The statistics of the Costa Rica's Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) show that between the months of January and April of 2017 a total of 45 people reported being victims of rape after being drugged in parties in different areas of the country, this number is the highest reported in the last few years. Alexander Arroniz, chief of the sexual crimes unit of the OIJ explains that criminals are u...

Costa Rican scientists documented for the first time the nest of a yellow-eared toucanet (Selenidera spectabilis), the species of toucan that is hardest to see in the country because of its shyness and of which little is known in terms of reproduction biology. Tourism guides from the company Rainforest Adventures whose property is in close proximity to the Braulio Carrillo National Park, found ...

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, was approved by 122 countries this Friday in the United Nations conference taking place in New York; however, the opposition of the nuclear-armed countries has given the treaty a “symbolic” character. The text presented by Elayne G. Whyte, Costa Rica’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Switzerland and chairwoman of the conference stated that “this...

Photo Credit: Fedefutbol Honduras played better, but Costa Rica scored the only goal in the game, and with this it took its first victory in the Gold Cup 2017. Suffering more than it should have, considering that man for man it has a better team, Costa Rica’s male national soccer team “La Sele” was able to get by with a goal by striker Marco Ureña at minute 39’ of the match held in New Jerse...

Former two time president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias Sánchez, was a guest this Thursday evening in the anniversary of TV show Camilo, a space directed by Cuban journalist Camilo Egaña and which airs on Spanish CNN; the ex-president made strong statements regarding President Trump. “I believe he is since the time of Washington (George), the most uncultured, the leas...

Air France started operating the Paris-San José route back in November or 2016 and the service so far was only offered during the European winter from October through March, the airline had already announced in March of this year that thanks to the success they’d had the operation would add a third flight for the 2017-2018 season. Now, the airline has confirmed they will continue to operate t...

A group of Costa Ricans with a passion for science, the environment and surf have been working on a way to replace the polyurethane (a polymer and the fifth type of plastic most used in the world) found in surfboards for another more environmentally friendly material. Surfboards are generally made with polyurethane foam blank, fiberglass and polyester resin. The contamination caused by a surfbo...

Starting August 13, the drones and their pilots must have the respective license given out by the General Direction of Civil Aviation (DGAC); as of that date regulation DO-001-OPS-RPAS which was published in the official journal La Gaceta on June 8 will be officially enforced. The regulation of drones or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) is established to guarantee the security of aerial...

Costa Rica continues to make steady progress, earning a recognition position among investors, buyers and tourists in new markets. The good perception of the country brand, essential Costa Rica, positions it over competitors in the region, such as: Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Panama. The value of the Costa Rica brand moved up twelve positions in tourism and five in commerce and i...

When we think about leading causes of death in the United States, we probably think about heart disease or perhaps a type of cancer; however, a recent investigation by the New York Times states that drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50 year-of-age. That's right, more than gun violence, car accidents and heart attacks.  Parents are burying their children from O...

The video below, “Calling on Costa Rica”, was produced by Metro Golden Mayer and narrated by James A. FitzPatrick, and it showcases the Costa Rica of 70 years ago, the Costa Rica of 1947. Back in 1947 things were very different in Costa Rica, the video even mentions the country had some of the best roads! Imagine that! But behind the beauty and apparent calm that is shown in the video, the c...

The Costa Rica and Honduras male national soccer teams will measure up tomorrow in the first date of the Gold Cup 2017. Costa Rica and Honduras have a known regional rivalry which was exacerbated by the fact that the current head coach of Honduras, Jorge Luis Pinto, was Costa Rica’s head coach during the Brazil World Cup. The game between Costa Rica and Honduras takes place at 7:30 p.m. Cost...

Franchises from different countries, business models that start at USD $15,000.00, is what you can expect to find at the Franchise Expo (Expo Franquicia) 2017 that will take place at the Real Intercontinental Hotel, July 26 and July 27. This is the eight edition of this event, the only regional fair of its kind. The fair brings together franchises from Mexico, United States, Spain, Central Amer...

280 thousand Costa Rican tourists have visited Nicaragua this year, an increase of over 25% according to the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (Intur). With this number of visitors Costa Rica is the country that has sent more tourists to Nicaragua surpassing the number of tourists from the United States and Honduras that used to take the first places. According to Intur, the profile of the Costa ...

Small Lava Lake at Turrialba Volcano Photo Credit: M.Sc. Paul Vega, LANAMME-UCR. Earlier this week we reported on the activity at Poás Volcano which has presented several strombolian eruptions with ejection of small lava bombs; today the National Seismology Network reported on the discovery at Turrialba Volcano of a small lava lake in the central area of the crater. The small sized lake was ...

The Texas Tech University in Costa Rica will be ready to open doors in August of 2018 in Avenida Escazú. According to information published by daily La Nación and provided by Jack Bimrose, Administrative Director of the University, students will have to pay approximately US $1,500.00 a month to study one of the offered careers, Electric Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Sciences, Ma...

https://youtu.be/Bcc4ohNmDzw HGTV Ultimate House Hunt 2017 “features amazing homes in dreamy spots around the world”, one of them is a luxury estate in Costa Rica. The contest highlights exceptional homes from across the globe in eight categories, including two new categories this year, Kitchen & Dining and Modern Masterpieces. Other categories are Curb Appeal, Outdoor Retreats, Living ...

The Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) has been clear in its interest to strengthen the promotion of the country as a wellness destination; with this in mind the project Wellness Pura Vida has selected seven areas in the country that have potential in this field. An area like Nicoya, Guanacaste which at this point has very few tourism attractions, is actually a blue zone, so this particular cha...

Starting today and through Friday, the Latina University in Costa Rica will host a job fair where participating companies have more than 500 positions to fill. On Wednesday the fair will take place in the San Pedro location of the Latina University, on Thursday it will be hosted at the Think Campus in Terrazas Lindora and on Friday in the Heredia campus. A total of 33 companies will be offer...

The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica is presenting activity this Monday evening (July 3, starting at 10:30 p.m.) and it is expelling fragments of fresh lava from the main emission point, denominated Boca Roja (Red Mouth), reported Dr. Mauricio Mora from the National Seismology Network. This type of activity, known as strombolian eruptions began in the early morning hours of July 1st whe...

Carara National Park is located part in San José (Turrubares) and part in Puntarenas (Garabito); it is just 90 kilometers from San José which makes it a very convenient option for a one day tour, the drive from San José takes just about 2 hours, it is also very close to Jacó which makes it also a great alternative for those vacationing in the area. The word “Carara” means “crocodile river” in ...

Photo Credit: Facebook Los Jueguetes del Parqueo / illustration purposes only The movie Cars 3 was just released in theaters worldwide, and now in Costa Rica fans of this great movie can take pictures with their favorite character at the Children’s Museum in San José. Ten vehicles were transformed to look exactly like the characters in the move, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Luigi, Francesco, Gu...

(Photo Archive ICE Workers) The Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE) explained through a press release that the blackout which affected the country yesterday was caused by a failure of the Panamanian transmission system. The reestablishment of the service was done gradually to avoid a collapse of the system; even though Nicaragua, Panama and the rest of the Central American countries were ...

Coffee from Finca don Antonio, in Copey de Dota which is cultivated at between 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level, reached a record price of up to USD$8,060.00 per quintal (100 lbs or 46 kilograms) in the electronic auction organized by contest Taza de la Excelencia (Cup of Excellence), organization headquartered in Portland Oregon; while in the New York stock market the price reached $123.80 p...

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute expects to reestablish the service to all areas of the country by 6:30 p.m. A blackout affected the country since 1:15 p.m. and apparently it was caused by a failure in the Regional Interconnected System, which also caused temporary problems for Nicaragua, Panama and even some areas of Guatemala. According to the National Center of Energy Control at this ho...

The Juan Santamaría Airport in Costa Rica had to suspend its operations this Saturday as a consequence of the national blackout. The electric service was interrupted at 1:15 p.m due to a failure in the Regional Interconnection System; this problem is also affecting Nicaragua, Panama and even Guatemala. All flights coming in and out of the country are either delayed or suspended for now, conf...

Several communities are currently without electric power in Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Electric Institute has received reports from several areas in the provinces of San José, Cartago, Alajuela, Heredia and Limón. Costa Rica had not had a blackout affect the whole country for ten years. Update 2:13pm The problem apparently is a failure in the Regional Interconnection System which is also a...

Whether you are looking for souvenirs, unique articles to decorate your home or you just want to admire some Costa Rican crafts. The National Park in San Jose and the first floor of Casa del Cuño in “La Antigua Aduana”, Barrio La California are the spaces where you can find 69 and 59 stands respectively that showcase a wide variety of Costa Rican crafts . The talent of local artists can be foun...

One of the main complaints of Costa Ricans and foreigners alike is how slow the Costa Rica government is when it comes to the execution of public works; hopefully this will improve soon as Congress has taken steps that will allow the State to build more efficiently and faster. The Executive Branch has presented a proposal to modify Articles 18,25,30,32 and 57 of the Expropriation Law, which wo...

The construction sector in Costa Rica has shown signs of recovery, the creation of new jobs in this area is one of the main signs, employment grew by 5.17% in the first trimester of 2017 in comparison with the last trimester of 2016. According to data by the Costa Rica Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), provided by the Costa Rica Construction Chamber, the growth represented 6,540 new jobs,...

Over 1,000 people in the area of Garabito, Puntarenas have been affected by a conjunctivitis outbreak, this includes the areas of Herradura, Jacó, Tárcoles, Quebrada Ganado and Quebrada Amarilla, according to information provided by the Costa Rica Public Health and Social Security Administration (C.C.S.S). Authorities suspect the outbreak is caused by a virus, but the C.C.S.S. is still waiting ...

Dentists have certainly become a new tourist attraction in Costa Rica; excellent, professional care, affordable prices and the possibility of getting dental work done while enjoying vacation time are certainly good reasons. According to data by ProMed, the Costa Rican Health Chamber, which was created to ensure that international patients visiting Costa Rica receive consistent, high-quality med...

Photo: Archive Conchal Reserve and The Westin Golf Resort and Spa Playa Conchal donated new facilities for the local EBAIS (Basic Equipment for Comprehensive Health Care), the local public health care center that provides attention to neighbors of the communities of Brasilito, La Garita, Huacas, Flamingo and Potrero in Guanacaste. The inauguration of the new location in Brasilito, Cabo Velas...

Foreigners that live in Costa Rica have learned that knowing Spanish is sometimes not enough to understand or communicate properly in the country. Costa Ricans seem to always have a nickname for things and places, there are also a lot of phrases used by “ticos” that can be both funny and confusing. For those foreigners that have spent enough time in Costa Rica and are already familiar with the ...

TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site, announced the winners of its first ever Traveler’s Choice Awards for Rentals. The inaugural awards recognized 30 of the top rental homes in the world, in this exclusive list, one Costa Rica property is included, Casa Cielo. Travelers' Choice award winners are based on traveler reviews and opinions, as well as customer service provided during th...

TGI Fridays changed owners and has relaunched its brand in Costa Rica; the franchise in the country now belongs to Costa Rican corporation La 305 S.A. . Everything from the menu, to the image and the infrastructure was renovated; 20 new high definition screens to enjoy sports events, modern and more efficient kitchen equipment and new personnel, hope to attract more clients. “Fridays is one ...

Photo: Playa Penca Carrillo, Guanacaste Carlos Alpízar and José Pablo Alfaro decided to create a tool to help tourists that wish to explore the many Costa Rican beaches. “It all started as a personal project, we both always liked visiting the different beaches. At one point in our life we thought we had run out of beaches, and ended up going to the same places because we didn’t have informa...

Reporting by Sophie Hares As Hurricane Otto ripped through Costa Rica in November causing devastating floods and landslides, Juan Carlos Murillo Garcia and his team rushed to set up mobile clinics to treat one of the Central American nation’s worst-hit groups - its animals. Murillo, who manages disaster response for international agency World Animal Protection, said flash floods, flying debr...

The Costa Rican police dismantled a criminal band that was offering luxury houses, drugs and women to tourists in the Jacó area. The police operations took place in five locations in Jacó, Puntarenas and La Uruca, San José. The main target of this band were tourists with high purchasing power to whom they’d offer illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, LSD, etc.) and a catalog of women for sexual se...

Photo Credit: Tundi Agardy. Association Costa Rica por Siempre The Association Costa Rica por Siempre, a private non-profit association created in 2009 with the objective of contributing with the conservation of nature in Costa Rica, announced its partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio foundation to join efforts for the protection of the oceans. “The Leonardo DiCaprio foundation (LDF) is dedicat...