Top 10 Costa Rica

Changes are coming … this out-of-the-way place is not so out-of-the-way anymore.

1) New International Airport (Costa Rica’s third) is being built in Palmar Norte

2) New 80,000 square foot Hospital is currently under construction

3) Costanera Highway (Pacific Coast Highway) is in the final stages of road improvement.

Costa Rica has been the buzzword for those seeking a tropical Disneyland-like eco-tourism experience. A place where monkeys, birds, and butterflies playfully share their piece of paradise. A country known by biologists as having the richest biodiversity in the world.

Nature truly smiled on this small country of only 52,100 square kilometers, with the geography and climate making it an ideal location for tourism and real estate appreciation. Property values have increase nearly 34% annually since 1998, with an even higher return on land with a home.

This appreciation has been primarily reflected in the Northwest region of Costa Rica, the Province of Guanacaste. This is where Costa Rica’s second International Airport was built and new infrastructure made this primarily arid region the area of choice for both investors and those seeking a retirement/vacation home.

Historically, the only tourists venturing down the Pacific Coast were those going to see Manuel Antonio National Park, (the most visited park in Costa Rica), and the surfing crowd going to Dominical and the “Southern-Zone” where “the mountains meet the sea”.

Changes are coming … this out-of-the-way place is not so out-of-the-way anymore.

1) A New International Airport (Costa Rica’s third) is being built in Palmar Norte and is scheduled to be open for International flights by 2010.

2) A New 80,000 square foot Hospital is currently under construction and nearly complete.

3) The Costanera Highway (Pacific Coast Highway) is in the final stages of being a road improvement project which included rising, widening and paving the 26 mile stretch connecting Quepos and Dominical. (Including the town of Matapalo)

4) The largest, and only, full service marina in Central America is being built in Quepos and is currently under construction.

The popularity of Costa Rican president Óscar Arias has increased comparing to last year, according to a poll by Unimer published in La Nación. 50 per cent of respondents think Arias has done a good or very good job in leading the Central American country, up six points since last July. Arias—a member of the National Liberation Party (PLN)—won the February 2006 presidential election with 40.92 per cent of all cast ballots. Arias headed the government from 1986 to 1990, and was able to run again after the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly opted to bring back presidential re-election in 2003. He was sworn in for the second time in May 2006.

In 1987, Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in a peace deal that ended years of bloodshed in Central America. In 2007, Costa Rican voters ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in a nationwide referendum.

On Mar. 25, Arias said he received a letter from Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, asking for his help in initiating talks with China over recent clashes with protesters in Tibet. Arias said the Dalai Lama wants to “sit down [with Chinese authorities] and talk like civilized people,” adding, “Nobody is asking for independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama has never asked for that. What is at stake is preserving the autonomy of Tibet.”

Arias referred to the Tibetan spiritual leader as his “personal friend.” Last year, Arias severed his country’s long-standing ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

- Funny home videos are a click away

Believe it or not Costa Rica has its own prison that is situated out on its very own island similar to that of other famous prisons around the globe such as the French Devil Island and the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, United States.

The prison, known as ley 5469, lies on the island of San Lucas which is part of the Puntarenas province and has been made available for public access for tourists to check out and remember some of Costa Rica’s history. Only 5.5% of the island has been made available for tourist activities, which includes the prison, and renovation will begin to install a museum, a restaurant, toilet facilities and various retail outlets.

San Lucas was shut in 1992 and had the reputation of being one of the hardest prisons in Costa Rica. There are many tales of betrayal, gangs and violence from within the walls from prisoners who spent large majorities of their life behind these walls. The prison is essentially made up of under ground cells from where the prison community helped to run their own lives by fishing, farming and doing chore under the watchful eye of the guards.

When the prison will be open for tourists remains unclear, but perhaps within a year or so you will be able to complete deviate yourself from the main attractions of wildlife, beaches and canopy tours and learn a bit about some of Costa Rica’s gruesome past.

Debbie Zec busts big moves on the Costa Rica Surf Tour 

Debbie Zec has been competing on the Costa Rica CNS (Circuito Nacional de Surf) for the last three years and after many close 2nd and 3rd place finishes, finally has succeeded in winning her first event. With two contests left on the tour, the next one in her home town, Dominical, she talked about her accomplishment and what to expect from this rising surf star.

So you just won your first Jr. Women’s Division event on the Costa Rica National Surf Tour. How do you feel?

I’m very happy! I always wanned to beat my good friend Nataly and Its been really hard because she is a very good competitor but this time the luck was on my side…

What were the waves like for the contest?

They were real nice, very good shape, good size… I just didn’t like the sets to much they were too strong and they make you waste a lot of time paddling.

Describe the final heat. When did you feel like you could win it?

Well it was flat for a while and then lots of sets, so it was hard to catch waves, but finally my first wave was a left and its was really nice and long and i try to do everything i could on that wave, since that moment i knew that maybe this was my lucky day hahahahaha!

Nicaragua plans a $120 million Pacific highway from Costa Rica to Honduras

The Instituto Nicaragüense de Turismo said the project will be 130 kilometers (about 81 miles) and cost $120 million.

The coastal highway will link Costa Rica with Honduras, the tourism institute said.

Mario Salinas Pasos, president of the institute, said that the project was designed by previous governments with unrealistic standards, so it never was built. So the current government has redesigned the entire highway, he said.
The route will take advantage of existing roadways, he said.

The tourism institute is anxious to provide the access to the Pacific coast of the country where some major projects already are being constructed and more are in planning.

Costa Rica made it into my list of top ten destinations in the world to make a property investment in, and is certainly a contender for the country to become as popular and as successful for property investors as Spain is and has been respectively.

Ok, the property isn’t the cheapest but there is massive potential for profit. Costa Rica is a gorgeous place — positively vibrant. It has both a Caribbean and Pacific coastline, which not only gives it fantastic beaches, but also allows visitors and property investors a choice of climate, humid heat or dry heat — it is cool in the centre.

Lush vegetation, jungles, tropical plant-life, and awe-inspiring volcanoes, as well as sun, sea and surf are all attracting tourists and property investors. On top of its aesthetic benefits Costa Rica is one of the most secure and stable of all the Central American countries. It also has a really good infrastructure.
In fact, the stage is set for Costa Rica to enjoy massive and sustainable growth for the foreseeable future — in every industry. Costa Rica just signed the CAFTA, Central America Free Trade Agreement, its major export: micro-processors is a growth industry, on top of all other famous South American export goods like Coffee and Cocoa, and that is before we even mention tourism.

Like I said Costa Rica can easily rival Spain, the popular Caribbean resorts already rival Spain, but they are out of most people’s price ranges. Costa Rica’s emerging state means living costs are low so it provides an excellent low-cost Caribbean holiday. Little wonder that rental yields are very rarely under 12%.

Dominican Republic offers the cheapest Caribbean holiday, and the cheapest property, but for the extra money Costa Rica surpasses because of its infrastructure and stability. Costa Rica also has a very competitive taxation system; the first $2,698 earned from rental is exempt from taxation, after that it is taxed progressively between 10% and 25%. Capital Gains tax is not charged unless it is from a recurring (habitual) transaction, inheritance and gift tax is only 1-2%, and total round-trip transaction costs are a moderate 8.58 - 13.58%.

In short Costa Rica is doing everything right to ensure it sees continued growth, in its export industry in foreign direct investment and GDP growth, making it well worth considering as a destination for an overseas property investment.

Spanish singer Rosario Flores and Argentine group El Choque Urbano are set to perform in Costa Rica as part of the 11th International Arts Festival (FIA), taking place in multiple venues in San José, Alajuela and Puntarenas from April 11 to 20.

Alongside other events, the festival will see a “Boulevard of the Arts” created in San José’s La Sabana Park. This “Festival within the festival” will be a focal point for the week’s activities.

“I am convinced that the more we evolve as a society, the more our arts will develop, and vice-versa,” said President Oscar Arias, who attended the March 13 press conference for the presentation of next month’s FIA program.

The festival sets out to showcase the best of Costa Rican theater, poetry, music and visual arts alongside 70 international artists and performers from 20 countries around the world.

In a controversial move, FIA has chosen China as its specially invited guest country. “President Arias personally invited China,” Aurelia Garrido, vice minister for culture, told The Tico Times. “Cultural exchange is a way to encourage dialogue and to get to know each other better.”

Costa Ricans, as people in other countries, are caught between old cultural forces and new ones that influence especially its young inhabitants. Ticos as a whole still respect conservative values, but they’re starting to adopt several American cultural traits. Even then, Costa Ricans still possess a unique identity that distinguishes them from other places and even from their neighboring countries.

Ticos are pretty homogeneous racially and culturally speaking, since only 1% of their population is considered to be Indian, and the other Black and Chinese minorities aren’t very numerous. A traveler going through Latin America will notice the Ticos’s relative “whiteness” when compared to the people of other places. Ticos also have a very high level of education, and the literacy rate is 96%. Thus, Costa Ricans define themselves as unique and different from their neighboring countries.

Costa Ricans are still conservative when it comes to family issues. Even though the amount of single-mother families is extremely high, family ties are still very strong even in these types of households. Traditions revolve around the family from the moment of birth to that of death. Some immensely important family traditions are: baptisms, first communions, engagement parties, weddings and funerals. These events are attended by the extended family as well as by a large quantity of friends and their family members. Also, most Costa Ricans still live at home until they are married, and leaving the household to go to college or to gain independence is still very rare.

Traditions are also shaped by gender differences and the “machismo” system. Men and women are expected to act differently from each other, and to respect their roles. A large proportion of Costa Rican women are professionals and hold important positions in both businesses and the government, but they still retain some traits that are traditional and conservative.

Besides traditions that revolve around the family, there are also several significant religious celebrations. The main religious events are: Easter Week or Semana Santa , Christmas Week and August second, which is the celebration of the Virgin of the Angels. Costa Rica is also different from other Latin American countries, because it practices a “lukewarm” Catholicism that causes a strange mixture of partying and religious celebration during these holidays. Also, the Indian population is so small, that religious events don’t offer a mixture of Catholic and Indian practices; thus, Costa Rican processions, for example, aren’t as colorful as in Mexico or Guatemala.

For Easter Week, many people that live near the capital city of San Jose choose to go to the beach; for them, Easter is mostly a time to relax and to have a good time. However, some people choose to stay at home and to join religious celebrations that include masses and processions. Nearly everything shuts down from Thursday to Monday, which is why it’s a good idea to stock up on goods before then, and to avoid traveling, since some transportation services also stop completely. During the Christmas celebration and some days previous to New Years, the same phenomenon occurs. A lot of people attend religious celebrations held at churches or at homes (like rosary and prayer events that offer large quantities of food and drink), while others choose to escape their urban routines and go to the beach. Another religious celebration is the pilgrimage to the Basilica de los Angeles in Cartago city, in honor of the Virgin of the Angels. During this holiday many people walk to the city from all parts of the country, in order to pay a “promise” to the Virgin (when she answered a prayer) or to renew their faith. This event is incredible because of its magnitude and also because some believers travel for days or even weeks in order to reach their destination and to honor the Virgin. Even though some Costa Ricans decide to party during religious celebrations, they still prefer to do it in the company of their family, thus maintaining cultural and family unity. Ticos are extremely friendly to foreigners, and once they’ve gotten to know you they’ll invite you to family gatherings and celebrations. After all, hospitality is probably the most widespread tradition in Costa Rica.

‘Semana Santa’, Costa Rica’s version of Spring Break when just about the entire country comes to a standstill, began this past Monday. This weeklong event was historically a religious holiday and although a few still closely follow the Catholic traditions, it has become something else entirely for most people today. Some government offices and businesses have closed up for the week, while the majority of businesses will have their last day today, including banks, and be closed until the following Monday. It is actually illegal to obligate anyone to work on those days as they are declared national holidays.

Although Costa Rica’s official religion is Catholicism, very few Ticos today really follow Catholic teachings to the letter. This being said, Semana Santa is still a time when Costa Rican’s take advantage of their time off to be with their families and friends. For many though, this also is an excuse to party and go to the beach.

A Few Semana Santa Traditions

Lagarteada
In a small town in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste a 150 year old Semana Santa tradition still survives. This tradition is called a “lagarteada” and involves a rowdy bunch of people, mostly men as you can imagine, jumping into a murky river on Good Friday and herding a full-size alligator into submission with their bare hands. The unlucky alligator that is captured is tied up and carried into town where it spends a few days in a special pen built for the special occasion. The MINAE (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía), Costa Rica’s Environmental Protection Agency has given this crazy event its blessing with the condition that the alligator is returned unharmed to its home.

Via crucis or Procesión
The religious tradition of the “Via Crucis” or “Via Dolorosa” in Latin - you may know it as the Way of the Cross – is an event held on Good Friday. It is a religious representation of the journey Jesus Christ made bearing the weight of the Cross. For this event, you will see a large turnout and participants wear full period costumes and drummers loudly announce the passing of the parade. This is an interesting tradition to witness, no matter what your religious inclination is.

Películas de Semana Santa
Semana Santa is infamous for the all day TV marathons where classics such as Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments are played. Most Ticos grew up with these religious movies in the background and they are still worthwhile to watch (if you have 3-4 hours to spare) as they are part of Hollywood’s Golden Age with amazing actors and cinematic productions.

Traditional Foods
As is common all around the world, every special holiday has its own set of traditional foods. During Semana Santa, some of the things you’ll see are ‘Chiverre’ which is a type of squash made into a sweet preserve and used to flavor breads and pastries. It is also traditional for people to avoid beef these days so expect a lot of fish to be on the menu.

Drive Safely

Back in the old days, as recently as 30 or 40 years ago, many still considered it a Sin to ride a car on Good Friday. In some neighborhoods people would even go to the extreme of throwing stones at cars being driven that day. Although this is not something to worry about today, you should be careful about drunk drivers on the road. Just this past weekend, before Semana Santa even got started, 15 cars were impounded because of driving under the influence. As the week progresses, things are likely to get worse. Don’t do as many irresponsible Tico’s do - Don’t Drink & Drive this Semana Santa.

Starting today all phone numbers across Costa Rica, both mobile and landline numbers, will become one digit longer.

Landline numbers starting with a 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will have an extra ‘2’ added to the beginning of the number ,whilst mobile phone numbers starting with 3, 8 and 9 will have an extra ‘8’ added to the beginning of the number. It is be mentioned that all mobile phone users must switch off and then back on their mobile phones to reboot their phone so that their phones can work with the new number guidelines. Without this restart the mobile phones will not be able to connect up to their service.

ICE (Costa Rica Electricity Institute) have been working hard over the past month or so to prepare their systems for the change as well as making the public aware. Huge campaigns have been run in newspapers, magazines, on the radio and most notably on the television with a catchy little jingle. ICE have even had staff members on the streets standing at busy traffic junctions displaying signs to remind drivers that the change was coming.

ICE have also spent time alerting major worldwide phone operators of the change too which may incur some problems for international callers who wish to call families, friends and business in Costa Rica.

ICE have made the changes to cater for the ever increasing demand for both landline and mobile phone network connections as ICE increase their services to parts of the country that were once unreachable.

All 800 numbers and the emergency 911 will not affected by changeover.

The most recent report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) points out that Costa Rica has the lowest rate of unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the statistics disclosed in Peru, through July 2007, Costa Rica reported a 4.8 percent rate of unemployment, below the ones for 22 other countries. The closest rate is that of Mexico, at 4.9 percent, followed by Chile at 7.1 percent, Panama 7.7 percent, and Argentina, 9.2 percent. The nation with the highest rate of unemployment in Latin America is Colombia, at 12 percent. The ILO report remarks that the Costa Rican rate decreased from 6 percent in 2006 to 4.8 percent last year, and that women were the most favored group. Minister of Housing and War against Poverty Fernando Zumbado pointed out that the economic growth experienced by the nation has been the key to the expansion of employment.
Donations are going
The generous Scandinavian countries, the Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and cooperation from Canada, as well as the Taiwanese, have left Costa Rica with their stories as the leading donors to this Central American nation. The Dutch, the Swedish, and the Germans are soon to leave and take with them the accounts for the so-called “non-reimbursable financial cooperation”; donations, in short. Non-reimbursable cooperation for Costa Rica decreased by 17.65 percent since 1990; meanwhile, the world rate was 5.33 percent, according to the Ministry of Planning. Analysts explain that this nation is a victim of her own success, as compared to neighboring countries, and that donors see it as a “graduate” in development, in spite of its underdeveloped features.
Best destination
The United States tourist sector chose Costa Rica as the number one tourist destination in Latin America in 2007. Magazine Travel Weekly delivered the award to Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides at the International Tourism Fair, held in Spain. It is the third year that Costa Rica receives the honor, after it had done so in 2004 and 2006. The choice was made by 180,000 readers linked to the industry and belonging to organizations such as travel agencies, hotels, tour operators, etc.
Tourism campaign
The Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT in Spanish) will launch an aggressive advertising and marketing campaign, in fears of the impact on tourism of recession in the United States. Costa Rican Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides said that $14 million will be allocated to that end. This amount is double the overall budget for the year 2007. The aim in the United States is to promote Costa Rica as an exotic destination, one that is closer to the U.S. and not expensive, in comparison to Thailand and other Asian countries. Visitors from the U.S. represented 54 percent of the overall 1.9 million tourists who came to Costa Rica last year.
Illegal fishing
A tuna boat of Panamanian registry was caught while illegally fishing in the protected waters off Cocos Island National Park, in the Pacific Ocean. The crew was forced to release 12 tons of live fish it already had aboard, according to Ministry of the Environment and Coast Guard officials who partook in the operation. The Proteus, a boat belonging to the non-profit environmentalist Marviva Foundation, escorted the Tiuna and her 25-men crew to Puntarenas, where the crew will face indictment and the boat will be kept until a fine estimated at $5 million is paid.
Turtle protection
The Ombudsman’s Office is currently keeping an eye on the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, on the Costa Rican Pacific, intent on enforcing to their outmost the rules that protect the parrot turtle, which spawns at that site. This is so after complaints of egg exploitation have not been successful in attaining indictments as a result of poor handling of the evidence.
Engineering firm
U.S. firm Emerson Process Systems & Solutions is to open in Costa Rica its first center of engineering and design in Latin America. In order to do so, it is hiring 20 engineers and is planning to add another 180 along the next five years. High added value investments, such as Emerson’s, are the ones Costa Rica is focusing on now, according to Government sources.

The Fuerza Pública starts at 8 p.m. tonight to seal bars and other places where alcohol is sold. This is the annual effort to prevent alcohol sales on Holy Thursday and Good Friday of Semana Santa.

The police agency is fielding 2,508 officers to work with officials in the country’s 81 municipalities. Anyone who breaks the seals on doors or places where alcohol is stored can face a three-month to two-year jail term.

The Fuerza Pública said the law will be enforced vigorously.

Paragon Application Systems, the leading global provider of electronic payment (ePayment) simulation, configuration and testing software, today announced the licensing of its FASTest and ATMulator software to Banco de Costa Rica (BCR).

BCR is using FASTest and ATMulator to improve QA and to reduce the time to market for new ATM features and marketing campaigns.

As the first bank in Costa Rica to install an ATM and issue a debit card, BCR prides itself on being an innovative bank. In order to quickly bring new ATM offerings to the market, BCR needed software to assist them in developing and testing these features. BCR improved their QA testing efficiency and reduced testing costs by using Paragon’s desktop simulation and testing solutions ATMulator and FASTest.

“With ATMulator and FASTest, we’ve increased testing automation, centralized control of test cases and reduced testing times for the QA department,” says Luis Morales, Project Leader for BCR. “The software is easy to use and allows us to reproduce test cases that are hard to generate in a real ATM, like device faults. FASTest has been especially helpful because it allows us to execute test cases in minutes, rather than days.”

Another factor in BCR’s decision to choose Paragon, was Paragon’s local presence in Central America. “Paragon has quickly addressed any issues that we’ve had,” says Morales. “Our relationship with Paragon is excellent and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

“We are pleased to work with BCR and their talented staff who quickly realized the many benefits of ATMulator and FASTest,” says Jim Perry, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Paragon. “We are confident that with our local presence in the region we are well positioned to meet BCR’s future needs.”

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Unquestionably, 2007 was a year of growth for Costa Rica’s national tourism industry and the beginning of 2008 confirms consistency. January of 2008 marked a good start in tourist air arrivals according to the preliminary data gathered by the Costa Rica Tourist Board (ICT).

Despite economic worries in the main North American markets, the first month of 2008 shows optimism. International tourism arrivals registered at the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) and Daniel Oduber Quirós (LIR) have showed a steady growth. According to the ICT, 127,647 international visitors arrived by plane in January of 2008, marking a 13.7 percent over the same month of 2007.

For Costa Rica Tourism Minister, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, these numbers indicate a positive trend for the current high season already taking place, and at the same time committing the government and sector to improve efforts to promote tourism activities.

“These figures are excellent news, a 13 percent increase is way over the annual estimates and we should take advantage of this to work even harder throughout the year, especially now considering the economic situation, particularly in the United States. We are pleased to announce that we have started off the year successfully,” said Benavides.

In the case of the national airport Juan Santamaría, the numbers indicate an estimated increase of 15 percent, representing approximately 121,000 tourists. The Daniel Oduber airport has an expected increase of 7.3 percent, with 23,000 visitors.

Expansion began last year with U.S. and European airline companies including Spirit Airlines, Frontier, Champion Air, Sunwing Airlines, First Choice, Air Caraibes, and Air Comet flying across Costa Rican skies.

Costa Rica closed 2007 with a total of 1.9 million international tourist arrivals, an 11.5 percent increase in comparison to 2006. Revenue generated by international tourists reached a historic high of US$1.9 billion, up US$300 million from last year.

In terms of investment, in 2007 Costa Rica received an estimated US$800 million in tourism investment; excluding investment in real estate development. Hilton, Marriott, Crown and Express are among some of the hotel chains that decided to invest in Costa Rica’s tourism industry.

In 2008, Costa Rica will be the host of the next United Nations’ International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development. In that sense, sustainable tourism will continue being a pivotal goal for 2008. Costa Rica has set a goal to become a zero carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) tourist destination by the year 2021.

Costa Rica, one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world, has been since 1990, one of the first eco tourism destinations where the national heritage and resources have been used in a sustainable and responsible way. The Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST), created by the ICT in 1999, is one of the initiatives to support sustainable development within the tourism industry.