...

Source: Fuerza Publica Along with Puntarenas and Limon, Guanacaste is a province in Costa Rica that is known to attract many revelers for New Year’s Eve celebrations. These provinces also happen to be hotspots of disorderly activity and domestic violence that transpire during the festivities, particularly after 10:00 pm on December 31st. For this reason, officers from Fuerza Publica, the natio...

Source: FEDESURF The ninth edition of the Central American Surfing Games resulted in a ninth consecutive victory for Costa Rica. This year, the games were hosted at the pristine breaks of Puerto de la Paz in La Libertad, Republic of El Salvador, and Tico surfers captured 10 out of 13 gold medals awarded to competitors.   According to a press release by the Surfing Federation of Cost...

Source: Wikimedia Commons In the mid-1990s, alternative rock band They Might Be Giants released a single titled Why Does the Sun Shine? As a way of partial explanation, the band explained that the Sun is a mass of incandescent gas, but the rest of the lyrics provide an answer that would be considered superficial to Advanced Physics researcher Álvaro Chavarría Gordienko from Costa Rica. &nbs...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Ligia Fallas, a legislator who represents the Caribbean city of Limon under the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party, is standing her ground with regard to a derogatory comment she made about Costa Rica in reaction to a port construction project. Last week, Legislator Fallas took to social network Twitter to express her dissatisfaction over the approval given t...

Source: Facebook She is 20 years old and lives near one of the worst spots in terms of gridlock in Costa Rica. Carolina Vargas is a beautiful woman who was recently crowned Señorita San José, which means that she will reign over traditional holiday festivities such as El Tope (equestrian parades), Toros a la Tica (bull runs inside a bullring), the Zapote Holiday Fair, and others. Carolina Varg...

Source: DrinkBai.com In recent years, e-commerce giant Amazon has become the most efficient of Santa’s helpers. To wit: the company recently released amazing facts about its membership-based Amazon Prime service, which allows online shoppers to get lightning-fast deliveries, expedited service and enticing deals just in time for Christmas. It so happens that the last present delivered by Amazon...

Source: Flickr CC The loveable city of San Jose will be filled with horses this Friday, and by the end of the traditional Tope (equestrian parade), there will be plenty of horse fecal matter left on the street and sidewalks of Costa Rica’s capital. As reported by Annie Innecken Zúñiga of daily tabloid Diario Extra, this year’s Tope will begin next to the train tracks on Plaza Gonzalez Viquez; ...

Tactical police units and soldiers from the Nicaraguan Army clashed against farmers who amassed in protest against one of the most controversial, convoluted and quixotic civil engineering projects of the 21st century, the Grand Interoceanic Canal of Nicaragua. According to Mexican newspaper AM Queretaro, the violent demonstrations have left dozens wounded and two or three in critical condition. ...

Source: Blue Osa The Active Times, a major online source of information about active, adventurous and healthy vacations, recently announced its Top Ten List of Health and Wellness Vacations for 2015, and Costa Rica made the list. The Active Times based its Top Ten picks on the following criteria:   For some, "getting away" not only means venturing to a quiet, calm and secluded retreat...

Source: Wikimedia Commons For many decades, the Republic of Costa Rica and the State of Japan have shown the world that they are willing to take a chance on peace by taking on strong, constitutional commitments. Costa Rica did so by abolishing its armed forces; this was a constitutional act was inspired by Japan, a nation which had earlier renounced war itself.   Earlier this month,...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The Big 3 wireless carriers in Costa Rica are expecting a massive spike in voice calls, text messages and mobile Internet use right at the stroke of midnight on the 25th and 31st of December. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have become the favorite delivery method for Christmas and New Year’s greetings in Costa Rica, and users are not particularly conce...

Source: Wikimedia Commons TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 23, 2014) - Tropical adventure came a little bit closer to residents of Alberta this week as Sunwing Vacations launched a new direct flight service from Edmonton to Liberia, Costa Rica. On the way to one of the country's most captivating regions, passengers were treated to award-winning Sunwing Airlines' Champagne Service, which fe...