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Costa Rica changes

It is unbelievable how much Costa Rica has changed in the last few years.! New business abounds throughout the country. The road to Guanacaste has saved hours of commuting time for those in the northern part of the country as well as giving some much needed shortcuts to business and shopping. Multiplaza mall is unrecognizable to what it was only 5 years ago.

What’s interesting, the road system hasn’t changed to keep up with the growth of the country. One example would be driving from San Jose airport to one of the more populated and well known cities, Escazu or Santa Ana. There are only 3 ways to get between these places..  May not sound like an issue, however if one of these roads collapse, which happens regularly, 1/2 of the country is in a gridlock.

The road from the airport to central San Jose has collapsed on 3 different occasions in the last 3 years. This is the busiest autopista (Spanish for highway) in the country and when it goes down, you have SERIOUS problems with transportation.

What’s interesting is the number of engineers in the country. There are 100’s graduating from college each year. I wonder what they are using this education to do and what they are engineering? It most certainly is not the roads or improving the biggest problem of the country.

I ponder……

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Kathleen and Sampson Retire in Costa Rica

Kathleen (72) and Sampson (11) moved to CR the 5th of this move to live out the rest of their lives in paradise. Pura Vida!!

Kathleen (72) and Sampson (11) moved to CR the 5th of this move to live out the rest of their lives in paradise. Pura Vida!!

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Medicare & Medicaid

This is an update to an earlier post…….12/19/2007

After verifying information that I recently received, I learned that Medicare will not cover anyone living outside of the United States.  Same story for Medicaid,  you will NOT be covered while living in Costa Rica.

IF you have a medical emergency while you are visiting Costa Rica or while living in Costa Rica, Medicare/Medicaid will pay for Air Transportation for you to be flown to the closest hospital in the US, but they will NOT pay for your treatment while in Costa Rica, even in an emergency situation.

This also includes those on disability relying on Medicaid.  You must go to the US for medical treatment.  Any doctors visits or medical attention of any kind will not be covered by Medicaid.

 

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Recent Activity at Costa Rican Volcanoes

Officials say that the 3.2 magnitude earthquake that took place on Tuesday morning had nothing to do with volcanic activity.

Earlier this month, National Emergency Commission (CNE) officials warned tourists visiting volcanoes, as five Costa Rican volcanoes are currently in various states of activity.

According to the CNE, the active volcanoes are Rincón de la Vieja and Arenal (in the northwestern province of Guanacaste), Irazú and Turrialba (in Cartago province, east of San José) and Poás.

Last Friday the  Poás volcano released a vapor of about 300 meters, which deposited a large quantity of ashes and rocks in the southeastern sector of the volcano’s crater.

 

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New laws in Costa Rica

A new bill that is looking to be passed in Congress this week comes with several new driving laws and fines.

Do you slow down when coming up on an accident to check out what’s going on? Well an amendment in the new highway bill will now be fining people  ¢20.000 as punishment.

While seemingly ridiculous, this isn’t the only amendment that comes with the new highway bill.

You will also be given a  ¢94.000 fine for going under the minimum speed limit. As well as given a ¢20.000 fine for using loudspeakers between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

Finally a ¢47.000 fine for blocking the intersection, even if approached on a green light.

Yet another example of Costa Rica tax dollars hard at work 🙂

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Wildfire burns 100 hectares of Chirripó National Park

Early Monday morning a wildfire was detected in the Chirripó National Park. This area is home to the highest mountain in the country. It is said to have affected 100 hectors of La Amistad International Park, near the country’s border with Panama in the Southern Zone.

The park is currently still open for tourists seeing as they found that these areas were not in direct threat of a wildfire. Rónald Chang, regional director of the National System of Conservation Areas stated this, “Tourists are safe. At this point the area of the trails is not at risk. If anything happens, we will close the area immediately.”

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Starbucks Finally Coming to Costa Rica

For all the coffee lovers the time has finally come. Starbucks has confirmed that they will be opening a store in the San Jose area in May. The exact opening date along with the location are still unknown.

Pablo Arizmendi-Kalb, vice president and CEO for Starbuck’s Latin America said this, “We are very excited to introduce our high-quality coffee and the Starbuck’s experience to our clients in Costa Rica.”

Starbucks will be managed in Costa Rica by Corporación de Franquicias Americanas(Corporation of American Franchises). This corporation also manages chains like Pizza Hut, KFC, and Wendy’s.

 

 

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Creeper in Costa Rica

Creepers in Costa Rica…..A 35 year old man who was convicted of sexually abusing a child was released from jail last week because the courts lost the digital record of his original trial.

The man became a fugitive in 2008 going on the lamb after escaping from authorities but was captured late last year in San Carlos.

The Creeps Attorney appealed the case by challenging the child’s earlier courtroom testimony.  When it was determined that the records were lost, the appeals court ordered the accused to be released.

This is bad in so many ways I cannot list them all here.  He was convicted and sentenced and because some Cretan Attorney decided to appeal the case and some bad filing was done, this pedophile is left to wander the streets of Costa Rica.

There is not a sex offenders registry in Costa Rica so we have no way of knowing who this man is or where he lives.  No telling how many others there are in this beautiful country we live in.

This type of law makes me mad beyond words!!

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Monster in Costa Rica

New ‘Monster’ Invades Costa Rica

Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 – By Richard Abraham

Dear Tico Times:

There is a new monster loose in Costa Rica. This monster kills people, animals, children’s education, tourism, business, roads and peace and quiet. The monster’s name is “tractor trailer.”

On the new Pacific coastal highway (costanera), these monsters are traveling at great speeds, endangering everything in their path. You will know them by their very loud sound, known as frenos de motor, or Jake brakes. This very annoying sound keeps children awake at night and convinces tourists to check out of hotels after a one-night stay, never to return. Businesses are closing  down, and animals are leaving or have been killed.

Some 300 of these monsters use the costanera every day and all night, 24/7. They have no respect for anyone or anything. They buy nothing in Costa Rica because they come from Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. They leave nothing in their path but destruction, death and very tired and upset people.

The laws in Costa Rica prohibit these monsters from using the costanera, but despite all our efforts at contacting the authorities, we have received no response to the problem.  There are laws against speeding and excessive noise, so where are the authorities when we need them?

Let’s all get together and kill this monster before it’s too late, before the Costa Rica we have known is forever gone. If anyone has any ideas or would like to help us kill, tame or silence this monster, please contact any of the following authorities:

Costa Rican Tourism Board: 2299-5800; Health Ministry: 2255-2148; Education Ministry: 2256-7011; Public Works and Transport Ministry: 2253-2000; Casa Presidencial: 2207-9100; Environment Ministry: 2233-4533.

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iPhone 4S

Costa Rica usually runs behind on getting the latest and greatest that comes out in the States and this time it is no different.  The lines and waiting lists have already started for the iPhone 4S that is to come out on Friday the 27th.

Siri is very much in demand and the fact that she can speak in English or in Spanish only makes her that much more desirable to the public.  This not only makes her a neat gizmo phone but a terrific teaching tool for those that want to learn better their second language.

CR doesn’t yet have a plan for iPhone 4S so far as the service goes which seems rather illogical since the phone is coming out on Friday but then again that falls under the “why” category so we won’t go there.

Hope everyone wanting the precious Siri is lucky enough to get her this coming weekend!