Archive for August 4th, 2008
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Staying safe in Costa Rica isn’t hard to do if you have some common sense. A little street smarts won’t hurt either. While many of the rules of staying safe hold true for much of Costa Rica, I wanted to cover a few that were specific for the Puerto Viejo area.
Many of the visitors to the town of Puerto Viejo tend to be travelers on their way to Bocas del Toro to party or students from San Jose looking to party for the weekend. I’m not sure what it is about these crowds, but they aren’t exactly the smartest and certainly lack the street smarts I mentioned above. If you fall into this category, Im sorry, but its true. (more…)
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Monday, August 4th, 2008
Check Your Receipts After Shopping in Costa Rican Supermarkets.
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) recently conducted a study to determine whether the products in Costa Rica’s Canasta Básica (”basic basket”) — necessities like rice, beans, toilet paper, etc. — can actually be bought for their government-specified prices. Study results were both surprising and disappointing: not only do many supermarkets charge ¢20 to ¢225 more per Canasta Básica products, but five of the 20 grocery stores tested (25%) cheat their customers by secretly charging prices at the register more expensive than those marked on the shelf. (more…)
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Monday, August 4th, 2008
The month of August belongs to the Afro Costa Rican culture as the X Black Culture Festival starts today. This year’s festival has been named “Lets Return to our Roots” and this is exactly what the community will be doing throughout the entire month of August.
The province of Limon is located in Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast and is home to the most pristine and unspoiled beaches in the country. The festivities highlight will be August 31st when the Day of the Negro is celebrated. The X Black Culture Festival will have its inauguration ceremony today with several activities which include artistic displays, culinary samples and education.
The Afro Costa Rican culture is recognized for its richness, Calypso music, rice and beans and pati. The Festival will carry out in Limon and will include Caribbean Art conferences, book presentations, oratory contests, concerts and traditional food samples.
As part of the cultural celebration, the Costa Rican Calypso Festival will take place on Friday August 8th and the crowning of Miss Black Beauty 2008 will be taking place on Saturday August 23rd. And as if the previous activities weren’t enough, they will also be celebrating the X Cultural Values Rescue Festival of Siquirres and the Afro Cultural Limon Roots Festival.
These last two activities will be offering visitors cultural encounters, fashion shows, choirs and concerts. Organizers expect to attract local and foreign tourists and share their traditions and celebrations with everyone who visits Limon.
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Monday, August 4th, 2008
A study by the Consejo Centroamericano de Protección al Consumidor (Concadeco) – Central American consumer protection agency – has found that Costa Rican has the highest “canasta básica” (basic food basket) in the region.
The poll compared food prices in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Panama, taking into account 15 basic food products of the same brand and size.
The food items included rice, sugar, black and red beans, ground coffee, corn meal, flour, white sandwich bread, pasta, vegetable oil, pasteurized milk, fresh cheese, large eggs, whole chicken and soda drink.
The average price of the items in Costa Rica came to us$33.15, while the average price in the region was us$30.33.
Nicaragua had the lowest prices at us$26.64, in El Salvador the cost was us$31.19 and in Panama us$30.34.
The study found that in Costa Rica items like beans, corn meal, white sandwich bread, pasta, fresh cheese, large eggs, whole chicken and soda was the highest price.
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