One of the best ways to experience a real tropical rainforest up close is through walking. Costa Rica is the perfect place to enjoy this, with its abundance of stunning natural rainforest and its easy accessibility. One of the most fantastic and enriching places to visit is Corcovado National Park, where you will find adventure and wild beauty in equal measure.
Stunning Natural Habitat
Situated on the Osa Peninsula, Corcovado National Park is the best park in the country for walking. Costa Rica, a country spoilt with natural riches, boasts Corcovado National Park as the jewel in its crown. This park is renowned by experts as having the densest diversity of biology on Earth. The national park consists of 13 different ecosystems, including lowland rainforest, mangrove swamps and beaches, meaning visitors will get a whole wealth of different experiences in one place and enjoy an excellent environment for walking. Costa Rica parks are all pretty spectacular, but here you will find 161 square miles of pristine natural beauty, and with 23 miles of beaches you’ll be sure to find a patch all to yourself. (more…)
The local Roanoke, Virginia, television news channel, WSLS, reports that a local grocery store got an unexpected visitor this week. One of them found a scorpion that had hitched a ride in a box of bananas from Costa Rica.
Jason Reger, a wildlife biologist, was called to come check it out. Reger called a few state agencies to let them know about the find, and see what needed to be done with the scorpion.
“Basically what they told me was there is not a lot of concern for this. Most of the scorpions that come into this country from Costa Rica are harmless,” said Reger.
Reger’s business, Blue Ridge Wildlife Management, called WSLS Wednesday afternoon to say they were dropping off the scorpion with an entomologist in Blacksburg.
WSLS is not naming the grocery store where the scorpion was found at.
At least 300 people in shelter, flooding, landslides, roads collapsed and rivers overflowing their banks is the result of two days of constant rain over Costa Rica. The only region not affected is the Caribbean province of Limón, where conditions there are typical for the season, their worst comes in January.
Residents of Pacific towns like Parrita and Quepos have been battling rising water from the swelling rivers. In San Carlos and the northern zone, heavy rain is taking its toll on the population and resources to battle the landslides.
The worst of the situation is the complete closure of the Interamericana Norte and the San José – Caldera, leaving the Monte de Aguacate the only road open to and from the Pacific coast. For now, as this road is also prone to mudslides forcing closures.
According to the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) – national emergency commission – the areas greatest affected and some becoming isolated are: San Martín de Miramar, Alfaro Ruiz, Bajos del Toro en Valverde Vega, Bajo Cacao de Atenas, La Gloria and Gamalotillo de Puriscal, Bajo Caliente de San Ramón, Sacramento de Barva and some areas in Naranjo.
The national weather service – the Instituto Metereologico Nacional (IMN) – says that all the rain is due to the effects of “Nicole”. Evelyn Quirós, of the IMN, says that the rains will continue for the coming days due to Nicole and other factors.
The Cruz Roja (Red Cross) reports some 15 cantones affected including San Ramón, Parrita, Barranca, Quepos, Garabito, Heredia, Atenas, Zarcero, Sarchí and Barva.
Manpower is looking to recruit 450 people for its various clients in Costa Rica.
The requirements is full English, both written and oral, have a high school diploma and knowledge of Office.
The company is holding a job fair at its San José offices in the Torre Mercedes (Scotiabank building on Paseo Colón) today and tomorrow from 8am to 4pm and Saturday from 8am to 2pm.
The heavy rain of the last 12 hours is the reason for the high alert on the San José – Caldera highway, causing a number of emergencies overnight, including an accident caused by falling debris on the roadway.
The major problems are between Orotina and Atenas.
Constant heavy rain fell on the Central Valley throughout the night and continues this morning, Wednesday.
The Policia de Tránsito also report that the Interamericana Norte at Cambronero, west of San Ramón, continues closed this morning.
The Municipalidad de San José is sponsoring a job fair to fill 350 temporary and full time jobs from store clerk, to drivers to call centres, offered by nine companies.
The job fair will be held at the Parque del Lago hotel, next to the Banco Central on the entrance to Paseo Colón.
Companies like Pizza Hut, BAC San José, Coca Cola, Taco Bell, EPA and Grupo M will all take part in the job fair.
Drivers are benefiting from the drop in the dollar exchange by paying lower tolls on the San José – Caldera. This Friday the tolls at Escazú will drop another ¢10 colones, the second consecutive drop since the dollar exchange fell close to the floor of the exchange band.
On October 1, drivers through the toll booths at Escazú will have to hand over only ¢280 colones, instead of the ¢290 today.
The drop is due to the mechanism that the Autopistas del Sol applies every three months in adjusting the tolls charges on the highway that are tied to the fluctuations of the US dollar.
Leaving Costa Rica for foreigners who have overstayed their “tourist” visa period could be costly and be barred from returning to Costa Rica for a period of up to three times they overstay. Although that is the law, immigration officials have yet to enforce it, which could be anytime between now and December 13.
Visitors from North America and Europe typically are given a stay of up to 90 days, while many other nationals are only given 30 days, when they must leave the country or their stay in Costa Rica becomes illegal and are subject to sanctions and expulsion.
Under the new immigration law that went into effect on March 1, 2010, tourists are required to pay a fine of us$100 for each month they over stay their visa period and must stay out of the country for a period of up three times their overstay before they are allowed to return.
Immigration officials can easily check the passport and their database to see when a person entered the country by land or air and can also determine if a person is not permitted re-entry. The rules are usually stricter at the country’s airports than at land border crossings.
However, the immigration service has yet to enforce this overstay rule and according to immigration officials tourists who have overstayed their visa period will not be required to pay. Not yet anyways, but will be required to do so when the law is expected to be enforced before the middle of December.
Currently, Costa Rican authorities at the San José airport are checking the entry stamp at the security check point which occurs after paying the exit tax and given a boarding pass by the airline.
The American actress Gloria Stuart, who popped back into modern cinema with her Oscar-nominated role as the older version of “Rose” in the 1997 film Titanic, has died at the age of 100.
Stuart enjoyed a long career in Hollywood, and it went in two acts. Beginning in the 1930s, Stuart became a leading lady, starring in the early horror films of James Whale (The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man) and a string of films with Shirley Temple. After marrying for the second time, Stuart moved to the Italian Riviera and became a successful painter. In the mid-70s she returned to acting, scoring a few parts on television, but nothing of note until she won her role on the blockbuster 1997 film Titanic.
With that role, at the age of 87, Stuart became the oldest person ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the 101-year old Rose in the film. Winslet was also nominated for the same character (an Oscar first), playing the young version of Rose. The AP contact Winslet who had this to say about Stuart: “I am so saddened to hear of the loss of this remarkable woman.I feel blessed to have met her, known her and to have acted alongside her. Anyone who spent time in her presence will know what an extraordinary shining light she truly was. She will be deeply missed.”
Stuart died Sunday night of respiratory failure at her Los Angeles home, reported her daughter.
Immigration authorities have begun checking the entry stamps in tourists’ passports at the country’s international airports to ensure that they have not overstayed their visas.
Under the new Immigration Law, tourists are required to pay $100 for every month they stay beyond their 90-day limit. If they fail to pay, they must stay out of the country for a period of three times the time for which they were in Costa Rica illegally.
However, according to Immigration Department spokeswoman Heidi Bonilla, tourists who have overstayed their visa won’t be required to pay a fine until the Immigration Law takes full effect, which could be anytime between now and Dec. 13.
“The truth is that authorities are not yet applying the fine,” she said.
Although the law went into effect on March 1, immigration officials have dragged their feet in drafting the law’s regulations, which are the rules that will interpret the law and govern how it will be administered. Bonilla said that Dec. 13 is the deadline for the regulations to be published.
According to one traveler, the point where authorities review the entry stamp is right before the security check for travelers, after tourists have already paid their exit fee and checked in with their respective airlines.
The former president of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Pedro Pablo Quirós, may soon spend some time behind bars if the improper use of the company helicopter is proven an illegal act.
The Procuraduría General de la República (Attorney General) said on Monday that it will be acting as plaintiff in the criminal case against the former president of the state institution.
Thus, the case will have three accusers: the Ministerio Público and the Procuraduría who are looking for a criminal conviction and ICE who wants to be paid for costs and damages.
Quirós was accused last September for using an ICE helicopter on March 21, 2009 for his personal use, taking him and his wife to a private function. The helicopter was hired by ICE to be used only for the fly over of the Cariblanco hydroelectric plant and telephone networks damaged in the Cinchona earthquake in January of that year.
As of August 30 this year there six less traffic accident deaths over last year and 22 in 2008 for the same period, with a total of 202 people losing their lives.
The drop is being attributed to the introduction of the new Ley de Tránsito (Traffic Law) with stiffer fines and sanctions that went into effect on March 1, 2010 and the drunk driving and reckless driving provisions that went into effect on December 23, 2008.
Before that driving under the influence or taking part in “picones” – street racing – were nothing more than a nuisance for drivers who simply paid the ¢20.000 colones (us$40) fine and went home. Or in the case of some drunk drivers, evaded or failed to stop for police, rushing home on foot or by other means waiting for the effect of the liquor to wear off.
According to the director of the Policía de Tránsito, César Quirós, the stiff fines that went into effect on March 1 this year have contributed to the reduction of traffic deaths.
The statistics of the Policía de Tránsito reveal that between January and August 2009 there were 44.293 traffic accidents, while during the same period for 2010, the number was down to 41.239 or 3.054 less accidents.
If legislators in Costa Rica have their way, no vehicle older than 7 years will be able to be imported. The proposal is part of the discussions before the Comisión de Asuntos Económicos based on criteria set out by the ministro de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), Francisco Jiménez.
The objective of the proposal is to “renew” Costa Rica’s vehicle fleet and at the same time ensure road safety and promote environmental protection and energy saving through fuel efficiency of newer cars.
The minister’s proposal is more geared towards vehicles that will be used in public transportation like taxis and buses.
To stimulate the plan, the proposal is to reduce the import tax on vehicles between 6 and 7 years old and with engines of up to 2.5 litres (2.500cc).
Vehicles with small engines would get more tax breaks, while vehicles with engines larger than 2.500cc the import tax would be increased.
The tax break would also extend to motorcycles with engines less than 200cc.
The proposal would make an exception to import older vehicles if and only when the vehicle is of “cultural interest” as approved by the Ministerio de Cultura, Juventud y Deportes.
Exempt from the import ban would also be vehicles that use “alternative” energy, like electric and hybrid vehicles.
Although Tropical Storm Matthew was downgraded and spared Costa Rica from the heavy rains, the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) is continuing its “yellow” alert for Pacific coast of Guanacaste and the Central Valley.
The national emergency commission upgraded the alert from green last Thursday when Matthew was believed to have developed into a hurricane sweeping through Central America from the Caribbean sea.
Although Costa Rica does not get hit directly by hurricanes, it does feel the effects.
Matthew is now a tropical depression and the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – confirmed that its effects on Costa Rica will out of the way by today.
The Central Valley woke up this morning (Sunday) under clouds and light rain, an unusual weather pattern, as typically mornings are sunny and hot, turning to cloud and rain in the afternoon during the rainy season that will be over by November.
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The American actress Gloria Stuart, who popped back into modern cinema with her Oscar-nominated role as the older version of “Rose” in the 1997 film Titanic, has died at the age of 100.
