A "Home stay" in Costa Rica Offers Spanish and Cultural Immersion. Learning Spanish is a lot like a long-distance hurdles race: if you commit yourself to staying the course, you'll find that a bit of patience, some healthy endurance, and the occasional burst of energy will take you through to the finish line. Although Costa Ricans [...]

Filed under: Travel on July 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »

The Stamp Collection at the Costa Rican Post Office was Painted by Art Students. Stamps, at their best, are beautiful, visual representations of landmarks, historical events, holidays, and various other facets of local culture. As they travel across state, nation, and continental borders, their small images bring with them messages of another place, a salutation from [...]

Filed under: Travel on July 1st, 2008 | No Comments »

Manzanillo, Costa Rica: a sleepy little Caribbean town. Four months, or there abouts, that's how much time remains until I'll be strolling the beaches of Puerto Viejo for six months, riding my bike to Manzanillo, or up over the hilly and rural dirt road known as "Margarita" to the road on the other side of the [...]

Filed under: Reader Opinion & Stories, Travel on July 1st, 2008 | No Comments »

Tamales Will be Made in Bulk this Weekend in the Town of Aserri. This Friday, the annual Feria Del Tamal will begin in Aserri, Costa Rica. Tamals are really seasonal family affairs. Up to three generations will gather to cook pork, vegetables, rice and herbs that are placed and cooked in Masa, that is made freshly [...]

Filed under: Travel on June 27th, 2008 | No Comments »

Costa Rica May Pass the Oil Price Burden on to the Commuter with new Gas Taxes. Minister Rodrigo Arias has announced that the Executive Power presented a new bill to the Legislative Assembly that would eliminate the 97.59 colones tax that is now imposed on Diesel fuel, and that in turn, regular and super gas prices [...]

Filed under: Costa Rica News, Travel on June 25th, 2008 | No Comments »

Punta Islita's Art is Symbiotic with Local Guanacaste Life. In Punta Islita, a small community in Guanacaste, several local artists have banded together to share their experiences, tell stores, and create contemporary visual art for all to enjoy. Located in the Nandayure cantón (county), the artists are both locally and nationally recognized, and are currently part [...]

Filed under: Travel on June 18th, 2008 | No Comments »

Disney opens new family tour package to Costa Rica. The magical world of Disney has now expanded it's Magic Kingdom beyond U.S. boundaries. Disney now offers all-inclusive vacations to Costa Rica. The new guided vacation tour packages have been designed for families to take the hassle out of planning a vacation that every member of the [...]

Filed under: Travel on June 18th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

RIU's Proposed Layout for a Hotel in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Three of Spain's biggest hotel chains have announced plans to expand in Costa Rica promising to bring more than $1 billion dollars in development. The news comes as no surprise to the ever so popular tourist destination as the number of European tourists is increasing each [...]

Filed under: Business, Travel on June 17th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The San Jose Airport in Costa Rica Suffers from Limited Space to Expand. Since 2005, San José's airport has been classified as "special" by incoming pilots. In fact, due to certain characteristics that make it challenging for navigation, such as a lack of airstrip illumination, only the most experienced pilots are allowed to man Costa Rica [...]

Filed under: Travel on June 12th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Costa Rica's Arenal Volcano acts up for the second time in five days. One of Costa Rica's most popular tourist destinations, the Arenal Volcano, puts on an incredible, natural light show almost every night. It's a spectacular sight to see molten lava pour out of Arenal's pointed mouth, but as area experts and park rangers know, [...]

Filed under: Travel on June 11th, 2008 | No Comments »