Source: Amazon As NASA Hall of Fame astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz was recently being honored with the Buzz Aldrin Quadrennial Space Award in New York City, an author in the United States was accumulating accolades for his science fiction novel about a botanist stranded in Mars. The engine, so to speak, that propels Andy Weir's novel The Martian is VASIMR, the revolutionary space propulsion sys...

GAO agents detain Karpjack In just two days in March, officers from Fuerza Publica, Costa Rica's national police force, and its Operational Support Group (Spanish initials: GAO) detained a German couple, a man from the Czech Republic, and a man from Nicaragua in a series of alleged financial crimes ranging from financial fraud to money laundering and possession of counterfeit documents with th...

Source: Roberto Carlos Miranda of Buses GB The bus line once known as Transportes La Pampa, which has been serving passengers in Costa Rica since the 1950s, is facing serious accusations by investigative journalists and government agencies. The allegations are strong: Unpaid salaries, delinquent obligations with La Caja dating back to the 20th century, antitrust violations, inciting bribes, fa...

This could be your next taxi ride in Costa Rica. Among the highlights of the 2014 ExpoMovil vehicle fair in Costa Rica, hybrid and plug-in electric cars are creating interest on prospective buyers. The Toyota Prius hybrid taxi has gotten lots of attention as well as the BYD Qin, a Chinese hybrid announced by the Costa Rica Star back in December. On the non-hybrid front, luxury vehicles stole a...

Source: Flickr CC As Costa Rica gets closer to joining the ranks of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the number of grossly overweight and obese people in this country is increasing accordingly. In early 2014, a BBC report highlighted that obesity has quadrupled in developing countries and is beginning to match statistics associated with North America and Europ...

Locally crafted beer will surprise palates at the Costa Rican Craft Brewers Association’s 3rd Annual Craft Beer Festival. -The Festival will take place at Avenida Escazu Saturday, April 5th beginning at 11am and running until 5pm. -There will be more than 32 craft beers available for attendees to sample and enjoy. San Jose, Costa Rica - Craft brews created only in Costa Rica by small produ...

Source: Paul Watson Facebook Timeline Paul Watson, the controversial founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and star of the popular reality television show Whale Wars of the Animal Planet cable network, recently left an interesting status update on his Facebook Timeline. Mr. Watson mentioned Ariel Bustamante, the captain of a commercial fishing vessel who was allegedly caught poachin...

Source: Hooters Costa Rica Twitter The Hooters restaurant located in the brand-new Plaza Mango near the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela has become one of Costa Rica's most visited restaurants. Getting a table at this casual dining eatery usually involves waiting for a minutes, but on Wednesday night this place was nearly standing-room only as tabloid media reporters and...

The communities of Nuevo Arenal as well as Quebrada Grande, San Ramon, and Solania of Tilaran are among the Guanacaste communities that will be affected by suspension of Kolbi wireless services provided by ICE, the former communications monopoly of Costa Rica, during the nights of March 25th and 26th. Nationwide outages are planned during the 26th and 27th of March from about 10:00 pm to 10:00 am....

Reinventing a business is like soul-searching. Who are we? What are we about? What are we doing and why? It is a process not every business takes the time to tackle. Yet it is the most urgently talked about business concept over the past five years. Hotel Tropico Latino at beautiful Santa Teresa Beach in Costa Rica recently engaged in the challenge of reinventing and redefining its business. T...

One of the most well-known landmarks at Nosara, Costa Rica is the Nosara Yoga Institute (NYI). People come from all over the world for the yoga teacher training and yoga classes at the internationally-renowned center. Opened in 1994 by founders Don and Amba Stapleton, NYI is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Starting in the 1970s, pioneering expats from the U.S. began trickling into t...

On March 12, Costa Rican authorities in conjunction with animal protection groups rescued 17 dogs allegedly subjected to a hoarding situation. Humane Society International-Latin America, the Costa Rican Department of Animal Health (SENASA) and the Asociación para el Bienestar y Amparo Animal (Association for Animal Protection and Welfare, ABBA) participated in the operation. All the animals were ...

Source: FIFA On Tuesday night, tears flowed once again at the Chinese-donated National Stadium in La Sabana Metropolitan Park as the U-17 Women’s National Team of Costa Rica fell to their superior counterparts from Italy. The 0-1 loss marks the end of the line for the young players, who will not be able to advance to the second round of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. For the second game i...

When Fernando Madrigal was a young boy growing up in Costa Rica, the place that gave him the most happiness was his grandparents’ farm – called Finca La Troya in the Orosi Valley of Cartago. “I spent practically all of my childhood and youth on this farm until my grandparents sold it,” reflected Madrigal. “I remember that La Troya was a magical place. There was a place at the top of the farm wh...

Source: Starbucks The next time you are in Southern California and in urgent need of a shot of Costa Rica, you may want to head to Anaheim -specifically Downtown Disneyland. Once you are properly on Mickey Mouse property, look for the brand-new Starbucks Coffee location on the east side, go inside, find the Clover bar and look above: A giant electronic display will show you a digital photo mon...

General John F. Kelly, USMC. Source: Wikimedia Commons Even warriors get the blues. Looking somber, tired and perhaps a bit frustrated, United States Marine Corps General John Francis Kelly recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and gave a frank assessment of the Drug War as it pertains to nations such as Costa Rica, which are located between a rock (the cocaine-produ...

Author's Note: This article was submitted by Asdrubal Zamora Corrales as a response to Bank Interest Rates for Term Deposits in Costa Rica, published on March 10th, 2014. Mr. Zamora is an executive in charge of debt instruments and other investments at COOPENAE, the most powerful credit union in Costa Rica. Mr. Zamora's original article has been slightly edited for grammar and style. COOPENAE's...

Source: Flickr If you believe the dreadful warnings released over the last few weeks by software behemoth Microsoft, entire computer networks across Costa Rica will suddenly become ultra-vulnerable and come under relentless cyber attacks perpetrated by nefarious hacker gangs counting down the days to April 8th, 2014. On that day, Microsoft will stop providing support to Windows XP, the most po...

The abundance of outdoor activities hosted by Jaco never ceases to amaze. Did you know, from Jaco you have access to a gorgeous island filled with jet skis, kayaks, banana boats, volleyball, tropical fish to snorkel with, and loungers? Let me share with you my recent experience at Isla Tortuga. My day started with a gorgeous one and a half hour boat ride from Playa Herradura where I observed ju...

Source: Embassy of Japan in Costa Rica Under the direction of Ambassador Mamoru Shinohara, the Embassy of Japan in Costa Rica has been very active over the last few months. One of the Embassy's latest contributions strikes the heart of the social fabric in Costa Rica. On Tuesday, February 18th, Ambassador Shinohara signed a funding commitment of $87,928 to the Remodeling and Expansion of the Na...

Coming at the end of March to the Osa southern region of Costa Rica, the ninth Festival of the Stone Spheres celebrates one of the most enigmatic historical and cultural mysteries of Costa Rica. The 2014 Festival of the Spheres will be held March 26 to 30 in Palmar Sur, Palmar Norte and Sierpe. Put on by the National Museum of Costa Rica, the majority of the activities will be at its new satell...

Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: APEGUA (the Alliance for Progress of Education in Guanacaste) will be hosting a 5k/10k race on Saturday, May 3rd along the beautiful Guanacaste coastline. This popular annual event will see some changes in its fourth edition, including a new location (the race route will now span from Flamingo to Playa Potrero) and a new date. This year’s race, which is being orga...

Source: TV5 Monde screen capture. San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica greets tens of thousands of foreign visitors each week, but it does not even come close to the French capital of Paris, where more than 15 million visitors arrive each year. Aside from tourism, Paris and San Jose do not share much in common; however, some observers believe that San Jose is one of the most contaminated c...

Front view of Paradizio Condos in Playas del Coco GuanacastePlayas del Coco, Costa Rica. March 17, 2014 – The Paradizio condominium developers are excited to announce the debut of their new website and virtual sales office for prospective buyers looking for stylish residential properties in Costa Rica's Gold Coast. Prospective buyers are invited to review the website and become familiar with ever...

Source: AnyStockPhoto.com In late 2012, Starbucks proudly introduced to the world its most expensive cup of coffee: $7 for a “grande” (tall cup) of Geisha grown at Finca Palmillera in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. Back then, Starbucks sold a half-pound bag of Finca Palmillera Geisha roast for $40. Meanwhile, at supermarket chains such as Pali and Jumbo, shoppers can find popular brands suc...

Source: FEDEFUTBOL With international matches played in Guanacaste, San Jose and Alajuela on Saturday and Sunday, Costa Rica has thus far proven to be a worthy and gracious host of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Football fans around the world are enjoying the exciting matches and locals are finding out that great football is not limited to First Division and Men's National Team play. “These...

Recent cover of US Forbes edition Two of the biggest global names in financial news media have recently expanded to Costa Rica and the rest of the Central American Isthmus. Bloomberg TV has teamed up with El Financiero of Mexico to launch a multimedia platform that will broadcast in Spanish, and Forbes announced the debut of a print magazine dedicated to Central American financial news. Acc...

Screen grab from YouTube An organization of motorcycle riders and street racing enthusiasts are petitioning the government for what they think is their right to burn rubber on the public roadways of Costa Rica. President Laura Chinchilla was flabbergasted at the idea and posted a scathing Facebook update calling the riders a bunch of snotty-nosed kids. Over the last few days, leaders of the...

Source: Twitter Pictures of a ghostly white blue marlin caught and released by anglers getting ready for the the third stage of  Los Suenos Triple Crown Tournament in Costa Rica have achieved viral status and caused quite a bit of commotion after being published by numerous websites. There is no question as to the achromatic aspect and rarity of the fine specimen; however, the International Ga...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The frantic search for Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH370, which never reached its Beijing destination after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, has turned into a hijacking investigation as Prime Minister Najib Razak stated that the Boeing 777-200ER may have been deliberately diverted off course. Hopes of finding the aircraft remain strong; alas, aviation history in C...

Badge of the Green Army Someone seems to have gotten their Irelands mixed up at the Costa Rican Football Federation (Spanish acronym: FEDEFUTBOL) earlier this week. In announcing an upcoming friendly match for the National Men's Football Team of Costa Rica, the FEDEFUTBOL website displayed the crest of the Irish Football Association, a regulatory sporting body of Northern Ireland, while making...

Minister Garita At a recent meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Costa Rica's Minister of Justice and Peace presented a formal request to join the working group dedicated to monitoring and analyzing international business transactions for the purpose of guarding against corruption and bribery of public officials, a group that has been operational since ...

Source: RainSaucer As the high tourist season approaches its apex in Costa Rica, water shortages in Guanacaste are becoming more frequent. Waking up to hear the dismal gurgling sound of a faucet running dry is something that many residents of Guanacaste are currently dealing with. The situation should improve once the green (rainy) season begins, which would be a perfect time to explore rainwa...

A replica of La Negrita. Source: Flickr A replica of the holiest religious effigy in Costa Rica will be enthroned at the Pontifical Parrish of Saint Anna in the Vatican on April 26th. Affectionately known as “La Negrita” and formally called “Our Lady of the Angels,” the Patriot Saint and Guardian of Costa Rica is part of a beloved Roman Catholic tradition that involves veneration and an annual...

Macau, a former Portuguese colony that now operates as an autonomous region of China, is one of the most profitable gambling spots of the world. With a labor force that is less than 350,000 strong, Macau produced a GDP of $43 billion in 2011. In recent years, Macau has become ground zero for smuggling money out of China through a merchant debit card system that may soon become operational in Costa...

Source: Ronald McDonald House Costa Rica. The Costa Rican chapter of the Ronald McDonald House Charities is proud to announce the 14th edition of its classic Charitable Golf Tournament. This event has become the main fund raiser to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the Ronald McDonald House in Costa Rica, which opened in 2012. The stroke-play, 18-hole tournament will take place a...

The impressive Arenal Volcano is at the top of everyone’s list of places to visit in Costa Rica. The spectacular rainforest around the live volcano, the area’s easy accessibility, and huge abundance of outdoor adventures make it a top place to visit in Guanacaste. Costa Rica’s whitewater rafting fame includes the beautiful rivers of the Arenal area – the Balsa, Toro and Penas Blancas rivers. Th...

Costa Rica’s fourth 2014 Olympus National Surfing Circuit competition is coming March 15 and 16 to the beautiful south Pacific beach of Dominical. The Marley Cup will be held in front of the well-known Tortilla Flats beachfront restaurant and bar at Dominical. The competition is named for principal sponsor House of Marley, which sells earth-friendly products inspired by legendary reggae singer Bob...

Caterpillar B15 Smartphone, Tough as S#&@! People love Guanacaste for dozens of reasons, and one of the reasons most often mentioned by adventuresome tourists and expats is the wide range of outdoor activities that can be enjoyed in the province. Surfing, horseback riding, diving, hiking, stand-up paddle (SUP) boarding, mountain bike riding, kite boarding... the list goes on. Guanacaste...

Hoteliers in Guanacaste and other tourist hotspots in Costa Rica have been doing brisk business and are enjoying the high season thus far in 2014, but their counterparts in San Jose are not. According to recent surveys conducted by the Costa Rica Chamber of Hotels and the National Board of Tourism (Spanish initials: ICT), hotels in the capital city have seen a 15 percent drop in occupancy comp...