Costa Rica Blogger

CAPTURED! Suspects in Multiple Panama Murders

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:09:00 GMT

Captured!

Monday, July 26 2010

Government officials from both Costa Rica and Panama confirmed the capture of the fugitives going by the names of William “Wild Bill” Adolfo Córtez Reese and his wife Jane Seana Córtez.

The American couple wanted for multiple murders in Panama that had fled to Costa Rica were detained within the San Juan River territorial waters of Nicaragua.

According to police reports, the couple stayed at a little cabin the night before along the Sarapiquí River in Northern Costa Rica. They were driving the gray Nissan SUV highlighted in this article (below).

In the morning they got up and hired a boat to take them up the Sarapiquí River towards the border with Nicaragua. The owner of the cabins where they stayed recognized them as the fugitives seen on the news and notified authorities.

Upstream the couple ran into a Costa Rican national police (Fuerza Publica) checkpoint intended to stop them. William Córtez, who is approximately 280 pounds and six feet tall; grabbed their boatman, threw him into the river and took the helm . He then proceeded to speed away making it as far as the “mouth” of the Sarapiquí River, when a heavily armed Nicaraguan Army patrol boat gave chase on the San Juan River between the borders of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Eventually overtaken by the faster and more powerful Nicaraguan Army vessel, big bad “Wild Bill” was ordered to stop and gave up without a struggle. So much for “blaze of glory” theories, eh?

The detained couple were taken to a nearby Nicaraguan Army outpost and later transferred to the custody of Nicaraguan immigration for entering that country illegally. The pair identified themselves as Dutch citizens with passports from the Netherlands. Nicaraguan immigration will review the legitimacy of these documents and handle any diplomatic requests by Panama or other countries for criminal extradition.

The Investigation Begins

"William and Jane Córtez" it turns out are really U.S. citizens named William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese with the distinction of being an America's Most Wanted couple from back in 2006.

William Dathan Holbert (aka: William “Wild Bill” Adolfo Córtez-Reese)

Laura Michelle Reese (aka: Jane Seana Córtez)

The Modus Operandi or "MO" of this couple appears to have been locating real estate being offered for sale through the Internet, killing the owner, telling everyone they "paid cash" and later cashing-out and selling the property to someone else.

Local business practices of asset ownership via corporations with legal transfers regularly taking place third-hand played right into this scheme. Add remote locations involving non-native victims in a foreign country separated from their nearest family and friends by thousands of miles and you have a perfect criminal storm - until a concerned resident like Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com gets involved.

William and Laura are reported to have been in Costa Rica at least as early as mid-2005, and maybe before. They came to Panama approximately mid-November 2007. So - where were they during their first run through Costa Rica? Where did they stay? Where did they live? Did they murder any of the dozens of people missing during their time spent in Costa Rica? Time to start checking!

The Assistant Attorney General of Panama, Angel Calderon, confirmed there are a total of seven missing persons in Bocas del Toro; four foreigners and three Panamanians. Panama will be requesting the extradition of these two individuals from Nicaragua.

The back story & an IMPORTANT Lesson to area Foreign National Business and Land Owners:

Manhunt on for Murder Suspects of Ex-pat and Foreign National Victims

Friday, July 23 2010

In April 2003, Michael Watson Brown and his wife Manchittha Nankratoke "Nan" Brown purchased more than 18 hectares - about 45 acres - located in the area known as Cauchero, Bocas del Toro province, Panama. They purchased this large parcel of coastal property using their company "Latitude 9.10 Inc.".

Two years later in April 2005, Panama's Ministry of Agricultural Development issued resolution number DAL-030-ADM-2005 in favor of Michael Watson Brown and his wife Manchittha Nankratoke de Brown which certified them as agricultural producers. This document indicates the Brown family intended to grow pineapple, papaya, mango, oranges, avocado, plantain,and passion fruit on their land. These people have been missing for about three years.

Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com received the following email:

"Hi I am the daughter of Mike Brown. Daddy was living in Panama with my brother Watson Brown and my stepmother Nam. They too went missing with him 3 years ago. I have not been able to contact the Panama police. Do you have any more information on what happened or are you able to give me some information on how to contact the Panama police department?? Thank you in advance."

Who Took Over the Property

On 2 May 2008 documents were filed in the Panamanian Public Registry making William "Wild Bill" Adolfo Córtez (pictured above) the new Director, President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Panamanian corporation "Latitude 9.10 Inc.". His wife Jane Seana Córtez was named as a Director of the company. These legal documents allowed Bill and Jane Córtez to take over the property being as it was owned by the corporation they now controlled.

Bodies Discovered

On 20 July 2010 after tips to police, the bodies of Cheryl Lynn Hughes and Bo Icelar were discovered on this same parcel of land. Cher Hughes disappeared in March 2010. She ran a backpacker hostel that Cortez later operated. Bo Icelar vanished in December 2009 after Córtez supposedly purchased his tourism business. Law enforcement officials in the Republic of Panama have made a positive identification of Bo Icelar's body using dental records provided from the United States and Cher Hughes remains were identified by her husband. Reportedly both victims were murdered with gunshots to the head.

Fox News KTVI St. Louis - Channel 2 story and video coverage of Cher Hughes murder investigation (with pictures of victim & suspects)

The "Brown" Family

"Mike Brown", the original owner of the land 'occupied' by William Córtez, and his family where preliminarily identified as:

Michael Watson Brown, a citizen of the Netherlands, holder of passport number NB0865469. Married, from the Dutch Antilles, resident of Street 4A, Community of Aguacate, area of Tierra Oscura, province of Bocas del Toro.
Manchittha Nankratoke "Nan" Brown, a citizen of the Netherlands, holder of passport number M18119733, Michael's wife.
Watson Brown, Michael's son.

Relatives of Mike Brown have been looking for them for more than three years, but they likely didn't file an official missing persons complaint with Panamanian officials because "Mike Brown" was actually a man named Michael Francis Salem who has been running from law enforcement officials in Florida for almost 30 years.

A detective in Florida spotted the alias of "Michael Watson Brown" during coverage of this Central American story and recognized him as the man who has been wanted in Florida for almost three decades for drug trafficking and the kidnapping of two police officers during a successful escape from custody.

Mr. Salem was a U.S. citizen originally from Pennsylvania before he relocated while on the run to the Caribbean tocontinue his career as a drug trafficker. That's where he picked up hisfake Dutch passport allowing him to travel Internationally.

Now that the activities of "Wild Bill" and Jane Córtez have come to light, extended members of the "Brown" (Salem) family are concerned they are no longer on the run but instead victims of murderers with their own set of fake Dutch passports [seems to be a trend].

TVN Noticias Panama- Channel 2 video coverage of "Wild Bill" Córtez investigation (in Spanish; with pictures of suspects & victims)

Bill Córtez On The Run

According to sources, about two weeks ago Bill Córtez contacted someone in Costa Rica because he wanted to buy a car. The person drove the car down to the area of the border between Panama and Costa Rica. Bill Córtez crossed the border illegally, without going through Immigration checkpoints. They went into a lawyer's office in Costa Rica and legal ownership of the vehicle was transferred. He paid with an envelop full of cash and left. Authorities in Costa Rica have been alerted and are now actively searching for him there was well.

New Alias

"Wild Bill" Córtez reportedly used the name "Josef Eiser" to purchase the vehicle, meaning he may have had some identification and travel documents issued in this name as well.

INTERPOL Red Alert Issued

Panama's Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi issued a "Red Alert" and asked INTERPOL for assistance in locating William "Wild Bill" Adolfo Córtez Reese and his wife Jane Seana Córtez. Preliminary information indicates this pair might have left a trail of dozens of murder victims in multiple countries including Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.

Sunday, July 25 2010

The Mountains of Turrialba, Costa Rica

Costa Rica national police (Fuerza Publica) and Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) acting on information fugitives "Wild Bill" and Jane Córtez entered the Republic of Costa Rica through Paso Canoas and rented a cabin in a town in the "Cartaginés" region off an ad on Craigslist, set-up roadblocks at various points in the Cartago Province aimed at arresting the suspects. However, media reports may have alerted the couple to the police response.

Monday, July 26 2010

Captured!

Government officials from both Costa Rica and Panama have confirmed the capture of the fugitives William “Wild Bill” Adolfo Córtez Reese and his wife Jane Seana Cortez.

The couple, who the police were looking for in the area of Santa Cruz in Turrialba, Costa Rica were detained in the territorial waters of the San Juan River in Nicaragua.

According to police reports, the couple stayed at a little cabin the previous night along the Sarapiquí River. They were driving the gray Nissan highlighted in this article.

In the morning they hired a boat to take them up the river towards the border with Nicaragua. The owner of the cabins where they stayed recognized them as the fugitives in the news and notified authorities.

Upstream the couple ran into a Costa Rican national police (Fuerza Publica) checkpoint intended to stop them. "Wild Bill” who is 280 pounds and six feet tall grabbed the boat man and threw him into the river, took the helm and accelerated in an attempt to speed away. They made it as far as the “mouth” of the Sarapiquí River when a Nicaraguan Army patrol boat armed with machine guns gave chase on the San Juan River between the borders of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Eventually overtaken by the faster and more powerful Nicaraguan Army vessel, big bad “Wild Bill” Córtez gave up without a struggle. So much for “blaze of glory” theories, eh?

Kudos to Don Winner from Panama-Guide.com for ALL his outstanding work ... you got these guys Don!

Source and Updates here -> Panama-Guide.com

7,000 U.S. Marines Landing on the Beaches of Costa Rica

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:29:00 GMT

Costa Rica doesn’t ‘officially’ have an army – but apparently it will be home to one for the rest of 2010.

A flotilla of 46 United States Navy warships capable of carrying 200 helicopters, along with 10 Harrier vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, and 7,000 combat ready marines available for land based operations is on its way to this Central American country with no standing army.

On July 1, 2010 the Costa Rica Legislative Assembly voted 31-8 to grant the U.S. military full in-country access through the end of 2010 to help fight drug trafficking.

As of this writing the new administration of President Laura Chinchilla -- who was previously Costa Rica’s Vice-President, Justice Minister and Minister of Public Security -- has not commented in great detail as to what the U.S. troops will be trying to accomplish with their new right of entry other than to say there will be a combination of anti-drug and humanitarian operations.

This type of deal is a growing trend in Latin American countries.

Columbia has for the last decade been increasing its commitment to full-time anti-narcotic U.S. support.

In September 2009, ten years after the last U.S. troops had ‘officially’ left Panama soil due to the canal treaties, the United States entered into a new agreement to open 2 new U.S. military bases on their Pacific coast in exchange for $7 million to fight organized crime associated with illicit drugs.

April 2009 Honduras opened a new Navy base near the border of Nicaragua with $2 million from the U.S. and most recently announced July 10, 2010 another new military base will be constructed on the Caribbean with U.S. funding to help fight drug trafficking.

The Switzerland of Central America

As for Costa Rica, it has prided itself as the first country in the world to formally abolish military forces while being known for its stability in a region where other countries often struggle both politically and economically.

And although Costa Rica continues to earn high rankings both regionally and worldwide in areas of health care, education, public safety and equality; the geographic location that makes it so uniquely beautiful is also causing some major security concerns – often from outside sources.

Illicit drug producers from South America seeking paths of least resistance have found running shipments of cocaine along un-enforced or under-patrolled shorelines, air and land routes of sovereign Central American nations very effective in getting shipments through to their North American customers.

The spread of these drug-trafficking cartels has affected all of the Americas in terms of increased violent crime. In Costa Rica, the murder rate nearly doubled between 2004 and 2008 with mostly foreign drug gangs being attributed to a majority of this increase.

During the 2009-2010 presidential campaign ‘security’ consistently polled as the number one concern of the Costa Rica people. Then candidate Laura Chinchilla ran on a platform of being tough on crime proposing the hiring of more police, professionalizing the various law enforcement agencies with improved training and increased salaries, and eradicating corruption throughout all levels of government. In one of her first acts, then President-elect Chinchilla created the first Costa Rica anti-drug czar as part of her incoming cabinet.

Show Me the Money

But it takes money to fight a war on drugs, gangs, violence and corruption.

With a large debt burden due to previous president Oscar Arias’ borrowing heavily to insulate Costa Rica from a worldwide recession, tourism revenues being down due to reduced discretionary spending by potential travelers and the fruition of aggressive free-trade agreements that exchanged immediate import tariff income for supposed longer-term benefits … Costa Rica finds itself cash-strapped for even the most necessary of infrastructure improvements, let alone another country’s “war on drugs”.

In 1999 a U.S.-Costa Rica Counter-Narcotics Maritime Agreement or “Joint Patrol” accord began the alliance between the two countries in anti-drug enforcement efforts. As part of the arrangement the U.S. donated a retiring Coast Guard ship to the Costa Rica Ministry of Security toward formally establishing the Costa Rica Coast Guard in the year 2000.

Since then both the U.S. Coast Guard and Costa Rica Coast Guard (Guardacostas de Costa Rica) have been publicly working together to patrol Costa Rica waters and airways. Pacific and Caribbean international waters off the coast of Costa Rica have less formally been under the supervision of the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).

Operational funds for the various Costa Rica law enforcement agencies involved in fighting drug trafficking and its associated organized crime come from a variety of sources, with the largest contributor being the United States via direct funding for Costa Rica’s Public Security Ministry (Ministerio Seguridad Pública – MSP) who in-turn reallocates funds as needed to its divisions of Coast Guard, Drug Control Police (Policía de Control de Drogas - PCD) and National Public Police (Fuerza Pública ). Other funds provided to the Costa Rica Judiciary (Poder Judicial) are allocated to investigate drug related crimes by the Judicial Investigation Organization (Organismo de Investigación Judicial – OIJ) and prosecute alleged criminals within the judicial system.

Annual, semi-annual and special need requests for additional monies are made by Costa Rica to the U.S. for continued and increased police narcotics interdiction activities. Although regular requests are made openly, it would be naive to think all resources asked for and received are a matter of public record.

Fact, Conspiracy, or Just Plain B!tching

News of this very public vote by the Costa Rica legislature to invite the United States military into its territory was a bomb unto itself for many, prompting viral Internet coverage and even an anti-military rally or "Gran Manifestación contra la Presencia Militar en Costa Rica" in front of the former San José military fortress (Cuartel Bellavista) that is now the National Museum (Museo Nacional de Costa Rica).

Even though Costa Rica’s own democratically elected government from the president on down chose this course of action by an almost unanimous vote, the citizens and foreign residents had a lot to say and constitutional court challenges are more than likely to follow.

As a matter of fact, Costa Rica abolished its military in 1949 with constitutional Article 12:

English translation: "Military forces may only be organized under a continental agreement or for the national defense; in either case, they shall always be subordinate to the civil power: they may not deliberate or make statements or representations individually or collectively.”

But does this prohibit the elected representatives of the Costa Rican people from entering into agreements with foreign militaries for defense or support of internal security problems? Probably not. The 1999 to present U.S.-Costa Rica “Joint Agreement” is standing proof that such security force treaties will most likely withstand a court challenge whether it is in its current form or a modified version after court review.

Conspiracies are only theories until they come true … especially when history teaches us that governmental decisions too often are not made in the best interests of the public as a whole. That said, some of the conspiracy theories floating around this ‘military invasion’ are fairly interesting:

Costa Rica is re-instituting their military to keep out Rush Limbaugh. [aka: The OxyContin Theory]
The U.S. in maintaining the appearance of combating the flow of drugs is actually protecting established CIA drug trade routes by cracking-down on competing freelance operations that don’t pay the expected cuts or protection fees.
The electricity went out again at Jurassic Park. [aka: The Jurassic Park was Really Filmed in Costa Rica Theory]
The U.S. is borrowing money from China to fund military operations. China is an ally of North Korea and bedfellows with Russia, Iran, Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. China is attempting to influence Central American countries with financial advantages like Costa Rica’s 200 free police cars and new National Stadium. The U.S. has a large military presence sitting in the Pacific looking at China. Do the math. [aka: The “Renminbi” or “Yuan” Theory]
The ever imperialistic United States is putting itself in a position to take over countries throughout the Americas one-by-one using anti-drug trafficking as an excuse for military bases and troops.
They're gonna nuke the gulf oil spill so they’re moving all the ships South. As for the coastal population, they’re gonna study the effects. Nothing to worry about.
NATO has ordered the forces relocated away from the Gulf of Mexico for fear the BP oil disaster is about to rupture the fracture zone between the North American and Caribbean plates potentially unleashing a catastrophic methane earthquake/tsunami. [aka: The Big Fart Theory]
The U.S. is either getting ready to invade Venezuela to remove Hugo Chavez from power or just make him “behave” while an Iran offensive is launched.
After conducting its successful coup d’état in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, the Obama administration is now bent on ousting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Costa Rican Vice President Luis Lieberman, a noted Zionist, has arranged for Israeli special forces to participate in operations directed against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla was heard saying the influx of Marines is to “provide a boost to lagging sex tourism" in this country where prostitution is legal. [aka: The U.S. Economic Stimulus Package Theory]

Or one could go with a theory much less fun but a little more rational:

“There is not going to be any convoy of 46 warships. There will be small groups of 4 to 5 ships rotating through the area on both coasts for a month or two at a time. They will do training and drug intervention while they are down there. As one group rotates down another group will return to the U.S. With the water of the northern Gulf of Mexico restricted due to the oil spill they cannot train there. There are a number of small cargo and fishing boats down there that never seem to transport enough cargo or even carry fishing gear but always have the money to pay for fuel. The DEA has agents in every port down there and have been watching these ships for years. That is the target.” –ANNED

As for points of view, these too are subjective.

With Cost Rica promoting itself as a peaceful, green paradise to tourists and investors … a large U.S. military presence can send the wrong signals to potential vacationers and those that relocated or are considering making the move to a country that is supposedly conflict free.

While some are comforted in knowing their beach is protected by the occasional Navy or Coast Guard ship manned by highly trained personnel. Others get sick to their stomachs if a boat in the distance resembles anything other than a Carnival Cruise ship.

Business owners benefiting from several thousand sailors and marines on shore leave might not have the same opinion as a yoga/raw food retreat that doesn’t appreciate the new low flying helicopter interruptions.

Some peace activists that feel "where there is an army, there is violence" will never like this situation.

But please keep this in mind regardless of any opinion on U.S. political policy or Costa Rica’s decision to allow U.S. military forces within its territory; those in uniform are part of a brave, volunteer, highly trained force that unselfishly go anyplace in the world where they are needed – whether it is for disaster responses, humanitarian missions or conflict resolutions.

These men and women deserve respect and will hopefully find Costa Rica a hospitable destination during their deployment.

¡Pura Flota!

Where the Mountains Meet the Musty Clothes

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:33:00 GMT

Costa Rica is a naturally beautiful land packed with diverse micro-climates such as; mountains, cloud forests, rain forests, dry forests, tropical jungles, raging rivers, hot springs, caves, beaches, oceans, islands and much, much more.

There are not many other places on Earth where the awe-inspiring experience of standing at the edge of an active volcano can be further enhanced by the magnificent view of two different oceans.

Where the Mountains Meet the Sea

Within a short distance the Costa Rica climate can change substantially, which is yet another reason to love this country. People can decide where to live based on their personal weather preferences - while still being geographically close to other environments offering uniquely different characteristics.

Example: If a person loves year-round Spring-like weather and fresh breezes, they can choose from one of the many areas of Costa Rica offering cooler temperatures such as a beautiful mountain vista at a moderate altitude. Others who enjoy warmer temperatures, ocean views and water activities can choose from one of many diverse Pacific or Caribbean areas in which to reside. Additional weather considerations may be annual rainfall and humidity of one area versus another. Other preferential choices within these two examples might include quiet remote areas versus being close to more populated towns and cities for shopping, services, medical facilities, etc., etc., etc.

With all these choices, probably the best part when it comes to Costa Rica locations is that none are mutually exclusive. Due to the country's small size, persons living in the mountains regularly enjoy the beaches. Conversely, those that live within beach communities regularly explore the mountains. The four corners of Costa Rica are all a relatively short and scenic drive from each other.

Where the Mold Meets the Fabric

From mountains to mold ... not much of a segue there! But it is a related and relevant topic here in Costa Rica.

Central America is dense and green with foliage due to warm temperatures and ample rain, two ingredients that also naturally produce mold and other related organisms.

Well built homes constructed of steel reinforced concrete, ceramic tile floors, and other mildew resistant materials can cut down on many of the bigger problems associated with airborne moisture. But clothing, bedding, mattresses, sofas and other furnishings can be a regular aggravation to those with a sensitive sense of smell for musty odors.

How to Naturally Rid Clothes of Odors

Costa Rica is supposed to be all about nature, so naturally Costa Rica Blogger would like to present a few solutions to assist in removing that musty smell without the use of potentially toxic chemicals or expensive treatments.

Hang clothes in a confined area, such as a closet, with the rinds of a few lemons on a plate. The rinds will work as a sponge to absorb the odor. The process takes up to a week and depending on the severity of the smell, the rinds might have to be replaced with fresh ones halfway through the treatment.

Air out garments in direct sunlight on a sunny day. The ultraviolet light will kill the bacteria, but beware — sun also can cause bright colors to fade, especially here near the equator.

Take advantage of the natural ozone created on one of Costa Rica's many stormy days. Hang clothes outside where they won't get wet. Whenever there's electrical discharge from lightning, that's the best time to deodorize anything.

Wash clothes in non-chemical biological (plant based enzyme) cold water detergent and rinse once. Add a cup of white vinegar to the final rinse cycle.

As for the musty smelling sofa or mattress ... if choosing the 'natural ozone' method we cannot advocate in good conscience using them to recline on while enjoying the Costa Rica lightning show. If there is an inclination to use either during an electrical storm, perhaps the direct sunlight solution would be a safer form of deodorization.

Pura Fragancia!

How To Get a Costa Rica Driver’s License

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Sat, 08 May 2010 14:22:00 GMT

DISCLAIMER: This is Costa Rica. The only constant here regarding rules and regulations is they change without notice and/or reason. Always verify information is up-to-date for the day you are using it and even then, you will only know for sure the information is good once the process is successfully completed. In other words, please don’t blame the messenger for sharing what worked for them – as it may turn out to be completely different for you; the next day, the next week or the next month.

As mentioned in the previous post, "Costa Rica’s Ever Changing Road Rules "; Costa Rica’s Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT – Ministry of Transportation and Public Works) is the agency firmly in-charge of all things motor vehicles.

The division of MOPT responsible for all things road safety is Consejo de Securidad Vial. Most commonly referred to as COSEVI , this agency is Costa Rica’s 'department of motor vehicles' or DMV.

The main COSEVI facility where all foreigners must get their driver’s license is located in La Uruca, northwest of downtown San José.

Obtaining a Costa Rica driver’s license as a foreigner with proof of a license from most first-world countries (ie: the United States, Canada, England, Germany, France, etc.) does not require a written or driving test. To put it bluntly, Costa Rica recognizes if a person still has a valid driver’s license from countries with strictly enforced driving laws … there is no need to check this person’s understanding of how to drive like a responsible member of the human species.

A foreigner’s first Costa Rica driver’s license will be issued for a time period of two years. The second driver’s license issued upon renewal and repeating this same process, will be for a period of about five years (depending on the expiration date).

However, all license applicants regardless of nationality must obtain a Costa Rica medical certificate declaring they have no physical or mental limiting conditions. The new law even requires a blood draw and laboratory test.

Most any local private doctor will be more than happy to complete this document on the applicants behalf with total costs being around ¢15.000 ($29 USD). However, it is not necessary to go out of your way to find a doctor – the COSEVI facility is literally surrounded by medical clinics (clínicas médicas) there for the sole purpose of getting that necessary piece of paper into your hand as quickly as possible - quickness isn't often associated with anything Costa Rican, but competition breeds efficiency even in Latin America .

The above map shows a close-up view of the COSEVI office, along with where to park (for FREE), several of the medical clinics, the Banco Nacional where you can pay your fees, etc.

Price to Drive

The fee for a Costa Rica driver’s license most recently was ¢10.700 ($21 USD) for a passenger vehicle. Costs for additional licenses such as motorcycle, ATV, truck, heavy equipment will add to the overall bill.

This fee(s) can be paid at most any full-service Banco Nacional (BN) branch. It is highly recommended that this be done on an off-day (ie: Tuesday-Thursday) during an off-peak time (ie: 9-11am, 1-3pm) at a bank facility in a quieter location than the Banco Nacional located next-door to COSEVI … otherwise the line out the bank door can take several hours to get through while all the people in-front of you pay the single teller their multiple traffic fines [NO, there is no separate line for license fee only customers that have obeyed the laws and not accumulated any unpaid traffic fines - that would make too much sense].

Bend Over & Cough

The medical certificate or “Certificado Médico para Licencias de Conducir” required to obtain a Costa Rica driver’s license is a one-page document with allot of make-sense questions that must be completed by the doctor or physician’s assistant. The idea is that a driver should be physically and mentally fit enough to drive a vehicle.

Personal medical history is to be discussed and documented with emphasis on potentially problematic conditions such as: diabetes, epilepsy, fainting, depression, anxiety, etc.

A physical exam is to be conducted and documented again with emphasis on potentially problematic conditions such as: vision, hearing, breathing, heart, blood pressure, reflexes, flexibility, nervous disorders, muscular and skeletal systems, etc.

Laboratory work includes a blood draw to determine blood type as well as a number of other health conditions that may be discovered by a basic testing process.

Real Exam vs. Real Quick

As a reminder, we are still talking Costa Rica here. So the following should not come as a complete surprise for those familiar with this country.

Going to a legitimate medical doctor for a COSEVI required driver’s license medical certificate is advised … after all, who doesn’t want to ensure they are healthy. Inadvertent early medical condition detection is built-in to this process for the low price of approximately ¢15.000 ($29 USD).

Here’s just one of many ‘medical’ facilities surrounding the COSEVI offices:

This is not an endorsement of the services provided at this facility located about 100 meters west of COSEVI.

But one thing is for sure – they pretty much got you covered as a one-stop shop:

see a doctor,
get your blood lab work done,
learn how to drive by a Costa Rica instructor (oxymoron?!),
have a little lunch,
surf the Internet, and
get your car washed while you wait for your documents.

On the other end of the medical certificate services spectrum (assuming the above actually does perform legit medical exams and laboratory tests) is a place that literally has no name:

Like a one-stall quick-lube, this quick-stop medical shop is appropriately located in a garage around the corner and down the hill from COSEVI.

This is your bare-bones, get the required piece of paper and on with the rest of your Costa Rica driver’s license process. A quick reading of the eye chart, a couple verbal questions, ¢15.000 ($29 USD) cash, a signature, a knowing handshake and you’re on your way.

Ask Before You Smile

Once you have everything you need, it’s time to go get that Costa Rica driver’s license.

Final Checklist:

Banco Nacional COSEVI paid license fee receipt (factura COSEVI licencia).
Medical certificate (Certificado Médico para Licencias de Conducir).
Existing valid foreign or Costa Rica driver’s license.
Valid identification - passport or Costa Rica cédula.
patience

Like many things Costa Rica, knowing where it is located and how to getthere is most of the battle.

Although there are many parking guys on the main road along the front of the main COSEVI building trying to lure potential visitors into their paid parking situations … COSEVI does offers FREE parking behind its multiple building campus (see second detailed satellite map above).

The access road is approximately 200 meters west of the main COSEVI building. It is a south-bound only dead-end street that sits directly across from the Yamaha and Great Wall Motors businesses on the north side of the main road. The drive is approximately 400 meters through an industrial area, with the guarded COSEVI entrance on the left (see map #2 above).

This parking lot will leave you as close as possible to the actual driver’s license issuing building – so if paying money for a long walk isn't your thing, this is the best place to park.

A guard posted outside the door that leads into the driver’s license issuing office will check all those seeking to enter for required paperwork. If everything is in order the applicant will be given a number and nobody else is permitted to enter the building other than the applicant with the number. Then it’s a matter of sitting in the waiting area until a COSEVI agent calls your number.

IMPORTANT: Pay attention to the verbal calling-out of numbers and be prepared to jump into the appropriate cubicle as soon as your number is called. The COSEVI agents don’t wait very long before calling the next number in order to keep things moving – which overall is a good thing in a society where lines and wait times can be lengthy.

The COSEVI representative will then check the provided documents and if everything is in order, enter the applicants information in the computer … then the applicant will be instructed to sit in a different row of chairs that leads to the always flattering driver’s license picture.

When obtaining my first Costa Rica driver’s license picture, I was admonished by a clearly unhappy government employee: “do not smile”. This time around I was lucky enough to have a different COSEVI agent that seemed to have a much better attitude.

I told him the story of his co-worker advising me 2 years previously that ‘Costa Rican’s don’t smile because they are not happy’. This COSEVI employee laughed and gave me complete permission to smile … he then proceeded to take several pictures as I smiled several times.

After the driver’s license picture is taken and the applicant’s index finger-print is successfully scanned, the Costa Rica driver’s license will be delivered hot off the press within a couple minutes (assuming the equipment is working properly).

Ironically enough, the picture I ended-up getting for my second Costa Rica driver’s license was also without a smile. The COSEVI agent must have captured me between smiles, leaving me to wonder; was the grumpy agent two years previous correct? Now that I've lived in Costa Rica do I no longer smile because I am not happy? Nah ... I'm smiling right now ... so the jokes still on him .

Smiling or not for your official picture, once issued with a shiny new Costa Rica driver’s license every citizen, resident and visitor is legally off to the demolition derby otherwise known as Costa Rica driving where I can guarantee you will have your share of coarse words, profane gestures and dirty looks to share with others that have no respect for the rule of law or common decency.

Be Careful Out There y Pura Traffico!

FYI: Costa Rica citizens can now renew their driver’s licenses at certain Banco Nacional branches. As of this writing this same service is not available to residents or visitors. Hopefully this will change sometime in the not too distant future.

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Costa Rica’s Ever Changing Road Rules

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:08:00 GMT

Among the so-called industrialized nations of the world, there is one common thread that makes for a supposedly civilized society.

The DMV

It goes by many names and most everybody knows where the local office is for their appropriately titled agency:

Department of Motorized Vehicles (DMV)
Division of Motorized Vehicles (DMV)
Department of Transportation
Department of Public Safety
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Secretary of State - Vehicle and Driver Services Department
Driver Services Directorate
Ministry of Transportation
Public Insurance Corporation
Registry of Motor Vehicles
Motor Registration Division
Société de l'assurance Automobile
Departamento Nacional de Trânsito (DENATRAN)
Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA)

Within the many layers of Costa Rica bureaucracy overlapping each other's jurisdictional responsibilities (causing too many government agencies to assume no responsibility at all), the traffic enforcement division of Costa Rica’s Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT – Ministry of Transportation and Public Works) is the agency firmly in-charge of all things motor vehicles. The division of MOPT responsible for all things road safety is Consejo de Securidad Vial (COSEVI)

Consejo de Securidad Vial, most commonly referred to as COSEVI is Costa Rica’s DMV.

Often confused by foreigners with Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (CONAVI), the MOPT division charged with road construction and maintenance; COSEVI is where motor vehicle operators obtain their license plates (placas), driver’s licenses (licencias de conductores), supposedly abide by enforced traffic laws via the Traffic Police (Policía de Tránsito) and pay for traffic violations (infracciones de tránsito).

New Traffic Law

In the recent past, Costa Rica traffic enforcement has been a joke. Not the butt of jokes, but a joke in itself.

COSEVI has been an ineffective, inefficient branch of government due to the most part because it had no real laws or sanctions to enforce. The worst of traffic offenses in other countries such as driving while intoxicated or reckless driving, had no substantial penalties here. The roadways of Costa Rica more resembled a NASCAR track than the streets of a civilized society.

Soaring traffic related property damage, personal injury and death rates caused the Costa Rica government to finally take serious action.

In 2009 new and sweeping traffic reform was passed by the Costa Rica Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa ) and quickly signed into law by an enthusiastic President Óscar Arias Sánchez.

For the first time in history Costa Rica laws got serious about; drunk driving, reckless driving, drag racing, driving without a valid driver’s license, requiring babies to be in car seats (as opposed to climbing all over the dashboard while their parent weaved dangerously through traffic at high speeds), requiring every passenger to be in seat belts, etc., etc., etc.

Originally slated to take effect September 23, 2009, the new traffic law or ‘las Reformas a la Nueva Ley de Tránsito’ were postponed until March 1, 2010 to reportedly allow the legislature time to re-review the included penalties due to strong public opposition - some fines increased as much as 4,000% over previous amounts.

The Costa Rica government then spent the next five months heavily involved in a general election that included the choosing of a new president and members of the legislature. Needless to say, no changes to the new traffic law where ever made prior to its new effective date.

The evening of February 28, 2010 was an extremely busy sales night for Costa Rica retailers. Drivers loaded-up with new transit law requirements such as: child car safety seats, child booster seats, road safety kits, car fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc., etc.

The lines were long and the costs where non-negotiable being as retailers had an extremely advantageous supply vs. demand situation due to last-minute shoppers in need of items priced far below what the fines would be if caught without them. A truly new and effective law compliance concept for Costa Rica!

On March 1, 2010 Costa Rica’s Nueva Ley de Tránsito became the law – much to the delight and surprise of many that backed true traffic reform.

Yet despite a 2 year legislative process, a 5 month delay in implementation and the final week’s worth of intense newspaper and television coverage – including store print and television ads enticing motorists to buy the new required traffic law supplies – many drivers complained they were unaware of the new laws when Tránsito Police actually showed-up in-force to enforce them.

As Costa Rica traffic police set-up road-side safety checkpoints; drivers that were obviously in some sort of violation would come to a screeching stop in the middle of the road, perform dangerous u-turns in the middle of traffic and drive back from where they came.

As but one example: An older man driving an SUV did an abrupt stop in the middle of the road when he spotted the traffic police pulling over cars ahead of him. Other vehicles on the roadway in both directions had to come to a complete stop as this driver completed a five-point turn-around as a little girl of about kindergarten age, sitting in the front passenger seat in her school uniform without a seat belt innocently looked out the window. The man drove in the opposite direction a few hundred meters, parked his vehicle behind a small homebuilder supply lot (ferreteria), walked back to the roadway with the little girl and her tiny backpack then waived-down a taxi for an assumed ride onto the girl’s school.

Apparently this driver was aware of the new laws … but like many old habits, his were hard to change.

In the first five days of the new traffic laws it was reported that Costa Rican drivers accumulated ¢200 million colones ($369,000 USD) in fines.

One driver accumulated more than ¢800.000 colones ($1,476) in fines for multiple tickets during a single traffic stop. The driver did not have his drivers license; his vehicle did not have the required 2010 vehicle tax sticker (Marchamo) or up to date annual vehicle inspection sticker (Riteve). In addition to the fines, the vehicle's license plates were confiscated so that it could no longer be driven. Prior to the new law, a driver in such a situation would more than likely received only a single citation for a fine of about ¢20.000 ($37 USD) and allowed to drive off.

It was no wonder why Costa Rica drivers in the past paid no attention to the laws and the traffic police didn’t bother to enforce them.

In addition to much needed monies from the traffic violations flowing into government coffers for road repairs and other social infrastructure projects, the roadways became noticeably much less congested within several days.

Once illegal drivers with their illegal vehicles realized the new law and its enforcement were for real … they began staying off the streets.

Even some motorcycle riders started wearing the new required reflective vests, stopped driving with 3 & 4 people on a single ‘moto’ & stayed within their own lanes of traffic; as opposed to driving between cars, passing on the right and using oncoming lanes of traffic as their own personal express lanes.

The main COSEVI drivers licensing office in La Uruca, San José at one point had to extend its hours from 7am to 7pm daily to handle the crush of people deciding it would be a good idea to finally have a valid driver’s license once the fine shot-up to ¢277.000 ($444 USD) for not having one.

An older gentleman standing in the COSEVI license line was interviewed by a local television station where the guy stated he had not had a driver’s license in about 40 years, but now he couldn’t afford to take the chance of driving without one.

Nothing is Forever – and Some Things Never Get a Chance

Reminder: This IS Costa Rica. And as of this writing, the new Costa Rica traffic law is still officially being re-reviewed by the legislature, challenged in court and it’s anybody’s guess as to where the car crash paint-transfers will finally end.

Protesters have marched on the Costa Rica Legislative Assembly to keep the new law as currently written. They accurately point out all the positives realized as a direct result of the new tough sanctions.

Pressure from major employers that need their employees to keep their driving privileges as well as other politically connected groups have influenced lawmakers to strongly consider the elimination of the new license point system that could result in license suspensions or even permanent revocations. Other re-revisions being considered include an increase in the blood-alcohol level threshold for drunk driving and downward revisions of many financial penalties.

So once again, everybody is waiting; traffic enforcement of the new law has dropped off, drivers immediately respond to less enforcement by taking more chances and those that do get caught are hoping the re-written or court challenged law will reduce if not eliminate their incurred penalties for existing violations.

Stay tuned and stay safe!

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Costa Rica traffic pictures

Costa Rica Buyers Beware - Caveat Emptor (o Compradores Cuidado)

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:29:00 GMT

Costa Rica is more popular than ever as a vacation, business, relocation, retirement and medical vacation destination.

With so many people looking at Costa Rica for such a wide variety of reasons, there is an almost overwhelming amount of Internet sites catering to Costa Rica information seekers.

Of these sites; most are honest, some are questionable and a few are just bad news.

Truth in Advertising

Anybody can create a web site or pay an increasingly small amount of money to have a professional looking web site made. Hosting accounts for these web sites are now as low as only a couple dollars monthly.

One of the positives of this technology is that small businesses have an easier time competing with bigger corporations, which will hopefully benefit consumers – especially in Costa Rica when it comes to boutique hotels and unique services.

On the down side, such easy and anonymous access to the masses swings the door wide-open to the old adage; ‘There is no truth in advertising!’ This has been true long before Al Gore invented the Internet (joke) … but the web is definitely making it easier than ever.

Because the Internet is still all about worldwide popularity – meaning a site owner in Thailand can be exclusively promoting a business in Phoenix, Arizona; webmasters spend great amounts of time looking to manipulate the system toward getting their content in front of as many targeted computer users as possible.

The more unscrupulous of these hacks hide behind copied graphics and stolen content in order to create false online personas – attempting to create feelings of trust based on knowledge, which will hopefully entice unsuspecting people into less than honest business transactions

Stealing original content from other online resources containing keywords for their target audience, is but one popular way for non-resource sites to appear more knowledgeable while gaining search engine rankings.

Search Engine Popularity

Up until very recently, the vast majority of Internet users interested in a certain subject would simply inquire with their favorite search engine – and all too often accept the first couple results as the trusted/reliable web sites for the information they seek.

Search engines and their highly secretive algorithms magically determine the best resources for their user’s needs and habits.

But search engines also make money! Lots and lots of money! Billions of dollars annually selling ads: Google Adwords, Yahoo! Sponsored Results, AOL Sponsored Links, AltaVista Sponsored Matches, etc.

So after doing a web search, is the best resource really contained within the first page’s top ten results? I personally like to think so when my own website of Costa Rica Blogger, which contains original content that I worked hard to produce, is there for the reader’s consideration.

But unfortunately, the more I learn about other sites sharing my own areas of the Internet based on content … and the more I see my own work plagiarized without credit by others trying to trick people into buying what they are selling … I get just a little more pessimistic.

Social Networking Popularity

As of March 15^th, 2010 social networking’s most popular site has finally caught up with the search engine goliath in weekly visits or usage.

This is officially now an ad war smack-down between Google and facebook

Just like Google AdWords will put an advertiser’s website within the Google search results sidebar as a “Sponsored Links” narrowed down to the users location, current search and past search history ... facebook advertisements sit prominently displayed on the right-hand side of the user's page.

However, facebook sidebar ads are not only based on a user's search.

Facebook ads are targeted with an almost scary precision based on the user's collected interests, habits and interactions within their free facebook account. Paid advertiser’s specify who they want to target and facebook delivers their ad directly onto their audience's profile pages.

These online ads are the easiest and most cost effective way for almost anybody to become popular or deemed an authority on any subject. Advertise facebook Fan site -> get socially popular -> sell products!

In the above example, a simple blog site called “Costa Rica Views” has an astounding 62,099 facebook Page Fans – by comparison, newspaper giant The Wall Street Journal has 62,932 facebook Page Fans (that’s only an 833 facebook Fan difference from 2 sites that are truly on the opposite ends of the Internet web site traffic spectrum).

So how the heck does such a small site become as ‘popular’ as the all powerful Wall Street Journal?

Easy, Costa Rica Views paid-to-play and bought themselves some friends!

Why? Because Costa Rica Views wanted an instant social networking Fan base so they could sell their product or services under the guise of being an expert on a particular subject – the country of Costa Rica.

Who Cares?

It’s just advertising, we get it!

Everybody knows the actual price to produce, print and deliver an actual newspaper is much higher than the newsstand price … with the cost difference being made-up by the advertising contained within. Same goes for television advertising.

Now companies pay for online advertising so that we can use certain Internet services for free. No big deal.

Plus the mentioned site “Costa Rica Views” provides a large amount of nice information about Costa Rica.

What’s the problem?

Reasons to Care

There are several issues worth mentioning about Costa Rica Views and other similar organizations using such online advertising techniques.

The most important concern for their site members, facebook Fans and Twitter followers should be; what are their motives?

Unlike more traditional forms of advertising, web based promotion is all about collecting data.

Costa Rica Views invites its visitors to become opt-in members so they can collect personal information. This process allows them to create a large database of potential clients for; their existing business, future business or possibly the re-sale of this personal data to others looking to market their products or services.

So Who is Costa Rica Views?

I often wonder who is behind a web site, especially when a person or organization is spending money for online ads only to provide free content.

Upon further review of Costa Rica Views it becomes quite obvious that all their content is ‘feel good’ – the one constant is a theme that paints Costa Rica as a paradise on Earth with no problems, no crime, no poverty – just good life, beautiful pictures and whole body wellness.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Costa Rica … but this is not the Costa Rica I see outside my door on a daily basis. I live here by choice, but if you read my own site I am honestly critical of things that could use some improvement. “REAL, Honest, Unbiased Information” is the mantra of my Costa Rica Blogger page. My goal is to share the good about this wonderful country while giving those that may follow the ability to consider Costa Rica with eyes wide-open.

Based on the content of “Costa Rica Views” (www.CostaRicaViews.com) and its sister page "Costa Rican Wellness” (www.CostaRicanWellness.com) I was not shocked to learn they are simply front sites for a real estate development company. Thus the 'Costa Rica is paradise' themes!

La Joya Perfecta, LLP is a U.S. based real estate partnership out of La Jolla, California selling their Costa Rica project called “La Joya Perfecta” (www.LaJoyaPerfecta.com) by engaging and capturing data from unsuspecting visitors to their Costa Rica Views blog and Costa Rican Wellness concept site.

Where Does Costa Rica Views Get Its Content?

So how does a U.S. based real estate company have such a large amount of up-to-date information on Costa Rica? That’s the best part ... they don’t live here, so they ‘borrow’ select content that promotes their business from other web resources. Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v: copy, paste!

When my own Costa Rica Blogger content started showing-up on the Costa Rica Views web site I was a little miffed to say the least. They would claim my hard work as their own, giving me no credit and no link back to my original content. I spent two days writing a Costa Rica immigration guide breaking-down the new immigration laws in easy to understand English … only to have Costa Rica Views literally copy sections of my writing into their web site for their own self-promotion.

My own content is free and I’m not selling anything – so a disingenuous company stealing my written words and pictures without permission or credit can definitely be taken personally (can you tell it still pisses me off?).

A little research on additional Costa Rica Views content led directly to other independent authors who were being plagiarized without their knowledge or proper credit. Many of these people are relying on the income from their works as professional freelance writers; only to have sites like Costa Rica Views steal their content.

The “Founder”, “Developer” and “Registered Investment Fiduciary” of La Joya Perfecta is listed as a ‘duciary’ by the name of Bret G. Dudl.

Ironically Mr. Dudl liked borrowing my content enough to contact me directly – which I found quite interesting:

Mr. Dudl never did respond back, but that didn’t stop him and his organization from continuing to steal my material and the material of others to fill the content of their Costa Rica web site – after all, it can’t be easy to be an expert on Costa Rica when you live in California.

“Local” Costa Rica Expert

So what qualifies a person to be a “local” that can provide a wealth of expert Costa Rica information? I used to think it would be a person that actually lives in Costa Rica. Maybe even a person that would write only about what they’ve personally experienced.

But apparently in the world of Costa Rica Views, full-time media managers from Canada can steal content just as effectively as any breathing person living in Costa Rica proper.

A little more research found that Stephanie Casanova (aka: Stephanie Stover) is a hired plagiarist working for Costa Rica Views and its sister sites.

Observation: Ms. Stephanie’s facebook profile page pictured above shows in addition to being a Fan of her own Costa Rica Views facebook Page, she is a Fan of Dr. Phil and “I need more MONEY!!!”. I think Dr. Phil would be very interested in the psyche of Ms. Stephanie – especially in her ability to mentally transport herself to Costa Rica so well that she feels like a “local” expert

Not only is Ms. Stephanie a plagiarist, she is a compulsive liar; Stephanie ‘borrows’ first-person original written content and pictures about Costa Rica, reposts them on Costa Rica views as their content management employee claiming them as her own while stating she lives here in Costa Rica.

However, Ms. Stephanie really lives some 3,500 miles away in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The same area she has lived her entire life!

In the past, Ms. Stephanie claimed these posts under her aliases of both Stephanie Stover and Stephanie Casanova. But more recently she simply attributes the articles to being authored by “crv.staff” in an attempt to be somewhat more anonymous.

Nobody Knows Costa Rica Like a Full-Time Canadian

As if stealing bits and pieces from other authors to fill the content of Costa Rica Views was not enough, Ms. Stephanie felt comfortable enough to write a Costa Rica travel book – no joke!

“Tips for Costa Rica …a travel guide written by locals” by Stephanie and her husband David is available for download by unsuspecting travelers.

The 3,500 miles between Stephanie's real home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Costa Rica must just be a minor detail with all her web-based “local” knowledge. After all, nobody knows Costa Rica like a full-time Canuck!

Based on her past practice of borrowing content, authors of original Costa Rica articles and travel books may want to take some time to review Ms. Stephanie's "Tips for Costa Rica" e-book @ www.TipsForCostaRica.com to ensure none of their copy written material is being used for unlicensed profit.

But Still, Why Should I Care

If you’re never going to do business with deceptive Internet companies, then there may be no reason to care. In fact, I may owe you an apology for wasting your time if after reading this entire post you learned nothing from its content.

However; if you are interested in any specific subject, such as Costa Rica, it is important to know who you are dealing with.

A person planning a vacation or even moving to Costa Rica will more than likely not get fair and balanced information from a web site that has the ultimate goal of renting cars to tourists or selling real estate to investors or retirees.

Yes there are exceptions, but this is most certainly not the rule. After all, advising potential customers that Costa Rica driving can be very dangerous and that there may be much better real estate locations based on your lifestyle needs than the hot and humid Southern Pacific region is just not good for their specific businesses.

When considering doing business with an individual or corporation, especially when it comes to major life decisions and investing large amounts of money; integrity and honesty is everything!

Costa Rica does have honest realtors and developers, just be sure they have your best interests as their goal – the first indication may be how they present themselves from the very beginning. Check out their credentials, get testimonials from current and past clients, ask them for referrals to competing companies so that you can compare their supposedly superior product, etc., etc.

Buyer Beware – especially when it comes to people that will say or do anything to gain your trust with the goal of getting you to buy what they’re selling.

Honest business people are rarely desperate. Their satisfied referrals do most, if not all of the advertising they require.

¡Pura Honradez!

Costa Rica - a Rock & Roll, Fire Spitting, Living Earth Paradise

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:22:00 GMT

Last night I was sitting in bed, winding down watching a little television, when everything started jumping sharply.

Don't ask me what T.V. show I was watching because I cannot honestly remember - not only was the program not important, but my priorities changed real quickly when things started bouncing.

first thought; 'oh hell no'
second thought; 'this is a big one!'

first action; look up at the ceiling to see if it's coming down
second action; look for my pants (don't want to run outside without pants - survival includes some dignity)

Then it was over ... everything stopped. It was quick, hard and done [insert your own bedroom joke here]

This was not like other earthquakes I had experienced in Costa Rica. Most last longer and have a wave or rolling feel to them where things sway like standing on the deck of a boat. This earthquake was stronger, quicker and sharp - with things going up and down.

Quick conclusion: This earthquake was real close to home!

Location, Location, Location

I live just outside of Moravia, San José - with a great view overlooking the Central Valley from the Northeast. As I write this entry the city looks sunny with high puffy clouds. Last night the lights twinkled bright.

As it turns out, I was correct in my thinking the earthquake's epicenter was close. In fact, it was too close to home:

According to the Costa Rica Volcanological and Seismological Observatory (OVSICORI) this 'sismo' was a 4.3 magnitude, at a depth of 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles), originating only 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from my home.

Note: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) officially lists this quake as a 4.6 magnitude with a depth of 4 kilometers (1.9 miles). However, these figures often get downgraded once local monitoring station readings are combined with other data.

Admittedly a 4.3 magnitude shaker doesn't sound like much when compared with some of the recent major earthquakes around the globe:

6.5 magnitude: March 05, 2010 in Indonesia (Southwest of Sumatra, offshore at a depth of 22 km)
8.8 magnitude: February 27, 2010 in Chile (West of Maule, just offshore at a depth of 35 km)
7.0 magnitude: February 26, 2010 in Japan (Southeast of Ryukyu Islands, offshore at a depth of 22 km)
6.9 magnitude: February 18, 2010 China-Russia-North Korea border region (just offshore at a depth of 574 km)
7.0 magnitude: January 12, 2010 Haiti (Southwest of Port-Au-Prince, inland at a depth of 13km)

But when you combine this 'terremoto's' combination of strength, shallow depth and close proximity to my bed ... it made for quite a jolt!

By contrast, Costa Rica's January 8, 2009 deadly 6.1 magnitude Cinchona earthquake with an epicenter near the Poás Volcano (Volcán Poás), 30 kilometers (20 miles) Northwest of San José at a depth of 4.5 km felt like a long, rolling boat ride in my location [I rode that wave while standing on top of a ladder while my son looked at me with a nervous smile].

The Earth is Alive and Kicking in Costa Rica

The natural forces that make Costa Rica beautiful are still hard at work.

Costa Rica has several mountain ranges that cover a large part of the country. Nestled within the mountains and standing majestically elsewhere on their own are 50 known volcanoes, with several being active at all times.

Whether it is the tectonic plates continuing their work at creating mountains or volcano's bringing up their molten lava to produce more surface area; many consider these otherwise natural constructive forces to be 'destructive' - especially if there are people or property in the right place at the wrong time.

As but one example, Costa Rica's long-dormant Turrialba Volcano (Volcán Turrialba) has been making locals nervous as of late.

History books have long listed Turrialba's last major eruption as being in 1866. However, the volcano started coming back to life in 2001. In 2007 new fractures and funaroles opened and molten sulfur was observed for the first time in 25 years. Regular earthquakes starting mid-December 2009, increased in both frequency and amplitude until the Turrialba Volcano erupted on January 5, 2010 - spewing ash on nearby farms and even parked vehicles at the nearby Irazú Volcano National Park (Parque Nacional Volcán Irazú). The villages of La Central and El Retiro of Cartago Province were evacuated during the eruption and remain on alert as the volcano's new activity is closely monitored by scientists.

Not allowing itself to be out-performed, the neighboring bigger and more popular Irazú Volcano decided to get some attention of its own by emitting at least 9 tremors within a 30 minute period on March 2, 2010.

With its last eruption occurring in 1965, Volcán Irazú's explosive power is not such a distant memory. However, an earlier Irazú eruption in 1963 is more remembered for its timing; coinciding with former U.S. President John F. Kennedy being in the nearby capital of San José, where volcanic ash covered the city during his official state visit.

Regardless of what causes the earthquakes, plate shifting or volcanic activity, the bottom line is Costa Rica gets shaken on a regular basis.

¡Pura Temblor!

In Costa Rica an earthquake can be a great opportunity to make some new friends, meet the new family across the street and/or reacquaint yourself with neighbors you haven't talked to in a while do to busy work and life schedules.

It's easy and timely, because everybody is standing outside just like you and there is definitely something to talk about.

The one modern impediment to this long-standing social event is the cell phone. Now that everybody in Costa Rica has a phone in their pocket, the crowd of people standing outside can all be talking at once without having to talk to each other.

Adults thirty years and older are making or receiving phone calls while the younger kids are busy texting as fast as their thumbs can fly over the keypad.

Where to Get Good Information

Immediately after the initial earthquake passes and people feel as if their lives are no long in danger, they want information.

It's hard-wired into our human anatomy to want to know; what happened, where did it come from, who else felt it, is there any damage, is anybody hurt, etc., etc., etc.

Recent worldwide natural disasters have demonstrated beyond a doubt that the single best source of up-to-date information is via the Internet.

Social networking resources such as twitter and facebook connect the world with people that are actually on the scene of the incident, reporting what is in front of them. Re-tweets and forwarded posts bound around the globe at fiber-optic and satellite download speeds to computers, held held devices and Internet capable cell phones everywhere.

Even news outlets and government agencies monitor this data for their own initial information until such a time that responding representatives and officials can make their way to the areas affected and report back.

The trick in relying on such unmoderated resources is to separate fact from fiction and emotion from objective information.

For those wanting to monitor what others are reporting from a variety of sites, Big Brother is here to help (as always). Google in monitoring everything everybody is doing on the Internet uses their powers for good in this instance by allowing users to search 'Latest Web Updates' for specific topics such as "earthquake costa rica" ("temblor costa rica"), etc.:

As for official data when it comes to; location, strength, affected areas, warnings, evacuation orders, etc. ... there are several resources:

The most comprehensive resource for worldwide seismic activity is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake monitoring site where data from around the globe is collected and shared in real-time.

Costa Rica earthquake and volcano activity are studied and monitored by the government's Volcanological and Seismological Observatory (Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica or OVSICORI). Their web site also shares the collected information real-time and this information may be more up-to-date and accurate than the USGS site in regards to Costa Rica activities because it is their local monitoring equipment taking the actual readings.

Both the USGS and OVSICORI web sites have direct links to Google Maps that give detailed location information;

Of course, if you are real close to one of these events ... the immediate need for a digital map confirming what you already know may not be a priority. But the information can make for a good blog the next day!

My Dream is to Own a Costa Rica Bed and Breakfast

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:05:00 GMT

So your dream is to own a B&B in the Paradise of Costa Rica?!

Wake up; wake up from that nightmare…. Yes, shake yourself; makesure you don’t eat real late at night again. Owning a B&B soundsromantic and great. It seems like a real money maker and it can be. It can also be a real nightmare.

First of all you have to enjoysharing your space and time with people. The concept of a real Bed and Breakfastis to be a friendly, homelike atmosphere, with comfortablesurroundings. Unlike a hotel a B&B’s personality depends upon theowner. If the owner is a very friendly and welcoming person, you willnotice that welcoming feature at first glance. If the owner is adistant type and just wants the guest to remember that they are justpaying to visit, you will recognize that upon your first days’ visit aswell.

When deciding to own a B&B your success definitely depends onwhere you are located, and the type of guest you want attract. It maysound like I’m giving an expert opinion, but keep in mind it is myopinion based on my personal experience.

My husband and I did not plan on owning or operating a B&B, wejust happened to purchase a house that has a separate building with acouple of rooms and an apartment. At first we thought to fix up therooms and have a nice place our children could come to visit and maybesome of our other family members and friends.

I came up with theB&B idea thinking it would be a good way to earn a little income. For me it seemed that all you had to do was put some furniture in therooms and put a sign up saying “vacancy”. It takes so much more than that of course, but when you look at whatothers have done or are doing you think; "I can do that”.

Of coursethat assumption is made without any real information on what itactually takes to be a Bed and Breakfast owner. So, many things appear mucheasier than they are. Running and operating a B&B seemed almosteffortless. That was until one night while driving to Panama, westopped in a town by the name of Puerto Viejo in Limon and checked intoa small hotel. That night at the hotel really opened my eyes. If youput a sign up on the outside of you place of business it inviteseveryone in. It is not that I don’t like everyone but there are somethings I refuse to expose myself to. That night in the hotel opened myeyes to a reality that was unknown to me.

These two old men had gotten a room next to our room. They came indrunk. Evidently they had set up a plan for a prostitute to come visitthem in the room and she stood them up. All night they talked aboutthings that cannot be repeated. Finally the manager was called and hemade them quiet down. After the incident I began to remember that alltourism is not the same and some people coming and rentingaccommodations have a variety of reasons for renting saidaccommodations.

What I realized after that night was that we had to decide how wewere going to build our client base and what kind of people we wantedto attract to our Bed and Breakfast. There were so many things to learn! Thattakes time and money. In order to open a successful B&B, you need money tooperate and money to live on first. It may take some time beforeanyone knows that you are really open.

The things we had to learn went far beyond just having a couple of beds and preparing breakfast.

No matter how small your business is, you will have the sameexpenses and problems a large business has. If you are thinking aboutopening a B&B so you can live off the income from it, do not quityour day job. Your first five years are building block years towardssuccess. If you are in an area that is very popular vacation spot thenyour competition is usually much more difficult. It is impossible todiscount or to offer some things large businesses offer. If yourB&B is in an area that is not a really popular tourist area thereare other difficulties to overcome. You have to work harder to makeyourself known.

Many of my guests tell me that they dream of owning a Bed and Breakfast. Theyhave no clue. I often think that I’ve made owning and operating aB&B look too easy as well as a lot of fun. They, of course, thinkabout money that goes into the till and not the money that is comingout of the till.

At our B&B, which I call a guest house, we do not allow smokingon the grounds near the rooms. I remember my first guest who smokedlike a chimney. When I told him we do not allow smoking, he pointed outthat my web page did not indicate that. Being a business owner thefirst lesson you need to know is that you do not argue with yourcustomer. I told him that he could stay but he would have to smoke inour garden area. He agreed very cordially, but every time he and hiswife would come over to the house to talk to me I started coughing. Itwas embarrassing for me but I’m allergic to smoke and he and his wifesmoked very heavily. They would go out into the garden have acigarette and come back to talk to me on the terrace. I did a lot ofself talking and worked very hard to make my guest feel welcomed andalso feel comfortable. It worked because they had reservations for twodays and they stayed four nights.

You have to adjust; there are some things that are an absolute andsome things you have to just give in to. The one thing that wasabsolute for me was the two guys who rented a room for two nights andon the first night they picked up some guest I didn’t know and invitedtheir guest to spend the night. The next morning one of them told methat they were having the guest over for breakfast. I almost wentcrazy, but had to calm myself. It was hard for me to muster up thatsweet disposition, but I managed. The charge for their guest breakfastwas outrageous but I charged it. After their guest left I nicely toldthem that the only people who could be in the rooms were registeredguests. I think from the look on my face they got the picture.

Then recently I met the woman from hell. She had recently madereservations and I had told her the price of the accommodations. Shegot here and decided she wanted to get a discount. We had alreadysettled this by phone, but she had many more reasons why I shoulddiscount her stay. Well, that argument just did it. I allowed her tostay one night and escorted her off the premises and pointed out thelocation of cheaper accommodations.

Sometimes you have to make decisions on the spot and you cannot beafraid to say “no” and face the consequences. You can’t be afraid tosay “yes” and accept the results, either. The grand majority of peopletraveling are wonderful people. There are just a few that seem to causeproblems. In the seven years we have been open the three problems I’vementioned were my biggest challenges.

Owning and operating a Bed and Breakfast can be a dream come true but DO makesure you like people.

It is a people business and you cannot be afraidto share your life with others. Making money is a small by-product ofthe business. Getting to know people is the real bonus.

About the author: Jeanetta Taylor Owens retired from the United States to Costa Rica and is the owner and inn keeper of La Terraza Bed and Breakfast in Grecia, Costa Rica. Jeanetta also writes a very interesting, admirably honest first-person blog about life in Costa Rica at: http://blog.laterrazab-b.com

Costa Rica's San José to Caldera Pacific Highway now Open

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:44:00 GMT

The Costa Rica government officially opened the new Autopistas del Sol San José to Caldera Pacific highway on January 28th, 2010 … 3 months ahead of schedule; but only after 30+ years of planning, stops, starts, controversy and perseverance.

Posted speed limits on the new autopista range from 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) to 100 kph (62 mph) … speeds never before available on the previous twisting, turning, mountainous two-lane route known as the Aguacate pass - notorious for its frequent accidents, weekend traffic back-ups and seasonal landslides.

The new travel time from the center of San José to Caldera on the Pacific coast is quoted to be as little as one hour – which would reduce overall travel times to many popular coastal destinations by as much as one-half when the old route’s regular traffic jams and accident delays are considered.

However, such swift predictions may be overly optimistic. Although the new highway expands out to eight lanes in several high traffic areas and does include passing lanes were steeper grades may reduce the ability of some trucks to maintain highway speeds … most of the route still consists of only two lanes and many curves. Each trip may result in significantly different travel times depending on getting caught behind slower moving traffic.

Costs

The 77 kilometer (48 mile) highway, built at an estimated $238 million dollars (USD), was financed by Spain based consortium Autopistas Del Sol. The company agreed to complete, operate and maintain the road for a 25 year toll agreement that allows the company to collect motorist user fees.

The entire route, from La Sabana/San José to Caldera, will cost travelers 1,930 colons (about $3.50 USD) based on current passenger car pricing. Toll stations are located in Escazú, Alajuela, Atenas, Orotina and at several highway exits.

History

The original San José-Pacific route was drawn-up in 1979 during the presidential administration of Rodrigo Carazo Odio. Work on the project had its stops and starts, grinding to a complete halt about 10 years ago after it was discovered that the Costa Rica government had not yet expropriated all the land needed to build the road. About three years ago current President Óscar Arias Sánchez re-started the project with the goal of finishing the highway before the end of his administration.

The project’s main strategy was to connect Costa Rica’s main industrial/business area to one of its main ports. The corridor will assist in reducing transportation expenses by way of a reduction in travel times, the number of road accidents, fuel consumption, deterioration of vehicle parts and tires, and other costs associated heavy traffic conditions. By providing easier access to the port of Caldera, the investment will help; improve Costa Rica’s trade competitiveness, attract new in-country industry, and reduce the price of both imports and exports.

Controversies in the last couple years included; the piercing of the Barva Aquifer (a major water supply of the central valley) during construction that required repairs and redesign, last minute negotiations of toll booth lanes for police/fire/ambulance emergency vehicles, and the protests of communities and businesses that have been cut-off to traffic by the highways route and limited number of access points.

The first section to open was from San José to Ciudad Colón. When the first toll collection point opened in Escazú, large traffic jams quickly occurred. Now frequent drivers on the road are able to purchase an automated transponder called “Quick Pass” that allows those vehicles to pass without having to stop; easing some of the congestion during peak traffic travel times.

Although more work still has yet to be completed, President Arias’ appears to have wanted to officially open the highway prior to his term expiration; and perhaps, as a form of political assistance toward the efforts of his former vice-president Laura Chinchilla in her bid to be elected Costa Rica’s new president on February 7, 2010.

Success

Costa Rica’s new Autopistas del Sol or ‘Highway of the Sun” was awarded the 2007 “Latin America Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Deal of the Year” by Euromoney’s Project Finance Magazine for being able to successfully finance the new roadway in a deal between the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE, Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica) with approval and implementation by Caja Madrid in conjunction with the Costa Rica Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT, Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes).

In addition to the new highways obvious trade and business benefits, Pacific real estate developers and tourism operators west of the San José capital are counting on the new highway to be a boon to their industries as commuters will have easier access to their locations. Existing Pacific coast residents are also happy to have quicker travel times to the Central Valley for shopping, central government access, major medical services and entertainment activities.

It took a few years, but success is sometimes most appreciated when served on “Tico time”.

Autopistas del Sol; San José to Caldera Pacific highway map (click for full size map):

source: The Costa Rica Frog | Costa Rica news, information, business, travel, resources, articles, pictures, videos, blogs and commentary

Fellow Costa Rica Blogger Awarded National Culture Award for Journalism

Bill@BienvenidosCostaRica.com (Bill Clanton) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:05:00 GMT

Alternative media is taking important steps in Costa Rica. The 2009 Pío Viquez National Award for Journalism (Premio Nacional de Periodismo Pío Víquez) was granted this year to Cristian Cambronero for his achievements in alternative journalism.

Cristian has been publishing his blog Fusil de Chispas since 2005 encouraging the participation of readers on topics from politics and social media, to culture and music among others. He also had actively participated and promoted activities such as the First International Encounter of Citizen Journalism (Primer Encuentro Internacional de Periodismo Ciudadano de Costa Rica) and similar initiatives ... with main objectives being the enhancement of technology with traditional broadcast.

blogger Cristian Cambronero: Costa Rica National Culture Award for Journalism recipient

The Costa Rica National Culture Awards (los premios nacionales de cultura) have been celebrated since 1961 by the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud de Costa Rica). They look to recognize the efforts and accomplishments that people, groups and organizations make in Art, Science, Popular Traditional Culture and Journalism. This is the first time that digital media has been taken into account as part of the nominations.

The good news was quickly spread through social networks and twitter.

Fellow bloggers were inspired by the announcement of a colleague receiving such an important honor:

"Internet ha venido sacudiendo los cimientos de los medios de comunicación tradicionales desde su incepción, y a través del periodismo del Fusil podemos ver los signos de ese cambio inexorable: Un periodismo participativo, subjetivo." -Alberto González, Por Escrito

English translation: Internet has been shaking the foundations of traditional communication media and through Fusil's journalism we can observe this relentless change: a participative, subjective journalism.

"Esto recalca la importancia que la web y los medios ciudadanos están alcanzando en nuestro país y en la formación de una opinión pública más democrática." -Luis Diego Molina, Habla Costa Rica

English translation: It makes an statement on the importance that the web and citizen media are having in our country and in the formation of a more democratic public opinion.

"Su blog ha sido una de las más frescas contribuciones al ambiente de la comunicación en Costa Rica. Un trabajo, donde, como él mismo lo dice “La Pasión va primero" -Julia Ardón, JuliaArdon.com

English translation: His blog has been one of the more refreshing contributions to the environment of communication that Costa Rica has had. A piece of work where, as he says, passion comes first.

Cristian posted a thankful note in his own blog Fusil de Chispas:

"De momento lo realmente claro es que la naturaleza misma de un blog lo haría perder su esencia si fuera unidireccional. Es la participación lo que ha hecho que el Fusil funcione, y sirva para algo. El más honesto agradecimiento para todos los que pasan por aquí." -Cristian Cambronero, Costa Rica award winning journalist blogger

English translation: Right now, it is really clear that a blog's nature could lose its essence if it only works unidirectionally. Participation is what makes the Fusil valuable and functional. My honest gratitude to everyone that stops by here.

source: globalvoicesonline.org