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Swan Lake is Coming Again to Costa Rica

September 29th, 2018

… and I am delighted to say that we have just gotten our tickets!

Even better is that it is coming to The Teatro Nacional, a showplace theater if ever there was one.

This ballet is certainly one of the greatest ever written, and the music is beyond compare.

Whether you are living here in Costa Rica or will be here on vacation for the dates November 9-11, 2018, this is well worth your time.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 



 

Same Sex Marriage Arrives in Costa Rica

August 10th, 2018

While difficult for many to believe in this pre-dominantly Catholic country, the Supreme Court of Costa Rica has determined that the existing law banning same sex marriage is unconstitutional. The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) confirmed that, due to the decision of the court, citizens will soon be able to register the marriages that are celebrated between two people of the same sex. This would be the first time that this type of union will be able to be legally registered in the country. Interested in this topic? Read on… Continue reading »

Hungry? Hate Traffic? Try Uber Eats Costa Rica

July 9th, 2018

A few weeks ago I decided to give a try to Uber Eats.  This is an offshoot of Uber, the ride sharing folks that I use often for convenience, security, pricing, and pleasant drivers!

Uber Eats will pick up your food from  a ton of restaurants and deliver them directly to your door (or your car or ????) for about $2.25. However if you use the code at the end of this post, your first order is free.

To use them, it is best to download their Uber Eats app from the App Store or from the Play Store. Signup and login are pretty simple and once done you will be presented with a long list of dining options, sorted by type of food.

Interested?  Read on….

Continue reading »

Two of Many Crawly Things in Costa Rica

May 29th, 2018

I get a number of emails from people concerned about the large assortment of bugs, bichos, and various creepy crawly things found here. Millipedes and centipedes are near the top of the list, though snakes  always rank number one. Cucarachas (cockroaches) too are popular ! So when I came across this video posted to one of the Costa Rica user groups, I thought that I might share!

While you can watch this video right here in this blog post but it is much better to watch it in a new window/tab by clicking here.  You will then get the full view.

Enjoy!

Costa Rica Attracts Some Strange People!

February 3rd, 2018

I long ago gave up watching ANY US news station. If it’s not outright fake news, it is so heavily biased either to the point of view of the network or the reporter to make it all but useless. They are ALL guilty.  <end rant/>

Enter the BBC! I get all BBC channels (and there are a TON) on my Internet TV or the news is always available via browser BBC News. With few exceptions it’s my only source of real news.

As any ex-pat living here knows… Costa Rica attracts some truly strange dudes (and dudettes!).  This BBC video gives an excellent example of these… um… people.  In the video there is  a link if you wish to watch the original documentary. Enjoy… and by all means, share below with others who is your favorite personality.  Me?  I like the toilet lady!

 

 




Here are Costa Rica Minimum Wages 2018

January 17th, 2018

This post is mainly directed at readers living here or may plan to move to Costa Rica and who employ or may wish to employ a person to work for them either full or part time. They can be Costa Ricans or citizens of another country. To the Minister of Labor, (MTSS) it makes no difference their nationality.  If you hire them as employees, the laws apply to you. If interested, read on! Continue reading »

Domestic airline Nature Air closed by civil authority

January 14th, 2018

The Dirección General de Aviación Civil (DGAC), the civil airline authority has closed Nature Air until further notice due to the apparent lack of three management positions, Director of Operations, Head of Security and a Head of Training. The previous head of training recently was killed in a major crash that claimed the lives of ten US citizens.

Nature Air and Sansa Airlines are the two domestic air services offering flights to the several (about 16) regional airports around Costa Rica. Nature Air also offered service to at least one airport in Panama. These airlines are popular with tourists and provide small planes commonly known as “puddle jumpers”… aircraft with single and dual engines. Prices are reasonable and help travelers avoid the long driving distances to popular tourist spots.

Travelers planning to visit Costa Rica with reservations on Nature Air should consult with their travel agents or directly with the airline to avoid a nasty surprise.  Sansa is unaffected by this closure. There is no indication that this suspension is permanent, but clearly travelers should do some checking prior to travel.  Interestingly, the Nature Air web site mentions nothing about the suspension.




IPTV. How it works and the Skinny!

October 18th, 2017

UPDATE May 1, 2018

Two things have changed!  I have just ordered a new Set Top Box (STB), the T2. an upgrade from the T1,  Details will follow!

I also am using a new IPTV service:   https://bit.ly/2KClYp9

Now back to our show!

Some of my readers will immediately understand the letters IPTV.  Others not or maybe sort-of but want the details. (the Skinny).  Still others have no idea but will read this post because they know that when I post, it’s generally valuable info (he said humbly, lol)!

This is going to be a bit more complex post and contains technical stuff so I will try to keep it simple for all readers.

First of course is what is IPTV?  It stands for Internet Protocol Television.

Yeah ok… so what is that? When you watch TV, you must be connected to a source.  Most common sources are streamed ( via cable modem, DSL with modem, etc), Satellite, or even antennas (anyone remember those??).  Wherever you live… IPTV might be a great option, especially in Costa Rica.

OK… decision time.  Interested? read on… Continue reading »

Retirement Options… including Costa Rica

August 16th, 2017

Retirement Options – Humor Alert

Looking for that perfect retirement spot?  Here are some ideas!

You can retire to Phoenix, Arizona where…

You are willing to park 3 blocks away from your house because you found shade.

You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.

You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.

You know that “dry heat” is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.

The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

 

OR

You can retire to California where…

You make over $450,000 and you still can’t afford to buy a house.

The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.

You know how to eat an artichoke.

You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.

When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.

The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.

Interested? Read on!

Continue reading »

Medical Care and Options Part 2

April 13th, 2016

MedSymThe purpose of this post is twofold.

First, I want to thank the many readers who communicated with me after my last post, part of which discussed what I had learned from my cancer treatments.  I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate the numerous comments and best wishes I received via email, phone calls, and comments from the various ex-pat groups on Facebook.  Thank you so much!  As an update, I have completed all the treatments (last week), and now I wait.  The doctors are very optimistic and tell me that they believe I have beaten this thing.  Feels great.  I will now take various tests about every 90-120 days to confirm their positive prognosis. Again… thanks to all.  Very unexpected but very appreciated.

As for part 2, from the questions I received, it seems I need to clarify some of the info in my past post. Interested?  Read on! Continue reading »