Costa Rican artist Juan Carlos ValverdeShowing an interest in arts as a child, Costa Rican artist Juan Carlos Valverde spent many of his childhood afternoons canvassing red-dirt roads for materials like clay and Poró wood to create all types of figures and shapes, spending days crafting small cars and other toys. In his early adult life he came to realize that studying visual arts was his drivin...

Related news: Bill Gates buys 6% stake in FCC through his investment funds. Madrid/London, November 6th, 2013 - FCC, the Citizens Services Group, has been chosen to reform the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela, 18 kilometers from San José (Costa Rica). FCC will construct a hangar at the country's main aeronautical facility worth 25 million euros, with a completion period of eigh...

Most North Americans are already familiar with gated communities and their benefits. In general, a gated community is an enclosed housing development usually with 24/7 manned security. Gated communities also offer amenities like a club house, community pool, sporting facilities, barbecue areas, many claim eco sustainability, and higher end communities may also offer such amenities as access to ons...

The Telethon this year will be broadcasted nationally on December 6 and 7 and will have a goal of 700 million colones ($1.4 million). This time the main beneficiaries will be the children of Guanacaste, as the money will buy medical equipment for the hospitals of Nicoya and Liberia, as well as the canton of Upala in Alajuela. “This year we turn our eyes to the Guanacaste area, specifically Enri...

For years, members of the communities of Nosara and Samara have voiced grievances that the Municipality of Nicoya does not invest back into the communities an amount corresponding to the income generated by these districts, but hard data to back these claims was lacking. Now efforts are being made to gather this data. Preliminary data obtained by the Voice of Guanacaste seems to confirm these c...

As the national elections approach, the political environment isn’t heating up among Guanacaste’s youth, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Voice of Guanacaste with young adults between 18 and 25 years old. Of a total of 30 people interviewed in Nicoya, Nosara, Samara and Santa Cruz, 70% said they were not interested in politics. They justify their disinterest with two fundamental re...

In order to not hinder progress on the Coastal Community Territories Law Project (TECOCOS), the portion that dealt with the Ostional Wildlife Refuge has been separated from the project. “It is the same TECOCOS proposal, only that it will be dealt with as an independent project while presenting environmental studies required by the Constitutional Court (Sala IV) in order to complete the process ...

Sick leave and vacation have become synonymous for many people around the globe, as healthcare costs skyrocket in top nations. The world medical tourism industry has become a $10.5 billion business based on the availability of high-quality medical services at reasonable rates in many developing countries. Patients are travelling abroad not only for quick-recovery cosmetic surgeries or dental pr...

What if keeping a doctor’s visit at bay is solved simply by what we eat? Even more, what if herbs grown right in our backyard and foods we can pick up at any corner store can heal what ails us, including the pesky common cold? For thousands of years humans relied on foods and herbs for medicine. In Costa Rica, it turns out that plenty of easy-to-find familiar foods are actually just what the do...

Talk about Nosara, Costa Rica, and you actually mean a stretch of several beaches on the Nicoya Peninsula – from Playa Ostional to Playa Nosara, Playa Pelada and Playa Guiones. This remote area of Guanacaste, just north of Samara in the country’s north Pacific, is known for long wide beaches, fantastic surfing, peace and quiet, and of course, it’s impressive wildlife. Three top nature activitie...

Although Costa Rica is far from being an offshore financial center, certain aspects of its commercial code and business regulations make her a corporate-friendly jurisdiction. Until recently, foreigners and expats formed business entities in Costa Rica for specific purposes typically related to acquiring real estate and motor vehicles, and also as part of certain immigration strategies. In recent ...

Source: Fuerza Publica Talamanca Region, Costa Rica – They are courteous, bilingual and usually wear stylish white polo shirts. You usually see them on foot or riding mountain bikes in tourist hotspots such as Playas del Coco in Guanacaste. They also carry regulation weapons and are trained in special tactics to combat crime. These are the members of the Tourism Police of Costa Rica, a special...

For the first time in the history of presidential elections in Costa Rica, a rural campus of the country’s most prestigious university will host a debate among presidential hopefuls. At least five presidential candidates have confirmed their presence at Guanacaste campus of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) for debates scheduled to take place on November 6th and 20th. These candidates are: Jo...

Playas del Coco has become one of the growing hotspots in Costa Rica for tourists and locals to come and enjoy a weekend away from the ever busy city life. With beaches all around, fantastic weather, and a laid back atmosphere, this little beach town is never asleep and never dull. If you stay for a weekend, you’ll want to keep coming back to enjoy all that Coco has to offer. But if you are...

I met a woman and her husband in the airport recently, while we were waiting to board our flight out of Costa Rica. They were tanned and relaxed, and had been enjoying the country’s beaches and rainforest … all for free! They had won a work contest to sell the most furniture for their company and earned the free incentive trip. This was actually the couple’s second year in a row to win – last year...

Imagine this Costa Rica vacation: Traverse the entire country from coast to coast and north to south, but only using mountain bikes, kayaks, rafts, zipline cables, and your feet. Sleep under the stars wherever you may be – mud, sand, grass field, rocky stream bed – but only for a few hours at a time. Brave the thrills of mosquitoes, venomous snakes, crocodiles, rain, boiling sun, and sweltering ra...

Article content taken from La Prensa Libre newspaper. The use of real estate transactions and shell companies are two of the most common money laundering methods in Costa Rica, and they are often carried out by small real estate brokerage firms operating in red-hot housing markets such as Tamarindo in Guanacaste. Such were the statements recently made by analysts from the Costa Rica Banking Ass...

For all its tourism, real estate development and high-technology firms, Guanacaste leads Costa Rica as the province with the highest rate of unemployment. As recently reported on the pages of the Costa Rica Star, more than 40,000 adults in Guanacaste are currently out of work, which is something that the Ministry of Labor is handling as an emergency. According to a recent report written by Angi...

Source: Japanese Embassy On September 13, a new Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to the State of Japan tendered his diplomatic credentials to President Laura Chinchilla. Having worked in his country's Science and Technology and Space Exploration agencies, Ambassador Mamoru Shinohara has a strong background in science and technology, which may explain his enthusiasm in bringing a cl...

Hilo de Pez by Daniela SalazarIn Costa Rica, the province of Guanacaste is known for its significant contributions to the following industries: agriculture, real estate, tourism, aerospace, and scientific research. It is now the fashion industry's turn to grow in Guanacaste, and it seems to be taking place in Playas de Coco. Guanacaste is no stranger to fashion. After all, this province is the...

Yoga and meditation are all about breathing deeply, relaxing, and reconnecting with your inner nature. What better setting for this practice than the pure oxygen-rich rainforest of Costa Rica. Be in harmony with nature around you at a yoga and meditation retreat at Portasol Rainforest and Oceanview Living. The sustainable community on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast will hold seven Rain/Sun ...

Despite pineapple cultivation tripling in the northern Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica over the past decade, it appears that Costa Rica’s 17-year-old ban on clearing “mature” forests is working, finds a study published recently in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The study, which was led by Matthew Fagan of Columbia University in the USA, found that since Costa Rica implemented its ...

Although it is one of Costa Rica’s most spectacular destinations – for its gold and white sand beaches, world-class surfing, warm blue Pacific Ocean, and lush rainforest – the southern Nicoya Peninsula stays off the beaten tourist path. The reason is the region’s remote location. Going by ferry is the traditional way to get to the towns and beaches of the southern Nicoya Peninsula – Tambor, Mon...

Knowing a little something about a country’s cultural and social nuances before you travel there could mean the difference between having a fun or a frustrating vacation. You’d want the same for a visitor in your own country, so why not make cultural awareness just as important as what you pack when planning an international trip. The more information you gather before traveling to a foreign...

On Monday, October 14, machinery from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) commenced maintenance work on route 160. Work began from the intersection of the Samara gas station toward Nosara. Julio Viales, regional director of MOPT, explained that they are first applying 200 cubic meters of arenon (a thick sand), which will go under the asphalt base in order to replace the clay-...

The Bailey bridge over the El Armado creek in Caimital has its days numbered because the National Roadway Council (CONAVI) will replace it with a new one made of concrete. The work will begin in late November and will consist of removing the existing structure and installing a new one-lane concrete bridge 12 meters long, said Reynaldo Mata, engineer in charge of supervising the work. CONAVI ...

On Friday, October 25, Vanessa Rosales Ardón, the president of the National Emergencies Committee (CNE), visited Nosara to officially inaugurate the works completed during the first stage of intervention on the Nosara River. The inauguration, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., was changed to noon because of the possibility of rain. Although the threat of rain loomed in the cloudy skies and it eve...

Students and teachers from 18 Professional Technical High Schools (CTPs) of Guanacaste and Upala will participate in the 2013 Regional Career Fair II on November 1 in the Lopez Plaza of Santa Cruz. The objective of the activity is to present the technical offerings of the schools in the province to companies seeking technical labor as well as parents and prospective students. This is the sec...

It has been a few weeks since Runner Runner, a film starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake premiered in the United States. The film, which was co-opted by the American Gaming Association (AGA) as the poster child and boogeyman of everything that is ostensibly wrong with the online poker industry in Costa Rica, seems to be having an immediate effect. Readers of the Costa Rica Star who are no...

Max is a one-year old pit bull terrier that was rescued from a vicious dog fighting ring in Costa Rica, and he is currently the most talked-about canine in the country. On Thursday, October 10th, Max was rescued along with two other dogs from a construction site in Pavas, in the western suburbs of the capital city of San Jose. Unscrupulous men abused these two pit bull terriers and a mutt as they ...

Turn left at the White Anchor heading into Playas del Coco, follow Peacock signs up to Hotel Chantel Guanacaste, Costa Rica – October 28th, 2013 – Hotel Chantel, an ocean-view boutique hotel located in the relaxing beach community of Playas del Coco in Costa Rica, is proud of its acquisition by a new owner and a fresh management team. From November 1st to November 15th, lucky guests at Hotel Ch...

Wikimedia Commons Although residential construction in Costa Rica fell by about 4 percent in the first six months of 2013 in comparison to last year, commercial construction in the province of Guanacaste expanded by nearly 20 percent. This increase in building activity is benefiting the overall economy of Guanacaste, a region where the value of commercial real estate has appreciated by nearly ...

Wikimedia Commons Juicy and delicious oranges that could rival those grown in California, Florida, Brazil, ad Spain are being grown right here in Costa Rica, particularly in certain coffee farms in Guanacaste where citrus trees are being introduced to break up the monoculture practice of cultivating a single crop. Oranges are now the fastest-growing crops in Costa Rica; in 2012, production gre...

Source: Flor de Itabo Hotel The sleepy town of Comunidad, in the Carrillo canton of Guanacaste woke up to news of a ghastly incident that transpired on one of its few roads. According to metro beat reporter Carlos Eduardo Vargas of national newspaper La Nacion, a guest at the Flor de Itabo resort, which is located about a kilometer from the beach community of Playas del Coco, died when he purp...

Wikimedia Commons The coastal waters of Costa Rica are teeming with sharks. Many species of the Elasmobranch subclass swim in the waters off Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Cocos Island, Limon, and many other coastal communities in Costa Rica. This rich selachian biodiversity suits Brett McBride, captain of the Research Vessel (RV) Ocearch just fine, you see, this is a man who recently fell asleep amo...

Source: INCOFER A freight train project in Costa Rica aims to connect the communities of La Cruz in Guanacaste with the port city of Limon in the Caribbean. According to national newspaper La Nacion, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Spanish initials: MOPT) recently put this ambitious plan on paper and hopes to begin construction in 2018. This project is part of Costa Rica's National...

Dibujando Nuestro Mapa A few months ago, a couple from the Balearic Island of Majorca in Spain converted their 1999 Ford Transit van into their living quarters for what will become an epic 8-month road trip on the other side of the Atlantic. They recently drove into Costa Rica and visited various beaches around Guanacaste. They are only about halfway through their journey, which started in Eur...

A young man by the name of Vicente Loyola (Vince Loyola for short) from Victoria BC Canada is on a tour of Central America, visiting Costa Rica this week, volunteering at schools to help kids learn English using a fun new method of teaching. This new method consists of using puppets and funny music to act out songs that aid in the help of learning English. Vicente Loyola has donated over 85...

Sportfishing grand slams differ from baseball grand slams, although they are just as hard to come by. According to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the arbiter of most things fishing, an Offshore grand slam is defined as one boat/captain/anglers releasing any three of the following species during a one-day charter: Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Swordfish or Sp...

The problem of arsenic in the aqueducts of Guanacaste and the northern zone of our country should be resolved no later than the month of May 2014. This was said by Dr. Luis Carlos Vargas, director of the water laboratory of the Costa Rican Institute of Water and Sewers (AyA). In October, the Comptroller General of the Republic authorized AyA to conduct bidding to directly contract the desig...