Archive for December 16th, 2008
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
The Spanish International Cooperation Agency announced yesterday a 35,000-euro ($47,900) donation to help Costa Rica prevent the spread of illness in the Caribbean region after heavy flooding hit the area at the end of November and early December.
The donation will go via the Pan-American Health Organization to Costa Rica’s Public Health Ministry.
The Spanish agency said the funds will be used to prevent problems such as dengue, malaria and pests, as well as ensure the quality of drinking water in homes and sanitary infrastructure, according to a press release.
Spain joins such France, the United States and the Netherlands as donors following the latest flooding, which left one person dead, forced more than 5,000 people out of their homes and caused more than $75,000 in infrastructural damage, primarily in the Caribbean province of Limón.
France donated 50,000 euros (about $68,400) and the United States gave $50,000, and loaned helicopters for evacuation operations. The Dutch, meanwhile, have pledged engineering expertise in flood prevention.
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Puerto Viejo de Carapiqui, Costa Rica – A world leader in ecotourism, Costa Rica is a country that promotes nature conservation instead of the ruthless exploitation of natural resources, and wildlife-watching instead of competitive drinking at the side of hotel pools. The Central American nation is considered a role model in this respect, and its many natural treasures – including crater lakes, smoking and dormant volcanoes, Pacific and Caribbean beaches, and rain forests with howler monkeys, toucans and sloths – attract more and more tourists every year.
Even little creatures are big stars in Costa Rica. Take, for instance, a red poison dart frog spotted in the bushes by the Sarapiqui River. It looked up to see two cameras pointed in its direction. Barely as big as a thumb, the pipsqueak puffed out its throat mightily.
Two tourists from Germany, along with the rest of the small group, heeded the advice of Karla Barquero, their guide: They kept still and photographed without flashbulbs. The brightly coloured amphibian, normally quite shy, seemed to appreciate this behaviour and did not bound away. (more…)
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
March 3 as Iron Maiden arrives in Costa Rica for what is being billed as a “monster concert”.
Put on by the same uber concert promoter that brought the country Latin heartthrob Alejandro Sanz, Sting, the Black Eyed Peas and more recently Placido Domingo, Iron Maiden may be the biggest draw yet. That’s because heavy metal and 80′s music in particular is still widely played on radio by college age men and women. It is more a staple than the salsa music typically played in other Latin American nations.
Iron Maiden is a pioneer of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They first rose to fame in the early 1980s, and after several lineup changes, they went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums. These include the US platinum-selling landmark The Number of the Beast in 1982 and the follow up Piece of Mind in 1983. Iron Maiden released their newest studio effort in 2006 entitled A Matter of Life and Death peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in the UK. (more…)
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