usexpatcostarica.com

Another Visit to San Gerardo de Dota

A Dull Roar — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:23:00 +0000

Long-time readers of this blog may recall a trip to San Gerardo de Dota that I wrote about over a year ago. Sean's best chums live there with their parents, Ryan and Tammy, in a perfectly picturesque...

Livin’ It Up at the Hotel California

Fabulista de Costa Rica — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Yours Truly doing shovel duty Washing windows, selling "stuff," having garage sales, cleaning out the barn, dumping old files, sorting through photographs for scanning, moving boxes out of the...

Cooking Goes to the Dogs in La Fortuna VIDEO

Doin' Costa Rica — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Our friend, Scott, owns Lava Lounge and Gecko Gourmet in La Fortuna Costa Rica- the former being one of the more popular restaurants in the area... whatever but Scott is also a BIG TIME dog/animal...

Facebook Profiles for Businesses and Mass Communication

expatcostarica — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:23:49 +0000

Have you ever sent a friend request on Facebook to a business or blogger who did not want to identify themselves personally? In Costa Rica many businesses have failed to get the message, and instead...

What’s in the Birthday Present Mom?

A Dull Roar — Sat, 19 May 2012 21:26:00 +0000

OK, you're in Costa Rica, with your kids, and your son's birthday is coming up. What to get him for a present? How about whitewater rafting! Sounds like a great idea to me. Our fellow ex-pat friends...

Pilas Mostacho – Furniture from Concrete

A Dull Roar — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:18:00 +0000

As I mentioned in the last post Tamara is making some "display models" of her mosaic work for a local pila factory (concrete sinks). Mostacho (whose real name is Carlos) has been at his PanAmerican...

Tamara’s At It Again – Mosaicos

A Dull Roar — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:37:00 +0000

The Fish Bench Tamara hasn't had a commission for a wall mosaic lately, but that doesn't mean she's not been busy with her projects. She's worked out a new deal with a local "pila shop" to make...

How To Have Christmas In May

A Dull Roar — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Recently, in USExpatCostaRica.com there was an article about how Costa Rica Customs are enforcing the collection of import/sales tax on items mailed to Costa Rica from outside the country (usually...

Breath of Fresh Air in Costa Rica

expatcostarica — Sun, 13 May 2012 05:00:42 +0000

A comprehensive ban on smoking in public places, just two months since its first legislature approval now enjoys widespread acceptance in Costa Rica. For some in the English-speaking community, the...

Chinchilla Sagging Under the Weight of Scandals

A Dull Roar — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:36:00 +0000

La Presidenta of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, has been having some rough times the last several weeks. She belongs to the PLN (Partido Liberación Nacional) and they tried to push through a...

U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica Warns of Phishing Scam‏

expatcostarica — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:57:27 +0000

Please be aware that U.S. Embassy San Jose has received multiple reports about fraudulent ?phishing? phone calls directed at American citizens in Costa Rica. The phone calls have been made in an...

Lake Arenal Party Boat

Doin' Costa Rica — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Lake Arenal in La Fortuna Costa Rica is one of the most under utilized lakes in the world. I said it and I'm sticking to it. It's always been strange to me how little use Lake Arenal actually...

Takin’ Care of Business – Tico Style

NoCal Costa Rica — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:42:27 +0000

I have to give credit where it’s due. Michael Allen at Doin’ Costa Rica did a video and post on doing business in Costa Rica. I found nothing in his video or blog to disagree with. Go...

Finding Your Way To The Ex-pat Life

A Dull Roar — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:25:00 +0000

The other day I read a review of this blog that got me to thinking. The review was positive, he liked the site, but the reviewer didn't think there was much here about actually becoming or living as...

Customs Tax on Internet Purchases

expatcostarica — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:38:40 +0000

Receiving Internet purchases in Costa Rica has become a more expensive proposition thanks to a decree from the Ministerio de Hacienda. The tax authority announced in November that for the first time...

The Followers Widget Is Having A Fit

A Dull Roar — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Note to All: About a week ago the Google Followers widget (that shows little thumbnails of those who have chosen to follow this blog long-term) went nuts. It's done it on both this blog and my...

Why Gringo Businesses FAIL in Costa Rica

Doin' Costa Rica — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Many Gringos who start a business in Costa Rica FAIL within a year or two... and usually they have plenty of excuses. It's not difficult to understand why many folks would like to live and operate...

The Accidental Slumlord

NoCal Costa Rica — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:20:36 +0000

Ever find yourself asking yourself “How in HELL did I end up doing THIS???” Well, even if you haven’t, I have. To tell the whole story would require a book I’m not ready to...

D’Angelo’s Family Does La Fortuna

Doin' Costa Rica — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:45:00 +0000

La Fortuna, Costa Rica is a great travel destination vacation if you don't have much time in the country. D'Angelo's family had never been to Costa Rica, so we thought La Fortuna would be the...

Costa Rica’s Place in Medical Tourism

A Dull Roar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:56:00 +0000

The term coined for traveling outside your home country to obtain health care is medical tourism. The primary motivation of such travellers is to take advantage of lower medical costs with an equal...

Before and After (the paint job)

A Dull Roar — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:10:00 +0000

It has to have been at least 6 weeks since I took my truck to the body and paint shop in the village of La Bonita. Berny, the sole proprietor, estimated 3 weeks for a complete repair and repaint. He...

Tulips in the Garden, Rats in the Barby!

Fabulista de Costa Rica — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:52:00 +0000

If we had to return to California, at least we arrived in a good season. Although we did need a fire in the woodstove the first few nights to keep down the chill, the weather has actually been quite...

Talamanca Mountain Range in Costa Rica

A Dull Roar — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Over three years living here and I'm still learning things that should have been obvious. Such as that the Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death), which we gaze upon most mornings to the north, is...

Learning Spanish SUCKS – the video.

Doin' Costa Rica — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Me, trying to learn Spanish has been the BIGGEST frustration of my LIFE since moving to Costa Rica 7 years ago.I can tell you people get almost pissed when I tell them that my Spanish SUCKS! They...

The RICH & POWERFUL in Costa Rica LAND SCAM

Doin' Costa Rica — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:34:00 +0000

The rich and powerful in Costa Rica scamming legitimate land owners with impunity.Looks like Costa Rica is shooting itself in the foot again. This video was sent to me from a friend so I'm passing...

Don’t Pay the Ransom… I Escaped!

NoCal Costa Rica — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:55:53 +0000

Old joke… I’ve been away from the blog for quite a while. I wasn’t kidnapped, though, just ran out of things to say, or at least constructive things to say. But recently I decided...

Juan Santamaria Day

A Dull Roar — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:11:00 +0000

Today in Costa Rica is a national holiday: Juan Santamaría Day. The schools, P.O. and other government offices are closed in honor of the death of a fabled young soldier who gave his life to defeat...

Sloths being ELECTROCUTED in Costa Rica

Doin' Costa Rica — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:58:00 +0000

Sloths are my favorite animals in Costa RicaThe electrocution of sloths, monkeys and other small creatures is a unfortunate reality in Costa Rica, but to be honest, I'm not quite sure how big the...

Oh, the Days Dwindle Down….

Fabulista de Costa Rica — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:20:00 +0000

As the day nears when Layne and I must leave Costa Rica for California, we find it harder and harder to say goodbye. Every day brings another reminder of just what a wonderful life we have found here...

What’s the BUG Situation in Costa Rica?

Doin' Costa Rica — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Costa Rica has MORE than its fair share of bugs, spiders, snakes and other nondescript creepy-crawlies. To many, that's just Costa Rica and comes with the territory, to others, it's their worst...