Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias arrived in the United States July 25th to receive a very rare operation that is not available in Costa Rica.  The conjoined twins have made the trek with their parents to Palo Alto, California for the surgery to separate their conjoined chest, liver, and heart. 

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 21st, 2007 | No Comments »

As of right now there is a 3% hotel tax that each tourist must pay, but recently there has been a shift from the traditional hotel vacation to condos, houses, and apartments that do not have such a tax.  Carlos Ricardo Benavides sees this as an opportunity to implement a new tax.  He is proposing [...]

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 20th, 2007 | No Comments »

When traveling around Costa Rica it is a very good idea to carry your passport.  If you do not feel comfortable enough to take it along with you, you can copy the page with your picture and the page with the stamp for proof of entrance.   This is an excellent idea as police have been [...]

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 20th, 2007 | No Comments »

  The Conservation Association of Flora and Fauna (APREFLOFA) and Importadora Monge are planning to collect the 160,000 signitures needed to present an initiative that would establish harsher penalities for trafficking and sport hunting of the Costa Rican wildlife.

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 19th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

The new theme park is ready to pay top dollar for over 100 horses.  A quiet undertaking has been taking place in the United States or more specifically in Missouri.  The Parque Natural de la Cultura Agropecuaria, or Panaca, will be built near San Mateo in the province of Alajuela at a cost of $22 million, [...]

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 19th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

The other night I experienced a Brazilian feast for the first time and I will be the first one to say I would go back in a heart beat.  Immediately when you enter the Brazilian Steakhouse, you are welcomed by several employees dressed in traditional Brazilian wear and a big smile.  We must have looked like [...]

Filed under: Restaurants on September 19th, 2007 | No Comments »

As of right now it is very easy for tourists to obtain a Costa Rican driver’s license, but that is about to change. 

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 19th, 2007 | No Comments »

Yesterday Volcan Arenal gave the residents and visitors an unexpected show.  At around 10:12am, lava spewed out of the cone and down the southwest side of the mountain finally stopping around 1000 meters above sea level. 

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 19th, 2007 | No Comments »

As if proof were needed that I have one of the best jobs in the world, I had the chance to stay at the Tree House Lodge which one of Costa Rica's most unique properties, down in Puerto Viejo on the Southeastern Caribbean coast. Be warned hotel snobs as this is not a place for [...]

Filed under: Hotel Reviews on September 18th, 2007 | No Comments »

This year Don Edgar Cascante and dona Teresa Zuniga are celebrating 72 years of marital bliss.  They were married September 14, 1935 when dona Teresa was just 16 and don Edgar was 22 and have nine children.  They attribute their success to a lot of understanding and God.  It is hard not to correlate their success [...]

Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 18th, 2007 | 1 Comment »