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Questions from Readers
October 24th, 2006
This is part of my continuing posts answering emails I receive from readers. Here are some more that I thought might interest you.
Filed under Costa Rica, Hmmm!, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Moving to Costa Rica, Questions from Readers, Retire in Costa Rica, Travel | Comments (7)SALA IV Rules for accessible buses
August 7th, 2006
Ley (law) 7600 ((Igualdad de Oportunidades a las Personas con Discapacidad)) was approved ten years ago and required that all buses be equipped to transport handicapped individuals.
Not too surprisingly, the bus operators decided to wait ten years to see what was going to happen. What happened, of course, was that the law is now being (sort of) enforced and bus drivers are being ticketed whose vehicles are not to the new level. To date, only 12% of all buses have handicap ramps installed.
Continue reading »
Like Costa Rican Food?
July 12th, 2006
A LOT of folks do… including me. OKOKOK, I like foods from many places which is perhaps why I have to lean forward a bit to see my toes… but I digress.
A recent post to Costa Rica Eateries from Paul Mitchell povides a nice list of Costa Rica cookbooks for those who need their daily dose of something Costa Rican.
Filed under Costa Rica, Food and Eating, Life in Costa Rica, Moving to Costa Rica, Recipes, Travel | Comments (12)Costa Rica Tourism Down – Finally, They Admit it.
June 23rd, 2006
I have been saying for some time that the government’s sunny reports of Costa Rica tourism have not seemed to match up with the reality of what we who live here are seeing.
We now have a new government headed by Oscar Arias, and with the new government, we get new cabinet ministers. The new Tourism Minister, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, is finally admitting what everyone has been noticing for some time. Tourism is declining.
Filed under Costa Rica, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Politics, Travel | Comments (4)Visit the new Real Costa Rica
June 10th, 2006
I am not sure what on earth possessed me to do an entire re-write of The Real Costa Rica, but I did and it is now online for your viewing pleasure or displeasure. The most obvious thing you will notice is the new color scheme and menu system. There are also a lot of new pages, new pictures, about 500 new links… ugh. I still have to install the new search engine though the olde one seems to be working perfectly. Go figure!
Thanks to those who tested the site. Reading the same old pages for errors is booooring, but you really helped!
Anyway… here it is: The REAL Costa Rica
Enjoy!
Filed under Costa Rica, Ecology and Nature, Health & Education, Humor, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Other Stuff, Politics, Rants, Recipes, Retire in Costa Rica, Study Abroad, Technical Stuff, Travel | Comment (0)The Bri Bri
May 28th, 2006
Fellow blogger Colin recently made a comment on my post about gay marriage in Costa Rica, and thanks to THAT, I now remember that I wanted to provide a link to his blog and more specifically, his photos about the Bri-Bri Indians who live near him.
Colin lives in Puerto Viejo on the Carribean side of Costa Rica, the side that has thankfully been ignored by tourists. I say that as the Carribean side is delicious! It is almost like a different country. Everything is different and beautiful; oceans, jungles, roads, folliage, the people… the works. Of course once the tourists discover it, it’s all over.
Colin’s blog includes some beautiful photos of the Bri Bri indians of that area, and those of you interested in some fine photography might like to stop by his blog for a visit.
The Bri Bri live in fairly poor conditions, and the area is sadly in lack of simple medical and dental health treatment. ARCR is now sponsoring trips to provide medical support and other assistance. Contact Ryan Piercy at rpiercy@casacanada.net for more info.
Filed under Costa Rica, Life in Costa Rica, Politics, Travel | Comment (0)Trading Spaces!
May 24th, 2006
The Real Costa Rica has a Guestbook, and one reader just added a VERY interesting entry! She must have actually read my constant rantings, either here, in the RCR, or maybe in the ARCR Forums, as she wants to visit Costa Rica in August (considering a move permanently) and asked me if I knew anyone interested in trading homes for that period. I had two immediate thoughts: Continue reading »
Filed under Costa Rica, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Other Stuff, Retire in Costa Rica, Travel | Comments (5)The REAL Costa Rica (redux)
May 23rd, 2006
Every since I published the Real Costa Rica web site, I have received a zillion emails and comments in the Guestbook. Most are complimentary and a few are from people who have really dug into the RCR and found errors (precious few!), typos (a LOT) and have made suggestions on how to better the web site.
Filed under Costa Rica, Ecology and Nature, Health & Education, Humor, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Other Stuff, Politics, Rants, Recipes, Retire in Costa Rica, Study Abroad, Technical Stuff, Travel | Comments (4)A Rebuttal to Michael
May 21st, 2006
I was kinda wondering why nobody jumped all over Michael for his recent post on how bad is Costa Rica. Now, fellow blogger Erin has snatched up the gauntlet. Her response actually appeared in the comments area, but I wanted to make sure folks actually saw her words.
Filed under Costa Rica, Immigration & Residency, Life in Costa Rica, Rants, Travel | Comments (3)Dengue Threat and other Stuff for Travelers
May 20th, 2006
I have written before about Dengue Fever as something many travel agents fail to tell their Costa Rica bound clients, so I will mention here that if you are Costa Rica bound, especially during the rainy season (now through November), bring the Off or another bug repellent.
Filed under Costa Rica, Life in Costa Rica, Travel | Comments (4)