Czech tourism entrepreneur Jan Kalina died last Friday in CIMA Hospital in San José, the daily La Nación reported. A cause of death was not given.
Kalina was well-known for his 16 year battle with Costa Rica over the legality of a hotel he constructed inside the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, on the southern Caribbean. On July 28, 2011, the country’s Environment Ministry bulldozed Hotel Las Palmas.
Kalina always alleged the area was not a refuge when he first constructed the property. His ashes were scattered on the property last weekend.