Author Archive for expatcostarica
Visit to the Costa Rica Embassy in Washington D.C.
I have to admit that I was pretty worried about my trip to the Costa Rican Embassy in Washington D.C. I had read some discouraging things on the Internet, and had been calling for two days with no answer. I also know from personal experience that Costa Ricans take the Christmas holiday seriously and the [...]
Festival de Luz (Light)
Costa Rica enjoyed the annual festival de luz (or light) last night as is the custom every second Saturday in the month of Decemeber. The event, which includes a parade with elaborate floats marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Costa Rica.
Nutcracker Ballet in Morazan Park
You know when Christmas has arrived in San Jose, the lights, parades and streets full of shoppers spending their aguinaldo are hard to miss. While the center of it all is Parque Central the other parks of San Jose are in the holiday spirit as well, and Morazán Park as the temple of music puts [...]
Gringo Tries to Skip Out on $8 Bill
Officer Martin Jimenez is responsible for this video captured at night on the pedestrian Boulevar or Avenida Central of San Jose just in front of the Hotels Balmoral and Presidente. The real action doesn’t start until 3 minutes into the video clip where we learn that the municipal police are responding to a call for [...]
Cooking Gas Unsafe in Costa Rica
Chances are if you use gas stove in Costa Rica that the regulator is obsolete and considered unsafe in the rest of the world. When I ordered my first cooking gas cylinder, Tropigas the gas company was kind enough to deliver to my home. At the time I was worried because the regulator appeared fragile, [...]
Costa Rica Needs to “Fix Broken Windows”
Downtown San Jose was recently the scene of an all out gun battle, and while the report of shoot out in broad daylight in the heart of a Latin American capital city may not seem surprising the fact is that such a scene is uncommon in Costa Rica. Of course there is gang violence and [...]
Former President Found Guilty
Former president of Costa Rica Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier has been found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of embezzlement. Apparently the trial court could not be persuaded to the legitimacy of $520,000 payment he received for brokering the purchase of medial equipment on the part of the national healthcare [...]
Where Do Perpetual Tourists Go?
Perpetual Tourists in particular from the United States have enjoyed a presence in Costa Rica for many years. The truth is being a perpetual tourist is not the easiest existence as the work opportunities are not really good, and the culture can be difficult to adapt. Most people who start as perpetual tourists eventually move [...]
Find Attorney to Record Marriage
Acts of Marriage in Costa Rica are most often performed in Costa Rica by a private attorney who is also credited as a notary. While a religious or marriage ceremony may also be performed it is typical to contract the services of a notary to actually do the legal paperwork. Unlike in the United States [...]
