Archive for October, 2009
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
Halloween in Central America is not nearly as popular as it is in the United States, but in certain countries the holiday is celebrated to varying degrees. For example, in San Pedro, on the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize, festivities last several days and resemble those in the U.S, featuring costumes, candy and contests. But in Costa Rica, the holiday is considered pagan—why should it be celebrated, when spirits haunt Costa Rica on a daily basis?
November 1st is All Saint’s Day in the Central American nations closest to Mexico, also called the Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los Muertos. In Santiago Sacatepequez, Guatemala, men dress up in devil costumes and playfully chase children through the streets, and extravagant kites fill the air with color. No matter your faith, it’s a great time to celebrate life—as well as death.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
On Monday, Multiplaza Escazú will unveil its “quinta etapa” (fifth stage) with the expansion of its floor area to include 86 additional stores, a new department store and more than 1.000 new parking spaces.The main focus of the expansion is the introduction of the Simán department store that is from Salvador and a host of other “pioneer” stores making their debut in Costa Rica for the first time.
Salvador Bolaños, general manager of Grupo Roble, the developer of Multiplaza Escazú, said that most of th new stores opening next week are from Panama and that he hopes at least 50 stores will ready for opening on inauguration.
Workers have been busy in finishing the expansion in time for the 2009 Christmas shopping season. This week attention has been focused on the exterior of the expansion, ready to greet the expected 150.000 plus shoppers to the mall. Bolaños said that at least 50.000 new shoppers are expected to be attracted by the new stores.
In addition to the retail stores, the expansion will have a food court with at least eight food outlets, including McDonalds, Café Illy, Inka Grill and Tintos & Blancos. This is in addition the existing food court and restaurants at Multiplaza.
Bolaños added that the existing stores and flood space will soon begin a renovation phase as part of the facelift of the entire mall.
The expansion will also mean an additional 1.000 to 1.500 more direct jobs and 3.000 indirect jobs being created, that adds to the current work force of 7.600 direct and 6.400 indirect employees at the mall.
The Simán department store alone is responsible for filling 300 jobs.
Multiplaza Escazú first opened its doors in 1993 and grew to a total floor space of 41.000 square metres. With the latest addition the total floor space will be 68.000 square metres and 2.600 parking spaces, 60% of which are covered parking.
The major stores in Multiplaza Escazú are Cemaco, Palacio de Moda, Zara and Carrión. Automercado supermarket and Cinermark multi screen theatre attract customers to the mall.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office.
The government of Roberto Micheletti, which had refused to let Mr. Zelaya return, signed an agreement with Mr. Zelaya’s negotiators late Thursday that would pave the way for the Honduran Congress to restore the ousted president and allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed on Friday that Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti had approved what she called “an historic agreement.”
“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,” Mrs. Clinton said Friday in Islamabad, where she has been meeting with Pakistani officials.
The accord came after a team of senior American diplomats flew from Washington to the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Wednesday to press for an agreement. On Thursday, the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, Thomas A. Shannon Jr., warned that time was running out for an agreement. (more…)
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
An update of the World Database of Happiness calculates Costa Rica is at the top of the list for quality of life in 148 countries, Dutch researchers say.
Researchers at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands developed the World Database of Happiness, which combines life assessment averages and life expectancy averages. It is an estimate of how long and happy the average citizen will live in that nation.
The latest “happy years” ranking includes 148 countries and covers more than 95 percent of the world population.
The inhabitants of Costa Rica hold the first position of this classification, with an average of 66.7 happy years of life, followed by Iceland with 66.4 years and Denmark 65 happy years. The United States is listed at 58 years.
Zimbabwe, the country that holds the last position, had only 12.5 happy years of life, next is Burundi at 14.3 years and Tanzania at 14.4.
The findings are scheduled to be presented at the III Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development World Forum in Busan, South Korea.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and his Costa Rican counterpart Oscar Arias on Thursday signed a bilateral cooperation agreement to boost ties.
The two leaders pledged to deepen and expand political and social dialogue on bilateral and international issues of mutual interest, the commercial ties, and cultural exchanges to achieve integration between the two countries.
Martinelli said the partnership will bring great benefits to both countries and their peoples.
Arias said Costa Rica and Panama are united with this agreement because they share the values of democracy, freedom and political pluralism.
“This agreement will expand our cooperation from economy to other areas where there are long ways to go and we are going to doit,” Arias said after signing the document.
According to Arias, the ties between the two countries have been transparent and fraternal, because they are based on mutual trust and the pursuit of common welfare for both countries.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
From November 2009 to March 2010 Jetair Flight Holidays will offer a weekly charter flight from Belgium to Liberia in Costa Rica, via Cancun (Mexico), departing on Fridays. The new flight in expected to increase the number of tourists arriving at the Daniel Oduber Airport to around 120 per week.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
Following several interruptions caused by the torrential rains and water-logged pitch, the suspended match between Turkey and Costa Rica will be replayed this afternoon.
The match could not continue after 21 minutes of heavy rain, and the organisers rule the game must be played in its entirety.
The rain also made an appearance in Calabar, falling with impressive force at the end of the first half of Colombia’s meeting with Iran. The day turned out to be one of the longest days in the history of the competition. The dramatic storms also forced delays in the New Zealand-Burkina Faso game.
The only sides to escape the rain were Netherlands and Gambia, with the Dutch earning a much-needed 2-1 win in steamy Calabar to move back into contention in Group C.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
Private security guards in Costa Rica almost double the number of police officers in Costa Rica. According to the Dirección del Servicio de Seguridad Privada del Ministerio de Seguridad, there are 20.000 registered security guards to 13.000 members of the Fuerza Pública (police).
A total of 803 licensed private companies offer private security services in all areas of the country, an increase of 202 over last two years. In 2007 there were 601 registered private security companies, growing to 722 in 2008.
Those numbers do not include the multitude of unlincensed and unorganized security companies and individuals who offer private protection to a few homes on a street.
Fernando Camacho, vicepresidente de la Asociación Costarricense de Empresas de Seguridad (ACES), estimates that there are at least 700 companies not registered with the Dirección, operating without any kind of permit.
Camacho added that the private security force could grow by another 6.000 in the coming year with the growth of insecurity.
And private security does not come cheap. (more…)
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
Although the number of tourists has not dropped significantly over the numbers of last year, however, the money tourists leave behind is another matter.
According to the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), the Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur) the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles (CCH), in 2008 each tourist left behind an average of us$1.040 during an average of a 10 day stay.
However, in 2009, the average stay dropped to 9.5 days and the amount left behind dropped to us$855.
During last year 2.089 million visitors came to Costa Rica leaving behind us$2.1 billion dollars, this year, however, the take is expected to be us$1.6 billion with only 1.9 million tourists.
It is estimated that some 110.000 people live directly off tourism. According to figures of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), as of July this year there have been 4.100 layoffs due to the drop in tourism.
What is important to note is that although the drop in the number of tourists is low, only 180.000 less this year, the type of tourist reaching our shores is different. Today’s tourists are looking for bargains or way to save a buck her and a buck there.
Tourists that in the past would required a four star hotel, will now with a three star and so on. Renting of vehicles, cellular phones and other high end products is down. Today’s tourists will take the bus, group together on tours and avoid calling home to save.
Pablo Solano, president of the CCH, said that “tourists today are looking to save in everything”.
The biggest effect of today’s tourist is being felt in the luxury market, where the drop is 25% or more.
Affected also by this is are the artisans and local markets, as tourists do not have the money or are unwilling to spend on “touristy” items.
This high season, which traditionally begins in the middle of December, the situation is expected to be worse that last high season, where hotels had plenty of rooms available and tour operators saw a drastic drop in daily excursions and activities.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Costa Rican Social Security System (Caja) officials closed Ricardo Saprissa Stadium Wednesday, claiming the San José soccer team owes a ₡ 720 million (more than $1.2 million) debt, just hours before Saprissa was set to play neighboring rival Liga Deportiva Alajuelense.
The time of closure was not accidental. Manuel Ugarte, the Caja’s finance director, explained that his administration chose to shut down the stadium in the northern San José district of Tibás on the day of a game so that the debtor would feel the impact of the measure.
Ugarte said Club Deportivo Saprissa’s owner, Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara, reported lower salaries to the Caja than his players were actually earning during the period of October 1999 to August 2004.
Nice way to show off with sports, the team’s lawyer, Jorge González, remarked sarcastically about the Caja’s efforts to make an example of Saprissa. He claimed that Saprissa is debt free and that the case of its alleged debt has sat unresolved in the courts for three years.
(The stadium was) closed because the Caja feels like it. Saprissa is absolutely up to date with its regular and monthly payments, González said.
As the administration (of the Caja) has state authority to execute (a closure) without waiting for a verdict from the court, the lawyer said. This is a measure that’s draconian, arbitrary and more akin to dictatorial regimes.
The game between old rivals being billed as el Clásico has been postponed until a future, as of yet undefined date. Alajuelense has requested the game be played Thursday night at the José Rafael Fello Meza Stadium in Cartago, east of San José, according to the daily La Nación.
Caja officials said the closure is not meant to affect the Costa Rica-Uruguay soccer match at Saprissa scheduled for Nov. 14, tickets for which went on sale Wednesday.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Next week the price of a litre of gasoline will drop ¢11 colones and not the expected ¢14 colones, while the price of a litre of diesel full jumps up ¢4 colones.
A higher drop in gasoline prices had been approved by the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (Aresep) to take effect in November.
However, the implementation of the “impuesto único de los combustibles” (tax on gasoline prices) of 1.69% means prices will not be as low as expected and in the case of diesel the increase higher.
Beginning next week, the price of super gasoline will drop from the current ¢575 to ¢564, regular from ¢558 to ¢547 and diesel will jump from ¢484 to ¢488.
The prices have not to wait publication in the official government newsletter, La Gaceta, to take effect the day following publication, which is expected next week.
The ministerio de Hacienda explained that the tax increase is an adjustment for inflation.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
The collapse of a bridge last week that resulted in the death of five people could have been avoided had the government taken heed of an engineer’s report carried out in 2006, the report’s commissioner has claimed.
The report, complete with photographs, highlighted a series of structural problems and warned of a possible collapse of the bridge over the Río Tárcoles, on the way to the central Pacific town of Orotina.
The morning of Oct. 22, the report’s predictions became frighteningly real. One of the cables of the bridge snapped under the weight of a full school bus, which fell six meters into the water.
Guillermo Saborio, chairman of Turu Ba Ri Nature and Adventure Park, in conjunction with the Turrubares Municipality, commissioned IMM & Asociados Ltda. to carry out the study after suspecting maintenance of the old bridge was long overdue.
“It was obvious the bridge was in need of attention, it was more than 80 years old,” Saborio said.
“Many of our visitors used to cross that bridge to get to the park, so we, in conjunction with the municipality, paid for an engineer to carry out a survey, which we sent to (the road authorities) CONAVI, but nothing was done about it.”
Despite those warnings in September 2006, the only work carried out on the bridge in the three years until its collapse was the replacement of 200 wooden planks lining the bridge floor, repairs to a left hand support pillar and a reduction in vehicle weight allowance, from nine tones to four.
Annotated pictures of the support cables connected to concrete blocks at either end of the bridge explained how “years of strain caused by heavy vehicles could have caused severe interior damage and could lead to a collapse of the entire structure,” the report contended.
It concluded: “Considering the level of use and nature of the vehicles that cross the bridge have changed considerably in the last few years, we consider necessary the building of a new, two-lane concrete and steel bridge with side barriers and space for pedestrians.”
Following the bridge’s collapse, the Public Works and Transport Ministry called on a Japanese technical expert who will supervise the repair of 10 Costa Rican bridges, earmarked as “priority,” throughout the country.
The expert, experienced in the design of steel and concrete bridges, will be working with engineers starting next year.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Costa Rica offers amazing adventure retreats for families, even if you are traveling with little kids that should not be an impediment for having an adventurous and educational vacation at this Central American paradise. Not many places in the world offer what Costa Rica has. Costa Rica is one the few countries where families can admire tropical and rainforest ecosystems, which come together with countless of exotic species of birds, plants and wild animals.
While in the country you can contact one of the many tour operators and plan an educational tour to a volcano, river or mountain. Prices are very affordable and all safety precautions are taken if you are touring with children under the age of twelve. Some popular activities that can be enjoyed by the whole family are: bird watching, hanging bridges, snorkeling and an expedition to the famous butterfly farm in Arenal. These great activities are available country wide, but can be experienced with an additional dose of excitement in areas such as: Monteverde, San Jose and Arenal.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is one of the most visited places in Costa Rica not only by families but all kinds of travelers including scientist, artists and photographers from prestigious magazines. Families will love this extraordinary town and its unique flora and fauna. A visit to the Butterfly Garden is a most before living Monteverde. You can also purchase a souvenir from one of the traditional stores downtown.
Arenal is great for a volcano adventure, the Arenal Volcano is just a few minutes away from Arenal City. The surrounding hotels provide great views of the volcano from their room facilities. Families can enjoy a day at the hot springs combined with a nature oriented tour in the Arenal Volcano National Park. You don’t need to plan ahead your activities in Arenal, you can ask for an advice at your arrival to the hotel; they always have a list of regional tour agencies, prices and activities available for you and your family.
The outskirts of San Jose in Costa Rica are another fantastic destination for families. Mountain biking is a good way to spend some quality time with your family by admiring the local nature and the rural Costa Rican lifestyle. Dairies, livestock and agriculture can be observed while biking trough the trails with your local bilingual guide. If you are not into sports you can always visit the “Children Museum” in San Jose. This is a museum specially designed for kids and adults to learn important facts about Costa Rica and the world while interacting in the several activities organized by the museum staff. Less than a mile away from the Children Museum you can be part of another great adventure at the “Morazan Zoo”, a place where your family can observe a few of the most rare animal species in Costa Rica.
If you are looking to travel with your family but you are having a hard time finding activities to suit all ages and interests then Costa Rica is your place to visit.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Olympus, the Japan-based company that manufactures optics and imaging products, is setting up shop in Costa Rica to serve the Central American and South American markets.
Olympus, named after Mount Olympus, the home of the 12 supreme gods and goddesses in Greek mythology, has a long history in camera and lens design.
In 1936, Olympus introduced its first camera. Today, the company is a leading manufacturer of digital cameras, with a large range of compact digital cameras. Olympus is the designer of the Four-Thirds System standard for digital single-lens reflex camera design and development, which uses the same frame size as the PEN cameras.
Olympus also manufactures and provides client support for its fully automated random access automated analysers for clinical chemistry, immuno chemistry, and blood grouping.
These analyzers are used in medical laboratories by medical technologists. Other Olympus products used in the clinical laboratory are microscopes utilized by the microbiology and hematology departments. Many Olympus imaging products are used in hospital endoscopy departments. The whole diagnostic business was sold to Beckman Coulter in August 2009.
From Costa Rica, the company will providing marketing and distribution services for Central America and Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
It took a report and photo by the Spanish language daily, La Nación, to move the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) to fix a malfunctioning traffic light in Curridabat.
It appears that the traffic light at the “Los Figueres” cross at the entrance to the Florencio del Castillo (San José-Cartago) was illuminating a yellow light instead of a red.
A normal light displays green at the bottom, yellow in the middle and red the top light. The malfunctioning light had the top yellow instead of red.
The error, which witnesses say has been that way for the last two weeks, was evident on the westbound lanes.
Mario Chavarría, subdirector de Ingeniería de Tránsito, told the La Nación that a few days back work crews installed a lens different than that normally used and from up close it appears red, but from a distance it appears yellow.
However, it took the La Nación story to more the MOPT into instant action.
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