Archive for April 7th, 2008
Monday, April 7th, 2008
Canada defeated Costa Rica 2-0 in a women’s soccer Olympic qualifier here on Sunday.
Melissa Tancredi opened the scoring on 15 minutes for Canada before Christina Sinclar made the second in the 71st minute to seal the victory.
Canada now leads Group B with six points followed by Costa Ricaand Trinidad and Tobago, both with five points.
Canada’s next game, on Wednesday, will decide if the team could win the Olympic ticket to Beijing.
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Monday, April 7th, 2008
The gigantic Festival Internacional de las Artes is scheduled to start Friday in Parque la Sabana and workers could be seen Sunday braving the rain to set up for the event. The art festival features children’s’ theater, art and crafts among other events. The international art festival will last until April 20.
This is the first time that the long-running festival, which tries to combine all arts from circus to theater and music, will be in three cities at once.
Ferias Indígenas, another cultural fair, will feature native art, traditional food, and games from a variety of Costa Rican tribes. The event starts Saturday in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas. The fair will move Sunday to China Kichá in Pérez Zeledón and will be held Saturday, April 26, in Ciudad Cortés.
The first day features theater about the Ngöbe culture. Speakers will discuss development, environment and tourism projects in Indigenous regions. The Buenos Aires section of the fair will be held at Escuela La Piñera from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, guests can learn about the Cabécar tribe and participate in other activities from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last day of the festival is called Festival del Canalete, or paddle festival and will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m in Ciudad Cortés.
The arts festival will unite 70 groups from 20 countries, with highlights including Chinese opera, Spanish mime artists, Bolivian theater, Venezuelan singers and Argentinian music.
La Sabana, will also be hosting events from 11 a.m. until midnight every day in a “Bulevar de las Artes.”
This new innovation is a passage that winds through Sabana Park hosting artesans from Central America and Pakistan, a Russian pavilion where workshops for traditional arts will take place, national artists, installations about environmental themes, sculpture and various other interactive projects. Three stages will be set up, one for books, one for music and the other for artists.
All of San José’s major theaters, such as the Teatro Nacional, Teatro Melico Salazar and Teatro de la Danza will be involved. Acts will move between the three participating cities, using the Teatro Municipal and Casa de la Cultura in Alajuela and the Casa de la Cultura in Puntarenas.
Program details are available at www.festivaldelasartescostarica.com.
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Monday, April 7th, 2008
Looking at the bright side of things, as the rainy season starts many tourist destinations and hotels typically start to offer special promotions to locals and visitors. Since last September, CANATUR (Costa Rica’s Board of Tourism) and ICT (Costa Rica’s Tourism Institute) began promoting countrywide discounts for Ticos in all seasons in a “Get to know your country” campaign. For outside visitors, the Green Season is the only time such lower prices for accommodations, tours and just about any tourism related service are available. And don’t be shy, if you don’t see a low-season promotion for the place you want to see, just ask.
Besides being able to save a few of your hard-earned money, you will also get to see something the regular high-season tourists don’t see – Costa Rica beaches and mountains in full splendor. This time of the year, everywhere you look, you’ll see green, green, green. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something truly primeval and invigorating about being surrounded by lush tropical vegetation during rainy season. It makes one feel truly alive in every sense of the word, but don’t take my word for it – go see for yourself.
The National Weather Bureau announced the transition from the dry season to the rainy one earlier this year, as a result of the influence of the phenomenon known as La Niña. The disturbance causes unusually cold surface water on the Pacific Ocean, which in turn promotes overcast skies and rains. While the rainy season regularly starts in May, this time it is expected for mid April.
Gabrieal Chinchilla of the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – confirmed that the remaining days of “verano” (summer or dry season) will see hot mornings with scattered showers in the afternoons.
Chinchilla added that downpours could be experienced in areas of the Central Pacific (Jacó, Quepos, Manuel Antonio and Puntarenas) and the Central Valley.
According to the weather service, mornings will be sunny and hot in all parts of Guanacaste, the western part of the Central Valley and the Pacifica coastal areas. The plains of the northern zone (Upala and Los Chiles) and the Limón coast should see clear skies.
In San José, morning temperatures could be as low as 15 Celsius but will warm up quickly hovering in the 25 Celsius by late morning, while Alajuela (west of San José) around the airport the range will be between 18 and 31 Celsius.
The IMN says that is very important to remember to bring along an umbrella and jacket as scattered showers will be common in the afternoons.
Typically the verano or dry season ends mid-May when the rainy or green season takes over until December. However, due to the effects of La Niña, the IMN is forecasting the rainy season to commence a month earlier.
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