Students and teachers from 18 Professional Technical High Schools (CTPs) of Guanacaste and Upala will participate in the 2013 Regional Career Fair II on November 1 in the Lopez Plaza of Santa Cruz. The objective of the activity is to present the technical offerings of the schools in the province to companies seeking technical labor as well as parents and prospective students. This is the sec...

A young man by the name of Vicente Loyola (Vince Loyola for short) from Victoria BC Canada is on a tour of Central America, visiting Costa Rica this week, volunteering at schools to help kids learn English using a fun new method of teaching. This new method consists of using puppets and funny music to act out songs that aid in the help of learning English. Vicente Loyola has donated over 85...

Sportfishing grand slams differ from baseball grand slams, although they are just as hard to come by. According to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the arbiter of most things fishing, an Offshore grand slam is defined as one boat/captain/anglers releasing any three of the following species during a one-day charter: Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Swordfish or Sp...

The problem of arsenic in the aqueducts of Guanacaste and the northern zone of our country should be resolved no later than the month of May 2014. This was said by Dr. Luis Carlos Vargas, director of the water laboratory of the Costa Rican Institute of Water and Sewers (AyA). In October, the Comptroller General of the Republic authorized AyA to conduct bidding to directly contract the desig...

Since he was five years old, Sean Forrester has been living on surfboards. “It was a soft board, and it was purple,” he said, recalling his first board. His father, Chris Forrester, former owner of C & C Surf, taught him how to ride the waves. Although Sean was born in the United States, he came to Costa Rica when he was three. He says he feels very Tico and now 14 years old, he says he is "10...

The La Esperanza Development Association is preparing to host fiestas in the community to raise funds for use in their own projects and to help the Nosara Red Cross. The festivities will be held from December 12 to 15 and will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the association. Rides, bulls, music and food sales are some of the highlights that those attending will enjoy. Carlos Villalobo...

The Daniel Oduber international airport in Liberia has become the favorite for half of Canadians traveling to Costa Rica. In the first part of the year, 44,000 travelers from Canada landed in the terminal (49% of Canadians who flew to the country during that time). Six years ago, in the same period, 35% of Canadian tourists came to Liberia. The city of Liberia has also become important for v...

The Samara community breathes easier now after the arrest made by the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) on Sunday, October 13, to dismantle an alleged drug ring operating in the community. The investigation started this year in January and concluded with actions taken this weekend when eight subjects arrested of Colombian nationality, of ages between 25 and 52, were arrested, the OIJ p...

The Nosara Recycling and Education Center is starting a new collecting program for everyone living in Guiones and Peladas beach between Super Dos Lorenas and the Boca Nosara River. Every Wednesday the Center will be collecting recyclable materials such as plastic, tetrapak, aluminum, glass, paper and cardboard. The Nosara Recycling Association asks everyone to put all recyclables clean and d...

Mud, gravel, asphalt, loose rock, rain, cold, heat and sweat make the route of the conquistadors a real personal challenge that demands physical and mental strength of the participants. Pablo Sanchez, a mountain biker who lives in Samara, knows the challenge and defines it as a “unique and challenging experience.” At 33, Sanchez be traversing the 310-kilometer (192-mile) route for the third ...

Those traveling on the Pan-American Highway to and from the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia will encounter some delays in traffic since CONAVI is working on installing bridges. The recent placement of the bridge over the Cañas River in August of this year along the route marked the beginning of the construction phase of 18 new bridges as well as the rehabilitation of 18 existing ...

Upon entering the hotel, the first thing one feels is peace and harmony with nature. We are welcomed right away by Marvin Seas, the hotel’s concierge, who cordially shows us the facilities and accompanies us during the tour. In Hotel Punta Islita, no detail is left to chance. Located in the Peninsula of Nicoya, in the community of Islita, this five-star hotel is the first hotel in Central Ameri...

COSTA RICA, October 22, 2013 – The Flamingo Beach Resort, the enchanting beachfront property in Guanacaste, has announced the re-launch of its 2,800-sq.-ft. full-service spa. Formerly managed by a third-party operator, the new OnZen Spa takes a holistic approach to achieving overall wellness through the restoration and realignment of each guest’s mind, body and energy. The spa’s name, OnZen, si...

The new specialty magazine of Costa Rica targets travelers looking for more authentic and meaningful travel experiences. It’s current, accurate and authoritative content guides readers to find the Authentic Costa Rica. Escondido, California – Vida Travel Media today launched Costa Rica Guest, a new travel magazine that showcases real and meaningful travel experiences in Costa Rica. It brings...

Welcome to the new sportfishing column that will appear weekly in The Costa Rica Star. Costa Rica is one of the world’s top sportfishing destinations, drawing anglers year round in search of its world record Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Roosterfish, Snapper, Tarpon and Snook. There are usually great stories to be told on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Contributors Mark Sydney a...

The Ministry of Culture and Youth (Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud), through the National System of Music Education (Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical), is promoting a music program in which the stars are disabled. This program is called Música con Accesibilidad Para Todos (Music With Accessibility For All) and gives the physically challenged population the possibility of a musical educati...

The dredging of the Río Nosara’s channel and dike construction are in their final stage. So says Marcos Avila, president of Integral Development Association of Nosara (ADIN – Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Nosara), who mentioned that the works could be completed by early November. In a trip made by the Voice of Guanacaste on Wednesday October 9th, one could see the progress and work of...

“It makes no sense that men go to jail for not paying child support”, says legislator José Roberto Rodríguez in presenting a bill that would see the government lend the money to those who cannot pay and avoid going to prison. The legislator for the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) explained that the idea is for the government to make the payment, like a loan, and then get paid back over t...

Three medical doctors of the Hospital Calderón Guardia and a pizza maker, in San José, were detained by police, suspected of human organ trafficking. Authorities say their investigation led to the four suspects, who are alleged to have paid victims between 3 and 10 million colones (US$6.000 to US$20.000 dollars). Two of the doctors are urologists, identified by their last names Anunzia Mauro...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Oct. 10, 2013) — On World Egg Day, Humane Society International highlights the growing popularity of cage-free eggs in Costa Rica. Cage-free eggs, known as huevos de pastoreo in Costa Rica, are eggs from chickens who are not confined to cages. The cage-free trend, which has been growing in Europe and the United States for a number of years, is in stark contrast to the in...

Recently The Costa Rica Star published about The Gigolos of Puerto Viejo: How Ladies Pursuit and Buy Romance in Costa Rica. It’s quite rare to be a single female traveler who leaves Costa Rica without falling in love. It is no secret that gringa’s who travel to this part of the world are often lured to Costa Rica to escape the stress in the States and to immerse in nature and also to experie...

October 12 (or the nearest Monday to it) is traditionally celebrated throughout the Americas as the day Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In Spanish speaking countries, is is known as “Día de la Raza”, in English speaking countries, the day is celebrated as Columbus Day. In Costa Rica, the name of the holiday has changed over the years, today known as “Día de las Culturas” (Day of Cultur...

Monteverde is a very popular tourist destination in Costa Rica, National Geographic calling it “the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves”. Newsweek has declared Monteverde the world’s #14 Place to Remember Before it Disappears. By popular vote in Costa Rica, Monteverde was enshrined as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Costa Rica, along with Isla del Coco, Volcán Arenal, Cerro Chirripó...

Samara residents are currently looking for a missing woman who has being missing for almost three weeks. Dana Colligan, U.S citizen, is a small woman with brown hair in her early 40's and has lived in Samara for three and a half years. Colligan is best known for her natural product line sold around Samara and Nosara called "LaPura LoCura". According to Louise Tangri, who is helping Colligan'...

The government plans to give the Dirección de Inteligencia y Seguridad (DIS) the legal weapon to seize property acquired through tax evasion, drug trafficking, money laundering, organize crime and any other illegal activity, through a bill it is introducing in the Legislative Assembly. The proposal is to give the country’s intelligence service, an arm of the Presidency, the power to investigate...

The human-animal relationship is ancient, and dogs primarily have provided man with countless and invaluable physical and psychological benefits; however, far from paying them back in the same way, they have been treated as consumer goods, which often become - most of the time – a bother, that under circumstances such as lack of economic capacity, changes of residence, onset of allergies, a compul...

The second-most-common catch on Costa Rica’s longline fisheries in the last decade was not a commercial fish species. It was olive ridley sea turtles. These lines also caught more green turtles than most species of fish. These findings and more, reported in a new study in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, indicate that the Costa Rican longline fishery represents a major th...

The Integrated Solid Waste Management Program of Nicoya’s Municipal Department of Environmental Management (Departamento de Gestión Ambiental) has achieved the reuse of 350 metric tons since May 2011, when the Materials Recovery Center was opened, which required an investment of $140,000 total (₡70 million) including infrastructure, equipment and vehicles. The selective collection of materials ...

The 159 earthquakes registered in Costa Rica this past September did not leave any casualties or material damage but unleashed "seismic energy" equivalent to the "explosion of one million tons of dynamite," reported the National Seismological Network (RSN – Red Sismológica Nacional). The average daily number of tremors in the past month was 5.2, but Costa Ricans reported feeling only 14 earthqu...

Singer-songwriter and pro-surfer Donavon Frankenreiter is returning to Nosara in November after a two year absence and will be performing a concert Nov. 8 at the Tropicana. Frankenreiter will be in the local waters as part of the “Surf With a Pro” program sponsored by Billabong at the affiliated Safari Surf School. He and his musical partner Matt Grundy will offer an acoustic show featuring som...

Local cable companies on Monday announced that they have to pull the US television channel, NBC, off the air in Costa Rica. The cancellation is effective today, Oct 1. The order came from the NBC television network, telling Tigo, CableTica, CableVision, Claro TV and Telecable, they must stop broadcasting the NBC signal. At Tigo (formerly Amnet), ABC was moved down the dial to NBC’s position ...

The Costa Rica Star previously published about Gallo Pinto Day in Costa Rica. “¡Uy! ¡Ese es más tico que el Gallo Pinto!” (“He’s more Tico than Gallo Pinto!”) is an expression Ticos use when referring to someone inextricably Costa Rican, and sure enough, the Gallo Pinto is so engrained in our culture and tradition that it can be found on every person’s breakfast plate throughout our country. ...

Heading out on a school trip to Costa Rica? What you bring with you, from your attitude to the items in your suitcase, is one of the most important aspects of Costa Rica Student Tours. But to really make the most of your trip, go beyond a standard packing list, and check out our recommendations for the 10 things you must pack for your Costa Rican expedition! 1. Questions! There is a whole W...

The Costa Rica Star has previously reported extensively on digital currency system Bitcoin. The growing use of digital currency like Bitcoin is worrying Costa Rican authorities, warning that organized crime can make use of it to move millions of dollars without controls. Digital currency, not to be confused with virtual currency, among its various names, is electronic money that acts as alte...

Starting today, Tuesday October 1, at 10:00 am, and until noon on Saturday November 2, the US Diversity Visa lottery program will be running, awarding 50,000 permanent resident visas to persons from countries with low immigration rates to the United States, of which Costa Rica is one. Applicants must visit the website www.dvlottery.state.gov to complete the process electronically and in person....

Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla and Liberia’s president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf met on Monday, in the first official meeting between the countries since the 1970s, to discuss future relations between the two nations, as well as international work on women’s rights, the environment and peace. This visit marks the revival of diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Liberia, which were est...

While the Interlinea or intersectoral buses are readying to roll, with the aim to ease the traffic chaos in San José, be ready for worse times as taxi drivers opposed to the new service ready to take to the streets in protest. The Unión de Taxistas Costarricenses (Costa Rican Taxi Drivers Union) objects to the interliena bus operation which is scheduled for next week, with routes between Escazu...

The Costa Rica Star recently reported that Johnny Araya is leading the polls in the 2014 presidential election. The presidential candidate of the National Liberation Party (PLN – Partido Liberación Nacional), Johnny Araya Monge, was on tour in Guanacaste, in Liberia on Friday, September 27th and Nicoya on Saturday the 28th. A meeting was held at 10:00 AM at Hotel el Regalo in the city of Nic...

In Santa Barbara of Santa Cruz, one small organization is having a big impact in the debate surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Sol de Vida, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1989 to promote the use of solar ovens and since then has become a driving force behind the battle to keep the canton and the province free of transgenic crops. During its first years, their focus wa...

The Costa Rica Star recently reported on how President Laura Chinchilla stated in an interview with Spanish news daily El Pais, that there is no censorship or corruption in the government of Costa Rica. The Development Association of Nosara (ADIN – Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Nosara), may declare Laura Chinchilla, President of the Republic, as non grata (undesirable person), for having...