Even though over 1,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the ‘big one’, last week, many of us on the peninsula are suffering the shock of the resulting damages, many of which we are still becoming aware. The quake hit on Wednesday, but the heavy rain that came in on Saturday night brought unwelcomed water into many homes, hotels and other businesses that were unaware of their roof damage u...

You can view more pictures related to this article on The Costa Rica Star Facebook page. Eugenio and Flor, our dear Tico friends and neighbors, said, “Come tomorrow and bring your camera; we’re making tapa dulce.” Being gringos fairly new to this small neighborhood, we had no idea what this meant, but if he thought it was important enough for us to bring our camera, there was no doubt ...

Welcome to the rainforest! Living and loving here is a dream, but not when your home or business gets flooded. All around our beautiful country there are well constructed gabion walls supporting hillsides for years. Gabion, from the Italian word gabbione meaning ‘big cage’, is a large, thick-wire basket filled with rocks, through which water can flow at a much reduced rate or be diverted around. M...

After 15 years of visiting the pura vida of Costa Rica, we finally made the move from California to here 2 years ago. We wanted the perfect climate, the breathtaking natural environment, the tranquility---we wanted the pura vida; but we can’t have it, can’t get it and you probably can’t either. You see, it’s another state of mind; maybe even another dimension, like a Twilight Zone place. Pura...