PUNTA MORALES, Puntarenas – After sixyears under the administration of the UniversidadNacional (UNA), the National Station for the MarineSciences (ECMAR) was officially made part of theuniversity’s campus earlier this month.The station had previously been owned andadministered by the National Counsel of Scientificand Technological Investigations (CONICIT), but onMay 7 CONICIT president Dr. Ronald Meléndez,UNA Director Sonia Mora and Science andTechnology Minister Fernando Gutiérrez signed aformal agreement transferring ownership of the stationto UNA.Meléndez saluted UNA’s recent administration ofthe station, which he said has been bustling withresearch, educational activity and community developmentover the past several years.He said it is appropriate that a center of educationnow administer the station, since CONICIT hasaccomplished the objectives it had for ECMAR whenwork began in 1977.“I’VE nothing left to say except to praise thework, first on the part of UNA, for maintaining thestation, and secondly on the part of CONICIT, forhaving had the vision to create a center of investigationthat is now consolidated,” he said.During the ceremony, Gutiérrez said the station’scontinued success is of vital importance for CostaRica.“This institute is a pillar of science and technology,and a pillar of development for the country,”Gutiérrez said.If use is any indicator of success, ECMARappears to be headed in the right direction. Since1996, more than 10,000 people have visited the station,located about 20 kilometers northwest of thePacific port town of Puntarenas, on the Gulf ofNicoya, said Juana María Coto, the chair of UNA’sExact and Natural Science Department.“But those aren’t visitors who just come to see thebuildings. Those are visitors who come to work, tolearn and to teach,” she said.ECMAR covers two hectares of protected area,including numerous patches of mangroves.At certain points during the day, the station’sdock extends only into a sandbar. Boats lie beachedaround it – hardly a setting one would imagine foractive maritime research.But a few hours later, the sandbar disappears andthe dock is half-submerged in waters brought in bythe tide from the Gulf of Nicoya.Station Administrator Ramiro Méndez said thearea around the dock is flooded every day, and everyday the waters recede. The process repeats itselfabout every 12 hours, he said.THE station is involved in three major projects:providing chemistry training to rural school teachers,managing local species of crocodiles, and the developmentof a new marine science museum at ECMAR.The museum was inaugurated May 7, just after theagreement was signed.ECMAR also houses numerous members of theWomen’s Association of Morales, who for the pastthree years have been cultivating Japanese Oysters,with the hope of selling them for a profit.Maria Mercedes, a member of the association,said they have yet to profit from the venture, and thatthe funding they receive from the Science andTechnology Ministry and CONICIT only covers theproject’s expenses.Mercedes said the project started with 25 women,but now only 10 remain.The oysters are being bred inside an ECMAR laboratoryand are grown in special bags supported byfloating crates just offshore from the center.Mercedes said a good portion of their oysters wasstolen in the middle of the night last year, so now aguard rows out to the crates every night and sleepswith his boat tethered to them.For more info about visiting the station or museum,call 661-2670.

ISLITA, Guanacaste – Parents inthe town of Islita, on the Pacific side ofthe Nicoya Peninsula, have one less thingto worry about each morning as they getready for work.Anew daycare center – the first in theregion – built using funds donated by anon-profit foundation created by theowners of nearby Hotel Punta Islita isnow taking care of area children and givingthem a head start in their education.The center, inaugurated last month, isthe result of a joint effort by theVillafranca- Zürcher Foundation, whichwas founded by the hotel owners, and thegovernment’s Mixed Institute for SocialAid (IMAS).THE foundation provided the fundsto build the daycare center and equip itwith cots, cribs, books, videos and educationaltoys, while IMAS trained thethree women who are now in charge ofoperating the center.The center can accommodate 12 childrenbetween four monthsand four years of age,between 6:30 a.m. and4:30 p.m. The cost of thedaycare services is subsidized,so parents payaccording to their means.“It’s not often we findbusiness people who wantto collaborate with thecommunity in this way,”said Gladis Dávila, regionalmanager of IMAS forthe northwestern provinceof Guanacaste. “The Hotelhas contributed its grain of sand by helpingthe family’s communities.”EDUARDO Villafranca, generalmanager of Hotel Punta Islita and one ofthe founders of the foundation, sees thedaycare center as a way to give back tothe community.“The community is an important priorityfor us,” he explained. “The communityhas many needs, the most urgent ofwhich is education. After resolving thebasic issues, such as water, we beganworking on an integral education project.”The foundation is based on three principles– social assistance, caring for natureand fostering the arts, Villafranca said.As part of its social commitments, thefoundation is working on various projectsto improve local schools. It hasworked to improve preschool services inIslita and nearby communities, andhelped make it possible for local schoolsto provide much-needed English andcomputer science courses, he said.THE organization also plans to beginassisting the local high school in thenearby town of Coyote.The foundation plans to train teachersto teach tourism-related courses to students.That way, high-school graduates inthe region will have experience and trainingin an area where they can find workor start their own business.The foundation is also providingSteven Ruíz, a local resident who workedfor the hotel, with financial assistancethat makes it possible for him to live hislifelong dream of attendinguniversity in San Joséto study digital animation.“They’re helpingmany. They’ve come tohelp us and give us newopportunities,” Ruízexplained. “Everyone intown is grateful. Wedepend on them.”The community’senvironment is also welltaken care of. Last month,Islita’s beach was awardedthe Blue Flag, which commemoratesthe cleanliness of the beachand nearby ocean.AS part of the foundation’s commitmentto fostering the arts, acclaimed Ticopainter Ricardo Ávila was brought onboard to paint the outside of the daycarecenter.Ávila said he didn’t have to thinkmuch about how to paint the daycare center.He took most of his inspiration fromwhat he saw in Islita, he said.Hotel Punta Islita has promoted thearts in Islita for several years now. Most ofthe pueblo’s houses and commercial establishmentsare painted in bold primary colors.Sparkly signs in the shape of lollipops,half-moons and spirals line the bumpyroad that crosses the town and leads to theluxury hotel (TT, Dec. 6, 2002).“I found what the other artists hadpainted interesting,” Ávila said.Having found his inspiration, Ávilagot to work and unleashed his perspiration– he worked for two days straight in theoverpowering heat and humidity of Islita.“The best ideas happen when onedoesn’t think about them,” he explained.“I liked it because I didn’t have to thinkabout it. The true artist does things withoutthinking too much about them.”

JUST outside of Costa Rica’s busy capital, in a small andscantly lit nightclub on Guadalupe’s main road northeast of SanJosé, some of the country’s top dancers gather religiously tomove to a rhythm of the country’s very own creation, a versionof swing dancing to a Latin rhythm, coined el swing criollo, orthe Creole swing.“The Swing Criollo was born right here in Costa Rica,” saidLigia Torijano, who bought Karymar Discotheque inGuadalupe about two and a half years ago with her husband,José Quirós.“The Dominican Republic has the merengue and Argentinahas the tango,” he said. “The attraction for a lot of us is that it’sa Tico rhythm.”Cracked fragments of mirror decorate the entrance ofKarymar, a decaying hot spot where the disco ball in the centerof the dance floor competes with the buckets strategicallyplaced to catch the water that seeps in through the roof. Wornleather chairs and tiny wooden tables are positioned around thethree dance floors.Customers don’t come to Karymar for the decor, but rather,because it is one of the only places in the country where customersdance the Creole swing in its original, unadulteratedform.KARYMAR itself has been around for about 12 years andwas witness to the development of the dance from its inceptionamong San José’s working classes to a full-blown fad across thecountry. A documentary on the subject, titled “Se ProhibeBailar Suin” (Swing Dancing Prohibited), was even filmedthere. The film is titled this way because until fairly recently theswing was not permitted in high-class dance salons.“There are other discos that specialize in swing, but they arereally imitations,” said co-owner José Quirós. “Karymar iswhere it all began and for that reason we call it La Cuna delSwing (the cradle of swing).”Quirós and his wife decided to buy the club after dancingthe swing themselves for more than a decade, he said.Karymar swing instructor José Manuel Venegas, 25,learned the dance from his uncle, co-owner José Quirós, whenhe was just a teenager. Quirós had him stand on his feet as heperformed the steps to the music. Now Venegas has taught thedance to others for three years and has performed on nationaltelevision a number of times.FOR Venegas, the attraction of the dance is in the jump thatis also typical in American swing dancing.“It just has so much flavor, the rhythm, themovement and the energy that comes from thejumping. I just love everything about it,” hesaid.Karymar regular Marjorie Ortega, 26, hasbeen dancing the Creole Swing for almost eightyears now. She is also familiar with other Latindances like salsa and merengue.“It’s different than salsa, for example,” shesaid. “It’s less rigid, there are less rules andmore improvisation.”The Creole Swing has only gained recognition from thegeneral public during the past five years or so, according toLiliana Valle, artistic and academic director of MerecumbéDance School. Valle is also completing her doctorate in bailepopular. She said that before it became trendy, the Creoleswing was looked down upon as a phenomenon exclusive to thelower classes.“Now it is known all over the country, it touches all classes,”she said. “And what is interesting now is that it is verypopular with the youth, which shows its acceptance and thatpeople are interested in its development.”CREOLE Swing is a derivative of American swing dancing,as it was danced in the 1950s, Valleexplained.“After American swing music went out ofstyle, Costa Ricans continued to dance it toother types of rhythms until they finally settledon cumbia music,” she said.Now, more than 50 years later, it has morein common with other Latin dances like salsa.The music it is danced with, called cumbia, isoriginally from Colombia and is consideredfolkloric music there.At Merecumbé San Pedro, east of SanJosé, a two-level dance studio where the walls vibrate witheverything from salsa and merengue to tango and swing, manyforeigners participate in dance classes of all types, including theCreole swing.According to Doris Molina, a dance teacher there, many foreigners are interested in learning theswing, but few have heard of it before theyarrived to Costa Rica.“MOST foreigners come here lookingfor salsa and cumbia music because that’swhat they are familiar with,” she said. “Butthen they see we dance it differently here inCosta Rica. Once they see how we do ithere, many foreigners take a liking to it andwant to learn.”Tin Tin Yang, a 21-year-old studentfrom the University of California atBerkeley, was familiar with salsa andmerengue before arriving to Costa Rica, buthad never heard of the Creole swing.“When I first saw it, it looked fun and itwas something very different from whatI’ve ever seen,” she said. Now, after beingexposed to it, she said she even prefers todance the swing.Jorge López, 33, from Cordoba, Spain,has also been taking classes regularly atMerecumbé. He noted the importance ofrhythm and movement in Costa Rica.“Ticos are very skilled at dancing and movingtheir hips … in this country if you don’tdance you are lost.“The first time I saw it (the CreoleSwing),” he continued, “I thought it wouldbe difficult and require a lot of coordination.But I love it now.”LOPEZ, now living and working inCosta Rica in the financial sector, has beentaking weekly classes at Merecumbé sinceDecember.“The only problem I see is that it’s onlydanced here in Costa Rica,” he said. “If Ieventually leave the country in three or fouryears, I won’t be able to do it anymore.They only dance it here.”For more info, contact DiscotequeKarymar at 283-1324 or 390-7832 or e-mailswingjoqui@hotmail.com. Or contactMerecumbe Dance School at 224-3531 or emai:merecumbe@racsa.co.cr.Other dance classes are offered by YaraGutiérrez, an instructor for ¢1,500 per hour.Call her at 810-2921.

ONLY one major change marks this year’s U.S.Independence Day celebration in Costa Rica – it won’t beheld on the Fourth of July.The celebration, normally held July 4 at CerveceríaCosta Rica by the all-volunteer American Colony, isinstead scheduled for Saturday, July 3, since July 4 falls ona Sunday this year.“The recreational areas on the weekends are only for theCervecería’s employees and they did not want to sacrificeSunday this year because they are trying to keep up moralewith the employees and we applaud that,” said MiliMembreño, the secretary of the colony’s board of directors.The event, which draws a crowd of about 5,000, takestwo days to set up. The size of the crowd is bigger thanwhat Cervecería Costa Rica is used to.“THEIR events are much smaller and they’re usuallyonly held for the employees,” Membreño said. “They dothis as an in-kind donation to us – they don’t charge us. Sowe are very privileged. We are very lucky.”There is no rain date planned, instead the event (whichhas been held for more than 40 years) is held 8 a.m. to noonto avoid the afternoon showers. The rain has held off allfour years that the event has been held at the Cerveceríainstead of the U.S. Ambassador’s residence. But because ofthe increased possibility of rain during this time of year,there will be no fireworks display.“At the (ambassador’s) residence, we had some yearswhere at 11:30 a.m. it would start raining and we had peopleliterally up to their ankles in mud because it had beenraining so much,” Membreño said.ALTHOUGH it has yet to rain at the new venue, therewill be tents for shelter just in case.There will also be clowns, live music, games and contestsfor kids and adults, square dancing, cotton candy, amechanical bull, carousels and other rides, volleyball, specialtycoffees and teas, beer, sodas and thousands of hotdogs– all free for U.S. citizens.“We try to keep it as muchUnited States-oriented as wecan,” Membreño said. In fact,they even import candy, balloonsand the game prizes from there.SOME of the food and servicesat the event are bought bythe American Colony throughdonations, but the majority isdonated by corporations. And incase you leave your red, whiteand blue clothes at home, theorganization will also sell souvenirt-shirts at the celebrations.A flag ceremony and a commemorationof Independence Daywith the Pledge of Allegiance andthe singing of the National Anthemwill round out the day’s activities.“That’s the purpose of it all,really,” Manners said. “To haveeveryone get together and celebratethe independence of theUnited States and to meet otherAmericans abroad.”ONLY U.S. citizens and their immediate family areallowed into the free celebration. Proof of citizenship, likea passport or birth certificate, will be necessary at theentrance. Unfortunately, that means no nannies, cousins, orgirlfriends and boyfriends.“Every year we have to turn people away because theyare not a citizen or an immediate family member of a citizenand we hate turning people away,” said SpencerManners, president of the American Colony.Security is an issue say organizers, and the Cervecería’sgrounds will be guarded by several different security guardcompanies – the Cervecería’s guards, the Costa RicanRural Guard, a private security group contracted by theAmerican Colony and the U.S. Embassy’s security all pitchin.“After 9/11 we definitely upgraded our security, but notto the extent to scare anyone,” Membreño said. “We aredefinitely security conscious and we coordinate with theU.S. Embassy’s security personnel. They come out there afew times before the picnic and they give us indicators asto where we should focus our efforts.”BECAUSE of the security increase, the Río Segundoentrance will be closed and the only open entrance will befrom the main highway between San José and the JuanSantamaria Airport..“We always have a lot of problems with that and a lotof arguments with people who want to enter through theback way, but it’s for their own security,” Membreño said.For more info or to volunteer at the event, call 233-3296 or e-mail american_colony@yahoo.com.

FORTY years, $1.2 million and 29,500square feet – this is what it took to make adream of the Organization for TropicalStudies (OTS) come true. The non-governmentalorganization inaugurated a newhome for its education and research programsin tropical biology last month.The new building, located on theresearch campus of the University de CostaRica (UCR), near the university’s maincampus east of San José, includes classrooms,a public libraryand facilities for scientistsfrom around the world toprepare before and afterfield research.OTS is made up of aconsortium of 63 universitiesfrom the United States,Latin America andAustralia. Besides facilitatingresearch of CostaRica’s wet and dry forests,one of the main goals ofthe organization is to increase public awarenessabout conservation of the tropics.TO accomplish this goal, OTS offersclasses to the public, as well as short coursesdirected toward legislators, businessexecutives and decision makers on the sustainableuse of natural resources.“We specify the problems and let themknow what they can do to change things andmake a difference,” said Don Wilson, chairof the OTS board of directors and a seniorscientist with the Smithsonian Institution inWashington, D.C.The new facilities give OTS more spacefor classes and forums to discuss solutions,particularly because it is on the UCR campus,Wilson said.When OTS was founded 41 years ago, itwas based out of an office in the UCRmicrobiology department. Its growth forcedit off campus, into small rental housesthroughout the city, director Jorge Jiménezsaid.THE newly inaugurated buildingincludes a large, open lobby adorned withhanging and standingplants, rustic wood doorsand two-story-high windowslooking out onto thecampus.“One of my goals wasthis – that theOrganization for TropicalStudies would return tothe university. But neverin my dreams did I thinkthe return would be tosuch a magnificent place,”said Gabriel Macaya,UCR rector at the time of the May 14 inaugurationof the building (his term ended inlate May).The new library includes the largestdatabase of scientific research documentationin Costa Rica, including more than25,000 published articles about Costa Ricanbiology, according to Jiménez.“ONE of the ideas is for the public touse the library. Hundreds of people came toour old office to do research – students fromelementary and high schools, farmers whowant to know the latest research…” he said.Scientists from around the world useOTS’s three field stations at Palo VerdeNational Park in Guanacaste, La Selva in thenorthern region and Las Cruces, near theborder with Panama.OTS administrates and facilitates hundredsof research projects on Costa Rica’splant and animal species. Beyond inventoryof butterflies, birds, monkeys and orchids,studies range from the impact of habitatdestruction to attitudes in natural resourcemanagement.One OTS research project, for example,has resulted in new environmentally friendlytechniques to use mushrooms to combatpests in rice production. This prevents theuse of insecticides, which can pollute watersources, Wilson said.“SCIENTISTS are willing to make anintellectual investment in Costa Rica. We send students here for research and they have a scientific, international and multiculturalexperience,” said Jay Taft, a lab director from Harvard University and amember of the OTS board of directors.Harvard was one of the founding universities of OTS in 1963. Five other U.S.universities and Costa Rica’s public universities started the organization with thegoal of strengthening education and research in tropical biology, according to JohnDeAbate, one of two founders still alive.“I had a dream of bringing researchers from the United States to Costa Rica, toshow them what we had here,” said the 76-year-old Costa Rican scientist. “I’d bringthem here and we used to drive around looking for snakes and birds and bats, whateverit was they were interested in.”DeAbate and others began speaking with the heads of U.S. universities to generateinterest in the organization’s formation.“I was like a kid, drawing pictures of buildings with classrooms and biolabs ona big piece paper. And now look what we have,” DeAbate said, gesturing toward thenew building. “(The other founders) would faint if they saw this. This is really whatwe were dreaming about.”The building was made possible by more than $500,000 in donations from individualsand private businesses in Costa Rica and the United States, and $350,000from the Richard Simons Trust, a fund established as part of the estate of a Floridaphilanthropist who wanted most of the money to be used for the protection and studyof rain forests.For info about using the new OTS library, call 240-6696 or see the Web sitewww.ots.ac.cr

WALKING through the “People andStreets from Yesterday” photography exhibitat the National Museum of Costa Ricafeels as if someone opened a time capsuleand put the contents on display.The exhibit features are 150 photographs– inspired by the life of CostaRican people between the years of 1880-1930. It displays a period of time whencampesinos walked barefoot and contrasts itwith the elegance of the few rich families inthe area who wore European clothes.It was an era when oxcarts were themain source of transportation and the firstcar was a novelty thatcaptured the attention ofall who witnessed itspassing.The display is notorganized by chronology,instead it offers the audiencefive basic themes.THE individual, familyand society: This sectiondisplays photos ofindividuals and groups ofpeople. It also shows thedifferent environments,social statuses and kindsof jobs during that time period.History, coffee and the capital: This displayshows how coffee development affectedthe rural and urban areas – including thedevelopment of streets, communication andtransportation infrastructure and, of course,the changes in architecture.The city: This presents institutionaldevelopment, army, sanitation and educationin the country.The sacred and the profane: This part ofthe exhibit focuses on the religious activitiesin the country as well as popular celebrations.Photography as a memory and image:This shows the history of photography ofCosta Rica with images from variousprovinces.“THE exhibit is nostalgia with sense,where contrasts are not absent,” saidGabriela Villalobos, historian of the museumand curator of the exhibit. “Actually,there’s one photo of the 20th century showinga corn plantation and in the backgroundis the National Theater.Villalobos said the museum has beensaving the photos for almost a century.“Most of them have been donated. Theyare original pictures,” Villalobos said.“Photographers of that period were close tothose who directed the museum in thoseyears.”The photographers in the collectioninclude Manuel Gómez, Fernando Zamora,Harrison Nathaniel Rudd, William LuckePaynter, RichardPaynter and HenryMorgán.BESIDES the photographs,visitors canalso visit a replica of aliving room of a richfamily that lived inBarrio Amón (on thenorth side of San José),clothing of that time,military uniforms and ascale model of San José.“It was important tome to show people in their routines, theworries and activities of that era,”Villalobos said. “I wanted to show that oldpictures have a special magic – they take usto the daily activities of our ancestors, whoas well as us, day-by-day build history andmake their destiny.”She believes that daily activities are abridge between the past and the present.The exhibit is open Tuesday-Saturdayfrom 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Sunday 9a.m.-4 p.m through November.The museum is located betweenAvenida Central and Ave. 2 at Calle 17. Theentrance fee is $4 ($2 for students withidentification). For more info, call 257-1433.

JACÓ, Puntarenas – Nestled on the beach just away fromthe hustle and bustle of the Jacó’s main strip, the eggshell whitestucco apartments that make up Apartotel Girasol are a relaxingescape in the lively tourist town.Within the wrought-iron gates, the beautifulmanicured garden with its floweringshrubbery and shady palm trees stretches outbetween the apartments and the beach.Originally built as condominiums, the 16spacious apartments allow guests to stretchout and relax.GIRASOL is run by part-owner PhilipAubin, a Canadian, who along with his brotherRaymond, came here and fell in love withthe area during a vacation in 1990.“We came upon it by accident,” Aubinsaid. “We were looking for a place to go onholiday and someone suggested Costa Rica.”After discussing it with a travel agent,they were told that they could either go toJacó, on the central Pacific coast, orTamarindo, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, also onthe Pacific coast.“Back then, there was hardly anything down here,” Aubinsaid. “We asked the agent where she suggested.”ADMITTING she had no idea of the differences betweenthe two beaches, the brothers decided simply to go to the oneclosest to the airport. At that time the Liberia airport inGuanacaste had yet to begin regular international flights.“Basically, we got down here and just fell in love,” Aubinsaid.A few years later, the Aubin brothers purchased the propertywhere Apartotel Girasol is now located.Although the original intent was to sell theunits as condos, they decided to run it as ahotel, renting out the apartments by thenight, week or month. Girasol officiallyopened in January 2000.Each apartment is made up of two largerooms. The main room joins together cooking,dining and sitting areas. Set off by a partialwall, the fully equipped kitchen is joinedto the dining room by a pass through. Thefirst room also features a couch and a chairsectioning off a small area with the focusdirected to the television with cable. Setback behind the living room area is a twin sizebed.THE tile floors, wicker furniture andlarge picture windows add to the ambianceof the apartments. The spacious bathrooms, with their bright redtiles and quirky-patterned shower curtains, add a jolt of color tocontrast with the soothing white of the rest of the apartment.The air-conditioned bedroom has a queen-size bed and atwin bed. In total, the apartment can accommodate five adultsor an average-size family. “We’re very family oriented,” Aubin said. “A lot ofhotels aren’t very children friendly, but I think it’simportant that parents know that their children are welcome.”Top and bottom level rooms are virtually identical –the only difference being that upper level rooms havevaulted ceilings and, depending on the floor, each apartmenthas either a balcony overlooking the hotel’s pooland landscaping or a patio that opens on to the centralarea.MOST guests, who tend to be a mix of both nationalsand foreigners, stay for either a weekend or a weekdepending on the time of year, Aubin said.The quiet and peaceful atmosphere combined withthe convenience of having many restaurants nearby issomething Aubin sees as a highlight of the hotel.Another feature Aubin adds to the hotel is makingsure that guests are happy – whether it’s arranging toursor something as simple as calling a taxi.“Everybody’s important,” he said. “People leavehappy and that’s what we want.”APARTMENTS start at $86 a night during the lowseason and $115 a night during the high season. Weeklylow-season rates begin at $517 and $725 during the highseason. Monthly rates are also available.For more info, see www.girasol.com or call 643-1591.GETTING THERE: By car: An approximatelytwo-hour drive from San José, take the Inter-AmericanHighway west and then head south along CoastalHighway. Follow clearly marked signs. Heading intoJacó on the main street turn left onto Calle LosAlmendros. Girasol is at the end of the road.By Bus: Several buses a day leave San José from theCoca Cola terminal at Calle 16 between Ave. 1 and 3.Tickets are ¢1,020 ($2.35).

FISHING snappedback in a big wayon both coasts after adry spell so bad that Icouldn’t even get afishing report for thiscolumn last week.According toguides who havelived at Barra delColorado, on thenorthern Caribbeancoast, all their lives, they are currentlygetting the best best tarpon action inCosta Rica history.The Florida Fun Fishing Club had 22anglers at the Rio Colorado Lodge (on theCaribbean coast) fishing May 27-29, andin those days they had 526 tarpon in the airwith 172 to the boat for release, includinga new Costa Rica record of more than 200pounds.RIO Colorado Lodge owner Dan Wisesaid the anglers had constant double andtriple hookups, and one of those brought tothe boat for release is believed to be thelargest tarpon ever caught in Costa Rica.It measured 93 inches in length, butthe formula used to estimate weight bybody measurements only goes to 90 inches(7.5 feet). The long-standing record forthe region was a 90-inch tarpon that theformula shows weighed 200 pounds andat press time Wise was calling everyonehe knows to see if somebody could figureit out.The all-tackle recordfor the species is 286pounds, 9 ounces caughtin Guinee Bissau (whereverthat is) last year.The Florida anglersalso caught snook everyday,the largest weighing13 pounds. According toWise, the action was stillgoing fast and furiousthrough Sunday, and theone boat on the waterMonday morning already had three releases.WISE also said the backwaters areclean and clear and anglers are also loadingup on rainbow bass, pinto guapote andthose tasty mojarra.On the Pacific coast, brothers Pete andRandy Swensen and Drew Bressler, allfrom Key Largo, Fla., raised five marlinand released two last Friday.They had another marlin and five sailsup Saturday, with two of the sails caughtand released. On Sunday, they had fivemarlin in the air, with four to the boat forrelease.That is the most single-day marlin releasesI have heard of in all myyears in Costa Rica.They were fishing withRichard Chellemi onthe Gamefisher II, their16th trip in as manyyears.IN Quepos, on thecentral Pacific coast,J.P. Sportfishing reportsfour sailfish releases on the Swordfish forDan Crosby and Chris Harvill, fromLos Angeles, on May 24 and a pair ofroosterfish on a half-day trip the next day.J.P. Sportfishing had 22 sailfish releasesfor all of its boats May 1-25, along with avarity of roosterfish, jacks, snapper anddorado.Bruce Blevins reports from BananaBay Marina, in Golfito, a southern Pacificport city, that Bobby McGinnis is nailinga lot of roosterfish and snapper on theSweet Dream. He fished Jay Blzeski ahalf-day offshore and a half-day inshorelast week and raised a lot of sailfish in theblue water and caught some big amberjackinshore.“Still rainy, but calmer seas in thearea,” Blevins said.For more info on fishing or assistance inplanning a trip to Costa Rica, contact Jerryat jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com orvisit www.costaricaoutdoors.comSkippers, operators and anglers areinvited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishingreports by Wednesday of each week. Call orfax: 282-6743 if calling from Costa Rica, orthrough the e-mail address above.

The future of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is becoming increasinglyuncertain as groups opposed to the proposedtrade pact in Central America and theUnited States increase their efforts to stop theagreement dead in its tracks.Even CAFTA supporters agree the trade dealfaces tough challenges ahead.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick calledlast Friday’s signing of the official CAFTA texts “thebeginning of the most critical chapter” in the pact’s journeytoward reality.This journey, which has included more than a year ofnegotiations and several months of legal revision of theagreement’s texts, will end once the legislative bodies ofthe seven participating countries – the United States,Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic (which isexpected to sign on in the coming months) – vote to ratifyor reject CAFTA.GETTING CAFTA approved may prove easier saidthan done.Among the agreement’s critics is U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry ofMassachusetts. After months of warningthat if he is elected President, he will needto revise the enforcement of labor andenvironmental standards under CAFTAbefore signing it, on Friday Kerry finallyannounced unambiguously that he will“oppose CAFTA as currently negotiated.”“Over the last decade, I have consistentlysupported free-trade agreements thathave both opened markets and madeprogress in requiring enforceable labor andenvironmental standards,” Kerry said in astatement issued the day of the signing.“…As the nations of Central Americaare among our closest allies, I greatly wishthat the [President George W.] Bushadministration was today signing a tradeagreement with Central America that wasbuilt on that progress and was worthy ofour support,” Kerry explained.“UNFORTUNATELY, the free-tradeagreement signed today marks a disappointingand unnecessary step backward in(…) efforts to ensure that opening marketsresults in higher living standards on allsides and not a race to the bottom of workerrights and environmental protection,” headded.Kerry noted that despite advances,Central America’s countries have a recordof “very weak protection” of core laborrights and environmental standards.The senator also criticized the Bushadministration for failing Central Americaby “knowingly signing an agreement thatnot only misses the mark on labor andenvironmental standards (see separatestory), but has so little support that hewon’t even submit it to the U.S. Congress.”Bush is not expected to submit CAFTAto Congress until after the November presidentialelection.Several key Democratic congressmen,including Sander Levin of Michigan, thetop Democrat in the influential Ways andMeans Trade Subcommittee, CharlesRangel of New York and Xavier Becerra ofCalifornia have also expressed oppositionto CAFTA for the same reasons as Kerry.VARIOUS non-governmental organizationsin the United States have recentlyincreased their anti-CAFTA activity.“The trade ministers can sign CAFTA,but it will be dead on arrival in Congress,”said Larry Weiss, executive director ofCitizens Trade Campaign, in a statement.“Coupled with the stalled WTO [WorldTrade Organization] and FTAA [Free-Trade Area of the Americas] talks, it is onemore indication that the Bush administration’smisguided trade policy is in a state ofcollapse.”Labor unions have also spoken outagainst liberalizing trade between CentralAmerica and the United States.Bill Klinefelter, legislative and politicaldirector of the United Steelworkers ofAmerica, said, “CAFTA is a step backwardon protecting labor rights in trade agreements.The administration’s backsliding onits duty to workers in the United States andabroad has led to tremendous opposition tothis agreement in Congress, and will ultimatelyderail it.”Organizations such as Oxfam Americaand Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watchhave also expressed their firm oppositionto CAFTA, according to the Inter-PressService.CRITICS say last week’s low-profilesigning ceremony reflected the growingopposition to CAFTA. Originally, it hadbeen announced that the Presidents of theparticipating countries would signCAFTA.Instead, it was signed by the foreigntrade ministers with little fanfare in theOrganization of American States (OAS)headquarters in Washington D.C.A recent survey conducted by theProgram on International Policy Attitudes(PIPA) and Knowledge Networks concludedthere is significant support for CAFTAin the United States, even though the survey’sstatistical results show those polledare nearly evenly divided on the issue, takinginto account the margin of error (plusor minus 2.3 to 4 percentage points,depending on the question).The findings were part of a larger studyentitled “Americans on Globalization,Trade and Farm Subsidies.” Those polledwere told “The United States and somecountries of Central America have negotiateda treaty called the Central AmericaFree-Trade Agreement (CAFTA). This issimilar to what the U.S. now has withMexico and Canada in NAFTA [NorthAmerican Free-Trade Agreement].” Nearlyhalf (49%) said they were in favor, while42% said they were opposed, according tothe survey.IN Costa Rica, opposition to CAFTAhas also become increasingly vocal.On May 19, 17 legislative deputies senta letter to the U.S. Congress stating theiropposition to CAFTA.The legislators expressed concern overthe way in which agriculture, environmentalprotection, labor standards and the partialopening of the country’s telecommunicationsmonopoly were addressed in thetreaty.On Monday, at least 10,000 protestorstook to the streets of San José to expresstheir opposition to CAFTA (see separatestory).The Costa Rican Episcopal Conferenceon Friday issued an official declaration onCAFTA. While the group did not pronounceitself in favor or against the treaty, it stressedthe need to promote a public debate onCAFTA open to all sectors of society.“The bishops consider it irresponsibleto say yes or no to the free-trade agreement,”explained Monsignor ÁngelSancasimiro Fernández, Bishop ofNorthern Zone city of Ciudad Quesada.“IT is the Legislative Assembly thathas the responsibility of making a decision.As pastors, we want to tell legislators notto rush. They must create the spaces necessaryfor our people to have access to thisinformation and to discuss it.“We approached this issue with eyes ofpastors,” Fernández said. “We based ourstudy on an ethical standpoint. We are nottechnicians, we do not understand theeconomy.”Monsignor Hugo Barrantes, Archbishopof San José, expressed concern overhow polarized Costa Rican opinions onCAFTA have become. Some see it as “thepanacea” while others demonize it, he said.The bishops agreed CAFTAis an importantdecision for Costa Rica that will permanentlyaffect its development model. ForCAFTA to be worthwhile, Barrantes said, itmust be capable of relieving poverty andunemployment, as well as increase growth.