El Avion Restaurant and Bar, 22 Manuel Antonio Road, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica Two major tourism spots in Costa Rica are made from decommissioned aircraft that used to fly around the world. The Costa Rica Star has previously reported on these two unique attractions: One is a former United States military cargo plane with an interesting Cold War background that has been converted into a bar...

The uncomfortable two-week strike by dock workers in the Caribbean ports of Costa Rica was closely watched by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, the ITF was not pleased with the poor handling by the government and by the violent actions that surrounded the strike. Before the strike ended, 400 cruise ship tourists were directly affe...

Source: La Ruta Facebook Portuguese rider Luis Alberto da Costa Leão Pinto of Team Scotiabank conquered the 22nd edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica, one of the toughest mountain bike competitions in the world, by winning two of the three stages of this grueling race. Mr. Leão Pinto had a very strong first stage between Jaco Beach and Atenas, crossing the finish line at 4...

One of the most significant information technology trends in recent years has been the learn-to-code movement, endorsed by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and even Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. To this end, programming boot camps have emerged as popular teaching methods to introduce novices to the intricate world of coding. In Costa Rica, an international coding boot camp has chosen Playa...

The Paniamor (Bread & Love) Foundation in Costa Rica is a non-governmental organization that seeks to reaffirm and enforce the rights of children in our country; particularly with regard to preventing violence and sexual abuse. A strong focus of the Paniamor Foundation is on the prevention of child trafficking and sexual tourism. In recent years, Paniamor’s Executive Director Milena Grillo has...

The Guanacaste province continues to lead the way in terms of luxury resort development in Costa Rica. Earlier this year, The Costa Rica Star reported on the development activity by the Apple Leisure Group at the massive Santa Elena tourism complex in La Cruz of Guanacaste; that project has been finalized just in time for the high tourist season, which is just a few weeks away. Here is the officia...

Source: Llovera Comida As a charitable organization in Costa Rica is preparing to feed thousands of indigent people who make the streets of San Jose their home, a 90-year old man in Florida has been arrested for doing the same thing for his beloved community. Arnold Abbott, a World War II veteran and kind-hearted man, was arrested along with two Christian ministers by the Fort Lauderdale Polic...

Envision is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that seeks to provide a platform for different cultures to inspire one another to co-create sustainable community and practice yoga, spirituality, art, music, dance performance, education and acknowledge our fundamental connection with nature. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star:   Some gatherings around the world have become emblema...

It has been a difficult week for some users of the instant messaging mobile app WhatsApp in Costa Rica. A few weeks ago, social media giant Facebook acquired WhatsApp in a multi-billion dollar transaction that recalled the heady days of the Dot Com Bubble and its subsequently calamitous crash on Wall Street. More than 600 million WhatsApp users around the world worried that some Facebook featur...

Source: OVSICORI It's been five days since scientists from the Observatory on Seismology and Volcanology of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) and the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) climbed to the top of the Turrialba volcano along with emergency management officials after a powerful eruption.. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, geologists, petrologists, vo...

Source: Joel Campbell's Facebook Timeline Star striker Joel Campbell may be getting ready to exit the Arsenal Football Club of the vaunted Barclays Premier in England. Such have been recent reports published by Sports Vibe, the Daily Star and even Calcio Mercato. Transfer rumors are in full gear as the talented forward from Costa Rica, who was a magician on the pitch during the 2014 FIFA World...

At the 13th edition of the National Journalism Awards in Mexico, a special investigative report about drug trafficking in the Latin American nations of Costa Rica, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela was given special recognition. The special report was published on the Sunday pages of the esteemed Mexican newspaper El Universal, and it received accolades for the accuracy of its sources,...

A special geodesic instrument similar to devices that connect to the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network will measure minuscule terrain changes near the Turrialba volcano for the purpose of assessing future eruptions. In the meantime, the forecast for acid rain in some regions of Costa Rica remains along with warnings about continuing ash clouds. Scientists from the Observatory on...

The future of one of the most lucrative and controversial crops in Costa Rica is being discussed by major business and agricultural players at the Cariari Double Tree by Hilton near San Jose. The International Pineapple Organization (IPO) Global Pineapple Conference is the world's most important trade meeting on Ananas comosus, a fruit that has resulted in major profits for farmers in Costa Rica w...

A very special and unusual tourism activity in Costa Rica consists of releasing baby sea turtles just as soon as they hatch, thereby helping them to reach the surf for the first time as they begin their long lives in the ocean. A few tourist resorts participate in this unique activity, and Manuel Antonio's Tulemar is one of them. Here is a recent press release issued by Tulemar on this topic: T...

Hundreds of cruise ship tourists who arrived in Costa Rica to explore the natural beauty and hospitality of the Caribbean region were instead trapped in their tour buses for hours as a result of the dock workers strike in the ports of Limon and Moin. The strike, which recently came to an end thanks to the intervention of the Ombudsman, lasted two weeks and was tainted by violence perpetrated by cr...

What do you consider to be the perfect Costa Rica vacation? Your answer is bound to reflect your personality, but many of you will probably think about achieving a perfect balance of thrills and relaxation while trying to have as much fun as possible. If you are looking for ideas on what to do the next time you are in Costa Rica, this 12-step guide by a young and fashionable woman from Spain will ...

Ms. Wilkinson, left. Source: Wikimedia Commons Fans of reality television are bound to get tearful as they watch a new episode of Kendra on Top this week. Kendra on Top stars celebrity Playmate Kendra Wilkinson, a beautiful blonde who is best remembered for her time spent as the one-time romantic interest of the founder of Playboy Enterprises, Hugh Hefner. The latest episode of her reality TV ...

Source> Wikimedia Commons After a lengthy meeting that ran into the late night hours of Wednesday, the government of Costa Rica and the powerful dock workers' union in the Caribbean region signed an agreement to put an end to the strike that started on October 22nd in the ports of Limon and Moin. The strike, which had turned violent and extremely political at times, seemed as if it would ne...

Buyurun and hoş geldiniz are two Turkish expressions that members of the hospitality and tourism industry of Costa Rica will likely utilize in the near future. These two warm phrases are variations of “welcome,” and they will come in handy when direct flights between Istanbul and San Jose are offered by Turkish Airlines in the future, inşallah (God willing) good relations between Turkey and Costa ...

The 2014 Miss Latina Internacional Gay beauty pageant will be hosted for the first time in Costa Rica, and it will feature two separate events. On Friday night, the transgender contestants will be introduced at the Ribs Bar and Restaurant in San Joaquín de Flores; the gala event and awards ceremony will take place at the Lucho Barahona Theater in San Jose on Saturday night. Organizer Ricardo Casti...

Thanks to JetBlue Airways, residents of the Greater Boston area in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can now board a flight from Logan International Airport (BOS) and in just a few hours they could find themselves enjoying the pristine beaches of Costa Rica's Gold Coast. On November 1st, JetBlue announced a strategy to connect New England residents with choice Latin American and Caribbean destinat...

From mid-September to late October, French coffee connoisseurs learned about how coffee shapes the lives of residents of Costa Rica through a special photographic exhibit. At La Caféothèque de Paris, located near the Pont-Marie, Saint-Paul metro station, coffee is extremely serious business, and it was here where the work of seven Tico photographers who focus on coffee-related subjects recently to...

With spa vacations and delicious traditional cuisine, officials from the National Tourism Board of Costa Rica (Spanish initials ICT) are currently in London along with 32 tour operators and hoteliers for the 2014 World Travel Market. In preparation for this event, the ICT contacted 25 important tourism business entities in the United Kingdom and key Eruopean markets for the purpose of making our c...

Source: OVSICORI Conditions have slightly improved for the agricultural communities that lie on the skirts of the Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica. Incandescence and isolated events of pyroclastic flow are still being detected, which is why the Turrialba National Park remains off-limits to visitors; however, the danger presented by eruptions of ash and great blocks of igneous volcanic matter ha...

Do you know about the Promising Artists of the 21st century in Costa Rica? This program is fostered by the United States Department of State to showcase prestigious young artists who will, without a doubt, become some of the biggest stars of the 21st century? Many of these young artists from the U.S. go on to achieve international renown. Here’s a recent press release from High Point University of...

Faced with a growing population and increased criminality in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Public Safety has been working on modernizing their police operations. Donations of squad cars by China, forensic ballistic systems by Canada, aircraft acquisitions, new equipment for the National Coast Guard Service, a cybercrime center, electronic fingerprinting databases, and more. Amidst all these attempts...

Until a few days ago, one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world featured a route that would take competitors through a region affected by the ongoing magmatic eruptions of the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago. La Ruta de los Conquistadores is an adventure and endurance race that takes riders through some of the same routes that claimed the lives of thousands of conquistadors...

Source: Fuerza Publica A 33-year old man who powered his motorcycle through a law enforcement roadblock in municipality of Grecia was found in possession of counterfeit United States dollar bills totaling $4,600. Officers assigned to the Fuerza Publica (Costa Rica’s national police force) detachment in Grecia stopped the suspect after he attempted to evade a security checkpoint set up on a mai...

Source: Wikimedia Commons As key officers from the Directorate of Intelligence Services (Spanish initials: DIS) in Costa Rica continue to testify before the Legislative Assembly about the shadowy agency’s questionable budget allocation and spending, lawmakers are beginning to lose their patience. Although the focus of the panel assembled to look into the murky DIS affairs is on major spending ...

Economists and business leaders gathered this Monday at the San Jose Palacio Hotel to discuss a topic that is in the minds of millions in Costa Rica and others with financial ties to this country: ¿Hacia dónde vamos?  (Where Are We Headed?). The 17 experts agreed that this nation is in deep economic crisis, but they also agreed that not all hope is lost. This business forum was hosted by Summa Con...

Source: Ge PC Facebook Days after the powerful magmatic eruption of the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago, ash clouds and acid rain are affecting the lives of thousands of residents in Costa Rica. The impact of this geological aftermath has had a negative effect on public health and the agricultural sectors, but the tourism economy in the region has yet to report losses.   ...

News about Britanny Maynard, the 29-yeard old California woman who took her own life by means of assisted suicide this weekend, are spreading around the world and prompting debate about euthanasia and the right to die with dignity. In Costa Rica, the Constitutional Chamber (known as Sala Cuarta) has recognized the human right to receive medical treatment to alleviate pain and suffering; however eu...

Earlier this morning, a Russian man naturalized as a Costa Rican citizen was arrested by Fuerza Publica (Costa Rica's national police force) for allegedly perpetrating a mass shooting, whch resulted in a series of missed shot with the exception of a woman who was shot in the leg. The incident occurred in Barrio Cordoba in San Jose, near the Centro Comercial del Sur shopping plaza.   Acc...

There used to be a dengue season in Costa Rica, and it used to coincide with the green (rainy) season. That is no longer the case; climate change and a mutational process has caused the Aedes aegypti mosquito species to thrive year-round and spread beyond the tropics. Dengue fever prevention is now a constant job for La Caja, Costa Rica's public health system, and the latest campaign focuses on th...

On Sunday morning, animal rights activists in Costa Rica gathered at the nation's capital and started walking towards the Presidential Office in Zapote. Carrying banners and picket signs, participants chanted slogans that called for a resolution to advance a legislative proposal that calls for punishment of those who commit acts of animal cruelty. President Luis Guillermo Solis allowed eight re...

The mobile app development field in Costa Rica has been growing very rapidly in recent years. One of the latest apps provides a neat and convenient solution for small and medium-sized that issue loyalty, membership and discount cards as marketing and retention tools. This iOS and Android app is also appealing to smart shoppers who use numerous loyalty cards and wish to organize them. The StampK...

Source: National Surfing Federation For the first time in the history of professional surfing in Costa Rica, the national team is proudly returning from a major international tournament with medals. This is the second time that the National Surfing Team of Costa Rica participates in the World Surfing Games of the International Surfing Association (ISA), and it was a momentous tournament for Ti...

Source: OVSICORI Teams of earth scientists and emergency management officials who climbed to the top of the Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica yesterday issued a volcanology report that supports yellow alert conditions in the area. Although the presence of lava was not detected in the crater area, the colossus is still very active in terms of expelling other volcanic matter. As previously repo...

Driving in Costa Rica is an unforgettable experience. Every time drivers get behind the wheel of their vehicles in Costa Rica, they know that some sort of adventure will follow. For commuters, delivery drivers and others for whom driving in Costa Rica is part of how they make a living, road traffic adventures are more haphazard than fun. For tourists and visitors, however, exploring parts of Costa...