The company Opol Consultores S.A. was ready to release the results of their last survey prior to the Presidential Elections in Costa Rica that take place this Sunday, April 1st; however, after their team received threats they opted for cancelling the publication of the results. “We regret not being able to conclude our work. The integrity of our collaborators comes first. It is important to sa...

If you are a user of Route 32 (San Jose-Limon) and/or the Florencio del Castillo highway that connects San Jose to Cartago , take into consideration that the Quick Pass devices won’t be working on these toll booths for a period of three months. The Quick Pass is an electronic device that allows drivers to have their toll fees deducted directly from the bank account and to use exclusive lanes fo...

The current traffic law in Costa Rica has been in effect since October 26th, 2012. The purpose of the regulation was to fix some big problems created by a former law approved in 2010, which contained outrageous fines and several evidentiary contradictions, which created a big mess affecting both administrative and court procedures. This does not mean the current law in effect is much better, so th...

Owen Hanson (Nicknamed O'Dog) seemed to have everything going for him, he was apparently brought up in a good home and eventually came to be part of the USC football team, however, Hanson’s greed apparently took over, and he became the leader of what was defined by the US Department of Justice as “a violent racketeering enterprise”. Back in December 2017, Hanson was sentenced to 255 months in ...

Many times when we publish articles where Costa Rica is listed as one of the top destinations to retire/live in these articles refer to the country as “affordable”, we get comments from our readers stating their strong disagreement with these affirmations always wondering how much it really cost to live in Costa Rica? Well, the answer is far from simple; there are many things to consider, for i...

What happens in Costa Rica when a rescued wild animal is too injured to ever return to the wild, but is not at the end of its natural life? iRescue Animal Sanctuary steps in. And what a blessing that is for both the animals and the over-crowded animal sanctuaries throughout the country. The sad truth is that Costa Rican animal sanctuaries are overwhelmed by wild animals, many too injured or ha...

This is not unusual, every year during  Christmas, New Year week and then Holy Week the number of people that lose their lives increases. Road accidents, water accidents, homicides and domestic aggression are sadly very common this time of the year. The Holy week just began and the authorities already register 5 people dead as a result of car accidents, while two people have died victims of wat...

From January 1st through March 26th Costa Rica registers a total 145 homicides, 6 more than the number registered in the same period in 2017, according to statistics by the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). Alvaro Gonzalez, Chief of the Homicides Division from the Judicial Investigative Police, stated during a press conference, that the initial investigations determine that the majority of t...

The Costa Rica Train Institute (INCOFER) has begun the process to purchase 8-10 units of diesel trains with capacity for approximately 350-400 people each. INCOFER has established a budget of approximately $52 million for this purpose out of which INCOFER already has 40% in its 2018 budget; a 20% will come from the 2019 budget and the final payment will be done in 2020. “The purchase of the ...

The Costa Rica District Attorney Office opened an investigation against Otto Guevera Guth, congressman and former presidential candidate, as a suspect of money laundering. On Friday during a search conducted in the legal offices linked to Guevara, the police found almost 40 million colones (almost $71,000.00) in a safe. The objective of the search that took place Friday, was done with the ...

Holy Week is here and in a country like Costa Rica where the majority of the population is Catholic, there are many religious traditions taking place all around the country. The “procesiones” ( processions or religious parades) began yesterday with the Virgen de la Dolorosa and continued this Palms Sunday with the reenactment of the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem. While some communities make th...

Times have certainly changed, years back, even maybe 20 years ago Holy Week in Costa Rica meant no cars at all in the streets and very few services operating; today the traditions have changed to some extent, many businesses operate as usual, and others instead of closing the entire week just observe the mandatory holidays (Thursday and Friday). The majority of the public institutions in Costa...

Costa Rica will evaluate its aquifers to minimize the future impacts of climate change and droughts and evaluate the availability of water through an alliance between the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) of Costa Rica and the Geological Service of the United States. The initiative “Mapping of the underground water resources in Costa Rica”, will be possible through the use of high tech...

Former President of Costa Rica (94-98), Jose Maria Figueres, took part in the World Ocean Summit in Cancun, Mexico at the beginning of March, in his position as co-president of the Pacific Ocean Assembly, an organization aimed at uniting Latin American countries around the goal of ocean conservation, and also as co-chair of Ocean Unite (along side Richard Branson). Figueres emphasized in an int...

The candidates for the presidency of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado from the Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) and Fabricio Alvarado from the National Restoration Party (PRN), finished their public campaigns in the second round of elections which be celebrated with a winner April 1st. With a survey showing a “statistical draw” and another one giving Fabricio Alvarado the lead, Costa Ricans have only on...

Four Europeans, 3 native from the Netherlands and 1 from Belgium were detained Friday by Costa Rican authorities as suspects of extracting endemic miniature orchids from the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, located in the province of Alajuela between the counties of San Carlos, Zarcero and Rio Cuarto. In total 246 plans were extracted by the foreigners with the purpose of taking them to Europe...

The Costa Rica Food Bank celebrates its 6th anniversary by reaching a total of 247 social organizations and benefiting an approximate 40,648 people. What started as an initiative by 10 private companies to guarantee food to people in poverty and avoid the waste of food, has now grown from reaching 5 social organizations to a total 247 which receive food and first necessity items. These soc...

The last survey carried out by the Center for Political Studies and Investigation of the University of Costa Rica (CIEP-UCR) has presidential candidates in Costa Rica Fabricio Alvarado and Carlos Alvarado in a statistical tie. The results of this consultation has Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration Party receiving 43% of the support of decided voters, while Carlos Alvarado from the Ci...

Duron Harmon, the American football player who plays safety for the New England Patriots, was denied entry to Costa Rica after officers found marijuana in his luggage. The 27-year-old athlete attempted to enter the country through the Juan Santamaria Airport, but in a routine check airport police found in his luggage 58 grams of marijuana inside a can of iced tea; he was also carrying three pip...

Costa Ricans were woken by a 5.5 magnitud earthquake this Friday, March 23 at 1:37 a.m. According to the National Seismology Network, the epicenter was 13 km Southwest if San Marcos de Tarrazú at a depth f 36 km. The movement was reported as felt in most of the Central Valley and Quepos in Puntarenas. In San Jose many people reported feeling "strong wind and a very strong earthquake followed...

The purchase and sale of 820,000 square meters (82 hectares) of páramo (tundra ecosystem) was signed yesterday, this land will not be preserved as part of the natural patrimony of Costa Ricans. Two properties of 47 and 35 hectares respectively, both in the sector of Prusia, close to the Irazu Volcano, these contain diverse vegetation with mixed oak forests, isolated trees of Quercus and Salvia...

Fishermen protested on Monday this week expressing their opposition to the  the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber  which annulled the trawling permits that had been issued by Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca); their pressure apparently paid off, as 35 members of congress approved in first debate a project that would allow trawling practices once again. The Governm...

"Minutes to Die: Snakebite - The World's Ignored Health Crisis", is a documentary produced by the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, directed and written by James Reid and narrated by Mike Rowe which seeks to raise awareness on the snakebite crisis plaguing the rural poor in some areas of the world. The documentary also highlights the work done by the University of Costa Rica's Clodomiro Picado Institute...

The United States Department of State through its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2018 points to Costa Rica’s vulnerabilities when it comes to organized crime and money laundering. “Transnational criminal organizations continue to employ Costa Rica as a base for financial crimes due to limited enforcement capacity and its location on a key transit and operations route for narcot...

Almost one month has passed since the complex surgery took place (February 23-24) to separate Costa Rican siamese twins Ezequiel and Samuel, the brothers remain in the National Children’s Hospital, Ezequiel in after-care while Samuel still hasn’t been able to leave the ICU. “Their evolution is slow, tough and complex”, stated Olga Arguedas, director of the National Children’s Hospital regarding...

The Presidents of Costa Rica and Panama, Luis Guillermo Solis and Juan Carlos Varela, met in Costa Rica with the purpose of strengthening their bilateral politics in aspects of security, migration, tourism, commerce and customs modernization. One of the main topics between both countries was the construction of the new bridge over the Sixaola River in the Costa Rica-Panama frontier denominated...

The Costa Rican Government received from the Government of Japan a donation of 60 hybrid and electric cars that will allow Costa Rica to continue to strengthen the actions of 13 public institutions while at the same time reducing the national impact in global warming. The vehicles offer modern technology that will limit contamination and reduce gas emissions. The donation is equivalent to clos...

An approximate $880 thousand that was seized by the Costa Rican police from drug trafficking operations will be given to the Social Security Service (C.C.S.S.) to help patients that are battling substance abuse problems. The Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD) signed the agreement with the C.C.S.S. on Tuesday, March 20; the majority of the funds (approximately $600 thousand), will be used to remod...

Nature Air has been facing problems since December 31st, 2017, the day of the tragic plane crash in which 12 people died, 10 American tourists and the two Costa Rican pilots. A few days later their operations were suspended by Civil Aviation and although they received green light to resume operations three weeks later, the company reported important financial loses and was forced to fire several e...

In 2012 a law #9024 named "Tax on Corporations" came into effect. It was an annual tax on all corporations registered at National Registry based on the Code of Commerce such as SA's and LLC's plus all of those branches of foreign corporations that obtained a corporate ID number for their Costa Rican divisions. Most foreigners living in Costa Rica were caught with one or more corporations used to e...

The non-governmental organization Conservación Internacional (International Conservation) and the National Coast Guard Service in Costa Rica carried out a joint study from April 2016 through September 2017 in which they monitored foreign vessels that traveled through the exclusive economic zone of the Costa Rican Pacific. The objective of this operation is to detect any illegal activities that ...

The National Arts and Crafts Market or Artisan’s Market in downtown San Jose has been for decades a popular stop for nationals and foreigners looking for high-quality, affordable souvenirs along with Costa Rican handcrafted products. This Market used to be located in a very old building on Calle 13 (Street 13) in San Jose, which was finally demolished this past Saturday by the San Jose Municipa...

Watch a video created by the the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) which showcases the activity of the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica, from January through March 2018. The strombolian (relatively mild) activity continues at this active volcano. The video shows samples of the “bombs” erupted by the volcano close to the crater, as well as the impres...

Article 33 of the Migration Law in Costa Rica states that: “…Foreigners have the obligation to exit the country when their term as authorized by the migration authority expires, unless otherwise authorized through a request in the change of category or an extension granted by said migration authority” This same article establishes that if the foreign person does not leave the country in the ...

March is usually the month that has the highest temperatures in Costa Rica, the National Meteorological Institute has reminded citizens to take the necessary precautions specially during the Holy Week when many nationals and foreigners choose to go on vacation to the beach. The absence of strong wind increases the heat sensation. Temperatures will reach 36°C (97°F) in Guanacaste (100°F in some...

Costa Rican Christian Eduardo Villalobos Hernandez, 35-years-old, was indicted on January 25 by the United States District Court of Florida, on several mail fraud and money laundering charges. Villalobos is one of 20 people charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving over $103 million. The victims of the fraud are mostly elderly US citizens “Th...

Traffic in Costa Rica is bad under normal conditions in the majority of the Metropolitan Area every day and especially during peak hours; whenever there is a minor accident it gets worse, and in cases of severe accidents where someone tragically dies the streets collapse for hours. Part of the problem is that when someone dies as a result of a car accident the body cannot be removed without the...

Former President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, has been appointed to be new Vice President of the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid (WLA-CdM). This organization is the largest forum of democratically elected former presidents and PMs working to encourage democracy, its institutions and values all over the world. Chinchilla, who was the first woman to become President of Costa Rica, is ...

Fishermen of Puntarenas plan to protest this Monday, March 19 against the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber which annulled the trawling permits that had been issued by Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca). The group has stated their protests will be pacific, they will gather outside the Legislative Assembly in San Jose and also in the streets of Caldera in Puntaren...

The Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) gave an update on the status of the Turrialba Volcano, confirming that in the past three days there have been no more ash emissions but it is emitting a passive but important flow of magmatic gases at high temperatures of 600⁰-800⁰C (1112⁰-1472⁰F). These gases originate from a body of magma reach in volatiles “which sugge...