In fact I have re-written this post about 3 times, the last time being Friday when they decided not to enforce some laws requiring everyone carry fire extinguishers, those reflective triangle thingies, and a couple of other items (like child seats)  that they probably should have left in! I was running out of time… but my guardian angel told me to wait until Sunday…

So I did wait, only to learn last night that the least likely group of all (that would be the transit police officers union) voted overwhelmingly to not enforce the new laws, but will enforce really tough drunk driving laws and those regarding reckless driving!  Sadly, those are the laws the courts are ignoring with only eleven convictions in over a year. I am thinking now that the police officers (that would be the group with the brains) should perhaps trade places with the diputados!

Interested?  Read on!

Sometimes Costa Rica is kinda like that old fairy tale about the king has no clothes. Everyone sees something is not going to work well, but they plunge ahead.  Oh… yeah!  I guess the USA is about the same, with pols trying to force the stupid, hugely expensive. and almost universally hated Obamacare, down the throats of voters who already know how dumb it is… HA!  And you thought Costa Rica was a better option! But I digress!

So immediately, the transit chief starts making noises (probably correctly) that officers who do not enforce these new laws will be  derelict in their duties.  The diputados, not to be outdone by management, join in the hue and cry for enforcement.  Should be interesting!

OK, so what is the big deal and why won’t the new laws work?

Basically, they are overkill. Costa Rica drivers are arguably the world’s worst. I have driven in a lot of countries, but drivers here just scare me to death. Therefore, new laws are a good idea… right?

Yeah…  unless you make the fines  so large that they can come close to the salary of the police office whose job it is to enforce them.

Oh… and before I begin, there is also a point system.  Once you get 50 points, you lose your license for two years.

Let’s look at a few: (If you want to know how much in US dollars, the formula is colones/550 = $$$  Example: 165,000 colones = about $300.00

Red light / U Turn – 165,000 colones – 20 points ($300.00 – now you do the math!)

Taxi or bus drivers who are rude to passengers 90,800 colones (no points)  (not a joke)

Talking on a cell phone while driving - 165,000 colones – 20 points (castration would be better!)

Taxis that fail to use the meter (la maria) - 90,800 colones (no points)

Driving without a license – 227,000 colones ($410.00)  – 25 points – HUH?

Bribing a police officer – 227,000 colones – 20 points

OK so why am I on a rant?

These fines, for many Costa Ricans, can represent all or close the monthly income of some families!   The last time I checked, a rookie police officer only made perhaps $250,000 colones (around $450.00)  per month.

Now what do you suppose will happen when that officer stops someone to issue a $300.00 traffic ticket? Or maybe a drunk driving citation that costs the driver 293,000 colones ($530.00) plus loss of license, car and jail time?

To put this into perspective, it would be like someone in the USA, earning $60,000 per year, having to pay about $4,000.00 for blowing a red light.

Now, the police officers union is also thinking that trying to ticket a driver who may not only lose his license but may be unable to feed his family or pay his mortgage just might tend to cause a conflict.  Gee… ya think?  The actual wording (translated) is that “officers could be exposed to dangerous situations.  Now you wags could argue that that is their job… but clearly, the officers do not relish these types of confrontations.

Oh… and did I forget to mention? When you go to court, you are asked about your income and if it is larger, these fines can get larger! Ahhh, and as these fines are tied to a base number, they will rise automatically every year. Just gets better and better.

Now…. raise your hand if you think any of this may affect tourists? Tourists won’t care about the points, but they can get tagged with the fines…even after they leave the country if renting a car…  and they won’t fight it. There are many, many stories about bribes being solicted and/or offered.  Most are true.  The nice thing is that tourists won’t report an officer for bribery either way.  They will just pay up and move on!

Another goofy think is that all new and (as I understand it) first time renewals of drivers licenses will now require a psychological exam! Cost will be about $30.00 and INS, your friendly local monopolistic insurance company will not be assisting. This means first time and maybe first renewal of licenses will cost a whopping 85,000 colones!

Life goes on.  The law will be in effect for most of you who will be reading this with your Monday morning coffee.  I have no idea if it will be enforced…. Be well, be careful out there… and pura vida!

The question is always something like this: “I have heard I cannot fly to Costs Rica using a one-way ticket.”

My answer is, as always, “No, you can NOT unless you are a citizen of Costa Rica or have in your possession a valid and current residency ID card (cedula) proving that you live here. If you try, you will almost assuredly not be permitted to board the plane. If you do make it on board, you may well get caught at THIS end by immigration. Airlines are required to verify that any person attempting to fly and using a one way ticket is, in fact, a legal resident of Costa Rica. Most airlines (read that as all) try to follow the procedure religiously as they are faced not only with large potential fines, but also for paying for the return flight for the passenger when he is refused entry in Costa Rica.

Now please, before you start composing your comment telling me that you, your friend, your friend’s girlfriend and her auntie, etc flew here on a one-way ticket with no issue, please remember my “job” on this blog and in the RCR Web Site is to deal with facts, not luck or urban legend.

Read on if you wish!

First? What is the big deal?  Why require a round trip ticket for non residents?

Simple!  Like most countries, including the USA, (and actually many grandparents entertaining their grandkids), Costa Rica wants you to come and visit… and then go home.

In my various companies and in the various work I do, I come in constant contact with folks wanting to move here, moving here, returning here, etc. as well as numerous tourists.  I see this refusal thing at least once per month!  Further, I see a lot of folks refused entry who do not have at least six months remaining on their passports before it expires.

The most recent example was last week when two friends (ages 75+), flying US Air, were refused passage at the Phoenix airport. They were required to buy return tickets (at the last minute attractive price of $1,100.00) in order to continue their flight. They were told they could easily get a refund in Costa Rica losing only $50.00 cancellation fee for each ticket.  As a side, that did not go well.  US Air apparently is only open in downtown San Jose one day per week, and cancellations cannot be made at the San Jose airport.  Oh well.  They actually knew this, but forgot in the rush of moving and packing and all the last minute crappola involved in relocating to Costa Rica.

Anyway, while you might get lucky and NOT get stopped, the inconvenience, possibility of missing your flight/connections, maybe not having big $$$ for that last minute return flight, not to mention trying to get your money back… well it is just not worth the risk.

Before you fly here:

1. Make SURE you have a least six months remaining before your passport expires. they may let it pass with only ninety days, but I do not recommend taking the chance.

and

2. If trying to use a one way ticket, remember that you must prove that you are a legal resident or citizen of Costa Rica. That does NOT mean that you have applied for or are in process of obtaining residency.  It means you have that ID card in your grubby little hand!

OK~ Now you have been warned.  Any questions?

There are two or three US holidays that are not celebrated  here… well more if you add all those goofy ones like President’s day where nobody does anything special.  Of them all, Thanksgiving is the worst for me maybe followed by the 4th of July. No fireworks.

First, everyone is working on a Thursday… everyone meaning everyone in my family who would normally be invited to celebrate, so we celebrate it on the following Saturday.

Turkey is easy to buy, but ludicrously expensive.  I cannot buy sage here, required for traditional sage and onion dressing. I also cannot find rutabagas! I know rutabaga is not for everyone, but it is an integral part of my family tradition.  One nice person brought me **ONE** from the USA a couple of days ago. I am hiding it.  We have maybe 8 people coming Saturday and one is not enough to split 8 ways.

I miss the Thanksgiving day TV stuff too.  Football, parades, you know, all the things we do.

It may be the only day when I really miss living in the USA.

Worse, today is the day my wife is having surgery. Just another Thursday.  That was at 7 AM this morning, supposedly no biggie, maybe 45 minutes, but no one has called to let me know she is OK.  It is 10:30 AM I am worried and after posting this, I am heading out to the hospital to find out what is going on.

To all my readers… I have much to be thankful for, and I wish all you you the very happiest of Thanksgivings!

I especially wish a happy Thanksgiving to anyone serving in the armed forces who cannot be with their families.  You are very special people, too many times not appreciated, but by me, you are very appreciated.

Be well and be safe.

Well.. I was wrong.  It seems there is a process in Costa Rica that can take less than a decade to change for the better.  Today was my appointment for my cedula renewal at at the American International Mall branch of Banco de Costa Rica in Alajuela.  It went without a hitch… and if this interests you… read on!

Twenty Three Minutes!  OK.. actually it was about 28, but I spent 5 minutes chatting up the young lady at the renewal desk.

And! The new cedula is for TWO years.

Those of you who have had the pleasure of a 5-6 hour wait at immigration whilst being moved from room to room and rows of seats to standing areas in 90 degree heat standing near people who did not bathe that day….  well those people know exactly what I am talking about! And that was for a ONE year renewal.

Today was sweet! Seems immigration has gotten their act together!

The Process

The bank security guard took my old cedula, gave it to the woman at the renewal desk (yes, it is a dedicated desk in an air conditioned branch).

She waggled a come here finger to me and it was all over just that quick.  I gave her my address, phone number and the closest Post Office branch (Belen) as they deliver the cedula to the closet branch of Correos de Costa Rica (Post Office) and about three weeks.  I bet they do too!

The only “issue” was the 329 times I needed to press my index fingers (both) into the little fingerprint reader thingy. Apparently it is not a very good fingerprint reader thingy as she mentioned a lot of folks have finger print issues. Apparently it requires a correct reading 4 time in a row per finger.  I’d get 1 then 3 then 1 then none… and eventually 4.  The other digit… sigh.  No big deal! Probably did not help that my fingers are the size of most Tica’s feet… but I digress!

That’s it… a boring post if ever the was one!

This year, though, things have changed!  OK… I know better than to say such a thing. Let us just say that the process has changed, and we shall see if  “things have changed”.

What are the big changes? Well the biggie is that this year, it seems, that I will not need to make the trek to immigration.  The other stuff will be gravy. So here is the new process:

Making that trip to immigration has always been a pain. While the vast majority of dealing with any branch of the Costa Rica government is a lesson in inefficiency, any sojourn to migracion is the premier example on how NOT to deal with the public.

The changes? For starters, renewal can now be done at any of thirty-two branches of the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR).  In fact, they have even devoted a web page to those who will be renewing residency at that bank. It is, of course, in Spanish as bank web sites in English are still not common.  I will, however, be happy to do some translating of the more important goodies!

Before I do… one alert reader commented that there is a link ti the English version. Either I missed it or they have added it.  I am getting olde… I probably missed it… Either way, you now can click the link above for GringoSpeak!

• BCR promises that the process can be finished in twenty minutes.  The operative words here are “can be”.  I will, of course, report on the accuracy of that semi-commitment.
• BCR offers this service for renewals and for lost residency cards (cedulas)
• They are staffed to do this at any of thirty-two offices throughout the country (see list below). I am guessing that they may add more in the future, but these seem to cover just about the whole country so nobody need travel a great distance.
• Cost is $48.00 and is paid at the BCR branch at the time of renewal (but see below!)
• They provide a number for making appointments.  It is toll free, 800.227.2482. It is answered in Spanish, and when I called, the person was not multilingual. English speakers may be available though, I did not ask.
• You will not get your cedula at the time of your appointment. It is promised to be sent to you by la  Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (immigration) no more than 25 calendar days after your appointment. No mention of how it is delivered.

That’s it!  Seems simple enough. So here is how it worked for me.

I called the toll free number, was placed on auto-hold for maybe 3 minutes until a nice  lady answered. I was given an afternoon appointment in mid August at the BCR branch in the Mall Internacional not far from the San Jose airport. I was told to bring my cedula and my passport.  That’s it!  Now you will all have to just wait to find out if the above promises bear any semblance to reality.

Oh… and I saved the best for last!  If my Spanish did not fail me, this renewal will be for TWO YEARS!!

Here is a list of the 32 branches set up for renewing or replacing cedulas.

If this topic interests you, read on and be sure to see the videos at the end of the Post.

Unless you are visiting from another planet, you most certainly have seen Cirque du Soleil either in person or on cable.  It is they who certainly changed the very definition of Cirque style productions.  Saying that, I must admit I get really annoyed at the artsy-fartsy stuff they throw at you.  I am talking about goofy (to me) music, stupid costumes of those… how can I describe them… weird people who seem to not add a thing to the show. They do not perform… they just sort of exist and make stupid faces. OK… I am culturally challenged. Give me the action! I want to see what I paid to see… the incredible acrobats, the clowns… the whole magilla.

So this weekend, I am surprising Maria Luisa by taking her out to dinner and a show… in this case the show is Le Grand Cirque currently making a run at the Palacio de Los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Heredia. I can safely say I am surprising her as she never reads my blogs and, so far as I know, neither does anyone she knows.

Much has been written about the cost of living here. Let me be the first to say that the overall price increases of the past five years have not left cultural events in their wake.  Tickets for this show, (called entradas in Spanish), run an incredible $73.00 per seat!  Add even a modest dindin for my wife and me and we are looking at a about a $200.00 night out.  Sadly… as I am married, I cannot even be assured of getting lucky. Sigh…

There are cheaper seats, of course… $38.00 if you choose to sit with the common people. the hoi polloi, or in Spanish…  la chusma***.   However, even at $38.00 a seat, that is a truly expensive evening out for the average Tico family with a couple of kids. I paid the extra tariff because as I said, I want to see and be near the action. We also do not go out all that often. *** DO NOT write to me about that comment!  It was supposed to be FUNNY! Sheesh!

Anyway… Here are some videos that may interest you.

Le Grand Cirque Promo Video

Click here to view the embedded video.

Le Grand Cirque – Strongmen in action

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Guy who plays with the Huge Cube – Neat but I do not know why!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Le Grand Cirque Video from Australia

Click here to view the embedded video.

They usually have rules about taking cameras into the show, but if possible, I’ll get some shots to add here.

I found out about this a bit late (Friday) so I did not have adequate time to get organized. The concert began at 10 AM and ran until at least 11:00 PM.  I say at least because I was not around at the end.

I had some work to do, so Maria Luisa and I did not arrive until about 4:30 which was about right as I think any earlier would have made for a really long day.

The venue was the Club Cubano (the Cuban Club) in Guachipelín de Escazú, not far from the MultiPlaza Mall. We were able to get parking about ten yards from the first stage, but that was just luck.  There appeared to be adequate parking though. There were apparently two stages.  We never went looking for the other as we were kept entertained at the first, and more important, we had good seats and out of the wind.

Now I know I am not going to receive a modicum of sympathy from those still in the Northern part of the US, but man it was COLD!  It has been very windy and the temps poolside (yeah, the stage was near the pool, was nasty… blowing non stop about 25 MPH. The temp was about 71 (cold for here) but the wind chill made it feel like 60.  I wore a coat for the first time ever since I arrived here.

Headliners were Guitar Shorty and Sonny Boy Terry, both from Houston. However, there were at least three other bands down from the US, The Road Dogs, San Diego CA,  Robbie Clark and the Live Wire Blues Band, Austin, TX, and V and the Wholly Cats, Canada (that was the only crummy band I heard!).

I guess what really amazed me, and probably shows my ignorance,  were the FIVE blues bands from Costa Rica (some links below), and I am here to tell you that the local boys were Goooood! Whudda thunk it??  Imagine Latin Blues players… but as I think about it… why not? Costa Ricans take their music very seriously and there are a ton of truly superb musicians in Costa Rica.

While I would guess the crowd consisted of about 60% North Americans, the rest were Costa Rican and from what I could see, they not only enjoyed the show, they knew their blues!

The beer flowed in rivers, but the food left something to be desired. There was supposed to be Texas BBQ, but we could never find it.  That was sad as the food we could find was overcooked chicken and some truly horrible hot dogs.  I am sure if we were serious drinkers, the food would have tasted delicious.  I remember eating some horrible food in my college days that I endorsed heartily as delicious after 8 to 10 beers.

In any case, this was a first rate show, certainly not equal to the multi-day Fests in the US, or some of Chicago’s fine blues clubs, but well worth the time and money ($25.00).  Next year, I will make a point of knowing well in advance and making better plans.

Link:

The Known Associates

Calacas Blues

The Blues Devils Band

More and more aftershocks are hitting the same area and those still there are living in constant fear. Yesterday afternoon at least 10 aftershocks were felt areas of Sararipiqui. The smallest was 2.7 and and the largest was 4.5 (about 2 PM yesterday) on the Richter Scale.  Many could be felt here in the Central Valley.

The weather is not helping. While the Central Valley enjoys near perfect weather, the mountainous areas in and around Sararipiqui and the Poas volcano are suffering rain almost daily. The risk of mud slides is high and there is some talk that the government may have to evacuate the area. Because some areas can now only be reached by helicopter, and the rain and low cloud cover prohibit that, an evacuation would indeed be a daunting task.

I have received several emails from people planning trips to Costa Rica, all asking if it is safe to travel here. The overall answer is yes. Clearly, however,  if your travel plans included a day trip the the Poas volcano or you were planning to raft on Sararipiqui river,  planning to stay at the Peace Lodge and visit the La Paz waterfall, you should certainly delete those from your itinerary. Check with your travel agent as to when these attractions will again be available.

Currently, the death toll is at 23. As there is still a list of missing, this will probably rise as searchers now have given up the work.

An interesting comparison was made in today’s Diario Extra, one of Costa Rica’s Spanish language newspapers. It is the equivalent (in released power) of seventeen atomic bombs of the type dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. That sort of puts it into perspective huh?

If the quake had not occurred so deep in the earth, there probably would not even be much of a Costa Rica.

Rescue workers are still on the scenes searching for more bodies beneath the millions of tons of earth. At this point, six days after the event, it will be astonishing if any more bodies are found and a miracle if any are alive.

The death toll stands at about 21.  I say “about” as different sources report different figures.

I verified that the town of Cinchona de Sarapiquí, Heredia is gone.  The photo at right shows what is left. In today’s papers there have been comments from engineers who blame the horrendous damage on poor construction of these homes when the homes were build.  I am sure that right now, several hundred Ticos are slapping their foreheads and saying, ” Ahhh!  So that was the problem!”

Earthquake experts are now saying that previously inactive faults in that area have become active and that is the cause of many aftershocks everyone is feeling. Most are pretty mild and felt only if you are sensitive to them, though sometime in the middle of the night, my wife and I were awakened feeling the bed rocking a bit.  Certainly nothing like last week, but everyone is still on edge.

Above is a graphic of the faults in that area.  It shows the eight faults in and around the area of the eruption. If the experts are right, there will be many more aftershocks and those shocks may well activate more faults.

This will probably be my last post on the earthquake thing unless something really important comes up.

A list of all posts on this topic can be found here.

This is a very desirable status as Permanent Residency grants the person all rights and privileges of a citizen save the right to vote. The biggie is the right to work here legally!

Of course many people come here legitimately, meet the love of their life, and marry them! Others, however, arrange marriages through lawyers and often have never even met the person they marry.  Marriages could be performed by power of attorney. This causes (rightfully) some consternation at Migración (immigration)! Disallowed from applying for Permanent Residency were those living in a common law relationship (Unión de hecho).

Well, life for the enforcers at Migración has recently become a bit harder as Sala IV, the Costa Rica constitutional court, has ruled that common law marriages in Costa Rica are valid and the foreigner in that relationship does have the right to apply for Permanent Residency.  Prior to this action,  Article 69  of the Ley de Migración y Extranjería (immigration law) stated that a common law relationship had no legal status for purposes of residency. Immigration officials are worried, probably with cause, that this will further exacerbate the problems facing them.

This cause of action was actually started by an advocate of immigration rights who works closely with Nicaraguans who, for I suppose some cultural reason, prefer common law relationships to marriage.

For a Nicaraguan, having the legal right to work here is critical.  Costa Rica has a serious bias against Nicaraguans, often blaming them for increases in crime and just about anything else that affects their lives negatively. Every year at Christmas, there are huge lines of Nicaraguans waiting for entrance at the frontier as they return from holiday. It is certainly true that some are trying to enter illegally, but others seem to be hassled for no reason.  I know the process for legalizing our housekeeper was arduous, expensive and needlessly complex.

Anyway, back on topic, those living with their common law spouse can now apply for  and be granted Permanent residency (though all other requirements must be met).  Note this does not apply to common law couples coming here seeking residency from other countries.  If they are not married, each must apply separately, a far more costly option. They key is the common law relationship must be with a Costa Rica citizen.

Just as an aside, for a foreigner to live in a common law relationship with (especially) a Costa Rica woman is fraught with danger. Before undertaking such a thing, a lawyer should be consulted.