Costa Rica continues to make steady progress, earning a recognition position among investors, buyers and tourists in new markets. The good perception of the country brand, essential Costa Rica, positions it over competitors in the region, such as: Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Panama. The value of the Costa Rica brand moved up twelve positions in tourism and five in commerce and i...

A private lawsuit has been brought against the Municipality of Garabito, in Costa Rica's Central Pacific region, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) and the Directorate General of Transit (DGT) for a perceived dangerous situation along the southern Pacific coastal highway. Walter Brenes, a lawyer with the Energy Law Firm (ELF), filed the injunction against the entities requesting ...

Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has moved on from the beach communities on the northern Nicoya peninsula, to the central Pacific region of the Manuel Antonio National Park and its nearby small city of Quepos, for the country's second rural fiber optics installation project, reported the agency this week.   The project will benefit at least 1,087 customers will be move from the c...

In 2015, Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Education started to undertake a "transformation" of its curriculum to include "sexuality and affectivity" as part of its offerings, explained Education Minister Sonia Marta Mora. She announced this week the creation of a new subject to be offered for all 10th graders in the 2018 Feb. - Dec. school year. The sexuality and affectivity class will be led...

The video below, “Calling on Costa Rica”, was produced by Metro Golden Mayer and narrated by James A. FitzPatrick, and it showcases the Costa Rica of 70 years ago, the Costa Rica of 1947. Back in 1947 things were very different in Costa Rica, the video even mentions the country had some of the best roads! Imagine that! But behind the beauty and apparent calm that is shown in the video, the c...

Costa Rican women's rights defenders are in Geneva this month to report on the situation of women, as the UN evaluates the country's commitments to eliminating discrimination against women. They have painted a grim picture in a year when femicides - or deaths of women at the hands of their male romantic partners - are on the rise, and religious fundamentalism is steadily gaining a foothold in p...

Ever been curious about how those miniature trees are made? This weekend, the the University of Cota Rica's Lankester Botanical Gardens near Paraiso, Cartago, there will be exhibits of a variety of bonsai trees, as well as tea drinking ceremonies in the mornings, and free workshops (with your entrance fee) on bonsai techniques. Local bonsai groups, with support from the Japanese Embassy, are...

Small Lava Lake at Turrialba Volcano Photo Credit: M.Sc. Paul Vega, LANAMME-UCR. Earlier this week we reported on the activity at Poás Volcano which has presented several strombolian eruptions with ejection of small lava bombs; today the National Seismology Network reported on the discovery at Turrialba Volcano of a small lava lake in the central area of the crater. The small sized lake was ...

The Texas Tech University in Costa Rica will be ready to open doors in August of 2018 in Avenida Escazú. According to information published by daily La Nación and provided by Jack Bimrose, Administrative Director of the University, students will have to pay approximately US $1,500.00 a month to study one of the offered careers, Electric Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Sciences, Ma...

The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS), which runs the country's national public health system, announced the availability of a highly effective treatment for Hepatitis C. Whereas previously the virus was visually impossible to treat in a definitive manner, a pill became available in the U.S. in 2014 which gave up to 99 percent cure rates using a 12 - 24 week treatment, according to scie...

The U.S. State Department found significant improvement in Costa Rica's governmental efforts to prosecute human traffickers, protect victims and prevent this heinous crime, according to the agency's 2017 Report on Trafficking in Persons published last week. In the case of Costa Rica, the government's efforts showed notable success when compared with the 2016 study, allowing country to rise a le...

Starting today and through Friday, the Latina University in Costa Rica will host a job fair where participating companies have more than 500 positions to fill. On Wednesday the fair will take place in the San Pedro location of the Latina University, on Thursday it will be hosted at the Think Campus in Terrazas Lindora and on Friday in the Heredia campus. A total of 33 companies will be offer...

Got rice? Costa Rica consumer groups hope its locally grown, and are pushing for price subsidies to stay in place to support local farmers. The National Federation of Consumers (Fenasco) urged the President of the Republic Luís Guillermo Solís to maintain price subsidies for the country's basic staple, rice, and to not cede to pressures from organizations, companies or business chambers to roll...

Turtle Island announces Cocos Island, Costa Rica conservation scholarship Applications can be sent in English or Spanish The international marine wildlife protection organization, Turtle Island, is offering a scholarship for a person in the beginning or early stages of his or her marine conservation career to participate a ten-day shark and turtle tagging expedition. The expedit...

Costa Rica's red taxis have more than competing transportation services to worry about these days. All official taxis under new regulations were supposed to have new "talking" taxi meters up and running by July 1, said the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT). According to the Public Transportation Council, only 8 percent of official taxis have the correct type of meter, but th...

A husband-and-wife veterinarian team has transformed their farm in Tarbaca de Aserrí, in the hills south of San José, into a refuge for abandoned and injured animals. When their good intentions of helping a few stray animals started to burgeon into a serious undertaking they formed a non-profit association called the Costa Rican Association for Animal Welfare (Acoproba, in Spanish). With the...

Want to see more of Costa Rica? Domestic flights on NatureAir can get you from place to place in far less time than it takes to drive, and reach destinations that span from Tortuguero in the northern Caribbean to the Osa Peninsula in the southern Pacific. From now until August 31, while supplies last, the airline is offering a 6-ticket package for US$199 to residents and nationals. Each o...

The United Nations' International Court of Justice on Monday began hearings over a maritime and land boundary dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Costa Rica presented its case to the court in The Hague on Monday, while Nicaragua is set to present its case on Thursday. There are two cases -- Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua: Maritime Delimitation in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, as w...

The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica is presenting activity this Monday evening (July 3, starting at 10:30 p.m.) and it is expelling fragments of fresh lava from the main emission point, denominated Boca Roja (Red Mouth), reported Dr. Mauricio Mora from the National Seismology Network. This type of activity, known as strombolian eruptions began in the early morning hours of July 1st whe...

Want to see what's happening in the world of chocolate in Costa Rica? From July 14-16 the country's main chocolate trade fair takes place in downtown San José at the former customs building, also known as the Antigua Aduana. Entrance is 2,000 colones for adults, and children are free. If you want to be guaranteed a spot at the popular event, tickets can even be purchased in advance starting ...

Spirit Airlines opened on Saturday, July 1, a new sales and customer service office in Costa Rica to better serve local customers, said the airline. The office will be open Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. - 12 p.m. Phone queries can be made via (506) 4032-9449, where Spirit representatives will assist customers, "with the kindness and courtesy you deserve." With ove...

The President of Costa Rica's Criminal Cassation Chamber Judge Doris Arias Madrigal, inaugurated Tuesday June 27  the first biregional meeting on innovations in addressing drug related offenses in which Caribbean, European and Latin American countries exchanged information and experiences. Judge Arias Madrigal stressed the importance of working on strategies for a comprehensive approach to drug...

Last week, Costa Rica hosted a meeting of the Central American Council of Tourism at which ideas were discussed to promote tourism investment in the region, said the Costa Rican tourism Institute (ICT). Central America's Tourism Ministers, businessmen and representatives of the region's tourism chambers participated in this first "Forum of Exchange of Experiences for the Promotion of Tourism In...

(Photo Archive ICE Workers) The Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE) explained through a press release that the blackout which affected the country yesterday was caused by a failure of the Panamanian transmission system. The reestablishment of the service was done gradually to avoid a collapse of the system; even though Nicaragua, Panama and the rest of the Central American countries were ...

Coffee from Finca don Antonio, in Copey de Dota which is cultivated at between 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level, reached a record price of up to USD$8,060.00 per quintal (100 lbs or 46 kilograms) in the electronic auction organized by contest Taza de la Excelencia (Cup of Excellence), organization headquartered in Portland Oregon; while in the New York stock market the price reached $123.80 p...

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute expects to reestablish the service to all areas of the country by 6:30 p.m. A blackout affected the country since 1:15 p.m. and apparently it was caused by a failure in the Regional Interconnected System, which also caused temporary problems for Nicaragua, Panama and even some areas of Guatemala. According to the National Center of Energy Control at this ho...

The Juan Santamaría Airport in Costa Rica had to suspend its operations this Saturday as a consequence of the national blackout. The electric service was interrupted at 1:15 p.m due to a failure in the Regional Interconnection System; this problem is also affecting Nicaragua, Panama and even Guatemala. All flights coming in and out of the country are either delayed or suspended for now, conf...

Several communities are currently without electric power in Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Electric Institute has received reports from several areas in the provinces of San José, Cartago, Alajuela, Heredia and Limón. Costa Rica had not had a blackout affect the whole country for ten years. Update 2:13pm The problem apparently is a failure in the Regional Interconnection System which is also a...

One of the main complaints of Costa Ricans and foreigners alike is how slow the Costa Rica government is when it comes to the execution of public works; hopefully this will improve soon as Congress has taken steps that will allow the State to build more efficiently and faster. The Executive Branch has presented a proposal to modify Articles 18,25,30,32 and 57 of the Expropriation Law, which wo...

Costa Rica is a small country but with big commitments, and one of those is regarding safeguarding the rights of women to live free of discrimination in society. As a country that has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Costa Rica comes under regular review by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which...

The University of Costa Rica's San Pedro, San José campus will host a free, public symposium consisting of three talks in English on different neuropsychology topics on Friday, August 11 at 1 p.m., announced the Professional Association of Psychologists of Costa Rica. The event, "Neuropsychology: Applications and Research," will delve into how cognitive neuroscience can lead to better understan...

This week, Costa Rica hosted the XLIX Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA, its initials in Spanish) during which a concrete step forward on border control cooperation with Panama was taken, announced the Costa Rican President's office. Presidents Luis Guillermo Solís of Costa Rica and Juan Carlos Varela of Panama signed an agreement to creat...

Community-minded citizens in Heredia, Costa Rica are concerned about continued attempts by a coalition of business owners, local governments, and others to roll back protections of Costa Rica's water resources, said Conceverde (which translates to the Environmental Association of North San Rafael de Heredia). Rulings over the past years by the country's high court, the Sala IV, have upheld what...

In April, a Costa Rican woman, Eugenia Cartín, said a call she had made to complain about her Internet service with Tigo had been released on social media, and had caused her immense emotional strife and also affected her professional work as a translator, according to reports in local media. During the 15-minute call, apparently Cartín used very strong language. In the aftermath of the publ...

Reporting by Sophie Hares As Hurricane Otto ripped through Costa Rica in November causing devastating floods and landslides, Juan Carlos Murillo Garcia and his team rushed to set up mobile clinics to treat one of the Central American nation’s worst-hit groups - its animals. Murillo, who manages disaster response for international agency World Animal Protection, said flash floods, flying debr...

The Costa Rican police dismantled a criminal band that was offering luxury houses, drugs and women to tourists in the Jacó area. The police operations took place in five locations in Jacó, Puntarenas and La Uruca, San José. The main target of this band were tourists with high purchasing power to whom they’d offer illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, LSD, etc.) and a catalog of women for sexual se...

Merck Sharpe and Dohme will establish a regional center for financial services in Costa Rica to support the company's operations in Latin America, reported Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Ministry yesterday. Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Mora congratulated and thanked the company for its trust in Costa Rica. "Costa Rica has a recognized track record as a competitive destination for companies lik...

With the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Central Pacific county of Garabito is the first in Costa Rica to implement a public policy on controlling and monitoring plastics on its beaches, said the international agency yesterday. The beaches of Jacó, Hermosa, Herradura, Tárcoles and Guacalillo will be jointly monitored by surfers and the municipal government to fight...

Businesses in the former agricultural towns near the frequently touristed volcano by the same name in Poás, Alajuela are reporting up to 70 percent decreases in sales over recent weeks since the volcano entered a new, eruptive phase. Tourism has become a mainstay of this national park and surrounding area due to its proximity to the main international airport and to San José - making it a popul...

"Costa Rica’s economy is growing at its estimated trend rate of about 4.25 percent," said economists at the International Monetary Fund. Their recently released report also summarized the situation as follows: "The colón has been depreciating moderately since mid-2016, while reserves have declined despite the narrowing in the current account deficit...inflation is returning to desire...