Author's Note: The Costa Rica Star does not hold any interest in the financial instruments mentioned below, nor does it recommend anyone to take a position in any financial market without first consulting a qualified advisor. The lucrative and ultra-risky world of trading financial instruments based on equity securities and precious metals may seem far removed from a sleepy developing nation li...

Costa Rica is well-known around the world as a paradise for deep water fishing enthusiasts. Previous articles published by The Costa Rica Star touched on this subject, from planning a surfing-and-fishing vacation to Guanacaste for maximum enjoyment, to the joys of the Papagayo Peninsula. Other articles have revealed some hidden fishing spots like Manzanillo, and a lightly scientific discussion on ...

UPDATED: Click here to read more about the Tayni Red Bean in Costa Rica. James Marshall, PhD is an alert reader who recently pointed out the following: "A story in several news publications today is about the new red bean (tayni) that will be grown here in Costa Rica. Conspicuously enough, nothing was mentioned about the origins of this new seed. Upon researching the creator of this new seed...

A dear reader named Ruth recently sent us the following question: How does the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act affect other nations doing business in Costa Rica, if at all? Do Canadians and Europeans have to be concerned with understanding this at all? Hello Ruth, thanks for writing. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a provision of an American law that was passed by the 11...

One of the most awaited presenters at the upcoming 2012 International Design Festival (Spanish acronym: FID) is Benjamin Garcia Saxe, a London-based Tico who was also a presenter at the recent TEDx Pura Vida conference. Benjamin is an acclaimed architect and visual designer who has worked in several world-class projects, including the design of Three World Trade Center, one of the new skyscrapers ...

For most people, describing a cup of coffee involves just a few adjectives. Aromatic, bold, good, smooth, strong, tasty, and maybe a few more. For coffee enthusiasts familiar with the practice of coffee cupping, those adjectives are far from sufficient. In coffee cupping terms, a cup of the acclaimed La Minita coffee from the Tarrazu region would probably be described as bright and mild with aroma...

The upcoming Envision Festival is in some ways reminiscent of an event that took place in Santa Teresa and Playa Hermosa in 2009. Both events catered to audiences interested in nature, ecological conservation, yoga, and electronic dance music. The 2009 Breathe Foundation summit in Playa Hermosa, however, was unique because of two documentary films screened that year: Breathe – The Documentary and ...

The International Festival of the Arts (known as FIA by its Spanish acronym) is now just four days away from its 2012 opening. Once the FIA starts in earnest, residents of Costa Rica can look forward to ten days of arts and culture on the streets, in our theaters, and in open performance spaces around our capital city of San Jose.  This year marks the 20th anniversary of the FIA, an event organize...

A dear reader named Brad recently left the following question in our Facebook profile: " about good, affordable day trips in and around the SJ. I get a lot of visitors and they are always interested in them." Hello Brad, thanks for your question. Most tourists come to Costa Rica looking for eco-adventures, surfing, fishing, or relaxing at any of our pristine beaches. Our capital city often g...

Centuries before the Wright brothers made their seminal engine-powered flight, humans were clearly obsessed with flight. From the Daedalus and Icarus tales of Greek mythology to Leonardo Da Vinci's ingenious sketches of flying machines, humanity has been set on defying gravity and soaring through the air in search of that ultimate freedom bestowed upon the bird species by Nature. Flying and to...

Author's Note: A lot of the information on this article comes from the Environmental section of the digital news daily El Pais and the National University. The alleged naming of Costa Rica by Christopher Columbus during one of his final voyages of discovery is often the subject of tongue-in-cheek jests by Ticos who know better. "He had no idea", goes the saying, particularly when making referen...

The current globalization trend is affecting many areas of business, particularly the legal profession. Law firms and solo attorneys used to follow a strict jurisdictional pattern, but in the last few years the practice of law has been increasingly crossing boundaries. A good example is the RITEVE v. MOPT case, which is currently being mediated in the United States by powerful legal teams. Legal p...

March is shaping up to be one of the busiest and most interesting months for lovers of the arts and entertainment in Costa Rica. At the same time the Festival Internacional de las Artes unfolds around San Jose, the Arts Festival in Jaco will be taking place, and the Envision Festival gets underway in Bahia Ballena, the second International Design Festival will begin exhibiting at the former custom...

Costa Rica keeps playing the role of gracious and comely host to the international community, and to that extent we have some of the most interesting fair and conferences coming up. From May 22nd to the 25th, the Institute for Business and Finance Research will be holding a Global Conference on Business and Finance in San Jose. Presenters at the conference will read from works related to different...

Some gatherings around the world have become emblematic of the activities they showcase, the lifestyles they support, and the people who choose to form a part of them. Such is the case with the initial iterations of the Lollapalooza festival in the early 1990s, as it heralded the coming together of a new wave of counterculture in the United States and later around the world. Then there's the Toron...

SAN JOSE - Among the many blessings Costa Rica is known for, excellence in gastronomy is not one of them. When it comes to the culinary arts, the vast majority of Tico offerings are limited to dishes that highlight freshness and simplicity, but not much else. For all the quality ingredients that our land produces, the rigors of French cuisine or the innovations of Peruvian chefs are mostly absent ...

A dear reader named Marianna recently sent us the following question via email: I worked for a Honduran wine company in Roatan, Honduras. Now the owner wants me to be the distributor here in Costa Rica. I tried to talk to the Health Ministry and they would not talk to me. How do we ship wine from Honduras and what is the process to get it here so I can begin selling it to stores and restaurants...

A-1 Auto Transport is your best choice for shipping a car to Costa Rica. Visit their website at www.A1AutoTransport.com or call 1-800-452-2880 to learn more. Car culture is becoming a widespread phenomenon in Costa Rica that shows no signs of abatement. Buying an automobile is expensive enough due to high import taxes; adding the price of fuel, maintenance, repairs, insurance, tolls, downto...

A dear reader named Trisha recently left a question on our Facebook wall in reference to the article "Why Monsanto Left Costa Rica". Here's Trisha's question: "The date of the Monsanto pull-out in Costa Rica was 2004; this 60 page paper was written in 2005. Does this all hold true for 2012 post-CAFTA which theoretically could've opened the floodgates for GMOs? As you well know, I am very co...

Costa Rica is becoming an even greener country than it already is; sometimes at an ecological cost for other countries, and often to the gain of a few savvy investors. In the hills of Santa Ana, overlooking the city of Escazu and its ritzy suburbs, construction crews from the National Power and Electricity Company (CNFL in Spanish) have begun work on the future Planta Eólica Valle Central (the ...

A dear reader who wishes to remain anonymous recently sent us the following question: "I am an expat who has been living here for a few years, and I can't seem to figure out Ticas. I just got dumped because I came back home too late from a bar in Escazu after watching the Super Bowl with my friends (go Giants!). She said that she tried calling me, but she should know by now that my Kolbi cell p...

The idea for this article came from the Costa Rica Living Yahoo Group, where Monsanto was discussed in detail by members of the public at large around the world. We felt compelled to bring this discussion external from the closed forum on the Yahoo group to dispel any misconceptions. The Costa Rica Star does not have an opinion in this matter, we are neutral and non biased, the content below is th...

Costa Rica's vacation appeal is undeniable, particularly to visitors from North America, but that didn't stop the national tourism board (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, ICT) from launching one of the most ambitious -and successful- marketing campaigns ever created for stimulating visits to our country.  The Million Dollar Gift of Happiness Campaign has been one of the most clever ways to mark...

A few dear readers have asked variations on similar questions regarding the bills and sales receipts they get from restaurants located in tourist hotspots such as Jaco and La Fortuna, close to where Will Smith is currently filming After Earth.  A notable question came from a reader named Stacy who told us about the time she dined at a nice restaurant in Quepos and she asked the waiter to bring the...

On Day 3 of filming on location in the cloud forest surrounding the Arenal volcano, celebrated Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan was taking a morning stroll towards a quiet spot to think about the set up of the day's shots when he was stopped by a Tico crew member wearing a miner's head lamp around his forehead. The crew member was holding a menacing-looking venomous snake in his hands. “It...

A dear reader named Gordy Lee asked a question through Facebook comments on our page: What is legal to bring to through the airports, what is not? Seems like San Jose and Liberia have their own separate ideas, with Liberia being less tolerant. I tried to bring in vacuum packed smoked and cooked salmon through Liberia, had it confiscated and destroyed (yeah right). My friend has brought in raw f...

Ever since communications leviathan ICE was resigned to loosen its iron grip of the wireless spectrum in Costa Rica, The Costa Rica Star has dutifully followed the events, trying to make sense of it all. Bill Anderson, our resident tech guru and former U.S. Air Force comms officer has weighed in with his valuable expertise with a series of articles that demystify the world of electronic personal c...

The name of our country says it all: Rich. When Christopher Columbus arrived here during one of his last voyages centuries ago, it is believed that he bestowed our land the name of Costa Rica because he thought he had found a place where riches would spring forth magically. He confirmed his beliefs towards the end of 1502 when he arrived in Panama and was greeted by natives who showed him gold and...

ESCAZU - In the hills off Calle Vieja, the old road connecting Santa Ana and Escazu, a group of daredevils riding iron horses frequently get together to negotiate the most unlikely promontories and man-made obstacles, defying gravity and doing their best to stay perched atop their curious two-wheeled vehicles. The object is not only to get from point A to point B, but also to ensure that feet do n...

A dear reader named Ana recently sent us the following question: What do you do if you have a dog or cat that you cannot care for any longer here in Costa Rica (due to sickness or family emergency). Is there an ASPCA-style organization here that will help with animal relocation? Hello Ana, thank you for taking the time to write, and thanks for your concern. We have several organizations dedi...

A couple of dear readers have sent us questions related to environmental issues in Costa Rica. Our country has considerably stepped up conservation efforts since the mid-1970s, and there is a commitment in place to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2021. Conservation and carbon neutrality are two issues that go hand-in-hand to ensure that our country remains pretty and pristine, and thus The C...

Relocating to another country is a significant decision that should be given careful thought. When pondering about such a move, one can easily come up with a million questions about what to expect; something that can be attributed to the many complexities we have assigned to our modern lives. Like many other developing countries around the world, Costa Rica has seen her fair share of change and...

SAN JOSE - The acquisition of HSBC retail banking operations in Costa Rica earlier this week was reported in several news media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and La Nacion. The latter newspaper approached the corporate offices of HSBC on January 23rd regarding the impending sale, which at that time the bank chose to label as a rumor that would later be confirmed by Efrain Forero Fonse...

SAN JOSE – While median home prices in the United States keep adjusting downward to some of their lowest levels in decades, real estate values in some areas in Costa Rica soared in 2011. According to a report in El Financiero this week, the western suburbs of San Jose experienced a 10 to 15 percent gain in value, and the outlook for expansion is very positive. The development of commercial project...

The Costa Rica Star has recently published information about receiving your permanent residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. A few dear readers recently sent questions regarding a number of immigration affairs that visitors to our country regularly experience.  We have consolidated the relevant questions and answered them in this article for a more convenient rea...

The Costa Rica Star has recently published information about receiving your permanent residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. Moving to another country can be one of the most rewarding experiences in one's lifetime, but it could also become one of the most frustrating and stressful if not done correctly.  Potential residents have a lot to learn, and thus proper in...

Click here to view past "readers mail" questions that we have answered in published articles. A couple of dear readers recently sent us questions regarding air travel in Costa Rica. We have consolidated their questions and respective answers to make it more informative for everyone. A reader named Bill from Chicago asked general questions about our airports and airlines, whether it's possib...

Days before the inauguration of the 6th annual Reef Central American Surf Games, the coach of the National Surfing Team made something very clear: “Our goal and responsibility will be to come away with gold medals for all teams, as well as capturing the top spot in all divisions.” Jose Urena was not taking any chances. “We called up the same team as we had for Panama, plus some under-18 surfers wh...

Thousands of web pages on the Internet decided to go dark today in protest against two bills before the legislature of the United States which could potentially limit your right to access and share digital content -such as the article you are now reading. The bills in question are known by seemingly harmless acronyms, SOPA and PIPA, which respectively stand for the Stop Online Piracy and Protect I...

In Tico parlance, zafarrancho is the preferred word to describe a disorderly situation in which excitement, confusion and frustration rule the sentiments of a mob. Such was the scene at the Arenas Skate & Surf shop located in the heart of Downtown San Jose. Three-time X Games medalist Ryan Sheckler and his Plan B (not to be confused with the reggaeton duo that performed with Don Omar at Palmar...