In the past The Costa Rica Star has published about Prostitution in San Jose Costa Rica, and the price of those sexual services, using information from various Universities in Costa Rica. When people think of Costa Rica they picture its toucans, monkeys, volcanoes, and pristine beaches with amazing surfing locations up and down the coasts. They see in their minds the flora, the fauna, ad infini...

Los Angeles-based fund manager Paladin Realty has completed a deal to invest in a $10 million joint venture to build middle-income homes in San Jose, Costa Rica. Paladin is teaming with CSC Management and Development, S.A., one of the largest middle-income home builders in San Jose. The joint venture, which is expected to build 400 middle-income residential units with a total sales value of up ...

In southern Costa Rica, the tranquil blue waters of the Golfo Dulce stretch between the Piedras Blancas National Park and the Osa Peninsula. It is an area of pristine tropical wilderness and abundant wildlife. The Gulf’s calm jade green-blue surface makes it easy to see dolphins frolicking, sea turtles swimming, fish jumping out of the water, and marine birds diving for those fish. Starting in...

The Costa Rican International Herpetology Symposium and Field Exploration will be held September 2-7, 2013, at Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve in Sarapiquí, located amidst primary forest in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. The symposium will feature presentations, workshops, conservation, herpetological organizations, and new findings and research from all over the Americas. The sym...

Starting yesterday, the state telecom, Instituto Nacional de Electricidad (ICE) will be charging its customers more to use their mobile devices (cellular phones and tablets). ICE yesterday announced new rates for its Kölbi mobile services, raising its text messaging cost to ¢3 colones per each message sent. Multimedia messages (photos and videos) will cost from ¢6 to ¢50 colones per minute, de...

If you would like The Costa Rica Star to publish your Costa Rican business press release, please contact us. Villa de Agua is the newest and most exquisite luxury vacation rental home on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast. With four master bedrooms, sunset ocean views, water features everywhere and toucans singing in the trees, this amazing home is both exclusive and magical. Set in the verd...

The teamwork of some Nosara residents made it possible to develop an emergency plan in case of natural disasters such as fires, earthquakes and tsunamis, which includes direct communication between Rancho Suizo (in Pelada) and the National Emergencies Commission (CNE) in San Jose along with eight walkie talkie radio phones located at strategic points. Thanks to the work and financial donations ...

If you want The Costa Rica Star to publish your Costa Rican business press release, please contact us. The Shana Residences is a new condo resort in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica--now affiliated with the Shana Hotel & Resort. With 2 and 3-bedroom luxury condos, the Shana provides the perfect combination of quality and price. The new Shana Residences are luxury condominiums, affiliated with th...

Costa Rica scrapped limits on dollar loans on Wednesday as external headwinds and weaker harvests pushed the central bank to cut the country's growth outlook sharply. Central Bank of Costa Rica President Rodrigo Bolanos cut the forecast for economic growth of the Central American nation in 2013 to just 3 percent, which would be the weakest expansion since a 2009 recession. The forecast was 4 pe...

From Captain Paul Watson, taken from his Facebook page. Dear President Chinchilla, I can understand you agreeing to throw me under the bus as a political favor to your friends in the Japanese government. After all, I’m just a gringo. You don’t owe me a thing and you picked up a few hundred million yen for Costa Rica for your troubles. I’m sure there were no kick –backs, because after all,...

Two months after the murder of biologist Jairo Mora Sandoval, police on Monday arrested seven people in eight raids in the Caribbean town of Limón and in Guapiles. Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) agents were able to identify and arrest seven people they believe linked to the case early Monday monring, as well as confirm the seizure of important evidence in the case. Several of the ...

When Costa Rica Surf Travel Company was created in 1999 their slogan was “The best place to check the surf in Costa Rica.” After 14 years they have not only earned the top position on Google when searching ‘Costa Rica surf’, but have helped thousands of surfers and their families find safe and comfortable places to stay, along with waves matching their skill level. Their website, www.CRsurf.com...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Starting on August 8th, 2013, the most important fashion industry event for Costa Rica will unfold over four days in San Jose. Costa Rica Fashion Week 2013 is more than just models sashaying down a runway; it is an important trade event for a billion dollar fashion industry that is beginning to take flight in our country. Costa Rica is currently the style hub of Ce...

If you would like The Costa Rica Star to cover your Costa Rica business press release, please contact us for details. Well-known hotel in Costa Rica for its secluded luxury, prime location, amazing views, superb service and intimate setting, the Zephyr Palace reputation is now acknowledged worldwide by being voted for the 2nd consecutive year as the Top Hotel in Costa Rica and first time for Me...

This retail sector in Costa Rica comprises about 248 importers of second-hand clothes who are now looking at the middle class market. Although the prices of items range from $2 to $10, the large volumes handled by big chain stores make it a profitable business. Between 2007 and 2012, used clothing imports rose by 50%, 87% came from the U.S. and 10% from Canada. Last year alone, 21.7 mill...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica— Conservation organizations and citizens are taking to the streets of San José, Costa Rica today, two months after the murder of environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval. They are marching from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy to the Judicial Investigation Organism to the Legislative Assembly to deliver a petition signed by more than 137,000 people from around the world ...

Which orange circle is larger? This past Saturday was the final date of the Rompementes (Brain Buster) Tour, a traveling exhibition conceived by Luis Alfonso Dominguez Carballo, Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Sonora. This fun and unique exhibit took place in three cities in Costa Rica: Alajuela, Heredia and San Jose; it previously visited cities in Mexico, El...

A new blog post by Arnoldo Rivera of La Nacion calls attention to something that tourists and Ticos alike often ask about John Lennon's sculpture in Costa Rica: What happened to his glasses? Mr. Rivera, who is a Beatles scholar, recalls the day when Lennon's effigy was seated at that park bench along the old Paseo de los Estudiantes (Students' Boulevard). That was on November 25th, 2011, and th...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Costa Rica's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2021 is becoming complicated by the increasing number of motor vehicles transiting her roadways. This would not be a problem if a great number of cars, trucks and motorcycles in Costa Rica were energy-efficient or featured low-emission systems, but the sad truth is that the majority of them aren't. Accord...

Edward Snowden At the National Assembly in Costa Rica, legislators are waiting to deliberate upon the merits of a curious proposal to intercept, collect and store electronic communications in a fashion similar to what the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States already does around the world. The legislative proposal goes by the lengthy name of Integral Reform to the Law on Regis...

A demonstration will be held outside of the Costa Rican consulate in L.A. demanding justice for murdered Sea Turtle activist Jairo Mora Sandoval. A petition with 137,000 signatures from more than 150 Nations will be delivered to the Costa Rica Consulate during this demonstration. The Costa Rica Star has published extensively on the death of Jairo Mora Sandoval. What: On Wednesday, environmen...

Article by CentralAmericaData.com with insights from Prensa Libre. Real estate projects in Costa Rica face a tough time expanding due to lack of drinking water in several areas of the country. Projects developed in cantons such as Escazu or Santa Ana are being affected by this problem, where local permits for the expansion of properties are held in limbo. "In Guayabo there was intere...

A Friday afternoon at 11 am hardly sounds like the perfect time for an Afro-Cuban Jazz show and hosting it at the Public Library in Limon makes it sound even less perfect. Electrical storms and heavy rains had closed schools and caused flooding that morning. But against all odds the Joel La Rue Smith Trio, played a captivating set to the 30 or so people who came to be a part of Costa Rica’s 2013 I...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A curious cargo airlift operation recently took place at the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), in the northern province of Guanacaste. According to a news report by Alvaro Sanchez from online news daily CRHoy, nearly 24 tons of cocaine were loaded onto a United States Air Force transport aircraft. The destination of the controversial payload? Miami, a ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Law enforcement officials responding to reports of noisy neighbors came upon a small marijuana cultivation and distribution operation in a suburb of San Jose. The incident took place around six in the afternoon. Neighbors living in a multifamily residential complex in Cedros, a small community in the Montes de Oca canton, complained that the noise coming from an ap...

Gogol Bordello live in Athens. Source: Wikimedia Commons What do a gypsy punk band from New York and an eclectic Texas ensemble that mixes ska with Indian tones and a splash of psychedelia have in common? Both may have been inspired by their experiences in Costa Rica. First up we have Gogol Bordello, a band that played in the eclectic and epic Festival Imperial 2012. Their latest album, Pur...

One of Latin America’s most exciting new hotel openings will be unveiled this December on the dramatic Papagayo Peninsula on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Andaz Papagayo will represent the debut of the Andaz brand in Latin America. A truly original and inventive resort designed by iconic Costa Rican architect Ronald Zurcher, Andaz Papagayo will showcase groundbreaking ‘naturalist’ d...

When Joy Stoviak Flores came to Nicoya in 1963 as part of the very first Peace Corps group to arrive in Costa Rica, she thought she would be here for two years to have an interesting experience. “You just never know where life will take you,” the elegantly dressed woman remarked, now at age 72, sitting in the impeccably decorated living room of her home in Barrio El Carmen and reflecting on...

With Luis Guillermo Solis throwing his hat into the ring as the Accion Ciudadana (Citizen Action) party’s presidential candidate, which makes ten candidates aspiring to the presidential seat for the upcoming elections on February 2nd 2014. Interestingly after the government of Laura Chinchilla Miranda, no women are running for the presidency of the Republic. The only female candidate who had an...

Coco Island. Source: Wikimedia Commons Coco Island and her surrounding maritime zones in Costa Rica have been protected by standing legislation over the last few years. This, however, has done little to prevent the incursion of nefarious shark finning crews who thumb their noses at the law and prey upon the selachian species that make the waters of Coco Island their home. According to onlin...

Source: Flickr Creative Commons There is a war going on in Costa Rica, although the belligerents are not infantry units taking positions across the provinces. Instead, the combatants go by the names of Grupo Gessa, Wal-Mart and others. Their objectives are clear: to get your hard-earned colones -though they will take your dollars as well- and to earn your continued patronage. Anyone can lose i...

Lifeguard Seco Herrera. Source: Facebook Thanks to the quick response of lifeguards, the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) and surf instructors in Jaco Beach, ten teenage tourists lived to enjoy another day in Costa Rica. Such was a recent scene witnessed and described by Captain Richard Barone, a nature conservation activist known as Capi from his blog Capi Writes. According to Capt. Barone, the teena...

H1N1 vaccine is in high demand in Costa Rica. Source: Wikimedia Commons Public health officials in Costa Rica are hard at work to control outbreaks of two dangerous infectious diseases: Dengue fever and H1N1. Both diseases are taxing the resources of La Caja (Costa Rica's system of public health care facilities) and the Ministry of Health, although both entities are confident that the country'...

The International Student Network (ISN) announced in July that U.S. educational institutions are now reaching out to Latin American college students to fill voids in technology, engineering and science enrollments, which have encountered substantial declines throughout the last several years. These specialties have the greatest demand for work in the United States, and Costa Rican undergraduates t...

Photo of Tom Watling of Cayman Kayaks, thanks to Courtney Platt, visit CaymanKayaks.comGoing out into the ocean in a kayak at night can at first be a little unnerving. The slightest splash tends to make you jump, maybe even bringing to mind that old 1975 movie, “Jaws”. Never mind that it was probably your own kayak paddle splashing; the fact that you can’t see well puts you on edge. We humans...

Soda Doña Marta aka Rancho Shadday I had planned to put together a nice overview for out-of-towners on some of the standout sodas in Jacó. However, as I began to embark on taste-testing dishes at local sodas, I realized that this was a task beyond my culinary powers. I'm not a foodie. In fact, I operate with a very basic three-star rating system when it comes to food: 3-Stars: That's th...

Cheese, cheese, cheese and more cheese. The Santa Cruz Feria Del Queso (Santa Cruz Cheese Festival) is perhaps Costa Rica's greatest undiscovered culinary event for any tourist who does not mind severe constipation. It is a month of dairy delight culminating in the final Sunday unveiling of Costa Rica's largest cheese. Ever. It will probably remain undiscovered by most tourists because even wi...

At 3 p.m., the traditional Annexation Tope horse parade began a tour of the main streets of Nicoya, amidst a very festive mood and passion for the equine culture, organized by the Nicoya Riders Association (ASOCANI). This is the eighth consecutive year that ASOCANI has handled the planning. Ronald Montero, vice president, said this year around 400 riders successfully participated from Hojancha...

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Frank Potolicchio, Jr., 34, of Norwalk, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to four months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation. Potolicchio also was ordered to forfeit $...

Source: CRHoy.com CC License The government of Costa Rica could save up to $70 billion in infrastructure expenditures from now until 2050 by following the advice of the International Energy Agency (IEA). A recent research study by that agency, which was reported by Leticia Vindas Quiros of business weekly El Financiero, explains that Costa Rica has clear options in three major transportation c...