Archive for July, 2010
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Soccer, futbol, whatever you want to call it, Jaco Beach now has it!
Jaco will be home to a new professional soccer team called the Jaco Rays. The team was purchased by a local developer who hopes to improve the team and win its division in order to move up to the first division where it can play popular teams like Saprissa and La Liga. For now the Rays will play in the League de Acenso, the Second Division. At the end of the year, the team with the worst record in First Division drops down to Second Division and is replaced by the winner of the Second Division Championship.
As you can imagine locals are all very excited to have the team. Last year we saw just what kind of support this area can provide when the Puntarenas team had to move a few games and play in the Jaco stadium. The seats were full for all of those games and gave a glimpse of the future of soccer in Jaco Beach. The new owner feels that this is going to not only be a great gift for the Jaco community but a fun activity for soccer fans visiting from all parts of the world.
Johnny Perez and general manager Carlos Esquivel, announced that the coach will be Wilmer “El Pato” Lopez, a very popular retired player from the San Jose area. El Pato started his training plan earlier this month at the Jaco Stadium.
If you weren’t already aware, Soccer is clearly the most watched and played sport in Costa Rica. I definitely encourage you to see a game the next time you come down, GO RAYS!
Story by www.DavidKarrProperties.com
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Autopistas del Sol, the operator of the Caldera Highway, has issued a warning to all drivers using the roadway this holiday weekend.
The company said it is expecting excessive holiday traffic along the 77-kilometer highway that stretches from San José to the Pacific port of Caldera, and although pedestrians are prohibited along the highway, many may attempt to travel the route during the annual pilgrimage to the Basílica de los Ángeles in Cartago.
There should be a large number of vehicles that travel this route, said Claudio Pacheco, the highway’s Sub-Director for Maintenance. The speed limits will be reduced and all access for pedestrians, cyclists, ox-carts and horses is prohibited. However, it is probable that people living in Orotina, Atenas, El Coyol and other located along the new highway will attempt to use the route for travel to Cartago.
Monday is a national holiday and, in addition to high participation in the romería, national travel is expected to be up as well.
To contact the Caldera Highway Control Center, call 2258-4040.
Posted in Costa Rica News | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
The internet is really the way of the future and with more and more companies bringing their services online there is really no way to get around using the internet. In Costa Rica like in most other countries from around the world, the decision to get internet to your home or office can lead you down the wrong path simply because there are so many internet service providers. This is why it is of a great importance to ponder your choices wisely before making the final decision.
Of course, the best possible choice is to go for the well established providers, such as Amnet Costa Rica or ICE Costa Rica internet, that have excellent track records and the experience required to provide its customers with all the support needed. There are two main features that every internet connection must have and these are quality and speed. With the level of technology growing under our very eyes, the sizes of the transfers between computers connected to the internet rises each year and this is why it is quite a big deal to get a connection that is able to sustain large transfers both nationally and internationally. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
The Red Cross is calling a Bristol pit bull a hero after he alerted his family to a fire, and even tried to pull a 3-month-old baby girl away from the danger.
The fire started around 3 a.m. Thursday in a hallway and quickly spread throughout the home.
It sounds like the real hero here is the family pit bull, Apparently ‘Thor’ woke the family up and even tried to pull the baby and bassinet out of the house. Lately we have learned how important pets can be to a family, and this is as stark an example as I’ve ever seen.”
The family says Thor barked and jumped on them until they woke up. Then he grabbed the baby’s bassinet and dragged it to the front door.
“He’s the hero today. He’s the man,” said Kemper Hunter, Thor’s owner. “We turned around to look for the bassinet that was at the head of the bed, and it’s at the door. All we got to do is open the door and go out. Thor’s like ‘Let’s roll, dad! It’s time to go, I got you.’”
No one in the family was injured, but their home was heavily damaged. The Red Cross is providing short-term housing as well as food, blankets, clothing and a crib for the baby.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Tired of fishing the same old spots year after year? Want to try something a little different, a little more exciting? Then why not consider a quick trip to Costa Rica, where the fishing’s fine and the weather is glorious, the seas are calm and the palms sway in the breeze… okay, but you get the picture, right?
You don’t have to choose whether you fish in salt water or fresh when it comes to Costa Rica, because you can do both! Do you want to fish the Caribbean or the Pacific side of the country? Sandwiched between the base of Mexico and the tip of South America, fishers who come to this fascinating country can do both. That goes for ocean fishing on a chi hair dryer rolling deck or fishing on the banks of a wide stream that ribbons through jungle terrain and over waterfalls and lagoons that will beckon to the novice and experienced fisher cheap chi alike. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
The first baby steps have been taken and you are now walking towards your ultimate goal of living in Costa Rica. Only one decision remains. Where in Costa Rica do you want to settle?
One important consideration before delving in to this subject, is the fact that everyone has their own opinions which vary according to their own experiences. Someone living in the Central Valley may have a different opinion than someone living in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica on the Pacific side.
You may wonder what the differences are amongst the various areas/provinces of Costa Rica. Let me tell you, they are incredibly diverse whereas some parts of the country can be polar opposite to others. This makes for some colorful discussion on just which part of the country to live. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Travel on the Interamericana Norte (Ruta 1), the main route to Guanacaste and Nicaragua, will be closed for at least the next three days, as raging waters of the Seco river washed out the road pavement at and near the bridge, located near Miramar, Puntarenas.
Shortly after 8pm Wednesday night the Seco river overflowed its banks while a tractor trailer was crossing the bridge. Fortunately the driver of the truck was able to escape from the cab as his truck was washed away by the raging waters.
The Policía de Tránsito immediately closed off the road. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
A former Bixby resident who spent more than three years in Costa Rica after learning that the Internal Revenue Service was investigating him was sentenced Wednesday to one year and three months in prison for under-reporting his income on a federal tax return.
David Michael Nigh also was ordered by U.S. District Judge James Payne to pay $54,915.33 in restitution to the IRS.
Nigh, 41, was arrested in February in Cancun, Mexico, where he had gone on vacation, court records state. He had fled to Costa Rica in December 2006 in an attempt to avoid criminal prosecution.
He was charged in Tulsa on April 8, 2008, with five counts of filing false federal returns for the 2001 through 2005 tax years. That indictment was handed up under seal, and Nigh claimed Wednesday that he didn’t know of the charges until he was arrested.
Nigh pleaded guilty to one of those counts on March 17, admitting that on his 2005 income tax return he reported income of $113,745 when the actual amount was more than twice that.
He apologized to the court and to his family Wednesday for his “childish behavior” and expressed regret for the “immature attitude” he had about paying taxes.
Payne said during the hearing that Nigh had derived part of his income in the past from an illegal bookmaking business.
He ordered that Nigh undergo gambling addiction counseling, refrain from gambling and stay out of gambling establishments during his year of court supervision after he is released from prison.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2010/crimesite/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20100729_14_A16_Aforme184660
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Something must be going terribly wrong in Venezuela.
President Hugo Chávez is lashing at the United States, at Colombia, even at tiny usually neutral Costa Rica. Among the many things he said and did last week:
Announced he had enough shares of independent television station Globovisión to name a member to a board of directors.
Broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia one more time. This time it was because Colombia accused Venezuela of harboring Colombian guerrilla groups and leaders in its territory.
Called Colombian President Alvaro Uribe a puppet of the United States and said that President Barack Obama was behind a master plan to use the border dispute with Colombia as an excuse to invade or assassinate him.
Threatened to cut off the oil he sends to refineries in the United States.
Exhumed the body of Simón Bolívar, the liberator of most South American countries, because he believes Bolivar was poisoned and did not die of tuberculosis as history books say. Oh, and he wanted to see if he and Bolívar shared the same DNA, because he is the heir to Bolívar’s legacy.
Said that relations with Colombia might improve if he got a clear message from President-elect Juan Manuel Santos — one of those that Chávez lashed out against when Santos was defense minister and a presidential candidate — that Colombia wanted to improve relations with Venezuela.
Are these the incoherent thoughts of a man who has lost his mind? Or is this the way a savvy politician who is in trouble tries to distract Venezuelans from the economic, political and social problems they face in their daily lives?
Most analysts think it is the latter.
Venezuelans will go to the polls this fall. Political analysts in the country say that the popularity of the president has decreased dramatically, as the petroleum-rich country faces electrical blackouts, food shortages and a dramatic increase in criminal activity in the cities and countryside.
There has even been talk of Chávez canceling, or postponing, the elections if he sees that there is a real possibility that he would be defeated so badly that it would be difficult even for him to rig the ballot boxes.
Already he is selecting which international observers to allow as independent witnesses for the elections. Now that Chile has a conservative president, Sebastián Piñera, Chilean observers will not be allowed to come to Venezuela to monitor the elections.
One hopes that what Chávez is saying is but a smoke screen to hide his problems at home. But Venezuela’s president is so unpredictable, one cannot simply dismiss his threats. He is dangerous and capable of doing anything.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
A small group of environmentalists on July 12 began their 170-kilometer march from the presidential palace in San Jose to Costa Rica´s only open-pit gold mine to pressure the government to close the project.
While pressure on President Laura Chinchilla´s new government has mounted in recent months to close the Crucitas gold mine near the northern border with Nicaragua, as environmentalists and human rights activists warn that it will cause irreversable damage to the soil, rivers and massive deforestation, only 15 set out to march to the mine. But they are already seeing results.
A day later, presidential spokesman Marco Vargas told a press conference that Chinchilla´s government is open to reviewing the decree issued by her predecessor and mentor, the ex-President Oscar Arias (1986-90 and 2006-2010), that lifted a moratorium on open-pit mining.
Shortly after taking office in early May Chinchilla, who served as Arias´ vice president and justice minister, issued a ban on all new open-pit mining, but had repeatedly said the Crucitas gold mine, a property of Canada´s Infinito Gold, could not be touched since a previous government had already granted it permits to start work.
Her new decree had generated renewed hope in stopping the project, which has been stalled for around two years, but a reform of the mining law, an overturning of Arias´ decree, or a court decision are the only ways to stop the project, as environmentalists, university groups, local governments and citizens groups filed a series of complaints in Costa Rican courts. A final ruling on the project is pending.
Under the slogan “Marching for Life: Crucitas free of Cyanide,” protesters will distribute information to citizens along their path on the dangers of the mine, in hopes that they will join their campaign against the project.
“The citizenry has a essential protagonism for struggles of justice to achieve resounding results in civil society and in governments,” said Luis Diego Marín, coordinator of local environmental group Preserve Planet, one of the organizers of the anti-Crucitas campaign. “Never in the history of humanity have social victories been achieved without the presence of the citizenry. This march to the site where they´re trying to build a destructive project is a living example of this great social power.”
Chinchilla has said that gold mining is not a priority industry for Costa Rica, which has very little metallic mineral resources. Environmentalists argue that the dangers the industry poses for the nation far outweigh potential benefits.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Costa Rica is a small coastal country of Central America. This affluent country lies between Nicaragua and Panama and is the most admired holiday spot in Central America. People come from far and wide for vacationing in Costa Rica.
Eco- Diversity
Costa-Rica is diverse in terms of climate, topography, Flora and Fauna. You will find vast difference in climate, in very small distances. While vacationing in Costa Rica, you can visit its sultry beaches, rain forests and cloud forests. Hundreds of species of birds and animals are the treasure of the country.
Tourist Adventures
There is something for everybody vacationing in Costa Rica. The wild life tours take you to see the wild animals and reptiles in their natural habitats. Tourists can take a tour of a forest from a cable car, which gives them a complete view of plant and animal life in that forest. A series of ropes fastened to the trees in a jungle, allow the more daring tourists to swing from tree to tree.
Various inert volcanoes also make for hot tourist attraction. They can see eruptions from active volcanoes like Arenal, safely from a distance. Scuba diving in Costa Rica is a different experience altogether due to the abundance of aquatic life in the Caribbean Sea. The west coast of Pacific Ocean is the spot where scuba diving takes place.
Beauty in Nature
Natural wonders are also in abundance in Costa Rica. Be it the crystal blue lakes formed in craters around the inert volcanoes or the hot water springs surrounding the active volcanoes, they can take you in awe.
Getting There
The tourists have to fly in to the San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, as all major flights are connected to this city. Flying in to Liberia is another option. To move around within the country, the people vacationing in Costa Rica usually hire a vehicle, as there is a lot to see.
Stay in comfort
Besides hotels, tourists also rent houses while staying in Costa Rica. The houses can be as simple or luxurious as you would like to spend. It is a safe country with good food and a very low number of tropical diseases.
Costa Rica is the best choice for people looking for Eco-tourism. Visit it once, and you would surely like to return there very soon.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Professional drivers (those drivers who earn a living driving others) and new drivers will less than two years experience will cannot take not one drink before getting behind the wheel, is one of the ideas being discussed by legislators in the reforms to the Ley de Tránsito.
The zero tolerance provision is being proposed by Francisco Chacón, del Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN). Chacón and the PLN are also firm that the alcohol limit is 0.5 and not the current 0.75.
The discussions are following up on reforms left over by the previous legislature which could not make the changes to the traffic act before their May 1 mandate was up.
The main focus of that proposal was to reduce the amount of the traffic fines and the point system.
However, the currently legislative body is looking at making additional changes that could see the zero tolerance provision, as well as high fines for certain offences, mainly involving alcohol and reckless driving.
“Those who drive for a living should not take not even one drink during working hours. Also those drivers with less than 2 years driving experience and those under the age of 25 should have stricter measures than the rest of the drivers”, said Chacón.
The new Ley de Tránsito was passed into law in December 2008. However, other than the drinking and driving provisions, the bulk of the law went into effect on March 1, 2010 with the legislature immediately announcing reforms.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Most people have a favorite color. They might paint their entire house bright blue because they love the color so much. Others have an entire wardrobe of their favorite color. Some even dye their hair their all time favorite color. Car thieves also have their favorite colors of cars to steal. Their favorite colors of vehicles to steal include white, black and silver.
.
Why these colors? Most car thieves are professionals, and they steal cars to make money. Car thieves know that cars with the highest resale value include the most popular exterior color. In 2010, 20% of consumers drove off the car lots with a new white vehicle. 17% of sold vehicles came in the colors black and silver. Blue followed with 13%. A consumer pays the same for a yellow or white car, but the resale value for a vehicle with a popular color (like white and black) can sell for up to $1,000 more.
The least popular colors in North America are yellow/gold at 2% and beige/brown at 5%. These and other bright colors deter car thieves. Not only do these vehicles have a lower resale value, but they are also like a flashing neon sign. A thief driving a stolen white automobile will blend more with other vehicles while a bright yellow truck would be easily spotted by the police.
A study in the Netherlands illustrates car thieves’ preferences. From 2004-2008, the most commonly colored vehicle stolen was black. This may be because black vehicles look more luxurious. Following close behind black were gray/silver automobiles. Of the 109 pink cars in the study, not one was stolen. A bright and uncommon color, like pink, may be as effective deterrent as an expensive security system. Ben Vollaard, who conducted the research, wrote, “If the aversion to driving a car in an offbeat color is not too high – or if someone actually enjoys it – then buying deterrence through an uncommon car color may be at least as good a deal as buying deterrence through an expensive car security device.”
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Using Costa Rica as a rest stop, the two foreigners detained in Nicaragua have been clearly identified as the American couple wanted in Panama in the death of at least one U.S. woman and up to six others, Nicaraguan authorities saying on Tuesday that they would hand the couple over to Panamanian authorities.
In addition to being wanted in Panama, the F.B.I. in the U.S. say that “Wild Bill” is wanted in the United States since 2005, suspect of at least 20 killings.
Nicaraguan officials took their time after the couple was captured by the Nicaraguan army in the waters of the San Juan river after stealing a boat on the Costa Rica side and avoiding a police checkpoint.
“These are the people who are being sought by police in Panama, and they will be handed over to the authorities of that country,” National Police official Glenda Zavala said at a news conference.
The pair matched photographs provided by Panamanian authorities of William Adolfo Cortez of Texas and his wife Jane, who are being sought in the death of Lynn Hughes, Nicaraguan army spokesman Juan Ramon Morales said.
The two identified themselves as an American man and Dutch woman and gave names that did not coincide with the Panama suspects. Nicaraguan and Panamanian authorities believe they were traveling under false names.
“The photographs that we have coincide with those arrested yesterday,” Morales told The Associated Press.
Panama has been informed of the identification and has begun proceedings to seek the couple’s extradition, said Javier Carillo, the head of Panama’s investigative police.
The couple used the ruse of pretending to buy property and then killing the owners and telling neighbours that the sale was completed and the sellers moved on.
In Costa Rica they are believed to have been attempting the same ruse but their time was caught short when the owners of a house in Santa Cruz de Turrialba informed police.
When police arrived at the home the couple were gone. Costa Rican authorities also learned that the couple had rented a cabin a day or two before near the Panama border and believed they were heading north.
Faced with machine guns and other high calibre weapons used by the Nicaraguan army, the couple decided to surrender peacefully after stealing a boat on the Costa Rican side of the San Juan river and avoiding the police check point.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla has ruled out the possibility of reversing a decree allowing an open-pit gold mine to resume operations near the border with Nicaragua.
Chinchilla said Tuesday that overturning the decree would mean paying $1.7 billion compensation to Industrias Infinito, the Costa Rican affiliate of Calgary-based Infinito Gold Ltd.
Chinchilla’s predecessor, Oscar Arias, signed a decree in 2008 declaring the project of national interest.
However, the project has been halted by a court battle over its legality.
Environmentalists say the area involved is part of the protected habitat of the great green macaw. They also say the project violates Costa Rica’s constitutional rules on the environment.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
