/PRNewswire/ -- With more Americans taking fewer, shorter vacations a year, the Central American nation of Costa Rica – known for its natural wonders, colorful culture and friendly locals – offers travelers an ideal destination for a quick getaway. Roughly the size of West Virginia, visitors can take advantage of the country's small size to explore numerous opportunities for adventure and relaxati...

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT) in conjunction with Aprender Haciendo (Learn Doing), has announced that Costa Rica will host the 14th edition of the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2017. “More than 3 thousand people from 55 different countries will come to our country to participate, it is a very big event” said Alejandra Sanchez from Aprender Haciendo. According...

Numbers don’t lie medical and dental tourism are growing trends, approximately 1.6 million North Americans (1.2 million Americans and 400 thousand Canadiens) seek dental or medical care overseas, and out of this number approximately 45-65 thousand travel to Costa Rica to take care of their teeth. According to the American College of Prosthodontists over 35 million American are losing all their ...

(EFE).- At least 75 people died and five survived the Lamia flight that crashed in Colombia with 81 people on-board, police said Tuesday. On-board the plane were 22 players from the Brazilian Chapecoense soccer team, 28 management staff, members of the technical team and special guests, 22 journalists and nine crew members, who were en route to Medellin, Colombia to play Atletico Nacional in t...

According to the 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange data released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs,  there is a significant increase in the student mobilization between the United States and Costa Rica. President Obama launched the initiative “The force of 100...

Thomas Reuters Foundation - Nearly two in every five pregnancies among girls in El Salvador aged 10-12 are the result of rape and incest but the rapists nearly always go unpunished, a U.N. agency has said. Girls under 12 are four times more likely to get pregnant as a result of rape by stepfathers and relatives, mainly fathers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins, than girls aged 13 to 17, the U....

Guns N' Roses Costa RicaSlash Photo Credit: Del James The Guns N’ Roses concert in Costa Rica, brought many back to the 90’s at the rhythm of Welcome to the Jungle, November Rain, Paradise City, Sweet Child of Mine and Knocking on Heaven’s Door, a full National Stadium exploded with emotion, screams and also solidarity. Since Friday the organization of the event and the band had announced t...

Costa Rica is among the preferred destinations by expats, every year many tourists visit the country on vacation and fall in love with the place, they make the decision of moving here, but the first question they ask themselves is: Where should we live? With the help from our friends from Immigration Experts, here we offer you information on the best and preferred places by expats to live in Co...

The recovered body of a one year and eight months old girl in Bijagua, Upala elevated the number of deaths as a consequence of Hurricane Otto in Costa Rica to ten. The house where the toddler, Bianca Pichardo, and her family lived was destroyed last Thursday and in the event her mother also died, her body was found on Friday and buried today, her father was barely able to make it out, while the...

The victories of the Costa Rica male National Soccer Team in the first two games of the hex stage of the CONCACAF qualification matches to Russia World Cup 2018 reflected in the FIFA ranking that was released this week. “La Sele” is positioned in the 17th slot, one step ahead of Mexico which makes Costa Rica the top team in the CONCACAF. The U.S.A. went down four slots to position 28. Cost...

Guayabo de Bagaces in Guanacaste shares limits with Upala, Liberia, Carrillo, Cañas and Nicoya, and is just 15 kilometers north from Miravalles Volcano, it’s in the foothills of this volcano where we can find the Miravalles Geothermal project. The area is visited by many tourists, naturally because of the Volcano, and also because of several touristic centers located in the area, many of which ...

(EFE).- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement Saturday following Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro's death that he hoped the passing of the "brutal dictator" would usher in a new era of prosperity and freedom for the Caribbean island. Trump - whose first reaction was a brief tweet Saturday morning that simply read "Fidel Castro is dead!" - issued a full statement a few hou...

The help started arriving in Upala , Bagaces and all other communities affected by Hurricane Otto in Costa Rica. The government informed that funding from Developing Banking will be used to help recover the areas affected, by providing assistance to all the farmers and business owners that demonstrate the damage suffered by their company or industry, they will also provide monetary help for the...

(EFE).- Cuban leader Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90, his brother, President Raul Castro, said Saturday in an address on state television. The Cuban revolutionary leader built a communist state, and for five decades defied the United States efforts to topple him. The leader of the historic Cuban Revolution died at 10.29pm Friday local time (3.29am Saturday GMT), and his remains will be c...

(EFE).- Representatives of the 27 countries that make up the Latin American Energy Organization, or Olade, underscored the need to promote sustainable development in the region at a meeting here Friday. Olade Executive Secretary Fernando Cesar Ferreira said at the organization's Meeting of Energy Ministers that "absolutely all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are doing something...

There is no question that our lives are more and more dependent on technology, the use of the internet has ballooned in the last decade, and smart phones have become a huge part of our lives. This is the reason why companies around the world, big and small, have turned to digital marketing and advertising as their main tool to reach clients and give their brand exposure; it is clear that people...

Upala and Bagaces are the two communities in Costa Rica that were more strongly hit by Otto Hurricane, the heavy rain and strong wind, washed away in just a few hours everything some families possessed. Houses, cars, businesses… gone. The photos and videos of the areas show the devastation left behind by this phenomenon of nature. The impotence of the emergency services, and the population in ...

Guayabo de Bagaces, Guanacaste The North of Costa Rica, specially the areas of Upala and Los Chiles in Alajuela and several areas in Guanacaste, were severely affected by the heavy rains and winds of Hurricane Otto, which made landfall in Nicaragua yesterday and moved through Costa Rica as a category 1 hurricane. So far 3 people have been confirmed dead and there are several people missing hav...

Currently Otto storm is affecting the North of Alajuela province, most specifically in Upala which lost electricity service a couple of hours ago. Watch the video below: (EFE).- The eye of Hurricane Otto passed over Costa Rica Thursday afternoon bringing winds of at least 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and dumping rain in the northern part of the country, the National Weather Institute,...

Some stores began their promotions early in the month, others have been preparing to receive hundreds of shoppers tomorrow, Friday, November 25th in the famous “Black Friday”. Although this is a U.S. tradition, it started gaining traction in Costa Rica and other countries in the world several years ago, as an alternative for stores to get rid of inventory and make space for December’s collectio...

(EFE).- Facebook has developed a tool to adapt to a tougher regime of internet censorship in China in order to gain entry into markets in the country, The New York Times reported late Wednesday. The software, which Facebook has so far only tested internally, will enable user entries to be censored before they appear on the feeds in order to comply with Chinese laws, said the newspaper, citing e...

More than 100 new Costa Rica artisan products will be sold at the new El Mercadito store in the Juan Santamaria International Airport. The articles offered in this store include clothes, articles for house decoration, costume jewelry, among others, which are manufactured by 97 families in poverty situation. The new store will generate supply chains and employment for around 350 people that are ...

Luckily for Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Hurricane Otto lost strength as it made landfall on the coast of southeastern Nicaragua, it is currently traveling at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour with winds of 175 kilometers per hour. Heavy rain continues to fall in the northeast area of Costa Rica. The Meteorological Institute expects that Otto will continue to move through Costa Rican territory wit...

A 7.2 earthquake in the Ritcher scale struck El Salvador at 12:43 p.m. at a depth of 33 kilometers, some 96 miles southwest of Puerto Triunfo, El Salvador, and was felt in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala. No injuries or damage have been reported, the Salvadoran Environment and Natural Resources Ministry said. The Nicaraguan government issued a tsunami alert for the country's entire Pacific...

Update: Hurricane Otto had already strengthen to a category 2 hurricane early this Thursday morning and affected certain areas in Costa Rica with heavy rain. As of 11:15 a.m. Costa Rica time Hurricane Otto hit land in Bluefields, Nicaragua, north of Isla Calero in Costa Rica with wind forces almost reaching a category 3 hurricane. Experts expect Otto will lose strength and will degrade to a tropic...

If you happen to be vacationing in Costa Rica right now and you are concerned about the hurricane alert, don’t panic, here’s what you need to know: This is the first-time Costa Rica is in danger of being directly affected by a hurricane; this country has received the indirect effects of several tropical storms and hurricanes in the past, the last one was Juana in 1988. Costa Rica has a three...

In view of the alert in Costa Rica due to Otto storm/hurricane, Avianca, Lacsa, and Albatros airlines had to cancel eight of their flights to and from Costa Rica, Juan Santamaria Airport. Flights with destinations: San Andres, Bogota, Guatemala and Venezuela were cancelled by the airlines and they have informed travelers that those who already had a ticket will not be charged additional fees to...

Costa Rican Keylor Navas candidate to best goalkeeper of the year in Europe Portuguese Rui Patricio, Italian Gianluigi Buffon, Slovenian Jan Oblak and Costa Rican Keylor Navas will compete for Europe’s best goalkeeper of the year award 2016. This is the first time Navas is nominated to this award, having been nominated before to best goalkeeper of the Spanish League, the Facebook Awards, an...

As Otto strengthens from tropical storm to category 1 hurricane and continues to move towards Costa Rica the government has requested black Friday promotions to be moved to another date at least in the areas under red alert, particularly the duty free center of Golfito in the South Pacific, in order to prevent unnecessary emergency situations. The administration of the duty free has already confir...

(EFE).- Thousands of sea turtles are arriving in the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge on Costa Rica's Pacific coast to nest, guide Yamilet Baltodano told EFE Tuesday. "We estimate that between 98,000 and 100,000 turtles have arrived, with the ones coming to nest reaching here as hatchlings emerge from eggs," Baltodano said. This is the second large wave of nesting turtles this year, followi...

(EFE).- Jürgen Klinsmann has been dismissed as coach of the U.S. men's national team, U.S. Soccer announced Monday. (Watch Klinsmann's video message at the end of this article) The squad posted a record of 55 wins, 27 draws and 16 defeats under the former German international, who was named coach in July 2011. "Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jürgen Klinsmann, our h...

Escazu continues to grow. With a concept that combines commerce, residential space and offices , Escazú Village is hoping to attract those that enjoy the “urban life”. Located next to Walmart in the entrance to San Rafael de Escazú more exactly in Trejos Montealegre, this complex is located in a property of 26,500 square meters and will have a total construction area of 130,000 square meters...

Route 257 which connects route 32 with the new APM Terminals Moin will have an ecological corridor that will allow monkeys, sloths and other small animals to go across without danger of being run over. This is one of the environmental aspects being worked into the project currently under construction in the Caribbean. The new road, valued in close to $71 million US dollars, involves only 2.8...

A small natural reserve in Montezuma of only 63 hectares honors the memory of Nicolas Wessberg, but only few know who he was or why this place is named after him. Olof Wessberg also known as Nicolas Wessberg was born in Germany but lived most of his life in Sweden; his wife, Karen Mogensen was from Denmark, they were married in 1952, the couple wanted to leave Sweden and Europe in general, due ...

(EFE).- Central American nations and South Korea expect to sign a free-trade accord by June 30, 2017, representatives of the parties said here Wednesday at the end of the final round of negotiations. The proposed pact is consistent with the rules of the World Trade Organization, the governments of South Korea, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama said in a statemen...

Soccer is not just Costa Rica’s main sport, but also part of its identity and culture; soccer players become public figures quickly specially when they play for the main soccer teams Saprissa or Alajuela (La Liga). Gabriel Badilla was 32 years old The morning of this Sunday, November 20, one of these players passed away, one that had won the heart of many soccer fans as the former captain o...

A total of 5.38 km (3.35 miles) of bicycle track should be ready by February 2017 in San Pedro, Montes de Oca confirmed the mayor of this town Marcel Soler who also confirmed the Municipality is studying the possibility of extending the bike paths to other areas in the county in the future. The path consists of three different tracks, one will connect the Law Faculty of the University of Costa ...

Montezuma, a small and bohemian town located in southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in the province of Puntarenas, has gained popularity among tourists in the last few years due to its laid back and friendly style and of course its unique beauty. Many consider this area more of an option for “backpackers” but this is not entirely true, Montezuma can be enjoyed by backpackers, adventure seekers...

Dengue vaccines are already being sold in private pharmacies in Costa Rica; however, the price is of around 70 thousand colones (approximately $130), and at least three doses are required to achieve a full protection against the four serotypes that are found in the country. The dengue vaccine can be applied to people between 9 and 45 years of age and cannot be applied to pregnant or breastfee...

REUTERS - A group of the countries most at risk from climate change said they would strive to make their energy production 100 percent renewable "as rapidly as possible", as part of efforts to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), which numbers 48 nations, also committed to update their climate action plans submitted as part of the U.N. climate pac...