Source: Flickr CC The recent grand opening of the Park and Museum of the Stone Spheres and the extensive recovery and curation work of the Guayabo National Monument are the two most significant events that represent the current boom in archeological and anthropological research in Costa Rica. One of the highlights of the administration of President Laura Chinchilla has been her insistence t...

Source: Flickr CC Residents of Costa Rica know that the dry season brings a scarcity of rain and an abundance of birdsong. This is when the lovely yiguirro (Turdus grayii or clay-colored American robin) mates and breeds, which means that males will melodically sing from before sunrise until after sundown. The yiguirro is just one of dozens of songbirds that make Costa Rica their permanent or m...

Source: Pinterest Since 2003, the International Institute of Wildlife Management and Conservation (Spanish acronym: ICOMVIS) has been installing infrared cameras in various national parks in Costa Rica for the purpose of monitoring the nocturnal behavior of species. It all started at the Corcovado National Park, and the project has recently extended to Barbilla, Santa Rosa and Tortuguero. The ...

Source: Intel Although Wall Street responded positively to Intel's recent announcement of its decision to close its chip manufacturing, encapsulation and testing plant in Costa Rica, observers and some analysts who have been following the company's trailing performance in the highly competitive mobile arena are beginning to wonder if the writing is on the wall for the chip maker. Shares of ...

When it comes to investing in Costa Rica, foreigners are usually at a disadvantage: They are often targeted by dubious investment schemes involving real estate, precious metals, agricultural commodities, wagers, and other high-risk and downright shady proposals. What makes this situation even more deplorable is that those who perpetrate investment scams against expats are often their compatriots. ...

It was a hoax. A scary Internet hoax fueled by the flames of social media in Costa Rica prompted neighbors of Playas del Coco and other communities in Guanacaste to hide their children and ask a television network to investigate the ghastly rumors. What started as a warning to locals and expats to look out for kidnappers targeting children in order to harvest kidneys and other vital organs ...

Coming soon to Costa Rica Добро пожаловать! The preceding Russian expression, which is often pseudo-phonetically written as dobro pozhalovat, means “Welcome!” When properly spoken, it sounds warm and inviting, and it is an expression that the tourism industry of Costa Rica should be practicing now. According to Marvin Barquero of national newspaper La Nacion, Russian passport holders will soon...

Source: Flickr CC Since late February, wireless carriers in Costa Rica have been rolling out new plans and schemes to capture the lucrative mobile voice and data segment. The three major wireless providers, Claro, Kolbi and Movistar are deploying different strategies to entice customers to shell out more money for faster broadband service; however, response thus far has been underwhelming. ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The National Men's Football Teams of Costa Rica and Mexico have chosen their respective training facilities ahead of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Although both teams will be hosted by Santos FC, Mexico chose the magnificent Rei Pele (Pele the King) training center, which features a state-of-the-art gym and two modern pitches. Costa Rica, on the other hand, will ...

Source: Flickr CC Over the last few years, law enforcement agencies in Costa Rica have noticed a sharp increase in the number of women who become involved in drug trafficking. The Drug Control Police (Spanish initials: PCD) reported the arrest of two women found to be in possession of cocaine hydrochloride and byproducts. Both women were detained at ports of entry and exit; for this reason, PC...

One of the species affected by seine fishing. The Costa Rican Fishing Federation (Spanish initials: FECOP) has launched an online petition addressed to President Laura Chinchilla asking her to issue a particular Executive Decree before she steps down as Head of State: To prohibit seine-haul fishing of tuna within the first 100 nautical miles of both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. FECOP is a...

The Westin in Playa Conchal welcomes frum travelers. Shalom aleichem. Daniel Retter is a New York attorney, religious scholar and author of HaMafteach, a Talmud Bavli Indexed Reference Guide. Mr. Retter recently found himself in the capital city of Costa Rica, the lovable San Jose, whereupon he prayed at the shuls of Chabad Lubavitch in Escazu and the Zionist Israeli Center of Costa Rica in Pa...

When Massi Devoto used to guide small groups around Costa Rica, he noticed that out of all of the experiences the tourists shared, the ones they enjoyed and talked about the most were the simplest. Buying tropical fruits at a roadside stand. Watching a monkey in a tree. Meeting friendly folk in a rural town. Walking through the rainforest. The realization led him to start his own tour company i...

Source: Flickr In March 2013, daily tabloid La Teja featured a story about a farmer in Talamanca and the giant yuca (cassava, Manihot esculenta) he unearthed from his backyard. This tuber, which originated from a single stem transplant that grew into a sizable shrub, yielded 17 yucas weighing 09 kilograms. The keys to this massive harvest were: Patience and the ultra-fertile soil of Costa Rica...

Source: FreePlay A few days ago, the Costa Rica Star published an article about the CAT B15, an ultra-rugged smartphone made by Caterpillar that seems to have been custom-made for the active lifestyle of many expats and tourists in Guanacaste. Although the CAT B15's battery offers an astonishing 16 hours of talk time; this feature can be extended with the Freecharge 12-volt mobile device charg...

New beginnings are old hat at upscale Hotel Le Caméléon in Costa Rica, where their motto is “Every day is a new day”. The Costa Rica boutique hotel on the southern Caribbean Coast, that changes the color of its décor daily like a chameleon, is marking its fifth anniversary year with the opening of its new La Sula Sea Lounge on the beach at Playa Cocles. A vivacious opening party will be held...

Source: Correos de Costa Rica Correos de Costa Rica, the national post office and sole official issuer of postal stamps, has formally announced the issue of 15,000 special postage stamps that observe and celebrate Pope Francis' first year in the Holy See. The image of this fine stamp comes from an oil painting by a Costa Rican artist who personally traveled to the Vatican and presented his mas...

Central Bank of Costa Rica in San Jose At the Legislative Assembly this week, a proposal to empower the Central Bank to prevent speculative investments, hot money and capital flight in Costa Rica became law with 32 votes in favor and seven against. Capitales golondrina, as they are known in Costa Rica, are those fleeting and speculative investments made by foreign entities that seek to avoid f...

They are known as cantinas or, less elegantly, “chicheros.” Cheap and disreputable dive bars can be found in all regions of Costa Rica, but most of the cantinas in the lovable city of San Jose are as legendary as they are infamous. According to architect and social researcher Andres Fernandez, cantinas form an important part of the archeological and anthropological record of Costa Rica; for this r...

In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (Spanish initials: MEIC) wants to make it easy for shoppers to find the lowest prices on groceries and other consumer goods. To this end, the MEIC is developing a smartphone app that will allow consumers to scan bar codes and compare prices across stores so that they can easily determine affordability in real-time. The announcement b...

Source: Ministry of Justice and Peace President Laura Chinchilla recently signed legislative decree number 9204, which creates a national protocol against torture, cruelty, unusual punishment, and degrading conditions perpetrated against those who are deprived of freedom in Costa Rica. By executing this decree, President Chinchilla explained that she would like to set an example for the intern...

Leilani McGonagle. Source: FEDESURF CR The Surfing Federation of Costa Rica recently announced the young members of the National Team that will be traveling to Ecuador to compete in the 2014 World Junior Surfing Championship, organized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and sponsored by VISSLA, a new brand of surfing and clothing accessories. ISA World Championships are largely con...

Source: Flickr CC In the last few years, the online gambling industry of Costa Rica has experienced one major upheaval after another. On one hand, there's the overzealous law enforcement and prosecutorial actions taken by the United States; on the other hand, powerful lobby groups are slandering Internet gaming and wagering operations in Costa Rica for the purpose of encouraging lawmakers to a...

Not much is known about the first native peoples to live near the massive Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province. A new archaeology tour at the area’s eco-lodge Hacienda Guachipelin will help shed some light on the mysteries of these indigenous ancestors of Costa Rica. “We’re rescuing the cultural traditions of Guanacaste,” said Fernando Camacho Mora, archaeologist in ch...

More people have drowned along the 17 miles of the Central Pacific Coast, including Esterillos, Playa Hermosa, and Playa Bejuco, than any other stretch of Costa Rica. So why haven’t you heard a warning about it? World Life Expectancy reports Costa Rica as the 101st country out of 192 countries polled with 3.4 reported drownings for every 100,000 people. That’s almost triple the amount of deaths...

Year after year, International Living, Forbes, and hundreds of other publications release a list of the best places to retire. Do you believe that one retirement destination fits all? Where you spend your golden years is extremely personal and variable. One expat-to-be may place a warm climate at the top of their list. Another places cost of healthcare above all.  Ever since I started publishing a...

Source: WIDECAST The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network (WIDECAST) and Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST) are asking marine conservationists to vote for them at the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) so that they can get funding to continue their noble -and unfortunately dangerous- mission in Costa Rica. Conservation of green, hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles in the Caribb...

Journalism is a crowded career field in Costa Rica Biology, journalism and physical therapy are the three least-promising fields of study in Costa Rica. According to a report by daily tabloid La Teja, hundreds of biologists, reporters and physical therapists have given up looking for work in their chosen professional fields and have instead turned to low paying positions in telemarketing, cler...

Shark fin soup on the menu of a restaurant in Singapore Environmental conservation groups today asked the government to sanction a new shark finning practice, which consists of unloading the gutted carcasses of elasmobranch species. This practice, according to marine conservationists, violate international regulations against poaching and abuse of marine resources. A press release recently ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The Co-Op for Rural Electrification in Guanacaste, known as CoopeGuanacaste, recently signed an agreement with the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (Spanish initials: ICE) that guarantees investment in, and development of, clean energy projects such as wind farms and hydroelectric plants. The agreement also calls for research into other renewable energy sources in...

Source: Facebook The crude photograph of an adult jaguar lying dead on a pool of his own blood has caused indignation on social media circles in Costa Rica. The picture was posted on Facebook, allegedly by a young man who participated in the killing of the wild cat in Barra del Colorado, in the Caribbean province of Limon. Karla Baquero of online news daily CRHoy.com has been compiling comm...

Immigration Directorate Building in Costa Rica Earlier this week, the Vice Minister of Government Administration in charge of immigration affairs in Costa Rica unveiled a new policy that will rule over the next ten years. Vice Minister Freddy Montero, who has been in charge of immigration since 2013, explained that the new policy is unique in the Americas in the sense that it has been formulat...

Source: Pinterest The embassies of Spain in Costa Rica and around the world are bracing for a wave of applications for citizenship after an article by Dina Siegel Vann in New York Jewish Week described a legislative proposal before Spain's Parliament that would grant naturalization to those with Sephardic heritage. The news propagated after a March luncheon at the headquarters of the American ...

“Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.” — Art Blakey “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but is a gift that America has given the world.” — Ahmad Alaadeen The gift of jazz can be admired weekly on the spectacular beach of Santa Teresa in Costa Rica at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat. The Buddha Eyes Restaurant at Pranamar Villas is presenting Jazz Nights eve...

Source: Imgur Although there is no historical question as to the events of April 11, 1856 during the Battle of Rivas in Nicaragua, there are conspiracy theorists and historical revisionists who claim that the brave Juan Santamaria, National Hero of Costa Rica, did not exist. We start hearing from these negationists each year around late March; they tend to invade online social networks and oth...

Cholera under the microscope The acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae is wreaking havoc in at least four countries in the Americas, and it may soon arrive in Costa Rica. The Ministry of Public Health has been preparing for what officials believe will be an imminent return of cholera across Central America, and two suspected cases were recently ruled out. As def...

Source: Wikia Fans of the Jurassic Park universe -created by the late Michael Chrichton- were ecstatic to learn that the production team of the upcoming sequel Jurassic World recently placed a casting call for extras in New Orleans. Many people know that the original Jurassic Park is located in the fictional Isla Nublar of Costa Rica, and some footage of the original 2001 movie was filmed here...

Source: Mundo Motorizado ExpoMovil is the most prominent consumer trade show in Costa Rica, and its 2014 iteration was a massive success in terms of attendance and exposure. There were plenty of interesting new cars and road technology to look at, but visitors also had a lot more to focus their gaze on: A high number of curvy and seductive young Ticas hired to wear revealing, skin-tight clothi...

Source: Vimeo Mountains, active volcanoes, beaches, lagoons, indigenous people, tourists, locals, Guanacaste... In less than four minutes, filmmaker Patrick Pearson shows viewers the many facets of Costa Rica in a video that has achieved massive viral status across several online social networks. The short film, hosted on Vimeo, has garnered thousands of views and positive comments in just one...

The elegant WTTC data explorer The World Travel and Tourism Travel Council (WTTC), a forum for business leaders in this important global sector, recently released its 2014 economic impact report. Among the highlights of the report, which is presented in a gorgeous interactive Web application featuring an Earth globe that you can manipulate right on your browser, Costa Rica's already sizable co...