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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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Our reader's opinion
A service mark to promotethe unique Costa Rica Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Your June 15 edition featured an article entitled "Tourism institute seeks help in branding nation.” Carlos Ricardo Benavides, minister of Turismo, indicated that the tourist board wants to put a new face on the country. “ Mr. Benavides explained that what officials hope to obtain is more than a logo or a slogan. They seek to demonstrate the social values held by the people here.” A research study was being initiated in the form of a lengthy questionnaire. I participated online to answer very poignant questions. Ultimately, the Question “are you familiar with Costa Rica’s tourism slogan, “NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS'? “Does the logo reflect the VALUE OF THE COUNTRY”? For me, a creative spark was born. In the weeks ahead, I helped create a vibrant, playful image featuring the sun (sol), verdant mountains (montañas verdes), and blue sea (mar azul) embrace. (NOTE: Just trying my Spanish). I married the words COSTA RICA… with the service mark COME CATCH TIME. COME CATCH TIME, as a service mark is intended to connote that Costa Rica is a tourist destination where life is lived in joyful harmony with family, friends, and nature. A land of sunshine and smiles. Costa Rica is a country where you can experience the idea of falling out of time; where time pools rather than races. The following eloquent thought might apply when describing what a visitor might experience in Costa Rica. It is from a book entitled "The House of the Spirits" authored by Isabel Allende. “A world of calm silences . . . a world in which time is not marked by calendars . . . days clocked by the fall of rain . . . .the cool quiet of a stream . . . .” Months prior I had decided to holiday in Costa Rica. I made reservations for a two-week stay at B&B Vista Atenas, commencing August. (What a grand, intimate, soulful choice). I prepared a few complete packages which included cover letters, a CD of the design, my thoughts and comments to be delivered to Señor Benavides and Señora Maria Amalia Revelo, deputy manager, director of marketing, Costa Rican Tourism Board. Both parties were unavailable due to prior commitments. I was able to arrange for a brief meeting with the senior Advisor to the minister, Señora Gina Guillen. She was most cordial and enthusiastic regarding my presentation. We have communicated in the past months, but it seems the upcoming elections and Christmas holiday have taken priority. The soul of a country begins with its people. The motto, Pura Vida implies that Costa Rica values a special way of life, where Ticos live in the moment, proud of their peace loving paradise. I have attached a copy of the image/service mark. Perhaps you might consider printing part of this epistle and artistic rendering. It would be fun to see what your readers think. Robert C. Miele
 Mr. Miele's proposed service mark
Puppet shows planned
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministerio de Cultura, Juventud y Deportes plans a series of puppet shows for children starting Sunday from noon until 6 p.m. in Parque Morazán in north San José. Other shows at the same time will be Jan., 23 in Heredia, Feb. 13 in Parque Central de Cartago and Feb. 20 at Parque Juan Santamaría de Alajuela. The event will be accompanied by sales of handicrafts, music and circus artists, the ministry said. The puppets are from the Fundación Skené.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| San
José,
Costa Rica, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 5 |
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Emergency flight is a bit
scary for a traditional youngster
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The experience can be a little scary when you are yanked from a traditional society into the 21st century and taken up thousands of feet in the air. Particularly if you are a sick little boy of just 13 months old. The boy is Ligardo López Moya, a native Costa Rican who lives with his family in the high Talamanca where life has not changed much for thousands of years. But when someone gets sick there is at least the option to seek emergency transportation from the Sección Aérea of the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública. Young López was suffering from dehydration and lung problems that were the result of some form of virus. The security ministry pilots make flights like this all the time. But the trip Thursday was longer because the pilot, Alex Ulloa, said he was wary of the ash put into the atmosphere by Volcán Turrialba. The destination was in far southeast Costa Rica. the area is so remote that the child's mother, Domitila Moya Iglesias, had to carry him on a two-hour hike just to reach the landing area. Despite the traditional lifestyle, shortwave radios still are available in the area to seek help. And mothers can ride on helicopters to provide comfort for very nervous youngsters. Also on the flight was Jorge Lozano, another pilot, and Alonso Barahona, a volunteer paramedic. Because of the volcano emissions, the pilot chose to avoid hospitals in Turrialba and Limón. He took the boy and his |
 Photo by Alonso Barahona
Ligardo López has mixed feelings
about his first flight
mother directly to Juan Santamaría airport and the Hospital Nacional de Niños in San José. The ministry said that providing transport to ailing native Costa Ricans from the various remote reserves is a priority. The helicopter that was used Thursday is back in service after a prolonged period of repairs, said the ministry. |
| A sojourn at sea to quell fears of volcanoes and terrorists |
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| I no sooner had written
to my daughter to say that the cold snap up north was affecting us in
Costa Rica and the temperature in my apartment in the morning was a
chilly 66 F, when the very next morning it was a bearable 69 and the
cloudy skies turned blue. I figured summer had arrived. And none
too soon for me. My apartment has a north/south exposure. Of course, right after I wrote to her with the news, it turned chilly again. Whether or not climate change exists, weather change certainly does. Meanwhile, I am running around getting things ready for the arrival of my daughter and our sailing trip that will take us along the coast of Costa Rica. It has been years since I have been on a ship and gone anywhere. If I had my choice, I would travel only by boat or train. (How many times have I written that?) Even when I am seasick or sitting in my seat wondering why the train has stopped in the middle of nowhere for any apparent reason, I love it. I still feel like I am my own person and a member in good standing of the human race. And I will do anything to avoid airports in order to continue to feel that way. Why, I wonder, don’t cruise ships expand their ports of call and take travelers. It seems the time is ripe. Flying today is fraught with fear, frustration and even danger, but devoid of the romance and mystery of the likes of “Murder on the Orient Express,” or the stories of W. Somerset Maugham. (My youthful dream was to become a female Maugham and take countless voyages on the seven seas that would furnish me with stories to write.) Ah, the good old days, when we had to take the time to cross the oceans by ship or continents by train. The journey was the adventure as much as the destination. My daydreaming led me to look up available cruises (I’ve given up on freighters), and I discovered that there are a number of ships that leave from Caldera or Los Sueños, Costa Rica, with destinations like Ft. Lauderdale and |
Colón, Panama. These ships don’t return to the port from which they set sail. (Could they be for travelers?!) Meanwhile, fanatics are terrorizing other parts of the world — whether they succeed in killing anyone is not necessary to their success in striking fear in the hearts of others and promoting spending the national treasure on protection. They must be the envy of the old time racketeers who sold protection to their local businesses. Actually, what has struck me most about the reaction to this latest bombing attempt was the comment from a reporter who has spent time in Yemen. He said that he heard more than once from the Yemenis in government that they fear that if they manage to get rid of Al-Qaeda, American interest and aid (i.e. money) would cease. And the wheel goes round. In Costa Rica, we have three agitated volcanoes to terrorize us in the Meseta Central, should we choose to live in fear. My friend Lillian has told me about living with the constant volcanic ash falling from the sky after the eruption of Irazú in 1963. I can see both Poas and Irazú (or is it Turrialba?) from my living room window. Friends have told me I have “a view to die for.” Now I know what they mean. I have no desire that San José become a 21st century Pompeii. I wonder that no scientist has figured out something to feed volcanoes to calm their stomachs and stop their rude and frightening belching. But right now I don’t want to bother my little head about terrorists, volcanoes or even earthquakes. After all, I have to make sure I have enough casual but elegant clothes to wear to dinner at sea so I can unself-consciously enjoy the company of my daughter. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| Latin trade declined, but Central
America fared better |
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Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The value of total exports from Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009 fell 24 per cent compared to the previous year due to the global economic crisis, according to a new United Nations study released Thursday. But Central America fared better than most regions, it added. The value of imports in the region also declined by 25 per cent, according to “International Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean 2009: Crisis and Recovery,” published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. The 24 per cent drop in the value of the region’s exports represents a combined 15 per cent decline in value and 9 per cent decrease in volume. “This simultaneous decrease in price and volume is unprecedented in recent history. The last similar situation took place in 1937,” states the report, which updates a study published last August. It also stated that although both exports and imports declined significantly, the drop is not as bad as during the first part of 2009, when they declined by 31 per cent and 29 per cent. This implies a better outlook for 2010, according to a news release issued by the commission. |
The report
attributed the economic recovery in the last quarter of 2009
to, among others, the partial rise in the price of several commodities,
such as copper, zinc, oil, wheat and soya, and the strong demand from
China since the second quarter of last year. Significant differences were also cited between countries and subregions. While exports diminished 42 per cent in Venezuela and 32 per cent in Andean countries as a whole, they decreased 29 per cent in the Caribbean, 22 per cent in Mexico and Chile, and only 6 per cent in Central America (excluding Mexico). Mining and oil exports fared the worst, according to the study, with an average decline of 42.3 per cent from January to September 2009. Meanwhile, manufactured products dropped 25.4 per cent and agricultural and livestock exports decreased 18.4 per cent. Last month the commission predicted that Latin America and the Caribbean will bounce back faster than expected from the global financial crisis, with growth projected at over 4 per cent in 2010. In its annual report, the commission said it expects positive growth rates for most countries in the region, but notes there are still doubts about whether the recovery will be sustainable, since external scenarios remain uncertain and could impact the area. |
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| Prosecutors in Honduras seek to charge
military leaders |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Honduran attorney general's office has issued abuse of power charges against military commanders involved in the coup that ousted president Manuel Zelaya last June. Prosecutors say the top leaders charged include Army Commander Romeo Vasquez Velasquez. The prosecutors say they presented the charges to the Supreme Court, which has three days to respond. The Supreme Court has sided with coup leaders in several rulings. The Honduran congress is also reported to be considering amnesty for those involved in the coup, as well as for Zelaya, who faces charges of treason and abuse of power. Interim President Roberto Micheletti held discussions Wednesday in Tegucigalpa with visiting U.S. diplomat Craig Kelly, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, on the nation's political crisis. The |
two met for at
least two hours on reuniting the
parties involved in the political stalemate. In a televised interview Wednesday, Micheletti accused the U.S. of pressuring him to step down by Jan. 15, with the promise of millions of dollars in aid to Honduras. He says he will stay in office until President-elect Porfirio Lobo takes office January 27. The State Department has said the U.S. is trying to help the parties move forward in implementing an agreement, known as the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord, on ending the turmoil over Zelaya's removal. The deal calls for the creation of a national unity government and a truth commission to look into the military-backed coup. Zelaya was overthrown June 28 and sent into exile to Costa Rica. He returned to Honduras in September and has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa under the threat of arrest. Zelaya's opponents say he was trying to illegally change the constitution. |
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| SSan José, Costa Rica, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 5 | |||||||||
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Latin American news Please reload page if feed does not appear promptly |
Cloning of
credit cards alleged in eight arrests By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Investigators detained eight persons during 11 raids Thursday and linked them to a gang that has been using cloned credit cards to buy items for resale. Agents said that the credit cards were copied by workers in various bars and restaurants and then turned over to gang leaders who fabricated the fake credit cards. The Unidad Especializada de Fraudes of Ministerio Público and the Judicial Investigating Organization made the raids. They were in Pablo de Heredia, Cinco Esquinas in Tibás, El Carmen de Guadalupe and San Rafael de Oreamuno. Those detained were identified by the last names of Campos, Tenorio, Campos, Alvarado, Quesada, and a woman with the name of Aguila. Wednesday two other persons, identified by the last names of Segura and Ortiz were detained. Most of those detained were restaurant or bar workers who are facing allegations that they used an electronic device to take the identifying informaiton from credit cards. The two men names Campos, father and son, are accused of actually creating the false cards and using them to buy expensive home appliances like television sets. Some items were recovered in the police raid. Several of the other men have prior arrests for similar crimes, although the judicial outcomes could not be learned. Agents warn credit card users to always keep track of the location of the plastic when they pay a bill. Those who steal data from the card usually have to do so in a concealed place. Although reputable citizens have to provide identification when they use credit cards, the crooks seem to be able to purchase products without adequate supporting documentation.
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