From barriers erected by security forces, a crowd of protesters, from various parts of the country, chanted and booed Presidenta Laura Chinchilla and Transport Minister Pedro Castro, over the San José – San Ramón road concession.
Security forced had erected a metal barrier around the perimeter of the official area honouring Juan Santamaria day. The barrier placed at least 100 metre (300 feet) distance between the crown and the Presidenta.
From barriers erected by security forces, a crowd of protesters, from various parts of the country, chanted and booed Presidenta Laura Chinchilla and Transport Minister Pedro Castro, over the San José – San Ramón road concession.
Security forced had erected a metal barrier around the permiter of the official area honouring Juan Santamaria day. The barrier placed at least 100 metre (300 feet) distance between the crown and the Presidenta.
There really is no woman in the world quite like a Latin American woman or Latina! Sure, sometimes they can be a little bit demanding; but if you are looking for a woman who is beautiful, confident and has real fire in her soul, you’ll find that only a Latin woman will do.
If you’re looking to start an intimate relationship with a Latina then you really ought to be aware of a few things beforehand. Indeed, keeping the following aspects at the forefront of your mind will help you to leave your Latin lovely feeling suitably impressed and get your fledgling relationship off to a promising start!
Be Confident
It is fair to say that Latin girls appreciate a strong man. This doesn’t mean that you need to be a burly firefighter with muscles the size of cannonballs. No, Latin ladies like a man who knows his own mind, stands his ground and exudes confidence. They want to spend time with a guy who is not afraid to have a ˜spirited debate’ with them and who won’t capitulate when discussions become a little heated. However, it is of course very important that you don’t confuse confidence with arrogance.
Latin women (like all women) can smell an arrogant from a mile away!
Be Passionate
The idea of Latin girls being more passionate than Western women is not a stereotype “ it is a fact. To be sure, Latin ladies are incredibly passionate about anything and everything: food, family, dancing, love, shopping, sex “ everything.
If you are you used to dating Western women then you may well find Latin ladies’ perception of passion and romance to be somewhat different.
For example, Latin girls tend to be less concerned about material aspects like gifts and treats and put more stock in things like thoughts and feelings. Indeed, a Latin lady is likely to respond far more positively to a thoughtful hand written note than she would to an expensive gift. Thoughts and feelings are the very essence of romance and being aware of this (and showing it) will convince your lady that you really do have a passion inside you that beats every bit as powerfully as her own.
Be Respectful
Latin girls are extremely loyal to their families, and this includes their extended families (which can sometimes be very large). Naturally, you need to keep this in mind when you meet your girlfriend’s family for the first time. Certainly, it is vitally important that you are humble and courteous as showing any kind of disrespect could well be enough to end your burgeoning relationship, there and then. If you meet your lady’s father then make sure you remain cool calm and collected at all times.
Bear in mind that it sometimes takes a while for Latin families to warm to ‘outsiders’. This does not mean that you are not welcome or disliked – it simply means that they want to get to know you a little bit better!
Due to the expectation of increased protests today, the Presidenta’s security will be tightened while she attends the celebration of Juan Santamaría Day in Alajuela Centre.
The celebration marks 157th anniversary remembering the heroic deeds of Juan Santamara in the Battle of Rivas that took place in Nicaragua on April 11, 1856.
Protests against the San José-San Ramón road have been announced, as residents of several Alajuela province communities are planning to give the Presidenta “the shoulder”.
The increased security is to avoid Presidenta Laura Chinchilla being exposed to any violent and/or confrontational situations that may arise.
The city of Alajuela also, though not necessarily related to the Presidenta’s security tightening, announced that the city Alajuela (not the province) will be dry. The objective of the measure is to maintain order during the celebrations.
In addition, the city of Alajuela said additional police units will be on hand to ensure order during the parade.
In a letter to the board of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the Asociación Nacional de Técnicos y Trabajadores de la Energía y las Comunicaciones (ANTTEC) – National Association of Workers and Energy and Communications – proposes to intervene the Radiográfica Costarricense(RACSA) in order to rescue the country’s pioneer telecommunications company.
ANTTEC president Jorge Arguedas says it is very important to rescue RACSA, a company owned by ICE, and the future of 400 familis who depend on their jobs.
Since the beginning of the month ANTTEC has has made the government and Presidenta Laura Chinchilla aware of the “anomalies” in the functions of RACSA’s directors, Federico Chacón and Carlos Watson, both executives tendering their resignations to parent company, ICE.
Arguedas argues that the company is run by a group of “privileged”, a problem caused by the previous administration and ties of Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) members who have their positions in ICE and RACSA for foreign interests.
“It is troubling that a country with economic problems as Costa Rica is in the luxury of having idle funds while communities continue to demand telecommunications services throughout the country,” Arguedas said.
“This is the result of incompetent management that is inactive and telecommunications companies with threats of dismissal as is RACSA” concluded the union leader.
Thrill-seeking kayakers negotiate a perilous suspension bridge soaring over Costa Rica’s Savegre River, near Manuel Antonio National Park. Photograph by Lucas J. Gilman/Aurora Photos
In his article David Landsell, published on Monday April 8, 2013 in the Huffington Post, includes Costa Rica in the list of the “10 Terrible Overrated Destinations (And Where To Travel Instead).
Landsell writes, “Have you ever traveled somewhere that everyone told you was the absolute best, only to find yourself wondering: Is that all there is? It happens. Sometimes, the destination in question is trading on a dated reputation it no longer deserves. Other times, you’ve fallen victim to hype, manufactured by the travel industry, gleefully perpetrated by those whose job it is to report objectively. The end result? You’ve now wasted precious vacation time and money.
Here are ten overrated places I’ve encountered, some all too frequently, during nearly fifteen years as a travel writer. If I never see any of them again, I won’t mind at all.”
Landsell is a contributing editor at Airfarewatchdog.com, a website that offers travel tips.
In Landsell’s list Costa Rica is ranked six.
According to Landsell, “Some people are burdened with the need to be unusual. These are the people who won’t stop banging on about Costa Rica. People who can’t accept that we have a place like this belonging to our own country. In this magical place, filled with exotic flora and fauna, the roads are better, things are a little tidier, most people speak English (not that there’s anything wrong with Spanish), the food is actually interesting and they have really great umbrella cocktails. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“Instead, try This place is called Hawaii. You’re welcome”, Landsell recommends in lieu of Costa Rica
As of Wednesday night the Huffington Post article had 46.602 Likes on Facebook and shares more than 6.500 times.
Costa Rica Is An “Overrated” Destination, Says Huff Post
Landsell added destinations as Buenos Aires and the Caribbean, based on their experience, having been a “victim” of the industry and deceived by the reputation of a place “that no longer deserves”:
10. Buenos Aires
9. Ashville
8. Berlin
7. Chicago 6. Costa Rica
5. Colorado
4. Vancouver
3. the Caribbean
2. San Francisco
1. Austin
In an impassioned presentation in Washington DC, Costa Rica’s top drug prosecutor warned of the growing presence of transnational criminal organizations in that Central American nation, saying there was an increasing number of traffickers from Mexico and Colombia using the country as a base of operations.
Speaking at a Woodrow Wilson Center event in Washington, Walter Espinoza Espinoza, Costa Rican Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime, reported that Costa Rica is becoming a “refuge” for Colombian and Mexican drug bosses. (Watch video of the event, which included prosecutors from Guatemala and El Salvador.)
According to Espinoza, drug traffickers use Costa Rica, which lacks Mexico’s violent turf wars and intense law enforcement pressure, to coordinate criminal activities and launder money. This migration of criminal leaders has spurred violence in Costa Rica, with over 20 percent of homicides registered in 2012, or approximately 100 of 474 murders, linked to organized crime, the prosecutor said.
Espinoza admitted that so far, government efforts to curb criminal penetration and drug trafficking are having “no effect” even though they did more than 1,000 operations against trafficking groups last year.
Espinoza’s concerns add to a growing chorus of alarm about organized crime in Costa Rica. Authorities say the Sinaloa Cartel presents the biggest threat, although Colombian traffickers, such as the Rastrojos, have also established a presence. Costa Rica’s increasing importance as a transit country — cocaine seizures nearly doubled between 2011 and 2012 — has also fueled fears about the potential for growth in its domestic drug market.
Despite President Laura Chinchilla’s attempts to prioritize security, Costa Rica is struggling against the influx of criminal activity. The State Department’s 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report expressed concern about Costa Rica’s “inadequate resources and complicated bureaucracy,” especially as relates to border security and maritime interdiction.
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In this toon by CRHoy.com, the Minister of Obras Publicas y Transportes (MOPT), Pedro Castro is parodied to Fred Flintstone, whose name in Spanish is “Pedro Picapiedra”.
The government has come under heavy criticism over the concession contract for the San José-San Ramón road, that in the words of Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transportes (MOPT) minister Pedro Castro, only 2.7 kilometres will be new.
Minister Castro has been on the hot seat since Monday, as opponents to concession awarded to the Brazilian company, OAS, fire
allegations of embezzlement, breach of duty, illicit enrichment and conspiracy at the minister and a call on the Ministerio Público (Fiscalía) – Public Prosecutor – to investigate.
For his part, Castro says, “if the award has an error it will be revised”. Questioned on his having worked for the OAS, Castro said that when he entered the ministry it was decided jointly with President Chinchilla, that he would not participate in any activities related to the OAS contract as the meetings of the CNC.
Castro came under questioning on Tuesday by Libertarian legislator, Patricia Pérez, who had called Castro and the technical secretary of the National Concessions Council (CNC), Edwin Rodriguez, to appear before the Committee on Revenue and Expenditures Perez chairs in the Legislature.
Distancing herself from the allegations, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, said the government has been objecting to the methodology used by the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) to establish reporting, because the comptroller uses “rather outdated” information.
This is not the first time the MOPT and its ministers, vice-ministers and high-ranking officials have been accused of wrong doings. For most, the MOPT is one of the most corrupt branches of the government and accused of waste and squandering public resources and pilfering by its managers.
The viceministro de Transportes (terrestre y seguridad vial) – Deputy Minister of Transport (road and road safety) – Rodrigo Rivera, will be the first to leave his post effective on April 15, and Luis Carlos Araya (viceministro de Transporte aéreo y marítimo) may be gone as early as the end of the month.
Rivaera cited “fatigue” after two years of “intense negotiations” with taxi drivers and porteadres as the reason for his resignation.
Meanwhile, Araya (brother of San José mayor and PLN presidential candidate) said he would be leaving his post to join his brother’s presidential campaign. No exact date for his leaving was made public.
Although the actions of the two deputy ministers may not be related to the San José-San Ramón road concession controversy that has had MOPT minister, Pedro Castro, under fire the last couple of days, the timing is suspicious.
The lucrative and dangerous business of “barra libre” or “teen parties” has been fast creeping into Costa Rica society, as families with the help of their children,organize events to serve minors alcohol and where drugs are readily available.
The Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas (ICD) – Costa Rican Drug Institute – confirmed the existence of such parties with a raid on a Alajuela farm last Friday and the arrest of a woman – the mother of one of the teens – who was behind this “dangerous business”.
According to Carlos Alvarado, director of the ICD, the mother, who is now facing criminal charges, used her daughter to invite friends from her school and other schools, to the farm to party.
The “barra libre” parties generally are attended by minors where they can drink up and do drugs, all under the supervision of an adult.
The ICD says the parties are advertised on the social networks and charge up ¢15.000 colones (US$30) per student, that includes transportation, food and liquor.
“We found that, for example, operators of the mobile discos (music) would have drugs (for sale) available to the minors”, said the ICD director.
The ICD has made seven similar raids, typically in remote areas outside of the capital, finding minors being drunk and some under the influence of drugs, while being under the supervised of adults. In some cases, said Alvarado, the students were transported in the same school bus.
Investors who ploughed more than $1 million into a Costa Rica property scheme launched by David and Antoinette Bolden will get back about two to four cents on the dollar, according to the receivers.
David and Antoinette Bolden (Photo by Mark Tatem)
That’s more than they would get if EFG International Realty LP1, the limited partnership vehicle set up for the scheme, had unsecured creditors claims.
KPMG Advisory Limited, acting as agent for the Official Receiver, issued a call for unsecured creditors of the EFGIR estate in October, but received no responses by its November deadline.
“Following advertising for unsecured creditor claims in October, there were no such creditor claims submitted,” said Charles Thresh of KPMG Advisory Limited.
“Accordingly, after costs, the residual estate is available in full for distribution to the EFGIR investors. The next stage in the process is a formal call for claims by investors. This will be advertised shortly and, after expiry of a short notice period, a distribution will be made.
“Unfortunately, due to the limited assets available to the estate, the distribution is expected to be only two to four cents on the dollar to investors, depending on how many investors come forward and prove their claim.”
The scheme had about 35 investors.
Mr Bolden was president of the company and its affairs were organized by its general partner Emerald International Management Limited (EIML), a regulated financial firm owned by the couple.
The Emerald Group of Companies, including EIML, is being wound up by KPMG after the BMA took enforcement action in summer 2009 due to concerns about the firm’s liquidity.
KPMG’s latest report to identified EFGIR investors says that the company’s general ledger contained no financial data and a dedicated bank account for the scheme was not opened.
But KPMG determined that the total amount of money invested into the scheme by the 35 Limited Partners could be $1,417,442, of which $1,009,932 has been confirmed.
Subscriptions ranged from $25,000 to $150,000.
The Boldens were found guilty of misleading the BMA in relation to their Emerald Financial Group of Companies, by a Supreme Court jury in June last year. The couple could not be contacted for comment by press time.
College student Brandon Wesneski recently had a different kind of spring break. And it makes him thankful for things that Americans take for granted . Wesneski, who is from Canton and is a senior at Wilkes University, will graduate in May, and will attend law school in the fall.
From March 2 through March 9, he took part in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program, which he said has been in place at Wilkes University for a number of years. Wesneski spent time in Costa Rica.
“It allows students to go on community service trips at a decent cost, rather than going on a more traditional break,” he explained about the program. “The cost is off balanced by fund raising that we do. There are usually four different trips, two domestic and two international. This year the trips included Joplin (Mo.), New Orleans, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Each trip is slightly different, but the goal is to help out in some way those that are less fortunate, whether it be because of natural disasters destroying their homes or more generally because it is a developing nation in need of a little help.”
Wesneski said he got involved with the program because of his professor, Dr. Andrew P. Miller, assistant professor of political science, who has taught him classes such as international law and others on Latin American economic development.
“Dr. Miller sparked my interest in Latin America, so I figured what better way to put what I have learned in class into some context, so I chose to apply to go on the Costa Rica trip,” Wesneski said.
Ten students, including juniors and seniors, went to a small town in Costa Rica called San Marcos, which Wesneski said is in the mountains, about two hours west of the capital, San Jose.
“As part of this trip I took a class that focused on the importance of coffee in this region,” he explained.
When sex tourists talk about “bareback” sex, they refer to sex without condoms. According to researcher Jacobo Schifter in his e-book, Viejos Verdes en el Paraiso, many of the baby boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1964) do not have a culture of condom use. This behavior, coupled with the sexual revolution caused by drugs to combat Erectile Dysfunction has brought new challenges in terms of protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
[two_third last=”no”]For example, there are tourists who pay extra money for sex without a condom.
“Some customers do not like condoms because they are afraid of losing their erections” says a sex worker interviewed by Schifter.
In a survey conducted in 2005 on a forum for internet sex tourists, half of the participants admitted to having sex without a condom with a sex worker.
A similar amount was collected by Schifter in a count that he performed in 2004, according to the number of condoms he found in the garbage of some “massage parlours”.
The researcher also identified the anxiety experienced by older sexual tourists when they buy condoms, as some mentioned in online forums who are ridiculed for it.
A forum user account: “[The clerk at the pharmacy said laughingly that my prescription reflected that of an elderly man, but the rest of my order tells a different story. I said I’m [sexually] active and she laughed”.
The New York Times has reported on the upward trend in the U.S. in the number of adults over the age of 50 seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
However, the repot stated that the group that represents the greatest threat to public health are still those aged between 15 and 24.
The issue of recreational approach in quality of life will gather delegates from 15 countries in the fourth edition of the Medical Travel International Business Summit to be held later this month in San José.
The event organizers informed that 250 companies in the medical and tourism sectors will be represented from April 24 to 26 in order to promote this Central American country and Latin America as destinations for health care and welfare.
The summit will be held at Los Suenos hotel in Herradura beach, Puntarenas, and many representatives have already confirmed their presence, such as those of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.
Spokesmen for the meeting estimated that more than 500 business meetings will be held between utility companies and buyers of tourism and health.
Also organizations linked to clinical service, hotel, medical tourism facilitators entities, and insurers are attending the event.
If you thought that the Canadian gold mining firm Industrias Infinitas had shot its last legal arrow from its quiver, you are dead wrong. The litigious mining company that spent years in Costa Rican courts is threatening to resort to international mediation.
Industrias spokesperson Yokebec Soto has announced the demand from the Costa Rican government for nearly $1.1 billion in damages for alleged violation of three articles in its original agreement sign with the Arias Administration.
The Industrias Infinitas mine at La Crucitas was controversial from the start. In 2008, then-President Oscar Arias declared the open pit gold mine “in the public interest,” greasing the rails for the project to go through.
Environmentalists opposing the the project because of the dangerous chemicals necessary to separate the gold from stone, fearing it would leach into the water table, filed an amparo appeal with the Constitutional Court (Sala IV) in 2010.
Sala IV ruled that the mine presented no environmental risk, much to the displeasure of environmentalists. It appeared that the firm was home free, but later in 2010 an appeals court ruled that irregularities had been discovered in the company’s permits.
In addition, the court ruled that the company had far exceeded its permit to cut trees in the development of its concession. The cancellation of all permits was upheld in late 2011.
The company immediately appealed the verdict to Sala IV in November, 2011, but the court has not chosen to take the matter up so far. The situation has been complicated by the unexpected death of Sala IV member Judge Luis Paulino Mora and the retirement of its president, Judge Ana Virginia Calzada.
Meanwhile, the company was fined millions for environmental damage from alleged wanton cutting of the protected yellow almond trees on the site.
The case to be argued in front of the World Bank-recognized investment arbitration center in Washington D. C. a billion dollars for the gold the company was unable to extract from the ground plus $92 million for technical and environmental studies (entailing drilling 291 holes in the ground), plus the purchase of machinery.
After President Laura Chinchilla took office, she signed a decree forbidding open pit mining in the country. It came too late to apply to the Canadian firm, however.
While Presidenta Laura Chinchilla readies for her civic act celebrating Juan Santamaría Day in Alajuela, the residents of the province are a protest and to “give her the cold shoulder”.
The residents of Alajuela are angered over the concession award of the San José – San Ramón road to the Brazilian company, OAS, and the amount of the tolls that will be part of the reconditioned road.
“We will give the Presidenta the cold shoulder, the same she has given us over the last three years”, said Paul Brenes, representing the residents of San Ramón.
Residents of villages and towns affected by the concession – and all against the project – are being asked to come out en masse on Thursday to demonstrate.
The demonstration is being planned for the Parque Juan Santamaria, in Alajuela Centre, the same location of the Santamaria Day activities.
Organizers say the demonstrations will also take place in other centres across the province of Alajuela.
The Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (LANAMME) – National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models – notes that three of the country’s busiest roads are “death traps”.
The roads are the Florencio del Castillo or Ruta 2 (San José to Cartago), the Ruta 27 (San José to Caldera) and the Ruta 32 (San José to Limón).
Generally traffic accidents are attributed to reckless drivers, but some parts of three mentioned highways are a product of poor road planning and maintenance.
LANAMME points to specific points on these roads, like the “cuesta de fierro” (the iron hill) on the Florencio del Castillo, a kilometre stretch of road that has a traffic count of 60,000 vehicles daily, where the asphalt is worn down as causing “fish tailing” and almost non-existent signage.
On the Ruta 27, the most vulnerable spots are in the area of Hacienda del Sol (Santa Ana) and Multiplaza (Escazú), where pedestrians do the “mad dash” across the high speed highway to get to the other side, notwitstanding the existence of pedestrian overpasses. There are many other high risk points along the route to the Pacific coast.
On the Ruta 32, called the “curva de susto” (curve of fright), last year alone there were more than 30 deaths recorded. On this road, besides the winding curves, the pavement must withstand inclement weather conditions and the passage of heavy vehicles to and from the port city of Limón to the country’s major market, San José. LANAMME engineers say that on this road the environment plays a big factor. The road weaves through the Zurquí rain forest, responsible for the constant slippery road conditions, affecting braking. The rain through the area also plays a major factor in pavement deterioration.
These three and all the other roads in the country have one common factor says the LANAMME: lack of signage or confusing signage; guardrails that do not exist or are in poor condition and guardrail systems not used on roads in other countries for more than three decades; and lack of planning and maintenance.
The General Cañas back in 1965.
Road planners never imagined that in the country now circulate some one and a half million vehicles. Driving on any road the lack of planning for more vehicles in the future is quite evident.
In the Central Valley, for example, the General Cañas between La Sabana and the international airport, has grown from a two lane “carretera” (road) to a six lane “autopista” (highway) since its opening on August 31, 1965. The 11.8 kilometres of road that is part of the Interamericana or Ruta 1, in 1995 expanded to six lanes – the same four lane turned into six – between the Juan Pablo II bridge and the airport by making the lanes narrower and eliminating the shoulder. In addition, the six lane “highway” still has its two four lane bridges.
Visitors know the name as the main international airport in Costa Rica is named after Juan Santamaría
April 11 each year is Juan Santamaría day in Costa Rica, a national holiday, when Juan Santamaría (August 29, 1831 – April 11, 1856), is officially recognized as the national hero of the Republic of Costa Rica.
Santamaría was born in the city of Alajuela. When U.S. filibuster William Walker overthrew the government of Nicaragua and attempted to conquer the other nations in Central America, including Costa Rica, in order to form a private slave-holding empire, Costa Rican president Juan Rafael Mora Porras called upon the general population to take up arms and march north to Nicaragua to fight against the foreign invader. Santamaría, a poor laborer and the illegitimate son of a single mother joined the army as a drummer boy. The troops nicknamed him “el erizo” (“the Porcupine”) on account of his spiked hair.
After routing a small contingent of Walker’s soldiers at Santa Rosa, Guanacaste, the Costa Rican troops continued marching north and reached the city of Rivas, Nicaragua, on April 8, 1856. The battle that ensued is known as the Second Battle of Rivas. Combat was fierce and the Costa Ricans were not able to drive Walker’s men out of a hostel near the town center from which they commanded an advantageous firing position.
According to the traditional account, on April 11, Salvadoran General José María Cañas suggested that one of the soldiers advance towards the hostel with a torch and set it on fire. Some soldiers tried and failed, but finally Santamaría volunteered on the condition that, in the event of his death, someone would look after his mother. He then advanced and was mortally wounded by enemy fire. Before expiring he succeeded, however, in setting fire to the hostel, thus contributing decisively to the Costa Rican victory at Rivas.
This account is apparently supported by a petition for a state pension filed on November 1857 by Santamaría’s mother, as well as by government documents showing that the pension was granted. Various historians, however, have questioned whether the account is accurate, and if Santamaria died or not during that battle or another one. At any rate, towards the end of the 19th century, Costa Rican intellectuals and politicians seized on the war against Walker and on the figure of Juan Santamaría for nationalist purposes.
Juan Santamaría is honored by a statue in a park bearing his name in the central canton of Alajuela one block south of the Central Park, and by a museum that was a former garrison in the same city. Two statues of Juan Santamaria larger than the life are in Costa Rica: one in Alajuela and other in the front of the Congress in San Jose. The Statue was commissioned by the Costa Rican Government in 1891, under sworn statement or affidavit of several witness of his deed in Rivas, a perpetual memorial archive has been preserved. As a drummer of the armed forces he wore a uniform, that evidently was of French design, since in the 19th century most the of the high-ranking officers were trained in France.
The San José airport, the main international airport in Costa Rica is named after Juan Santamaría.
As the commuter train readies to roll to Cartago, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla promises a San José – Alajuela run by next year.
The Presidenta said on Monday that work on the 11 kilometres of track between San José and city of the Mangos (Alajuela) will be cleared and ready for use by next year. The Alajuela route will pass through Heredia, though specific details were not made public.
The project is expected to cost US$6 million dollars and financed by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes and the Municipalidad de Alajuela and carried out by the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (INCOFER).
INCOFER president, Miguel Carabaguíaz – who has been at the controls of the rebuilding of the commuter train line with the first line between San Pedro and Pavas back in 2005 – said first is the cleaning of the track and followed by the construction of the bridges and embankments.
Oscar Arias and Margaret Tatcher in their younger years
Former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, on Monday recalled his first meeting with former British Prime Minister, Margaret Tatcher, where he had to convince her to support peace for Central America and the Acuerdo de Esquipulas (Esquipulas Agreement)in June 1987.
As Arias tells it, the meeting was one of the most tense, Tatcher supporting US President Ronald Reagan’s arms policy.
Tatcher finally decided to support the Central America peace process not to be isolated from other Euorpeann communities, even though her vision was different, recalled Arias.
The two leaders met at various conferences around the world in the years following.
Despite their continuing differences of opinion on the arms issue, Arias said he respected the firm attitdue of Tatcher. Costa Rica’s former president noted that the nickname was the “Iron Lady” described her well.
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts, 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British Conservative Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.
She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist called her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.
The former British PM dies after a stroke aged 87.
Courtesy of Stephanny Arroyo, Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation Jaguar Research Grant Program, The Rufford Small Grant Foundation, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Idea Wild (GlobalPost)
TORTUGUERO, Costa Rica — A sole pair of sea turtle tracks is all that punctuates the serenity of sand along the protected beach on this Central American country’s Caribbean side.
The turtle made it out of the ocean to a preferred nesting spot — but never made it back. It was the first turtle researchers found killed by a jaguar of the 2013 nesting season.
Tortuguero National Park, in Costa Rica’s northern Caribbean slope region, has one of the world’s most important nesting beaches for the endangered green turtle. Scientists say 15,000 to 20,000 of them crawl ashore here each year for a nesting season that lasts from May to October.
Even the name Tortuguero is taken by some to mean “turtle area” — yet it could also translate as “turtle catcher” — but this park is just one stop-off in the creatures’ epic migration from feeding spots to nest areas.
Now, they’re sharing this quiet slice of paradise with a ferocious new neighbor that’s making the mission harder for some to complete.
Tortuguero has become a hotspot for jaguars, the largest cat in the Americas, and they’re proving to be nimble turtle catchers. (Watch footage below of a jaguar devouring the first sea turtle of the nesting season mentioned above, courtesy of Global Vision International.)
The jaguar is a near-threatened species, according to the nonprofit International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species; although, in some Latin American countries, jaguars have vanished entirely.
Tortuguero park rangers say 10 years ago they never saw a jaguar on their beach. Now it’s virtually crawling with them: Researchers say they’ve identified 16 jaguars in the park, and estimate that the big cats kill about 1 percent of the turtles nesting here.
Stephanny Arroyo, 31, who studies wildlife conservation at the National University of Costa Rica, has been researching the elusive cats for the past year, along with staff and volunteers of Global Vision International (GVI) and support from the national park and the nonprofit Panthera.
They set camera traps at areas considered high-traffic spots for jaguars, which helps in identifying and distinguishing the cats. But their photos and video footage show more than just unique fur spots. Their findings reveal the jaguars are acting unlike any jaguar these researchers have ever heard of.
Jaguars, so happy together
Jaguars are known for living a solitary life, roaming a radius of at least 14 square miles by themselves.
Not in Tortuguero. Here 16 jaguars are sharing 100 square miles, and, the researchers say, they are oddly social: they eat together, travel together and play together.
“I was certain that Tortuguero was special for something,’ Arroyo said. “The behavior [of the jaguars] is unique and the quantity of individuals in such a small area is also unique.’
One explanation under examination is the area’s unusual abundance of turtles. The bounty of turtle meat for half the year means jaguars might not feel the need to compete for food, according to Arroyo. With hunting made easy, these beasts could be less bothered to stake out their own territory to roam solo.
“For example,’ Arroyo said, “to see two males walking together or three males walking together is something that has never been seen before, or a male and a female walking together is something that wasn’t known.’ In Tortuguero, she said, that’s what’s happening.
Still, she and her colleagues are working to get to the bottom of this. And the more the jaguars amaze them, the more questions arise. Where are they coming from? Where do they go when the turtles are gone?
More Than Sex In Viejo Verdes en el Paraiso, Jacobo Schifter says sex tourists visiting the country have formed certain identity as a group. In online forums, Americans say that in places like the Hotel Del Rey, for example, they have had the opportunity to share emotionally for the first time with other men. They feel part of a fringe group: share complicity to be socially unacceptable. Schifter compared them with homosexuals in Costa Rica in the ’70s and ’80s, who gathered secretly in bars and nightclubs.
[two_third last=”no”]”Sex tourists practice a kind of covert homosexuality: they are men who seek support from other men not to have sex with each other, but to have a shared male solidarity,” he says.
The researcher Eduardo Mora also said there is another indication of the formation of an identity. He draws attention to the fact that tourists have come to call the area around the hotel Del Rey including bars, casinos and night clubs, the “Gringo Gulch”.[/two_third][one_third last=”yes”][colored_box color=”yellow”]This article is a translation of the report by Dario Chinchilla published in Revista Dominical in La Nacion, April 7, 2013.[/colored_box][/one_third]
Gringo Gulch sometimes seems to be, more than a geographical or sociological phenomenon, a myth cultivated by sex tourists to feel conquerors of sex in strange lands,” says Mora.
Schifter says that there is a clear distinction between two types of sex tourists. There are those who have come to have as many sexual encounters as possible, as the tourist who boasted in a forum that supposedly had sex with 37 women in ten days, and there are those who define themselves as mongers. This second group, according Schifter, consists of older men who often look at Costa Rica for the girlfriend experience (fantasy experience of dating). They pay for sex, yes, but also maintain certain exclusive relationships with some sex workers: the take them dancing, dining, shopping at clothing boutiques.
“In these cases, the sex trade involves sex and money, but both sides want more than that,” says Schifter. He also states that these links dilute the relationship between the client and the sex worker, and she starts to perform functions of a guide, helps with banking, accompanying to medical appointments…” Something that torture tourists in forums is whether the tears of these women are real, because they cry like muffins when they leave the airport.”
Marisa, the girl who keeps nursing her rum at the Blue Marlin, ends confessing that yes she has fallen for several clients, but they were all Europeans. They are smarter, she says, are less eager to have sex, and also pay for the talk and the company.
The foreign exchange from tourism to Costa Rica last year surpassed that prior to the global crisis of 2008. However, at the Del Rey the upturn goes unnoticed.
Marisa explains that things have become more difficult in San José since the airport in Liberia has taken more importance. Nor has it helped that Jacó has gained relevance to relieve the excitement of Americans.
It’s a slow evening at the bar: the number of girls easily doubles that that of potential customers. Unfortunately for Marisa, not a single European is sight tonight. She would settle for a Gringo or even a Tico, but today it doesn’t seem to be her night.
< Part 1>| Part Three “Too Old For A Condom?” Tomorrow
Messenger will start to disappear today. So does Hotmail. But, wait, don’t panic, all will be the same – almost – just with a new look and a new name. Windows Live Messenger will be moved to “Skype” and Hotmail is now “Outlook”.
MSN Messenger or “Messenger” some time ago became Windows Live Messenger, the is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft to work with Windows XP (up to Wave 3), Windows Vista (up to Wave 4), Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x, and Zune HD.
On November 6, 2012, Microsoft announced that Windows Live Messenger will be retired (except in mainland China) in favour of Skype. The function allowing users to merge their Skype accounts with Microsoft account was introduced, allowing them to communicate with their Messenger contacts via the Skype clients.
Microsoft will begin the transition for all users from today, April 8, 2013.
One of the biggest headaches for some – maybe many – is that MSN/Live messenger contacts are gone after merge to Skype. Of course Skype has a fix for this, but it can be a nightmare even for experienced internet users.
It was first announced that Skype would replace Messenger last year and it was believed that the changing of the guard would happen in March, however the upgrade will now start in April and should be completed by April 30.
Skype says that users of Windows Live Messenger will continue to have many of the features that they currently enjoy, such as group instant messaging, emoticons and screen sharing, along with many new advantages, like conversation histories, the ability to edit and remove messages, Facebook integration and group video calling.
“We want everyone who uses Messenger to have a positive experience,” said Skype. “Upgrading to Skype can help you communicate in flexible ways, and be connected on more devices and platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, Windows Phone, Android and soon Blackberry.”
Skype has also started testing video messaging on its iOS, Android and Mac applications in the UK, US and a few other countries. Interestingly, it has not been rolled out to the Windows version of the client, despite Microsoft owning Skype.
Skype has had video calling for some time: the new feature allows for asynchronous video chat with messages of up to three minutes long. Users can apparently send 20 messages before having to pay for the premium service.
As for Hotmail, Outlook is basically the same, but with a new clean, Metro-Style interface. You can sign into Outlook with your Hotmail credentials and no need to convert to anything.
In the summer of 2012, Gmail stole away Hotmail’s long-standing title as the world’s largest web-based email service. Around that same time, Microsoft released a preview version of Outlook.com, a new service the company promised would “reimagine email.”
Editor’s note: Outlook.com is not to be confused with Microsoft’s Outlook mail client program that is installed on one’s computer to receive and send emails. Outlook.com is the internet mail service replacing Hotmail.com
In my mind, there’s nothing better than watching a sunset in a beautiful location, drink in hand. Fortunately, in my new home of Costa Rica, there’s plenty of opportunity to do just that.
There’s 780 miles of Pacific coast–prime sunset-watching territory, as well as several spots inland that give you a great view. Really you can’t go wrong with sunset from anywhere. But there are some locations that are particularly good. If you find yourself in the area, be sure to stop by at least once on your trip. And remember, because Costa Rica is so close to the equator, sunset comes early, around 5.30 p.m.
Hotel La Mariposa, Manuel Antonio, Central Pacific Coast
Manuel Antonio is the area just outside Costa Rica’s most popular national park of the same name. There is a road from the port town of Quepos to the park entrance, strung with hotels, resorts, restaurants, and homes on either side.
The mountains meet the sea here, so many residences and hotels are perched on hillsides, surrounded by jungle. La Mariposa Hotel is one of these. Your view of the sun as it sets next to a rocky, tree-covered point is unobstructed. No need to be a guest to enjoy sunset here. Just buy a drink at the pool bar. If you’re feeling daring, take a dip in the infinity pool.
El Pescador, Tamarindo, Northern Pacific Coast
At the far southern end of Tamarindo’s strip of beachfront bars and restaurants is El Pescador. This open-air seafood restaurant has most of its tables sitting under the trees strung with Christmas lights, as well as benches that allow you to kick off your shoes and put your feet in the sand.
Due to its location away from the hub-bub in the center of town, you watch the sunset with no crowds blocking your view, just a few locals sitting on overturned fishing boats and surfers catching one last wave of the day. And when the darkness falls, don’t head home. Live music is next on the bill.
Hacienda Baru, Dominical, Southern Pacific Coast
Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast is a relatively undeveloped and sparsely populated area. No big resorts. No high-rise hotels. It’s one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet; it’s rainforests full of a variety of wildlife, from toucans to howler monkeys to three-toed sloths.
My favorite place to stay in this area is Hacienda Baru, a rustic eco-lodge set in a coastal rainforest with it’s own stretch of beach – three miles in total. A short hike through the jungle gets you to the palm tree-lined beachfront. It’s deserted, with the wild Pacific waves crashing to shore. In other areas, watching the sunset is a communal experience but here it’s just you and your party.
You’re several hours from the beach at this former Smithsonian research center just a couple miles from the Arenal volcano. But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the sun set over the water here. The Arenal Observatory Lodge is also near the eastern shore of Lake Arenal. And at dusk, the view of the sun setting over the pristine lake is to die for. It’s one of the only places in Arenal you can get this view.
It’s not easy to get to the Arenal Observatory Lodge, it’s a 20-minute drive off the main road along a bumpy dirt road. If you’re not staying the night be sure to arrive in the mid-afternoon so you can enjoy the on-site nature trails before heading to the restaurants back deck to enjoy sunset.
Costa Rica has notified the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that it has ratified the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the most comprehensive multilateral agreement available for tax-cooperation and exchange of information.
The Convention was developed jointly by the OECD and the Council of Europe, and has been open to all countries since June 1, 2011. It helps counter cross-border tax evasion and ensures compliance with national tax laws, while respecting the rights of taxpayers. G20 Leaders strongly encouraged all jurisdictions to sign the Convention at their Los Cabos Summit in 2012.
Costa Rica is strengthening its engagement with the OECD including in the area of taxation. “Costa Rica continues to make good progress in transparency and exchange of information,” said OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurria. “Ratifying the Multilateral Convention represents another important step forward. I congratulate Costa Rica for being the first country in Central America to ratify it and I hope other countries in the region will follow their lead.”
Costa Rica’s Minister of Finance, Edgar Ayales, meeting with the Secretary-General, noted that, “The ratification of this Convention is another milestone in Costa Rica’s longstanding commitment towards tax transparency. Through the application of this Convention and recent amendments to our domestic legislation, we look forward to contributing in the cross-border fight against tax evasion.”
The Convention provides a multilateral basis for a wide range of administrative assistance, including information exchange on request, automatic exchange, simultaneous tax examinations and assistance in the collection of tax debts. The Convention will enter into force for Costa Rica on August 1, 2013.
So far, 50 young women aspire to be the next Miss Costa Rica, enrolling in the annual contest held by Televisora de Costa Rica, owner of the franchise and Teletica local channel 7.
Participating in the contest final will be ten girls chosen from all the candidates enrolled up to and including April 15. “We have a good number of entries. For me this is an achievement to have to date enrolled 50 girls’, said Gabriela Alafro, manager of Teletica.
Registration for the contest closes April 15
The road to the crown starts with filling out the inscription and an audition call of all participants to appear personally at the channel 7 studios in La Sabana (across from the National Stadium). Nazareth Cascante, the current Miss Costa Rica will welcome all participants and be involved in the election of her successor.
The second heat of the contest will group 15 to 20 semi-finalists, then reduced to 10 finalists which will compete in the televised portion of the contest, ending with one of the contestants being crowned Miss Costa Rica 2013, who will then represent Costa Rica in the Miss Universe pagaent.
Last year, we sought out a woman of challenge, this year hoping to find a “complete woman” in the words of organizers.
The visit to Costa Rica by U.S. president Barack Obama, raises a challenge for the leaders of Central America, to show they united and submit joint proposals on issues such as cooperation and security.
It is not every day that the isthmus gets a visit from the leader of the world’s largest economy and in indeed, this is the first visit by Obama and his first participation in a summit of the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) – Central American Integration System.
“The meeting will give President Obama a unique opportunity to meet with the presidents of the Central America countries”, U.S. Ambassador in San José, Anne Andrew, told La Nacion.
According to Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, Enrique Castillo, the visit symbolizes that the Obama administration is turning its eyes toward Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
For Castillo, the Obama visit is an indication of further political rapprochement between the U.S. and the region after a “certain indifference” by the former.
For the isthmus to present a united front, there is the need to overcome some of the obstacles such as disagreements between presidents Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.
Honduras and Nicaragua have also had recent brushes.
The Central American Integration System (SICA) – established on December 13, 1991 – is the institutional framework of Regional Integration in Central America, created by the States of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Also involved are the Dominican Republic as an Associated State; Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and the United States of America, take part as Regional Observers. China (Taiwan), Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, South Korea, France, the Holy See, participate as Extra Regional Observers. SICA’s General Secretariat headquarters are located in the Republic of El Salvador.
Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti and Uruguay are in the process of joining the System as Regional Observers as well as the United Kingdom in the Extra Regional Observer category. Their participation was approved by the XL SICA Heads of State and Government Meeting, held in December 2012.
SICA headquarters in El Salvador.
The SICA has a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and maintains permanent offices at UN Headquarters.
Four countries, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, are going through a process of political, cultural, and migratory integration and have formed a group called The Central America Four or CA-4, which has introduced common internal borders and same type of passport.
The Presidency Pro-tempore rotates, every six months, amongst each SICA member country on a geographical basis, for the periods January 1st – June 30th, and July 1st – December 31st each year. Rotation occurs therefore in the following geographic order: Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Political expert Luis Guillermo Solís maintains that the United States sees the countries of Central America as a single block, if there is no harmony, the opportunity may be lost.
“What is very difficult is that the region has something to say together, speak as one voice’, said Solis.
Panama’s Foreign Minister, Fernando Núñez Fábrega, told the wire agency ACAN-EFE, that Obama is expected to come out for a “boost of the Central American Union”.
According to the U.S. Embassy in San José reports, Obama will discuss economic growth and development in the region. Meanwhile, governments have different issues they want to discuss.
El Salvador, for example, wants to talk about immigration issues, says AFP, as 2.5 million Salvadorans live in the United States.
The SICA summit will take place in San José on May 3 and 4.
