Nasty drug cartel members, dirty cops and even terrorists who specialize in manufacturing deadly explosives stand in the way of The Specialist, a retired United States Special Forces operator and former federal agent who is on a daring life-or-death rescue mission to extract a corrupt banker from the hands of kidnappers in Costa Rica.   The Specialist: The Costa Rica Job is a thriller a...

The Manuel Antonio National Park is one of Costa Rica’s best-known coastal attractions. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, a visit to Manuel Antonio entails an enjoyable 2.5 hour drive from San Jose on well-paved roads:; upon arrival you will find gorgeous beaches, plenty of nature, security, and:   A ton of wildlife, including monkeys, raccoons, sloths, crabs, iguanas, and ev...

Indian-American author, physician and public speaker Deepak Chopra will conduct a conference in Costa Rica at the Centro de Eventos Pedregal in San Antonio of Belen, province of Heredia, on November 24th. Such was the information published by business weekly El Financiero from a wire report released by the Spanish news agency EFE. To this end, event organizer and online ticketing agency eTicket.cr...

One of the most interesting and unexpected mashups in the history of comic books will unfold in the lush forests of Costa Rica. Archie Andrews, known to comic book lovers worldwide as the one of the best friends any teenager can hope for, will face off against one of the most abominable and fearsome alien beings in the fictional universe. According to a recent press release by Dark Horse Comics, a...

In the 21st century, Costa Rica has become a popular backdrop for fictional thrillers. To this effect, The Costa Rica Star has previously published articles on spy fiction by sci-fi master William Gibson (Spook Country), literary crime novels by the dearly departed Elmore Leonard (Road Dogs), video games by Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker) and by Sony (Syphon Filter), gambling crime f...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles alternative rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars will visit Costa Rica for the first time this coming Sunday, Ocotber 5th. This immensely popular musical group has been accumulating awards, significant radio airplay and sold-out tours for more than a decade, and fans in Costa Rica will soon be able to enjoy their live concert in support of their best-selling “...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Starting next year, a television and mixed martial arts (MMA) event production company based in Spain will commence donating a portion of its profits towards the acquisition of books and computers as well as for the construction of small schools in Costa Rica and other nations. The company is Batalla MMA Fight Entertainment, and the proceeds donated will be managed by...

  The fictional universe created by the late author Michael Crichton around Jurassic Park has developed into a very popular, highly successful and extremely lucrative industry. Films, novels, video games, comic books, and merchandising have been generating millions of dollars for the Jurassic Park universe, which Mr. Crichton specifically placed in Isla Nublar, which is based in a mixture ...

The fictional character in The Specialist: The Costa Rica Job, written by Charles Peterson Sheppard, is based on the experiences of Phillip Sheppard, a former federal agent and reality television actor who is known for his work on the hit series Survivor. The Specialist happens to be fond of cooking Asian fusion recipes as well.   http://youtu.be/oiOHqCSJm6M...

Nasty drug cartel members, dirty cops and even terrorists who specialize in manufacturing deadly explosives stand in the way of The Specialist, a retired United States Special Forces operator and former federal agent who is on a daring life-or-death rescue mission to extract a corrupt banker from the hands of kidnappers in Costa Rica. UPDATE: This article has been amended to reflect correct aut...

Source: Heineken The capital city of Costa Rica is now on a level similar to New York, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Rio de Janeiro, at least according to the emblematic Dutch beer Heineken. From now until late October, beer lovers and collectors of neat promotional items can pick up a special edition bottle of Heineken emblazoned with San José under the current big red star logo. T...

Source: Bing commercial reuse With more than 70,000 visitors attending the 15th International Book Fair in San Jose, organizers and exhibitors were certainly pleased to see that reading is still capturing the interest of many people in Costa Rica. For the second year in a row, the International Book Fair expanded its presence beyond the Antigua Aduana (Old Customs Building), and held activitie...

Source: ASOTU Costa Rica One of the most family-friendly and fun-filled festivals in Costa Rica is happening again in just a few days. The 6th Whales and Dolphins Festival in Ballena Bay will star this Friday, September 5th. Although whale watching season in Costa Rica runs from July until October, the peak month for migration is September. Some of the activities that visitors to the Osa Penin...

Source: Pixabay CC When it comes to creative espionage, nobody does it better than the United States. Amidst press reports and allegations about U.S. spooks (undercover intelligence operatives) underhandedly using Costa Rica as a launching platform to secretly snoop on Cuba, our Directorate of Intelligence and Security (Spanish initials: DIS) is not willing to simply let its North American all...

Houses that used to be airplanes and tree dwellings that seem to have come straight from an Ewok village of the Star Wars universe are among the top offbeat Costa Rica rentals featured by HomeAway.com andVRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner). Both HomeAway and VRBO are website marketplaces similar to Airbnb, whereby travelers can evaluate and review potential residences for short-time rentals in li...

Source: Official Film Site Two years after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the excellent movie Paradise: Love finally made it to movie theaters in Costa Rica. Lovingly directed by Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl, Paradise: Love tells the story of Theresa, a middle-aged European woman who travels to Kenya in search of hunky young Africans who are more than willing to indulge her sexual d...

Source: Andiamo La Facebook Timeline The list of celebrities who visit Costa Rica is growing, but they mostly seem intent on spending their time on the beach or in secluded locations far away from the telescopic lenses of the pesky paparazzi. Reports of celebrities spending time in the Central Valley are rare, which is why unexpected visits by Chris Hemsworth to restaurants in Escazu and Santa...

Source: Bing commercial reuse Although it is estimated that less than two percent of all visitors who arrive in Costa Rica do so for the purpose of engaging in sexual tourism, this particular travel segment happens to be the most controversial. Thousands of men (and hundreds of women) come to our country each year to get to know some of the locals really well, but what about those couples who ...

Source: PokerStars Imagine you are a tournament poker player about to sit at a table when you learn that you will be facing a smiling man in his sixties, who is nicknamed “The Shark,” who is known as the Godfather of Poker in Costa Rica, and who was sponsored by none other than PokerStars for nearly a decade; would you still take your chances and sit at that table?   Many players pr...

Pulling the outrigger into the ocean for Kayak Jaco's night tour When Neil, the owner of Kayak Jaco, shared with me what the sunset/ night kayak tour was all about, I told him he had me at cheese and wine. For those of you who live in Costa Rica, you know it is extremely hard to find good cheese, and if you do it’s incredibly expensive! Looking back on the tour, the cheese and crackers were just...

Canadian Expat, Corey Coates My path crossed with Corey’s when he contacted me about an author interview for my recent release, Becoming an Expat: Costa Rica. The more I found out about Corey Coates the more I wanted to hear his story, and so it goes… “I like the interaction between the brain and the machine, I’m an audio learner”~ Corey Coates Corey is from a small town outside of Toronto wit...

Now showing in Costa Rica Right before Costa Rica shut down for Holy Week and Easter Sunday, 158 important works of fine art were being transported in utmost secrecy and under sophisticated security through the streets of San Jose. A few unmarked trucks carried original works by European masters as well as pieces by Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat and more. This plethora of art will be exhib...

As the summer season in Costa Rica winds down and the green season draws near, it is time for great Costa Rica travel deals. One such bargain is a hot Costa Rica vacation package of a romantic getaway for two to Cala Luna boutique hotel at Tamarindo Beach. The Cala Luna Romantic Beach Package includes: three nights’ accommodation in a deluxe room with a romantic welcome of sparkling wine and...

Nosara, Costa Rica is renowned for some of the best surfing in Costa Rica, and for being a yoga paradise. But there are plenty of other exciting adventure and nature tours to do as well on this string of beautiful beaches along the Nicoya Peninsula. Here are five fun tours to try during your visit to Nosara and Playa Guiones: 1. Miss Sky Canopy Tour Tours: 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily. Wh...

Coming soon to Costa Rica Добро пожаловать! The preceding Russian expression, which is often pseudo-phonetically written as dobro pozhalovat, means “Welcome!” When properly spoken, it sounds warm and inviting, and it is an expression that the tourism industry of Costa Rica should be practicing now. According to Marvin Barquero of national newspaper La Nacion, Russian passport holders will soon...

Source: Flickr CC In the last few years, the online gambling industry of Costa Rica has experienced one major upheaval after another. On one hand, there's the overzealous law enforcement and prosecutorial actions taken by the United States; on the other hand, powerful lobby groups are slandering Internet gaming and wagering operations in Costa Rica for the purpose of encouraging lawmakers to a...

Source: Vimeo Mountains, active volcanoes, beaches, lagoons, indigenous people, tourists, locals, Guanacaste... In less than four minutes, filmmaker Patrick Pearson shows viewers the many facets of Costa Rica in a video that has achieved massive viral status across several online social networks. The short film, hosted on Vimeo, has garnered thousands of views and positive comments in just one...

Source: Hooters Costa Rica Twitter The Hooters restaurant located in the brand-new Plaza Mango near the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela has become one of Costa Rica's most visited restaurants. Getting a table at this casual dining eatery usually involves waiting for a minutes, but on Wednesday night this place was nearly standing-room only as tabloid media reporters and...

The abundance of outdoor activities hosted by Jaco never ceases to amaze. Did you know, from Jaco you have access to a gorgeous island filled with jet skis, kayaks, banana boats, volleyball, tropical fish to snorkel with, and loungers? Let me share with you my recent experience at Isla Tortuga. My day started with a gorgeous one and a half hour boat ride from Playa Herradura where I observed ju...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The possibility of a live performance by the legendary Paul McCartney in Costa Rica has been an item of considerable hearsay since 2012. The rumor mill reverberated in late February following the interview with an executive of a Mexican concert promotion firm by a daily tabloid, which almost confirmed the future appearance of the famous musician in early May. Renat...

Teletica, the media network that broadcasts nationwide as well as abroad via Internet data streams, recently confirmed rumors related to its expansion in the near future. By 2015, the TV network that includes channel 7, XperTV, CableTica, the new Teletica Deportes channel (TD+), and TuYo Movil, will have a new studio in Costa Rica. This expansion may also hint at a future focus on reality TV p...

Original Doge meme. In the quirky world of memes and assorted tomfoolery that dominates Internet life and culture in the 21st century, Costa Rica stands out as a very active nation both in terms of generation and propagation. There is, however, one particular meme that Costa Rica has mostly failed to adapt despite having reverberated on a global scale and even launched a virtual currency. We a...

Will and Jaden Smith, looking dejected. A significant portion of After Earth, a sci-fi summer blockbuster starring father-son Hollywood royalty Will and Jaden Smith, was filmed on the skirts of the Arenal Volcano and the surrounding cloud forest in La Fortuna. Although After Earth is hardly the only blockbuster filmed in Costa Rica, there is a strong chance that it may become the first one  to...

Crocodile Man Tour at the Tarcoles River near Jaco, Costa Rica It was another gorgeous day in Costa Rica when I walked down the dock towards the boat that would take me through the infamous Crocodile Man Tour. The bar was set high. I had seen pictures from friends and heard tall tales about this tour. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Jason, our guide, handed each member of the tour a...

In the heart of San Jose, Costa Rica, the National Theatre (Teatro Nacional) remains one of the capital city’s most popular tourist attractions. The ornate Neo-Classical theatre is considered the finest historic building in San Jose, and is known for its exquisite interior decorated with lavish furnishings and beautiful murals. One of the theatre’s main ceiling murals, in fact, was just na...

Poster for The Suicide Shop If you missed the recent online French film festival or the visit by acclaimed director Patrice Leconte to Costa Rica, the Alianza Francesa (French Alliance) wants you to know two things: 1) c'est la vie! and 2) you still have three more chances to catch great films directed by Monsieur Leconte in February. The best part about this news is that these cinematic goodi...

Carlos Hiller hanging his artwork at the Liberia International Airport in Guanacaste Costa RicaFast, tenacious and colorful: these adjectives are subjective of course, but nonetheless describe the fundamental nature of these magnificent fish which have become icons of the sport and commercial fishing on Costa Rica's Pacific coast: sailfish, roosterfish and golden fish (Mahi-Mahi). The paintin...

One of the best music festivals in Costa Rica takes place in Playa Nosara, province of Guanacaste, each year. The Caricaco (Beach Crab) Music Festival has been taking place since 2009, and each iteration has been more exciting than the previous one. This year's Caricaco Music Festival will be no exception, and it will be held in Finca Austria, closer to Playa Guiones, in order to accommodate t...

Source: Weber BBQ Fest The smell of marinated and grilled fine cuts of meat permeated the air this past weekend at the 2nd Annual Weber BBQ Fest in Costa Rica, which took place in the parking lot across from Nova, in the glitzy (and secretive) Avenida Escazu. This festive gathering of carnivores and culinary experts included more than just plates full of steak, ribs, sausage, chicken, fish, an...

Pulmitan of Liberia Marcopolo Paradiso 1800DD passenger bus between San Jose and Playas del Coco, Guanacaste One of the most advanced, luxurious and comfortable coach buses in Latin America is operated by Pulmitan of Liberia, a respected transportation provider from the province of Guanacaste. The Marcopolo Paradiso 1800DD is an elegant double-decker bus that steals a lot of looks wherever it ...