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Fun and Free Costa Rica Culture: Halloween Masquerade Parades

This Halloween, be a part of Costa Rica’s fun and free costumed tradition — fling yourself into the contagious festivals and parades that flood the streets during Día Nacional de la Mascarada Costarricense.

Costa Rica Wildlife: 6 You Might Have Never Seen

The jungle can be a scary place, and even for some of the fiercest of Costa Rica’s creatures, sometimes the best defense is just...

Birdwatching in Costa Rica: 5 More Common Birds of San José

Following up on an earlier post, here I take a look at five more birds that are common in the trees, telephone wires, rooftops, and...

Wormseed: A Stomach Remedy in Your Costa Rica Garden

It’s good to have an old friend return to my tropical garden. As most gardeners know, there’s an ebb and flow of plants that reside...

Finding La Negrita in Costa Rica: A Story of Coming Home

In January 2013, I was given a grant to conduct research in the Costa Rican National Archives on the vague topic of slavery in...

4 Reasons Why Crocodiles are Smarter than you Think

Crocodiles have been around for millions of years, and waaaay back in the day nobody threatened these big fellas. Now in some parts of the...

7 Homemade Pest-Control Recipes for the Costa Rica Rainy Season

As the tropical rains increase in Costa Rica during the year, so do the bugs - and for the gardener, that can spell trouble.  Most...

How to beat the rainy season in Costa Rica with kids

I come from dry places. I am relatively new at motherhood. I am relatively new to Costa Rica. Therefore, the first downpours to trap me — along with a husband, a 3-year-old and a newborn — inside our small San José apartment filled me with dread.

Learn to grow and cook the low-maintenance pigeon pea in Costa Rica

During the dry season in Costa Rica, when the vegetation turns brown and the soil hardens, it’s difficult to grow any crops. But there...

A Gardener’s Guide to the Costa Rican Rainy Season

The rainy season is the perfect time to start, or rejuvenate, your tropical garden. Ed Bernhardt shows you how.

5 (debated) things about Costa Rica’s National Hero Juan Santamaría?

Some historians and sociologists say the original construction of the Juan Santamaría myth was, well, convenient.

The Measure of a Costa Rica Expat: How Many ‘varas’ in a Mile?

Our rental-car GPS started speaking in that cryptic language from the outskirts of reason: the U.S. system of measurement. In this week's "Please Send Coffee!" column, Raquel Chanto explores the confusing process of adjusting to her adopted country's non-metric quirks.

Is it insane to hold an open house in Costa Rica?

Is it insane to hold an open house in Costa Rica or does it make sense to forget about it and promote the sale of your house in a different way?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s the chemistry that makes your beer taste good (or bad)

In a recent study, researchers found that more layers of foam on top of a liquid make it less likely to spill. So going with some hearty traditional beer may be good for more than just your holiday spirit. It could keep your clothes dry, too, as you get tipsier.
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Dollar Slips Back Toward 450 Colones, Shrinking What Your Dollars Buy

The dollar closed Friday at 452.92 colones on Monex, down from 460.45 on Oct. 1, reducing what anyone earning or saving in dollars gets in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Prison Population Hits Record Ahead of Mega-Prison Opening

Costa Rica held a record 21,173 adults in prison as of Oct. 7, up 42% since 2022, as the government prepares to open its 5,100-bed CACCO maximum-security prison.

Costa Rica Weather Today Brings Dry Mornings and Stormy Pacific Afternoons

Expect a calmer morning, then afternoon storms in the Central Valley and Pacific, heaviest on the Central and South Pacific. Check Route 32 before you drive to the Caribbean.

More Than 400 Buildings Sit in the Path of Costa Rica’s Electric Train

Incofer's feasibility study found more than 400 homes, shops and buildings inside the rail right-of-way for the Tibi electric train. The state must also buy 145 private lots by 2028.