Costa Rica information, activities and news
The Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados was planning to cut off service to much of the eastern part of the metro area and La Unión de Cartago in order to make a connection with a distribution tank.
Outages were predicted for Montes de Oca, Curridabat, Goicoechea, Coronado and Moravia, the water company said.
During the recent visit by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to the United Nations in New York, Mark Linden, of the Linden Trust for Conservation, invited the pro-environment leader to share with investors seeking to support initiatives for preserving nature.
One of those initiatives is “Costa Rica por Siempre” (Costa Rica Forever), which seeks to expand and finance in the long term the country’s protected areas, both terrestrials and maritime, in an effort to make Costa Rica the first nation to meet the UN’s objectives for protected areas. The Protected Areas Work Program of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has established chronological goals for each country, with the goal of helping stabilize and guarantee protection of the planet’s biodiversity. (more…)
Óscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, said on Monday that Venezuelan cooperation to Latin America is “four or five times” higher than the United States’ and defended his decision to apply for membership in Venezuela’s Petrocaribe initiative.
“Venezuela’s generosity is a reality because it offers to Latin America four or five times more money than the aid provided by the US,” said Arias in an interview published by Efe and held in the program “Nuestra Voz” broadcasted by radio station Radio Monumental.
“It is a fact and this is not a value judgment,” said Arias a day after the United States, through its ambassador in San José, Peter Cianchette, claimed to be “surprised” by Arias’ recent compliments to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Arias said that it is up to Chávez using wrongly or not the Venezuelan resources. “If he does not want to expend money in his country and wants to help Latin American countries through Petrocaribe, that is his own business,”
10. Who wouldn’t want to test Santa’s GPS capabilities by bringing the kids to a country with no street signs or road names?
9. Great excuse to take advantage of those post-Christmas sales when you get home and save money on your belated gift shopping.
8. “Must’ve got lost in the mail” will take care of gifts for the rest of the extended family who never got you anything last year anyway.
7. Your cheek-pinching aunt and prying cousins will never think to find you here.
6. Hotels and tour agencies are well aware of the season and organize special dinners, tours and events for guests during this time.
5. You’ve prepared enough holiday meals, let the hotel staff do it for you this time, they’ll take care of the clean up while they’re at it!
4. Who wants turkey when you can have fresh red snapper with mango chutney anyway?
3. Sand resembles snow, yet it won’t give you frost bite, it doesn’t block you in your house and it won’t fall at inopportune moments ruining your Christmas hair do.
2. Like most religious holidays in Costa Rica, Christmas is a time of celebration. Food, gifts and decorations are made and displayed with more care and everyone is in an all around jolly mood. It’s also the month of the Christmas Bonus, so people are more likely to do you a nice favor.
1. White Christmas is so last season. Unlike the states, December falls in the middle of the Costa Rican summer, meaning the lowest precipitation levels of the whole year, and the average temperature is around 80F.
