For the first time, the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) will teach its prestigious and innovative Summer School platform outside of Denmark. Costa Rica has the privilege to host its courses between April 9th-27th, 2018. The Summer School is focused on participants from both Latin American and from the rest of the world who are willing to learn about innovation and disruptive ...

No, you are not reading that wrong, the National Geriatric Hospital in Costa Rica carried out a study with the participation of 31 patients who had cases of diarrhea caused by the bacteria Clostridium Difficile. The patients were treated  with an infusion of feces dissolved in saline solution. The study, carried out between 2015 and 2016 and which had an effectivity of 90% in a first and second...

Two hunters were arrested this Monday as suspects of killing several tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), an infringement to the Law of Conservation of Wildlife. After a detailed investigation that began in September this year, the two men, one 23 years-old of last names Valverde Esquivel and the other 43 years of age and of last names Valverde Ureña, were detained in their homes located in the areas of E...

The Costa Rica Frontier Police intercepted yesterday (December 17) in the South Caribbean a truck carrying highly dangerous illegal fireworks. According to the director of the Frontier Police, Commissioner Allan Obando, the officers found boxes containing 85,290 units of pyrotechnics, some which have the power to cause serious injuries and even kill someone. In Costa Rica, the Law of Weapons...

A power outage affected the Atlanta Airport, one of the most frequented in the world, for over 11 hours, this caused hundreds of cancelled and rerouted flights and thousands of passengers stranded. In a time of the year when the number of passenger increases considerably the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport suffered an electrical failure at around 1 p.m. Sunday, December 17. The service...

The investigation of non-governmental organization World Animal Protection entitled “A close-up to Cruelty: The negative Impact of Selfies with Wild Animals”, positions Costa Rica as the seventh country in the world where more selfies are taken with wild animals. The practice of taking selfies with wild animals is considered in many occasions animal cruelty. The investigation carried out regist...

Blue Planet II is a documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, presented and narrated by David Attenborough which explores de planet’s oceans; the filming of the documentary series was done over the course of four years and involved 125 expeditions across 39 countries, one of these was Costa Rica. Costa Rican photographer Sergio Pucci was the person in charge of filming the wo...

The dangerous criminal that the Costa Rican authorities were after and whose information was released just two days ago to the public, was found dead in Bajo Los Ledezma in La Uruca; the information was confirmed this Saturday morning by the Ministry of Security, pending the autopsy results. Irving Guido Toruño (A.K.A. Erwing Guido Toruño) of Nicaraguan origin and nicknamed “El Gringo” was ...

A Costa Rican woman of last names Mora Sibaja was arrested in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica under charges of Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling. According to the investigation which began in 2016, the woman charged between US$8,000.00 to US$10,000.00 to smuggle people to the United States through different routes; Mora would receive 50% of the payment in Costa Rica and the balance was paid befor...

The bill for Electric Transportation was approved by the congressmen at the Asamblea Legislativa on Thursday afternoon. This new regulation benefits those who want to import or sell cars that operate 100% on electricity by establishing several tax exemptions, cars with a cost of under US$30,000.00 will benefit form 100% exemption, while vehicles with a higher cost will also have their tax rate...

The Costa Rica Fire Department and the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) signed and agreement to open a fire station at the Isla del Coco National Park which will begin operating in January 2018. This will be the 76th fire station in the country; the initiative will provide uninterrupted paramedic services in the island to provide medical attention to all those that visit the Nat...

Low-cost airline Volaris Costa Rica has provided all the details pertaining to the opening of three new routes that will connect Costa Rica to the United States. The first route will begin operating March 15 and it will connect San Jose, Costa Rica with Los Angeles, California, via San Salvador, this flight will operate every Thursday and Sunday going from San Jose to San Salvador and finally L...

The Organism of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) released the information and photo of a man that according to their investigation is the leader of a drug trafficking gang related to the two dead bodies found this Wednesday in a van in La Sabana, among other crimes. The man (Photo included) is 32 years-old of Nicaraguan origin identified as Irving Alejandro Guido Toruño; according to the OIJ the s...

Starting this Friday, December 15, the Naviera Tambor ferry that provides service between Puntarenas and the southern Nicoya Peninsula town of Paquera will resume its operations with normality after working in a reduced scheduled since early October. One of the vessels (Tambor 2) had been out of service and in maintenance in Cartagena, Colombia but has not been fixed. The service will go back t...

Four underage females of ages ranging between 16 and 17 were detained in Costa Rica as suspects of recruiting other two teenagers to have sex for money. According to the information gathered by the Public Ministry, the two minors that acted as pimps would receive between ¢75,000 and ¢175,000.(US$134.00 and $312.50) depending on whether the girl recruited was or not a virgin. The young ladie...

On Friday, December 8 at close to 4 p.m. a boat of Panamanian flag ran aground in Manzanillo Beach, Limón, apparently, water was entering the boat and therefore the captain decided to run aground so it wouldn’t sink. The captain of the boat explained that he was headed towards the Limon port to load some materials when the emergency occurred; local authorities have kept the boat under custody s...

As of 9 p.m. this Wednesday some of the streets in downtown San Jose will be closed partially in preparation for the traditional Festival de la Luz, (Festival of Light or Parade of Light). The partial closure will be on place from 9 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13 through 5 a.m. on Thursday, December 14 and again at 9 p.m. Thursday through 5 a.m. Friday. On Saturday, the area close to Paseo C...

Does it snow in Costa Rica? Costa Rica is known, among other things, for having excellent weather conditions, which is why it makes one of the preferred destinations of tourists from North America and Europe who wish to escape the freezing cold during the winter time. Costa Rica, does have some of the most bio-diverse climates in the world. The country, with a small area of just 51,100 squar...

Photo credit: CRHOY The Costa Rican police and members of the Organism of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) chased a van in the area of La Sabana this Wednesday morning; during the chase some of the men abandoned the car close to the baseball field in La Sabana and tried to escape running, there was an exchange of gunfire and as a result one of the suspects received a bullet in his back, the police au...

The first Jewish settlers arrived to Costa Rica shortly after Christopher Columbus (1502), there was also a number of members of this community that arrived at the end of the XIX century. The Jewsish settlers from Poland and some from Central Europe arrived during the first decades of the XX century. Today, the estimated Jewish population is of approximately 5,000 the majority live in Escazu, San ...

According to the Organism of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) the last few weeks there’s been an increase in the number of homicides in comparison to the average of the previous months. The criminal organizations are using 9mm fully automatic machine guns that allow burst fire in a matter of a few seconds. A lot of the incidents are confrontations between gangs that are looking to settle scores ...

Photo Credit: Accidentes de Costa Rica A tragic car accident that took place at 5:54 a.m. this Tuesday, December 12 in the area of Route 34 close to the bridge in the area of Portalon de Savegre, Quepos, Puntarenas, caused the death of three people. The crash involved a sedan and a 4x4, although the causes of the accident are not confirmed, apparently one of the drivers lost control of his v...

The cold front that has been affecting Costa Rica since Saturday night has left damage in its wake, from people who have tragically lost their lives, to others who have suffered injuries as a result of fallen trees and material damages. Many houses have had their roofs blown off by the strong winds, streets had to be closed due to mudslides and fallen trees; in total the National Emergency Commiss...

Expat Insider's Ease of Settling in Index 2017 “covers various ‘soft’ factors that can be vital to making a staying abroad a success”. The survey took into consideration 65 countries. Although Costa Rica dropped one spot in the general index from 2nd out of 67 in 2016 and 3rd out of 65 in 2017, Costa Rica was ranked best in the subcategory of "Finding Friends". “When it comes to friendships ...

A series of photographs that show the richness of Costa Rica’s biodiversity, particularly that of the Pacuare Nature Reserve is being showcased at the Royal Botanic Garden in Madrid, Spain. The exhibit organized by the Royal Botanic Garden (RJB-CSIC) showcases a collection of photographs taken by the students of the Official Program of Masters and Doctorate in Biodiversity in Tropical Areas an...

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) certified the Zoo Ave Animal Rescue Center and Las Pumas Rescue center for their high standards in animal wellness and conservation of wildlife. The accreditation was decided after a long process of evaluation and the recognition was given during a ceremony with the participation of the Ministry of Environment and the organization Human Socie...

The Costa Rica Chamber of Commerce provided information regarding the projections for this 2018 in a press conference this week, the growth in the commerce sector is expected to decline, going from 3.3% this year to 2.8% in 2018. The generation of new formal jobs will also suffer a decline. These conditions will definitely have an influence over the economic conditions of the country, causing ...

Photo Credit: Kenneth Bolaños./ Puntarenas se Oye A man and a woman lost their lives in different water accidents in Puntarenas this weekend. The first accident took place in Playa Hermosa in the Central Pacific when a 40-year-old woman of last names Soto Alvarez who was swimming along with her kids was dragged in by the tide; when the rescue team arrived they were able to pull her out but i...

Two foreign tourists, a man and a woman died today in the area of Playa Chiquita, Limón when a tree feel over the cabin where they were staying. According to the Talamanca Red Cross, the incident was reported at around 1:42 a.m. when as a result of the strong winds a tree fell over the room where the foreigners were sleeping. According to the authorities both are natives of Sweden and of las...

The strong winds that have affected the country since this Saturday evening have caused damages with the wiring and the falling of trees or branches in different areas of the country. The emergency services have received reports from, route 32 (road to Limon), the Interamericana Norte (between San Ramón and Puntarenas), Palmares (Alajuela), Coronado (San Jose), Puntarenas, Turrialba (Cartago), ...

During this 2017 Costa Rica made important investments for the conservation and protection of the Natural Heritage. The country registered 10,000 hectares of land in the Turrialba Volcano, Tenorio Volcano and Irazú Volcano National Parks as well as in the Juan Castro Blanco National Parl, the National Wildlife Refuge Iguanita and the Nicolas Wessberg Absolute Natural Refuge; this involved an in...

The Costa Rica Institute of Meteorology (IMN) and the National Emergency Commission (CNE) have issued warnings regarding bad weather conditions that will affect the country as of this Saturday night and through Monday or Tuesday. According to the IMN an increase in the rain is expected for the Caribbean coast and the North Zone with heavy rains Saturday night and early Sunday; the CNE issued a ...

Airbnb announced today the launching of its platform Experiences in Costa Rica, adding to the growing list of international destinations that offer local Experiences. Costa Rica is the first country in Central America and the sixth destination in Latin America and the Caribbean after Habana, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Jamaica in being part of Experiences Airbnb. The platf...

Four Mexicans linked to the robberies of two jewelry stores in Escazú, San José, Costa Rica back on October 31, were arrested this Wednesday, three at the Juan Santamaria International Airport when they were trying to leave the country, and one was arrested in San Jose. The jewelry stores targeted were Eurochronos in Multiplaza Mall and Tiempo Global in Plaza Colonial Escazu; at the moment of t...

The results of a study carried out by RedTraSex (network of sexual workers of Latin America and the Caribbean) where disclosed during a press conference this Wednesday, with information relevant to 13 countries, among them Costa Rica. The study was carried out through 5,222 surveys done during three months of this 2017. In Costa Rica 362 female sex workers took part of the survey. The study...

According to the Costa Rica Drug Institute the Costa Rican police has seized 127 tons (127,000 kilograms) of cocaine between 2010 and 2017 and a quarter of this is a result of the Jointed Patrol Agreement with the United States. So far this 2017 the police has seized a record 27 tons. The majority of the drug is transported in boats, however, ground transportation is also common which is why t...

Rohina Bhandari, was a 49-year-old Wall Street executive that loved to dive, she died in November 30 as a result of the injuries caused by a tiger shark attack while scuba diving in the waters of Isla del Coco in Costa Rica. This is the first incident of this sort that has taken place in the Island, and as a matter of fact one of the very few that have been registered throughout the years in Co...

The Ministry of Public Security stopped another boat loaded with cocaine in the South Pacific. The Costa Rican Coast Guard received an alert and immediately made their way to intercept the boat with the help of the Aerial Surveillance Service in the area of Cabo Matapalo in Golfito at 6:40 a.m. this Tuesday morning. The motorboat “Explorer Fishing” had three men on board when it was stopped,...

The Treasury Criminal Court ordered today a lien over the assets (properties, cars, bank accounts) of the seven people detained in relation to the “Cementazo” corruption scandal in Costa Rica. The Court admitted the request made by the Costa Rica Attorney General Office made last Friday as a precautionary measure after it had filed a civil action for compensatory damages on November 29th. A...

“Get the food you want, from the San Jose restaurants you love, delivered Uber speed”, this is the new business model that Uber is promoting in Costa Rica. Starting tomorrow, the new app is available for Costa Ricans to order the food they love from a selection of over 250 affiliate restaurants and have it delivered straight to their door by an Uber driver. The app allows users to browse throu...