Archive for the ‘Stories’ Category
Costa Rica’s China Town To Be A Reality In 2011
Friday, September 3rd, 2010The awaited “Barrio Chino” (Chinatown) in San José will be a reality in 2011.
According to Ana Elena Salas, with the gerencia de Provisión de Servicios for the municipalidad de San José, said the work will commence in the first quarter of 2011 and should take six months to complete.
The delay in developing a Barrio Chino is due to the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) not authorizing the work fearing increased traffic congestion in the downtown core with the reconstruction work projects by the municipality of several streets.
Currently the municipalidad de San José is reconstructing Avenida 8 after complete similar work on other Avenidas and Calles.
Dengue Increases in Costa Rica
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Nearly 21,000 people in Costa Rica have suffered dengue fever so far this year, the ministerio de Salud (ministry of Health) informed on Thursday.
The ministry said in a report that this represents a 621.6 percent increase over the same period last year, when only 3,326 cases were reported.
The number of dengue patients grew despite government’s preventive campaigns urging the population to eliminate the sources of infection of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the agent that transmits the disease, the text added.
HP To Hire 100 In Saturday’s Job Fair
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Hewlett Packard announced that it will be hiring 100 people at its job fair tomorrow. Among the jobs on offer are network engineers, project administrators and customer service.
The HP job fair will be held at the Zona Franca Americas located 500 metres northeast of the Plaza Real Cariari, on calle La Russia, Edificio 2H.
HP asks those interested in applying to bring their curriculum vitae “in English”, two copies of their cedula and a copy of their formal education qualifications.
The job fair is between 9am and 4pm.
Arturo Velasco, HP’s general manager, said the hiring is part of HP’s growth in Costa Rica that will see up to 650 new jobs created this year.
Plastic surgery in costa rica
Friday, September 3rd, 2010With Makeovers Costa Rica you have an opportunity to change your life forever! Why travel to Costa Rica for plastic surgery and dental treatments? Costa Rica is a leader in the provision of health care, and has become a favored destination for medical services. Low prices, good surgeons, the body that you want and an incredible vacation. We offer Cosmetic Surgery and Dental Treatments within your reach.
There are many plastic surgeons, but the top board certified plastic surgeons are in Costa Rica. The average price for Body Sculpturing in the U.S. is $9,000. The same procedure in Costa Rica is $3,500.
Costa Rica is just a quick plane ride away. It is very Americanized and has some of the best medical facilities in the world.
Body Sculpturing
Body Sculpturing also known as body contouring is a procedure which reshapes and enhances parts of the body. One popular approach involves liposuction or ultrasonic liposuction.
Some of the best plastic surgeons in the world are located in Costa Rica. And, oh, do the people come! San Jose, Costa Rica has become a Mecca for highly skilled cosmetic and reconstructive surgeons, oral surgeons, and ophthalmologists.
People come from all over the world for the extraordinary low prices, highly skilled plastic surgeons, and state-of-the-art facilities.
The climate is very pleasant, the people are warm and friendly, and the patient care is truly wonderful.
There are many plastic surgeons, but the top board certified plastic surgeons are in Costa Rica. The average price for Body Contouring in the U.S. is $9,000. The same procedure in Costa Rica is $3,500.
Costa Rica is just a quick plane ride away. It is very Americanized and has some of the best medical facilities in the world.
Body Contouring
Body Contouring also known as body sculpturing is a procedure which reshapes and enhances parts of the body. One popular approach involves liposuction or ultrasonic liposuction.
Some of the best plastic surgeons in the world are located in Costa Rica. And, oh, do the people come! San Jose, Costa Rica has become a Mecca for highly skilled cosmetic and reconstructive surgeons, oral surgeons, and ophthalmologists.
People come from all over the world for the extraordinary low prices, highly skilled plastic surgeons, and state-of-the-art facilities.
The climate is very pleasant, the people are warm and friendly, and the patient care is truly wonderful.
Makeovers Costa Rica is a medical tourism company based on a new breed of companies providing cosmetic surgery for hundreds of people worldwide. We have put many long hours into improving the success of Costa Rica’s growing trend — which is, people traveling to San Jose to fulfill their cosmetic surgery wishes. We guarantee that our services will provide every comfort to help our clients feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible — one the most critical issues to having a successful, safe and satisfying plastic surgery experience.
Over the years, we have learned to perfect what we do best — provide a safe, comfortable and pleasurable plastic surgery experience. We have come to realize that careful planning is required in order to provide our clients with top quality care, comfort and professionalism. Some of the services we offer — and do best — include the following.
We often see medical tourism companies selling cosmetic surgeries to people from abroad, portraying their surgery as a “vacation” and generally leaving out the most important aspect of the trip — the surgery!
At Makeovers Costa Rica, our first concern is the well-being of our patients and their families. Although, it is possible to make a vacation out of your surgery trip, we realize your surgery comes first. Makeovers Costa Rica will be more than happy to guide you with the vacation of a lifetime; however, our primary goal is to guarantee a safe and healthy surgery and post-surgery recovery. Thus, we strongly recommend that clients clearly understand the whole experience of plastic surgery, including the three primary steps: pre-opt surgery, day of surgery, and post-surgery/recovery period.
www.makeoverscostarica.com
Flood warning issued for remainder of rainy season
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission (CNE) moved 90 people from across the country to temporary shelters on Tuesday night after heavy rains and strong winds damaged homes.
The commission has issued a green alert, the lowest of the country’s three alert levels, for the entire country for the remainder of the rainy season.
On Tuesday night, rains flooded 10 houses in the Central Valley and tore the roofs off eight homes, including three in Escazú, west of San José.
Storms also flooded homes on the Nicoya Peninsula in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, Ciudad Quesada in north-central Costa Rica, and San Rafael de Corredores in the country’s Southern Zone.
The National Meteorological Institute is forecasting strong rains and electric storms through Thursday morning for the Central Valley, the Northern Zone, the Pacific coastal region and the Caribbean slope.
Under a green alert, the CNE advises citizens to be watchful of river levels and blocked sewer drains that could cause flooding. The commission also recommends that residents who live in disaster-prone areas prepare emergency kits with flashlights, clothes, battery-powered radios, medicine and food, in case a mandatory evacuation is ordered.
Costa Rica to Buy $50 Million a Month to Curb Rally
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Costa Rica’s central bank plans to buy as much as $50 million a month in the foreign-exchange market in a move that analysts say is a bid to stem a rally that’s sent the colon to a two-year high.
The colon has surged 7 percent in the past three months and touched 504.75 per dollar on Aug. 31, leaving it within 1 percent of the stronger end of the 500-to-645 band that the central bank seeks to keep the exchange rate. The colon weakened 0.4 percent to 508.27 today, its biggest slide in six weeks, after the bank said in the statement that it will buy up to $600 million in the market by December 2011.
The colon reached “a level that may have been deemed as too close for comfort by the central bank,” said Alberto Franco, a former Costa Rican central bank director who is an economist with Ecoanalisis, a financial consultant group in San Jose.
The purchases could begin as soon as today, the central bank said in a statement dated Sept. 1 on its website. The bank said the goal of the purchases is to bolster its foreign reserves.
The colon has surged 11.2 percent this year against the dollar, the second-best performance in the world after the Colombian peso, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Costa Rica: Over 20,000 dengue cases so far this year
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Despite the strong campaigns to encourage Costa Ricans to destroy the hatching sites of Aedes aegypti, dengue cases now exceed 20,000 so far this year.
According to information from the Ministry of Health, between January and August a total of 20,675 persons have been treated for dengue in health centers across the country.
According to health authorities, this represents an increase of 621.6 percent over the number of cases recorded in the same period of 2009, when 3,326 cases were recorded.
Frontier Airlines to fly direct between Liberia, Costa Rica, and Denver, Colorado
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Beginning in February 2011, Frontier Airlines will begin offering a new route from Denver, Colorado, to Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, capital of the northwest Costa Rican province of Guanacaste. Frontier has offered direct flights between Denver and Juan Santamaría International Airport outside San José since 2007.
The Frontier flight will leave from Denver at 8:25 a.m. Sunday mornings, arriving in Liberia at 2:35 p.m. The return flight will leave Liberia at 3:25 p.m., arriving in Denver at 8:10 p.m. The new flight will be offered only on Sundays.
Increasing the number of international flights to and from Costa Rica is one of the key goals of Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides.
“The promotion of new airline carriers and routes is a very important push during this administration,” Benavides told The Tico Times in April. “It will be important to try to establish new routes to new markets, and we are looking to promote more destinations for tourists from the U.S. and Canada.”
Daniel Oduber International Airport is increasingly becoming a prime portal for tourists. The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) reported in April that over 50,000 travelers touched down in Liberia during the first two months of 2010, an increase of more than 24 percent over the same months in 2009. Liberia is about a 45-minute drive from the Pacific coast.
Costa Rica Publishes Tender Documents for New Mobile Licenses
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Costa Rica’s telecoms regulator, Sutel has published the bidding rules for the tender to operate one of up to three mobile phone networks. The move will break the monopoly held by the state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).
Interested bidders are required to have a minimum customer base of 1.8 million customers, have revenues over US$450 million dollars outside of Costa Rica and have been operating for over five years at least in one country. A minimum fee of US$70 million will apply for the license and operators will have to launch services by September 2011.
Sutel says that five companies - Cable&Wireless, Telef�nica, Claro, Digicel and Millicom - have requested the documents and are said to be serious about bidding. Six other companies are said to have requested the tender documents but are not considered serious contenders and may have been requesting the documents for informational purposes.
The other companies include Ericsson and Alcatel Lucent, as well as a couple of local law firms - and the incumbent operator.
The government was obliged to open up the market to competition as a condition of entry into the Central American Free-Trade Agreement.
Ten Natural Beauties of Costa Rica
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010There are other countries in the world that enjoy divinely inspired natural landscapes, but Costa Rica boasts a higher biodiversity than Europe and the United States combined. Its small size also means that travelling from cloud forest to coastline and from summit to savannah is quick, easy and a matter of course. Here are some of its most natural wonders:
1. Corcovada
Famously labelled by National Geographic as ‘the most biologically intense place on earth,’ this national park is the last great original tract of tropical rainforest in Pacific Central America. The bastion of biological diversity is home to Costa Rica’s largest population of scarlet macaws, as well as countless other endangered species, including Baird’s tapir, the giant anteater and the world’s largest bird of prey, the harpy eagle. Corcovado’s amazing biodiversity has long attracted a devoted stream of visitors who descend from Bahía Drake and Puerto Jiménez to explore the remote location and spy on a wide array of wildlife.
2. Manuel Antonio
One of the country’s original ecotourism destinations, Manuel Antonio practically put Costa Rica on the map for international jet-setters. While the secret has long been let out, capuchin monkeys bounding across a tropical beach remain an arresting sight, as are iguanas, howlers, sloths and squirrel monkeys, which may be the cutest fur balls you have ever seen.
Manuel Antonio is a coconut-filled paradise. The park’s clearly marked trail system winds through rainforest-backed tropical beaches and rocky headlands, and the views across the bay to the pristine outer islands are unforgettable.
3. Arenal
Arenal has been producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streamers of glowing molten rock almost daily since 1968. Miraculously, the volcano has retained its picture-perfect conical shape despite constant volcanic activity, though its slopes are now ashen instead of green. In the shadow of Arenal, there’s something for everybody including luxurious hotels, romantic restaurants and Tabacón Hot Springs.
4. Monteverde
This iconic cloud forest was first settled by a community of Quakers who sought to protect their invaluable watershed. Home to such rare fauna as the resplendent quetzal, which is the Maya bird of paradise, Monteverde is partly responsible for Costa Rica’s international fame as an ecotourism hot spot where you can be inspired about the possibilities of organic farming and alternative energy sources.
5. Montezuma
A laid-back, budget beach town with a hippie vibe (locals call it ‘Montefuma’), beautiful beaches, a chill atmosphere and great restaurants. It’s the perfect base for exploring the southern part of the Península de Nicoya.
Up until the late 1990s, a traffic jam in Montezuma was getting off your bike to shoo some cows off the road, Montezuma is still a charming village, and foreign travellers continue to be drawn here by the laid-back atmosphere, cheap hotels and sprawling beaches. And while nothing ever stays the same, Montezuma has managed to hang on to its tranquil appeal.
6. Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
By day, lounge in a hammock, snorkel off uncrowded beaches and visit the remote indigenous territories of the Bribrí and KéköLdi. By night, dip into zesty Caribbean cooking and sway to reggaetón at open-air bars cooled by ocean breezes. Nearby, you’ll find rainforest fruit farms set to a soundtrack of cackling birds and croaking frogs. The villages of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca seem to have it all.
7. Tortuguero
Watch endangered sea turtles practice the millennia-old ritual of building a nest and laying their eggs on wild black-sand shores in this charming Caribbean jungle town. Tortuguero is more than just turtles; it’s thick with wildlife, and you will find sloths and howler monkeys in the treetops, tiny frogs and green iguanas scurrying among buttress roots, and mighty tarpon and endangered manatee swimming in the waters.
8. Jacó
There’s a loyal surfing contingent, resident North American expats and international developers who bill Jacó as the ultimate central Pacific destination and one of the country’s most rapidly developing cities. Truth be told, the surfing is excellent, the restaurants and bars are cosmopolitan, and a skyline of future high-rise apartments and luxury hotels is rapidly being constructed. While it couldn’t be classified as the ‘real’ Costa Rica, it is fun. There may be better surf spots and cleaner beaches, but its bar, restaurant and club scene is the best you will find along the entire Pacific coast.
9. Llanos de Cortés
If you have time to visit only one waterfall in Costa Rica, make it Llanos de Cortés. One of the most dramatic waterfalls in Costa Rica, it cascades into a tranquil pond with a white sandy beach. Scramble behind the falls with your sweetie to reach romantic nooks veiled by curtains of water.
10. Dominical
A permanently chilled-out beach town where time slows down to a crawl, Dominical has a way of forestalling your future plans. But when the surf is crashing and the sun is blazing, few travellers seem to really care.
Best Time to Travel to Costa Rica
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Costa Rica is one of the world’s best tourist destinations. It is actually the perfect escape for a magnificent vacation or even an unforgettable business conference. Costa Rica is situated in Central America and has mild climate which makes it even more attractive to tourists. Truly we can say that it has a fruitful tourism industry.
Knowing the things that you can do and see in Costa Rica is important. This will at least give you essential ideas about the place. You can plan your itinerary well if you have ideas in mind.
Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica
Here is a list of the must-see tourist attractions in Costa Rica.
* Manuel Antonio National Park: You can see here beautiful beaches, amazing wildlife, and rich forestation. Aside from these things, you can also get there easily because it is accessible and offers a lot of fun things to do.
* Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: This mountain rainforest has 100% humidity and it is the haven of more than 3000 species of plants and animals.
* Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs: Arenal volcano is actually the most active volcano in Costa Rica. It is a spot that you must see. If you want to witness the amazing fireworks display go to the base of the volcano and check out the splendid hot springs that will surely give you relaxation.
* Tamarindo and Playa Langosta: These places are great for people who love the excitement and thrill of surfing.
* Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park: This park is considered as one of the world’s most renowned places for its diversity. It is situated in Osa Peninsula. Drake Bay and Corcovado make the region a famous ecotourism spot.
Now that you have ideas on what to see in Costa Rica the next thing to talk about is the best time to travel to Costa Rica.
Best Time to Travel to Costa Rica
One of the factors to be considered when planning a trip is the weather. Costa Rica has two different seasons – the wet and dry seasons. Dry season stretches from December to April while wet season stretches from May to November. The best time of the year to visit and fly to Costa Rica is during the dry season. Travelers will enjoy the beauty of nature and the exciting activities that this place offers. However, expect the place to be crowded particularly during Christmas and Spring Break. Flights are available anytime of the year though.
If you have other concerns about Costa Rica I suggest that you check travel magazines and you might find the best hotels in there. You can also check websites that offer cheap packages and good deals like Travelzoo and Travelocity.
Have a wonderful trip to the beautiful paradise of Costa Rica!
13.000 Manholes Without Covers In San José Alone
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 
Besides having to dodge potholes, drivers have to also be wary of missing manholes covers.
In San José alone it is estimated that 13.000 manholes are completely open, without a cover, assumed stolen by thieves who trade the metal for cash.
Municipalities say they are continually replacing manhole covers, but cannot keep up with the pace of thefts and curb the problem.
The municipalidad de San José says it spends on average ¢35 million colones a year to replace manhole covers. Marco Solórzano, head of the Alcantarillado Pluvial de San José, however, says there are no exact figures on how many covers are replaced a year.
In some cases manholes covers are welded on or tied down with heavy chain links to hamper criminals, especially drug addicts who see the manhole covers as a way for some quick cash.
In some cases, on streets with less traffic, plastic covers are being used.
The lack of manhole covers, in addition to being a hazard for drivers, also mean that the sewer systems fill up with refuse and plug up, contributing to the flooding during heavy rain fall.
When all is said and done, there seems to be no solution in sight.
New Bridge Opening Causes Major Traffic Congestion On The Circunvalación
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Without fanfare the Alajuelita overpass opened Monday morning, eliminating the rotonda for east/west traffic through the rotonda rancho Guanacaste, with the objective of reducing traffic congestion through the Hatillos.
However, in typical Costa Rican style, traffic congestion was worse than ever in the first hours of the morning and continued throughout the day.
César Quirós, director of the Policía de Tránsito, explained that the reason for the congestion was the curiosity of many drivers to see the new structure.
To ease congestion Quirós sent a group of his officers to direct traffic through the intersections west/north of the bridge in the Hatillos 4 and 6.
However, the reverse occurred in the afternoon, when traffic congestion became a nightmare for drivers east of the bridge at the Paso Ancho rotonda.
The director said that some 30 officers will be on duty the coming days to regulate traffic movement through the area.
And in typical Costa Rican fashion, though the bridge is opened, a lot of work on the intersection is still not completed, primarily on the rotonda below the bridge.
Still to complete are barriers, systems to channel water during rain and work on the on and off ramps to the bridge.
Work on the reconstruction of the rotonda began in July 2009 with a cost of ¢5.6 billion colones.
The Circunvalación - the ring road on the south side of San José that runs from La Uruca to San Pedro - is used by an average of 65.000 vehicles daily.
Dialling into Costa Rica’s mobile market
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Costa Rica finally on Tuesday announced the terms of a tender that will open the last frontier of the free market in cellular service in Latin America.
The tender will invite bids for three bandwidths to compete with the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which currently controls the state monopoly on mobile phones.
The likely competitors already include leaders in markets in the region: Mexico’s América Móvil, controlled by Carlos Slim; Spain’s Telefónica; Luxembourg-based Millicom; Britain’s Cable & Wireless; and the Irish reggae boyz from Digicel, based in Jamaica but controlled by Dennis O’Brien.
Costa Rica was obliged to abolish state monopolies in cellphone service and insurance as a condition of joining Cafta, the free trade accord between the United States and Central America.
Cafta was approved by Costa Ricans in a referendum by only a very narrow margin some three years ago. Since then, however, foot-dragging bureaucrats and legal wrangling by one’s learned friends have delayed the opening of the mobile market.
Now the potential contenders are being given six weeks to place their bids.
With a stable - if in some cases rather stuck- economy, Costa Rica has a relatively wealthy population in regional terms, yet mobile penetration is scarcely over 50 per cent. Panama, which has similar levels of prosperity, has more cellphone lines than people.
That leaves the potential bidders for the Costa Rican concessions to do the math.
