All Entries in the "Education" Category

Costa Rica’s 10 Most Unique Hotels

Costa Rica is a place where competition for travelers’ dollars is intense and hotel property owners work hard to be different.

How does a “Hobbit Hotel” or secluded resort of geodesic-dome “jungalows” sound? Here are some of the ‘most unique’ hotels from all corners of Costa Rica.

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

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.

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton in Costa Rica for Regional Ministers’ Conference

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived early Thursday in the capital of San José, Costa Rica to meet the country’s leaders as well as ministers from 16 Central and South American nations for a conference to discuss economic and democracy reform issues.

Mrs. Clinton will meet with President Oscar Arias Sánchez and president-elect Laura Chinchilla…

Internet and e-Commerce Industries Booming in Costa Rica

Central American countries, like Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, are all experiencing a considerable scale of development in their telecommunication sectors.

However, Costa Rica has managed to reach a high level of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and operation advancements due to its economic policies.

Is Costa Rica a Third World, Second World or Developed Country?

There is a multi-million-dollar mega-mall in Escazú, west of San José, which sports outlets of some of the world’s most exclusive stores. But, according to the State of the Nation report in November, at least 16,000 Costa Rican homes are “without basic services,” such as electricity and running water.

A constant feature of this disparity in the makeup of Costa Rica is that, while certain areas of the country are surging ahead, there are many areas in which the country is not keeping up or is, indeed, falling behind.

El Niño and Pathogen Killed Costa Rica Toad – Not Global Warming

The Monteverde golden toad, vanished from Costa Rica’s Pacific coastal-mountain cloud forest in the late 1980s. The role that climate change played in the toad’s demise has been fiercely debated in recent years.

According to a new study, global warming did not kill a Costa Rica amphibian often cited as an example of climate-triggered extinction.

Costa Rica’s New Traffic Laws Take Effect March 1, 2010

Costa Rica’s new and sweeping traffic reform laws (reformas a Ley de Tránsito) will finally be the law of the land on March 1st, 2010.

The cornerstone of the new reform is the computerization of drivers’ license records, and the use of a strict points system to force drivers to re-evaluate and change their driving practices.

Traveling with Kids in Costa Rica; an Age-by-Age Guide

Costa Rica is a near-perfect family vacation destination. Not only does it have exotic wildlife, jungles, and volcanoes, it’s easy to get to, warm, and safe for tourists —all in all a perfect entry-level adventure trip.
Thinking of venturing to Costa Rica with your family this year? Here’s a guide to the best kinds of trips [...]

Why and How To Do Business in Costa Rica

Investments in education and development make this Central American nation a hotspot for high-tech companies and suppliers.
Costa Rica’s vote and approval of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) put the nation of 4 million people in the spotlight as a potential trade partner for U.S. firms. But savvy global companies—and even savvier buyers—have considered [...]

Costa Rica’s “La Gloria” Guanacaste Wind Farm Now Online

Costa Rica in its quest to be the first carbon neutral country on Earth has reached new heights toward its goal with the completion of the Proyecto Eólico Guanacaste or “La Gloria” electric generating wind farm.
55 wind turbines located at a spectacular site near the Miravalle Volcano (Volcán Miravalle) in Cordillera de Guanacaste, in close [...]

Debi Nova Releases New Album, Talks About Growing Up in Costa Rica

Costa Rican pop sensation Debi Nova has been in the fast lane since arriving in United States from Central America seven years ago. But that was not her original intention.
The sultry singer/songwriter and multi-talented musician originally moved to Los Angeles, CA to attend UCLA. However when renowned producer/artist Sergio Mendes offered her the chance to [...]

The Ancient and Mysterious Stone Spheres of Costa Rica

In the 1930’s, the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International) was excavating the fertile, yet remote, farmlands of Costa Rica, near the Diquis Valley on the Pacific Ocean coast. United Fruit is the major importer of bananas and they became interested in this region of Costa Rica because of a blight that had killed [...]

Boosting Biodiversity and the Global Economy by Saving a Species

“Forty-nine”, a researcher whispers.
After counting the slimy, round white eggs just laid by a rare leatherback turtle in a hole dug in the sand under bright moonlight on Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica; researcher Tera Dornfeld marks the site of the eggs after the female turtle has filled in the hole with her giant [...]

The Agenda and Challenges of Costa Rica’s New President

Costa Rica’s first woman head of state, president-elect Laura Chinchilla, must now get to work.
For decades Costa Rica has been an oasis of stability in the troubled Central American isthmus. It is the only Latin American country to figure on a list of the world’s 22 “older democracies” compiled by Robert Dahl, an eminent political [...]

Spring Break Costa Rica – the Hemesphere’s Best Kept Secret

Spring break is greatly anticipated by most college students being as it indicates the end of winter, the opportunity to put down the books, take a break from studying and of course; do a little partying.
Students look forward to a change of scenery and day dream about places like Cancun and some of the beaches [...]

Online Videos add Humor to Costa Rica Presidential Elections

The Costa Rican Presidential elections are this Sunday, February 7, 2010.  Many Costa Ricans are expressing their concerns regarding the candidates and the future of their country through the use of age-old parody and humor by way of modern online videos.

First, we have an online video uploaded by El Basureo where they propose an [...]

Rutgers GREEN Team Students Studied Renewable Energy in Costa Rica

The dreams of Rutgers University’s Global Renewable Energy Education Network Team (GREEN Team) transformed into reality over winter break when their renewable energy program in Costa Rica launched its pilot session.
Students landed at the San Jose airport on January 5, 2010 and spent 12 days learning and applying renewable energy ideas, enjoying the environment and [...]

T. Rex Dinosaur “Sue” Revisits Costa Rica’s Jurassic Park

The Chicago Field Museum’s Tyrannosaurus Rex named “Sue” is visiting Costa Rica.
Which is kind of ironic; considering the famous Jurassic Park film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar (Spanish for “Cloudy Island”), 190 kilometers (120 miles) off the coast of Costa Rica – yet Sue was discovered in the U.S. State of North Dakota.
“The largest, [...]

One Third of Costa Rican Children Live in Poverty

Children represent 32% of the poor in Costa Rica; limited opportunities for single mothers among causes.
One third of Costa Rican children under age 12, almost 300,000 in all, live in poverty according to government figures published January 25, 2010 by the local press in the Costa Rica, San José capital.
Statistics from the “State of the [...]

Cisco Entrepreneur Institute Opens in Costa Rica

Cisco® Systems Inc. announced the creation of the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Costa Rica to help small and medium business entrepreneurs improve their business skills and learn how to use information and collaboration technologies.
The Entrpreneur Institute’s courses are based on the experiences of successful entrepreneurs and important business leaders, combined with the practical knowledge acquired [...]