The First Encounter of World Marine Heritage Sites of the East Pacific took place from Wednesday to Friday this week in the Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica. Representatives from the different Marine World Heritage Sites gathered in the country in the event organized by the Pacifico Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the UNESCO field office in Costa Rica in respons...

Copa Airlines is offering great deals if you are flying out of Toronto to Costa Rica in the months of September, October and early November, round trips are going for as low as $245.00 CAD ($191.26 USD). Copa flies from Canada to Costa Rica with one quick stop in Panama (between 45-90 minutes), so no crazy schedules or layovers. The months of September, October and November are part of the ...

If you have a corporation, or several, in Costa Rica, be aware that as of September 1st the government will charge the annual corporation tax. For 2017 the amount will be prorated, meaning you will only have to pay September 1st through December 31; therefore this year’s amount is less, ranging from 21,308.00 colones (close to $38.00) for an inactive corporation, to 71,026.00 colones ($125.00 a...

Costa Rica’s Female World Champion Hanna Gabriels, confirmed through her Facebook page that she will be back in the ring defending her titles October 15; her opponent? Dominican Oxandia Castillo who beat Gabriels back in 2013. The rematch between Gabriels and Castillo has been long coming, their first encounter was in February 2013 at the Saprissa Stadium in Costa Rica where Gabriels fell to th...

Photo: Wyndham San Jose Hotel/Mother's day lunch For those of us lucky enough to still have our mother with us and if we have them right here in Costa Rica living with us, next Tuesday, August 15 we will be celebrating another Mother’s Day. All mothers are different and therefore it is difficult to make recommendations on gifts, some like working out, others have particular hobbies, some en...

Many see fashion as something ¨superficial¨ or "shallow", but luckily many others understand the art behind it and the important role it has in our culture and history. Fashion certainly goes way beyond just pretty clothes and beautiful models, the creative hands of the artists behind each piece are telling a story, are leaving a mark and are part of the transformation of our society. When we...

The strategy implemented by the Costa Rica Tourism Board to promote the country for European tourists is paying off, according to data provided by the General Direction of Migration Costa Rica has received 8.4% more European tourists (through the airports) in the first semester of 2017 in comparison to the same period of 2016. The Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Ventura, has explained on several...

Daniel Mordzinski was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1960, he is known as the “photographer of writers”, he has worked for almost forty years in a “human atlas” of the Ibero-American Literature; the work of this artist is being showcased in Costa Rica in the photo exhibit “Objetivo Mordzinski”. The photos are on display at the Calderón Guardia Museum in San José, more than 200 photos of ...

ExpoEmpleo, Job Expo in Costa Rica has 1500 positions to fill, the event is scheduled for September 1st and 2nd at the National Stadium from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. In total 15 companies are looking for bilingual or multilingual candidates to fill up positions as customer service representatives, fraud investigation specialists, group managers, IT support engineers, human resources specialists, f...

This Thursday, the Costa Rica Government presented their new tax reform proposal to Congress, the project (The Strengthening of Public Finances Law), expects to reduce the existing gap between incoming and outgoing funds, balance the country’s budget by going from a 5% to a 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the third proposal presented by the Government to Congress to try to get a...

Undefeated Costa Rican boxer Francisco Fonseca will have the challenge and the opportunity of a lifetime this August 26 when he steps into the ring with no other than young IBF World Super Featherweight Champion Gervonta Davis. Gervonta Davis is Floyd Mayweather’s protégé, he has referred to him as “the future of boxing”, with 18 wins, 17 of them by KO (94%) Davis is a very dangerous opponent, ...

Photo: (Ilustration only Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP) Actors of the popular television series The Walking Dead, Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus have been spotted in the country, apparently this is not a coincidence. Englishman Andrew Lincoln is best known for his portrayal of Rick Grimes the lead character in The Walking Dead. He has been spotted by several fans in the area of Nosara, Gua...

Costa Rica is a very small country and if you are the kind that likes exploring the many wonderful destinations the country has to offer it may seem that you've already ran out of places to go, but don’t be fooled, there are many small corners that you have yet to discover. Just thirty minutes from the center of Heredia, where the weather is cold and the air fresh, you will find the small town...

The Costa Rica National Museum takes you through the history of transportation in Costa Rica. Photos, historical objects and a 100 year old carriage that belonged to former President Tomás Guardia (1870-1882) offer us an idea of what life was like in this country back in the XIX century. From mules, carts and carriages, to the streetcar, cars and the construction of the train to the Atlantic...

The Costa Rica Social Security Authority (C.C.S.S.) raised the alert of low reserves of blood to care for hospitalized patients. According to CCSS the blood donation has decreased considerably since November of 2016, going from 550 donors a month to only 320, which has caused at times the suspension of surgeries due to low reserves of blood. The Social Security is calling on the population ...

After a two month process of evaluating the performance of a group of Costa Rican surfers, trainer Jim Hogan chose the 12 young athletes that will be traveling to Japán to represent the country in the ISA World Junior Championship 2017. The competition will take place in Hyuga, Japan from September 23 through October 1. Costa Rica is currently ranked sixth in the world in this championship, so ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship has taken the necessary measure to ensure the participation of Costa Ricans living abroad in the 2018 elections. Minister Manuel González explained that all Costa Ricans have to register before October 3rd, 2017 and update their residence information in order to cast their vote next February 2, 2018. The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) the e...

Girl band Fifth Harmony confirmed its Latin America PSA tour and Costa Rica is among the countries where they will perform. Production company Move Concerts is in charge of bringing the band to the country and has informed the concert will take place October 15 at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Parque Viva. Fifth Harmony has currently four members Ally Broke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hans...

The Turrialba Volcano has been once again presenting eruptions since 12:30 a.m. this Monday morning. The eruption that took place at 12:30 a.m. presented a column that reached 500 meters above the crater and 3,840 meters above sea level (12,595.20). Another explosion was registered at 9:20 a.m. this time with a column of 400 meters above the crater, this one is still carrying on. Neighboring...

Carlos Muñoz concluded his participation in third place of the US Open of Surfing and achieving a great position in the ranking. Muñoz classified to the semifinals yesterday where he lost against Brazilian Tomas Hermes, the lack of good waves during their participation played an important role in the result; Tomas Hermes finished with a total score of 11.84 while “Cali” totaled 10.70 with only ...

There is a direct relation between the increase of heroin use and the epidemic of prescribed opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, morphine, among others. According to the New York Times preliminary data shows that drug overdose deaths in 2016 exceeded 59 thousand, an increase of close to 20% in relation with 2015; out of the total overdose deaths an approximate 35 thousand...

Costa Rican surfer Carlos Muñoz from Esterillos Oeste, Puntarenas will be present at the semifinals of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California. This is not the first time Muñoz is able to get into a WSL QS semifinal, back in 2013 he was also able to position himself among surfing's best. Muñoz has had a great performance so far in Surf City; earlier today during the quarterfinal...

The Poás Volcano National Park, one of the most visited parks in Costa Rica, has been closed for almost four months, due to the explosive activity it started presenting since April, this has caused big economic loses to local commerce that depend on tourism; it has also affected the National System of Area of Conservation (SINAC) that is not receiving the park entry fee. Considering that the Vo...

Too little too late, that sums Bryan Vasquez’ performance against Mexico’s Raymundo Beltrán, the fight took place Saturday, August 5th at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California and judges gave the victory by majority decision to the Mexican. The fight lacked excitement from beginning to end, Vásquez moved well , he always does a great job of this, and kept his distance knowing that hi...

Carlos Muñoz is motivated, giving his best surf and proving that he belongs among the best in the world. Today, the Costa Rican surfer classified to the quarterfinals of the US Open of Surfing. Muñoz went head to head with Brazilian Jason Andre, regarded as one of the best Brazilian surfers in recent years. ¨Cali¨ scored a total of 13.66 points while Andre finished with 7.90. This is a versi...

Photo: (archive) Salma Hayek and Family , photo for illustration purposes only Another celebrity has been seduced by the many attractions Costa Rica has to offer. This time it was Mexican actress Salma Hayek, who has been spotted with her family in Santa Teresa. Apparently the beautiful Hayek arrived this past Tuesday, August 1st at around 3 p.m. to the Juan Santamaría International Airport,...

Costa Rica has made significant economic and social progress over the last decades. Real GDP per capita continues to increase at rates which outperform many other Latin American and OECD countries. But while living standards and well-being have increased, tax reforms are essential now to ensure the sustainable development of Costa Rica’s economy, according to a new OECD report. OECD Tax Policy ...

Almost four months ago Costa Rica received the announcement of the construction in Costa Rica of the theme park Discovery Costa Rica. The construction is supposed to begin early 2018 and in theory environmental requirements and permits are already in order; yet, it seems that the project has hit its first bump in the road as the project is still in a process of “discussion and clarification of ...

The weigh-in ceremony for the Lomachenko-Marriaga, Beltrán-Vásquez event took place today in Los Angeles, California. Costa Rican Bryan Vásquez and his opponent, Mexican, Raymundo Beltrán are scheduled for a lightweight fight, which means they each had to weigh-in at 135 pounds; Ray Beltrán marked 134.4 lbs. while the Costa Rican came in at 136.8 lbs. 1.8 pounds over the weight limit. Normal...

Carlos “Cali” Muñoz is probably on one of the best moments of his career, present in the US Open of Surfing, “Surf City” in Huntington Beach, California, Muñoz made it today past the fourth round of the competition in the first position of his heat. As we reported yesterday, Muñoz and also Costa Rican Noe Mar McGonagle had made it to the 4th round and were competing together in the same heat; e...

According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), despite the fact that Costa Rica invests more than any of the other 35 countries members of the OECD, which includes countries such as Finland and Germany, the investment is not being reflected in the students’ performance. The findings of the report Education in Costa Rica were presented by Andreas Schl...

The Costa Rican Tennis Federation is inviting tennis players to the tournament “Match Point por la Vida” or Match Point for Life, an event that will raise funds for children who are battling cancer. The tournament is scheduled to take place on August 19, 20, (qualification matches) and 26, 27 (semifinals and finals) at the Los Reyes Country Club and the open categories are: doubles, male and fe...

The new regulations contained in the Wildlife Conservation Law, signed this Thursday, August 3 by Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solís and the Minister of Environment Edgar Gutierrez, change some of the aspects regarding wildlife management using scientific and technical criteria taking as a base foreign institutions with vast experience in this topic. The Wildlife Conservation Law now d...

Two of Costa Rica’s best surfers, Noe Mar McGonagle and Carlos “Cali” Muñoz had another great session at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California where they both managed to qualify to the fourth round. Carlos Muñoz, described by the WSL site today as “the embodiment of the pura vida surfing life”, showed his surfing skills today and scored one of the best waves in the day, which e...

Teen Costa Rican writer Emily Pérez published her first novel in the United States under the title “Yesterday She Was Tiffany”. The work, written for the 2015 edition of the National Novel Writing Month , a program that challenges writers around the world to write 50,000 words in the month of November. Emily is 16 years old, the same age as the main character of her 288 page novel; “Yesterda...

Convergys will once again expand its operations in Costa Rica, and requires to fill 200 positions in the areas of Customer Service and Technical Support. Convergys currently has over 2000 employees. “Thanks to the high quality and professionalism standards that the company operates under, and the commitment of our employees, more and more companies recognize our leadership in the industry, a...

The Chapel in the Clouds in Olan, Buenos Aires, Puntarenas, Costa Rica; is not considered a tourism destination, this because getting here is complicated, there are no lodging options or fancy restaurants; however, it is a magical place, almost out of a fairy-tale or children’s movie, a hidden paradise that will fill you with positive energy. If you like trail walking and hiking and are constantly...

Ad Astra Rocket announced today through social media the arrival of the hydrogen-fueled bus to the Port of Limón. “Attention Costa Rica: #Nyuti has arrived in Costa Rica. The first fuel cell hydrogen electric bus in Central America is located in Puerto Limón. #Nyuti comes from the indigenous Chorotega language of Guanacaste and it means 'Star". The stars are composed mainly of hydrogen. We'r...

The US Kids World Championship is the biggest children tournament in the world, and this year it will have the participation of close to 1500 kids from 50 countries; out of these, three are Costa Rican. Nicoláas Maroto, Luis Cruz and Adriana Llobet are representing the country in the tournament which is being held in Pinehurst, North Carolina since Monday. The tournament is divided in seven di...

Just three days away from stepping in the ring again after one year of absence, Costa Rican Bryan Vásquez is already in Los Angeles, California and says he is ready to represent his country with a victory. Mexican Raymundo Beltrán is not about to make things easy for Vásquez, but the Costa Rican has made it clear that he is going to give his best effort to take the regional titles in dispute th...