Bottle of Coyol Wine, made from the sap of Coyol PalmsWith the arrival of the midday sun, the bottle of coyol wine (made from the sap of coyol palms) sits on a light blue wooden table that is covered with a checkered tablecloth and protected by a plastic cover with pieces of reflective tape on the sides, to immediately catch the attention of drivers passing by. The bottled sap looks clean and foa...

The Social Protection Commission (Spanish acronym: JPS) recently announced the donation of six wheelchairs to low-income residents of Guanacaste who live with disabilities. The new wheelchairs were presented to their owners during modest ceremonies at Chupis and Importaciones Melodia, two major providers of medical equipment in Costa Rica. The wheelchairs were specially designed to adjust to the n...

If you require an airport or beach transfer service in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, please contact BeachTransfer.com. They have a team of English speaking drivers ready to handle your shuttle requests. A new private driver and chauffeur service is coming to the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia (LIR) Guanacaste, Costa Rica. This private driver and transport service will provide comforta...

For the purpose of meeting the demands of the modern workplace in Guanacaste, the National Learning Institute (Spanish initials: INA) will offer a free, comprehensive business English course in Filadelfia from March 21st, 2014 to January 15th, 2015. Prospective students must be at least 15 years old and have completed the 9th grade of general education in Costa Rica. This ten-month foreign lang...

A business consortium in Guanacaste will be keeping a close eye on arboreal wildlife with a network of eight cameras that will monitor animals as they negotiate the forest canopy and high tension power lines. Coopeguanacaste, a major electrical utility company in the Santa Cruz canton, recently installed new devices on portions of their power infrastructure to discourage monkeys, coatis, sloths, k...

Tamarindo Bay Boutique Hotel in Guanacaste Costa RicaThe Tamarindo Bay Boutique Hotel is the newest, luxury beach accommodation in Guanacaste's Gold Coast. This hotel, which offers a private and secure setting at a very short distance away from the beach and other amenities, is proud to bring a new concept in modern and sophisticated comfort and hospitality. The Pacific beaches of Guanacaste a...

Biology students hit the field in Costa Rica Educating future scientists these days calls for more than just academic training and laboratory experiments. Working in the field and interacting with the public as well as with members of other disciplines have become crucial skills for scientists who wish to find success in their chosen fields of inquiry. To this end, the Organization for Tropica...

The master penthouse suite at Hotel Chantel, in Playas del Coco, GuanacasteHotel Chantel, the premier ocean-view boutique hotel located in one of the prettiest beaches of Guanacaste, recently announced a promotion for couples who want to spend a special Valentine's Day weekend in Costa Rica. Guests who book a room during this Valentine's weekend for 2 nights will receive the 3rd night for free. ...

Trogon elegans bird in Guanacaste Costa Rica One of the most endearing and emblematic birds of Guanacaste is the Trogon elegans, also known as bobo, momoto, cejiceleste, and others. The Trogon elegans is among the most attractive species of the Trogonidae family, which can be found from the Southwestern United States to the northern region of Costa Rica. This magnificent bird has been the focu...

Guanacaste Community FundWhile the Costa Rica-USA Foundation (CRUSA) has been funding national environmental and educational projects for 18 years, its newest initiative, the Guanacaste Community Fund, will focus exclusively on Guanacaste-based societal improvements. The Fund’s executive director, Steve Mack, appointed by CRUSA’s Governing Board of Directors in August, said he has already dis...

1 in 5 Canadian enjoy sex on the beach in Costa Rica For most people, sex on the beach involves mixing vodka and peach schnapps with orange and cranberry juice. For some Canadians visiting Costa Rica, however, sex on the beach involves mixing with each other in the sand. As recently reported by the Toronto Star, a survey by Expedia.ca indicates that visitors from Ontario and Quebec are more li...

Arsenic in the drinking water of various regions throughout Guanacaste Costa RIcaThe Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA - Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados) confirmed that they had hired the company Turbina S.A. to remove arsenic from the water of seven communities in Guanacaste and northern Alajuela on Wednesday, January 29th. The company will be placed i...

Roadways in the Nicoya Municipality of Guanacaste are in desperate need of repair and maintenance The lack of agreement between officials from Nicoya’s Municipality and the personnel of the regional office of the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT – Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes) has caused repeated tension and friction between the employees of both institutions. Th...

Playa Hermosa Beach in Guanacaste Costa Rica Judging by an academic study and two market research reports on tourism and real estate, Guanacaste is on track to be Costa Rica's most expensive region to live or visit for 2014. Although the majority of complaints are coming from foreign visitors and expats, there does not seem to be an exodus. In fact, hospitality and tourism operators as well as...

Previous meeting of the Nosara Civic AssociationOn Tuesday, January 28th, the Nosara Civic Association (NCA) held their annual meeting with about 40 members in attendance. During the meeting, they elected a new board, with several changes, and also recognized two long-time board members for their service. The meeting went “according to plan,” according to the NCA president, Alvin Rosenbaum. A ...

Costa Rica over the past decade has become a magnet for high-endurance extreme sports, adventure racing and triathlons. Elite international athletes travel to the small Central American nation several times a year for sport competitions. One of the most popular zones for extreme endurance events is the north Pacific Guanacaste region. In early March 2014, the International Triathlon Union (ITU)...

Reception area of the Hotel Tamarindo Diria in Guanacaste, Costa Rica The Guanacaste province is the leading region in Costa Rica in terms of clean energy projects. That leadership is being sustained thanks to both public utility projects and private business initiatives. In Santa Cruz, the elegant Tamarindo Diria Hotel recently announced its completion of a water heating project entirely powe...

The annual Que Lindo (How Lovely) art fair, held on Friday, January 24, at the Natural Center in downtown Samara, attracted close to five hundred visitors, eager to see the artwork, as well as to enjoy some guitar music and sample the goods being sold simultaneously at the weekly Samara Organic Market. The fair took place from 2 to 6 p.m., about 30 local artists and artisans showed their colorf...

A recent study by national newspaper La Nacion estimates that Costa Rica has more than 3,000 homes and living spaces available to foreign visitors looking for rental options. These properties are often listed on sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO, and many longer-term rental opportunities do not factor in the cost of utilities such as water and electricity. This opens doors for nefarious home...

Repretel interviewed the women that work at the Nosara Recycle CenterLast Tuesday January 14th the news organization Repretel NC11’s programming included a segment that pays tribute to the beauty of the Nosara area, as the community was chosen as one of the ten best worldwide vacation destinations to visit in 2014 by CNN. In addition, the area was featured by National Geographic as one of the 15 ...

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle One of the most recognized names in oceanography and marine life conservation is coming to Costa Rica as part of Mission Blue, a significant expedition that serves as an ocean community's effort to elevate public awareness about critical ocean issues and inspiring support for organizations, projects and scientific expeditions that make a positive difference for the o...

2013 was a great year for tropical Nu-Disco/Dance-Pop band Patterns from San Jose. Their infectious single Sunny Days (video above) received major radio airplay in Costa Rica and around the world, thanks in great part to the song's colorful and surreal video, which saw its debut on the popular website Noisey, part of the Vice online network. Here's a closer look at the masterful production of ...

Street view of the Paradizio condo development in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica For sales and general inquiries about Paradizio Condos please visit the official website: www.ParadizioCostaRica.com Condominium developers in Costa Rica are rushing to meet the growing demand for a luxurious exurban lifestyle filled with amenities and convenience. Such are the intentions of Oxbow Commu...

A trail of trash stretched out along more than two kilometers of Buena Vista Beach, between the communities of Esterones and Samara, on Thursday, January 9. The huge amount of it astounded members of the community and it took four days of volunteer labor and heavy machinery to clean it up. Elizabeth Jenkins, who lives near the beach in Esterones, related that her husband, Frank, was at the beac...

Playas del Coco Tope horse parade, Saturday January 25th, 2014Horses, riders and beasts of burden will parade down the streets of Playas del Coco, province of Guanacaste, this Saturday afternoon. “Topes” are festive events in Costa Rica that signal the beginning of even more joyous and fun-filled family activities such as carnival rides, live music, dancing, delicious food, beer, and more. Fo...

Source: Flickr CC Equestrian parades in Costa Rica are longstanding holiday traditions that date back several decades; they are known as “topes,” and they are loved by just about everyone who enjoys the sight of magnificently trained horses that elegantly gait and gallop in the expert reins of their riders. After each tope, however, there is an unpleasant task at hand. What happens to all that...

Sun Fund Americas, Solar Energy Park in Guanacaste, Costa RicaBefore the Guanacaste Country Club becomes the most luxurious resort, theme park and residential community in Central America, an innovative solar energy project will be developed to meet future electricity needs. The Sun Costa Rica initiative will also become a blueprint for large-scale solar energy projects in eleven Latin American n...

Jorge Luis Pinto. Source: FEDEFUTBOL As World Cup fever sweeps the world, residents and tourists in Guanacaste recently learned about plans to bring a friendly football match to Liberia. Such are the intentions of Eduardo Li, who presides over the Costa Rican Football Federation (Spanish acronym: FEDEFUTBOL). For this match, the National Football Team could play against their counterparts from...

Fabiana Granados, Miss Costa RicaFabiana Granados, the current Miss Costa Rica, who recently placed 11th in the Miss Universe pageant on November 9th in Moscow, Russia, will serve as one of the judges in charge of choosing the next queen of the upcoming 2014 Nicoya Fiestas, which will take place from February 4th to 10th. The beauty queen, who is originally from Hojancha, expressed her fondnes...

Liberia Guanacaste, located on the Northwest Pacific coast of Costa RicaNearly three million people either live, work, study, or do business in Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM), which extends from the capital city of San Jose out to 34 cantons and 164 districts. This creates an overcrowded Central Valley, where more than half of the country's human, economic and poli...

Timeshare Scams in GuanacasteThe timeshare and fractional ownership market is a lucrative subsector of the real estate economy; unfortunately, it is also very vulnerable to scammers, swindlers and flimflam artists. Costa Rica is not impervious to real estate deception, and the province of Guanacaste seems to be a focus of recent timeshare shams and charades. At the controversial consumer compl...

The Orosi Earthquake Cluster Residents and tourists in the Cobano coastal community of Puntarenas were recently enjoying a pleasant, sunny afternoon when they were suddenly shaken by a strong earthquake that was felt across Costa Rica. It was hardly the first seismic event of 2014, but it was a strong enough reminder about what might be in store for this year. The epicenter of the January 1...

Campesino Bistro is a new restaurant and art gallery in Playa Guiones. For the project, they remodeled the old Casa Tucan location, re-using the most material possible. Marcelina Morcinek and Joseph Craig started cooking in Guiones two years ago with a catering service. Their food is made with organic vegetables from a private farm in Garza. The meat and chicken they use is raised in Nosara. ...

On Friday, January 24, the Samara Organic Market will offer more than healthy food during the third annual art fair, “Que Lindo” (How Lovely). Local artists and artisans will be exhibiting and selling their creations, including paintings and watercolors, mixed media, masks, clothing, jewelry, and fused glass, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Natural Center Gym and Spa in downtown Samara, next to the sch...

Sagamat Home. Source: BANHVI It was a modest, yet emotional, ceremony in Santa Cruz, province of Guanacaste. At the Sagamat II residential complex, President Laura Chinchilla welcomed 21 families to their brand-new homes. Until this past Friday, many of these families were squatters or homeless. Today, they are homeowners in Costa Rica thanks to a government initiative that managed to benefit ...

President Laura Chinchilla recently gave her signature of approval to a project that will expand the reach and coverage of the Southern Crop Irrigation Canal in the province of Guanacaste. The expansion will add 33.4 kilometers to the canal for a total coverage of 35,000 hectares of farmland. This is certainly good news for farmers in the driest region of Costa Rica, where climate change is reduci...

“Competition isn’t for everyone,” emphasized Amber Ryan and Meagen Walsh, who teach dance in Nosara. But for those who do want to challenge themselves as dancers, in addition to the thrill of performing on stage, the two have decided to form a dance company that will compete against other dance companies in San Jose May 30 to June 1 during the JUMP international Dance Tour. Auditions for the...

Hector Zuñiga running from Nicoya to GarzaIf you enjoy fitness and are looking to take your routine to the next level, the Voice of Guanacaste (VOG) presents five routes to motivate you to boost your performance. Running from Nicoya to Garza With a pair of good shoes and adequate training you can run for a long time. Hector Zuñiga is an athlete from Garza who participates in at least one ra...

Industry analysts are forecasting more than $8 billion in revenues from the combined telecommunications sectors in Costa Rica from 2014 to 2019, and mobile communications are expected to be the main driver of this economic growth. With a rising middle class and a booming mobile market in Costa Rica, business owners should be paying attention to these trends. The forecast above was mentioned by ...

On Thursday afternoon, January 16th – 1st full moon of 2014 – nearly every person in Playa Hermosa came to the beach for Salve Monos Playa Hermosa, GTE., Costa Rica’s 3rd Annual Drumming Circle. The event is held each year to raise awareness of the howler monkey plight and to raise funds that benefit Playa Hermosa’s monkeys. Karol Allard, Treasurer of the Association de Vecinos y Empresarios de Pl...