A massive fish kill in the San CarlosRiver last weekend has prompted aninvestigation by the Judicial InvestigativePolice (OIJ) and the Prosecutor forEnvironmental Crimes to determine thecause of the deaths, La Nación reported.The kill is the second in six months inthe river. Last October, sediment releasedfrom the recently built Peñas Blancashydroelectric dam asphyxiated thousandsof fish, damage that environmentalistscalled “irreparable” (TT, Feb. 20).The Costa Rican Electricity Institute(ICE) accepted responsibility for that killand has presented a plan to repair thedamage, which has yet to be approved bythe Prosecutor for Environmental Crimes,La Nación reported.In the recent case, the cause of thedeaths is thought to be an explosion from asugar plant called Quebrada Azul, 13 kilometersnorth of Ciudad Quesada. Officialsspeculate that some 500,000 kilograms ofmolasses spilled into the river when a tankexploded last Friday night.Area residents reported a strong sweetsmell from the water and said they startedto see fish floating around 4 p.m. onSaturday, La Nación reported.“On the path we’re headed, we’renever again going to see a fish in thisriver,” said Carlos Ramírez, an arearesident.

THE One World Rainbow Gathering,a peaceful congregation in the SouthernZone of more than 700 people fromaround the world between March andApril, has ended, and departing participantsthanked Costa Rica for its hospitalityand support of the event.The gathering drew attention frompolice and members of the community ofSan Vito de Coto Brus, a town near thegathering. But police and child welfareinspections turned up no major crimesand no one was arrested (TT, March 12).The next such gathering is planned forCanada this July, according to participants.

SATURDAY will mark a historic day for Europe, as 10 countries – eight which lived under the “Iron Curtain” of socialism during most of the second half of the 20th century – will officially become part of the European Union (EU). Their incorporation is expected to create new diplomatic and economic opportunities and challenges for Costa Rica.“It’s a historic achievement; in the world’s history there are few events like this one,” said Ryszard Schnepf, Poland’s Ambassador to Costa Rica. “… For Costa Rica, this will be very positive. All of the EU’s rules will be extended to nearly 80 million additional inhabitants. Instead of 15 countries, there will be 25.”Vladimir Eisenbruk, Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Costa Rica, said the enlargement will increase trade and tourism between Costa Rica and the new members.“I believe this expansion will be very significant for Costa Rica,” he said.THE 15 current members – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – will be joined by very diverse new members.These include Central European republics of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Slovenia, which up until 1991 was part of Yugoslavia. Also joining are the three Baltic Sea countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which were the first to declare their independence from the Soviet Union. The Mediterranean island nations of Malta and southern Cyprus will also join.Upon joining, the new members will become part of the EU’s joint customs regimen and their products can move freely through the region without having to go through customs or pay duties.New members will adopt the EU’s foreign trade, agriculture, foreign relations, defense and environmental policies, and will have representation in the European Parliament.Gradually, they will adopt the Euro as their currency. Eventually, after a transition period, citizens of the 10 countries will be allowed to live and work anywhere in the EU.OF the 10 countries, only two – Poland and Czech Republic – have embassies in Costa Rica. Another five – Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia – have loose diplomatic ties with the country, according to Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry.Costa Rica has no embassies in any of the 10 countries. Diplomatic relations usually are handled through the country’s embassies in Western European countries such as Germany and Norway (not an EU member).Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar has said it is one of his priorities to strengthen ties between Costa Rica and the new EU members.EXPORTERS are optimistic an expanded EU will offer more economic opportunities for the country.Last year, Costa Rica exported nearly $1.1 billion to the EU’s 15 members. The only new member that Costa Rica has significant trade with is Poland. Exports to Poland totaled $3.4 million last year, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER).“The new members are a large market where we can find niches for our products,” said Sergio Navas, executive vicepresident of the Costa Rican Chamber of Exporters (CADEXCO). “Under the EU, the economies of these countries will grow, improving the buying power of their residents.These countries will become better markets for our exports.”Nick Meijer, consultant for the Netherlands’ Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, believes a 25-member EU is both an opportunity and a challenge for Costa Rica.“These countries are attractive markets, but also competitors,” Meijer explained during a workshop organized by CADEXCO. “They have very efficient industries (…) and many companies have begun investing there.”More foreign investment in the EU’s new members means less investment in Latin America, he said.MEIJER agreed new members could become interesting markets for Costa Rican products. However, he warned, entering them would be difficult.“The first problem is I doubt whether the new members know much about Costa Rica,” he said. “A major effort must be made to let people in those countries know what Costa Rica is about.”He recommended exporters and the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) conduct joint missions to the new EU countries to spread the word about Costa Rica.“It’s not going to be easy, but there are definite opportunities for Costa Rica to export to the expanded EU,” he said.Navas agreed, and said CADEXCO would conduct market studies of the new members to spot potential opportunities. “Europe is a good market. They demand quality, but pay well,” he said.NAVAS believes strengthening diplomatic ties is crucial for increasing trade.“It’s important to strengthen our relations with them so they can serve as our allies when the EU renegotiates trade preferences or a free-trade agreement. Establishing diplomatic relations with these countries is a challenge that is up to the country’s leaders to meet,” Navas said.Last year, the EU and Central America agreed to strengthen ties and discussed the possibility of negotiating a trade agreement (TT, Oct. 17, 2003). Europeans have conditioned the negotiation of a trade pact with Central America on the success of regional integration efforts.

WITHIN the two years after she underwent a surgery that reduced the size of her stomach, Mary Wigginton, a 48-year-old U.S. citizen and registered nurse, had lost 125 pounds, but her skin had not caught up with the weight loss.It sagged from her stomach in what she called an “apron of fat;” the folds that were once taught over her 305-pound body drooped when the flesh shrunk beneath it.Her disfigured body tormented her psychologically, though she had the support of others who had suffered problems like hers in a virtual support group through Yahoo.com. It was through that group, e-mail correspondence, online research and prayer, she said, that she began to give plastic surgery more than a skeptical glance. But the cost was prohibitive.“As I did research it looked like an impossible dream – thousands of dollars, the fear of putting yourself in someone’s hands,” she said.She spoke with a surgeon in Kentucky who quoted her tummy tuck at $12,000. Her insurance company had covered gastric bypass surgery, but it balked at the idea of shelling out for any surgery that fell under the “plastic” category. BESIDES the cost of the operation, she would need to pay for someone to care for her during her recovery and she did not want to impose on her family.Through the suggestions of her virtual friends in solidarity online, she sold her Lincoln Navigator, flew to Costa Rica and consulted Dr. Rashi Rosenstock at the Rosenstock-Lieberman Center for Plastic Surgery in San José. He is a plastic surgeon with the American Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.UNDER his knife, Wigginton lost eight to ten pounds of flesh in the tummy tuck, had her breasts lifted, enlarged with cohesive gel implants, her neck waddle tightened and the wrinkles smoothed across the lower part of her face.“I had these little old woman breasts that were going south and I wanted a lift, maybe an augmentation. I didn’t want to look like a table dancer, just better,” she said. “Dr. Rashi is intuitive, makes good eye-contact – that’s extremely important – listens to the patients and you can tell he really cares,” she said, adding, “He’s an artist, really.”After the operation she stayed for 12 days at Chetica Ranch, a specialized surgery recovery retreat on the fringe of San José at the foot of Braulio Carrillo National Park (see story below).“You take the skill of the doctor here and the aftercare of Chetica and I don’t know if you could find anything better,” she said.ACCORDING to Rosenstock, the demand for plastic surgery in the country has increased 15 times during the last 10 years, a phenomenon he attributes to the loss of the stigma that was associated with the surgery.Now, he said, his patients are both young and old, people in business, stay at- home parents who go for nose-jobs, face-lifts, eyelid surgeries, breast enlargements, liposuction, hair and fat transplants and a host of other procedures. They are motivated, Rosenstock said, by a desire for a better self-esteem and an increased quality of life.HE estimated that 60%-70% of his patients are foreigners, the majority from the United States, about 10% from Canada and 10% from other countries, and he operates on more women than men. People between18 and 40 generally request nose-jobs, breast enlargements and liposuction, and those over 40 look for face-lifts, eyelid surgeries, hair transplants and tummy tucks.“The most important thing is that people feel very comfortable,” he said.Wigginton believes her operation triggered a rejuvenation of her spirit. She spent her time in recovery in the hills outside of San José meditating on the possibilities, listening for divine inspiration about the direction her life should take now that she has a new body.Dr. Arnoldo Fournier is a plastic surgeon with the Santa Rita Hospital in San José, whose foreign patients also make up a substantial part of those he sees. He is a corresponding member of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and International Society of Plastic Surgery, and makes quarterly visits to the United States to attend training conferences.In spite of the prices of airfare and a hotel stay, he said, operations in Costa Rica cost from a quarter to half that of the same procedures in the United States. Most patients, he said, stay for about 10 days after the procedures to recover in hotels or one of several recuperation homes.PLASTIC surgery has changed over the years. Fournier said the 1970s saw more superficial skin stretching and results that looked artificial and that dissipated quickly. Now, surgeons move muscles, bones and cartilage to contour the body.“The trend now is to obtain results that make a person look more balanced and relaxed instead of looking as if they had plastic surgery,” he said.Fournier warns that, though some people think they will recover quickly, these and most surgeries do not fully heal for up to a year or 18 months.He said he is in love with his job. In spite of such grisly sounding operations, Fournier said he is so satisfied with surgery, the continual education process, the challenges it poses and the repertoire with patients, sometimes even 10 years after their visits, it fulfills every goal of his and is something he would do even in his free time and in lieu of any hobby.For more info, contact Rosenstock at the Rosenstock-Lieberman Center for Plastic Surgery at 223-9933, and on the web at www.cosmetic-cr.com, or Fournier at the Santa Rita Hospital 223-7214 and online at www.drfournier.com.Following is a rough explanation of popular procedures. Both doctors provide material on pre- and post-operation requirements and recommendations, as well as in-depth looks at the operations themselves.The tummy tuckThis is considered a major surgery. The patient is anesthetized locally for the three-to four-hour operation. The doctor cuts the skin from hipbone to hipbone in an arc that passes along the pubic area.The skin is lifted from the abdomen above the ribcage under the breasts. The doctor then cuts out the fat and excess skin, and tightens the loose underlying tissue and stitches the muscles. Excess skin and fat are trimmed away to fit the new dimensions of the abdomen. Two drains are inserted into the area for a week to drain the local anesthesia and other fluids.LiposuctionOne of the more commonly requested operations is the suction of body fat through a tube. A thin tube (attached to a machine that produces a vacuum) is inserted into the body through tiny incisions, often tucked into strategic places such as the belly-button to avoid obvious scars. The doctor then rummages around the inside of the body sucking out fat in a controlled method that sculpts the body. Three months after the surgery the walls of the canals shrink together and the skin contracts with them.Eyelid surgeryWrinkles in the eyelids and puffy bags beneath them are caused by excessive skin and bags of fat that have retained water and bulged. As in liposuction, the fat cells removed from these areas will never grow again. Fournier recommends post-operation patients apply ice, wear dark sunglasses and use eye drops to avoid inflammation, eye damage and bruising.Nose surgeryNot only cosmetic, it can be applied to improve breathing problems for those with allergies or obstruction in the nasal passages. They only require a general anesthetic, according to Fournier, and up to 14 days of recovery time in a nose cast. The operation has incisions inside the nostrils, nasal bone filing, cartilage cutting to diminish the size of the tip or the crook or grafting to lift the nose’s profile.

THE 10 cottages have been fashioned and furnished in themes reminiscent of the southwestern United States on a cattle ranch outside of San José. But the coziness of their décor is interrupted with handles around the toilets and soon to arrive adjustable hospital beds.There, in the Chetica Ranch recuperation home for post plastic surgery patients, men and women in various stages of recovery read in bed, watch one of the many movies available on DVD or DirecTV, warm themselves by the wood fireplaces in every cottage, walk the trails through the hills and ride horses.RUBEN and Lorena Martin stumbled on the idea more than seven years ago. Ruben had bought the land as an investment for posterity and a respite from the bustle and smog of Los Angeles, Calif., where he had owned a business and lived for 25 years.A friend of Lorena’s went to San José for a plastic surgery operation and checked into a hotel afterward. There she was told to remain in the room so as to not frighten or disturb the non post operation guests, and the rude treatment prompted an invitation from her friend and sent her with packed bags to the ranch.SHE recovered there, on land skirting Braulio Carrillo National Park, northeast of San José, in a room with a forest view and visits by monkeys, sloths and tropical birds. She was so enthralled with the tranquility of the home and the hospitality of her hosts that she began to spread the word among her friends. Now that word has slipped into the suggestions of local doctors and onto the Internet, where surgery chat rooms and support groups gush over the enchantments of the ranch.MARTIN and his family take charge of every detail of a patient’s visit to the country. They arrange to greet new arrivals at the airport, help settle them in before their appointments, drive them to their clinics, take them back after their operations, feed them home-cooked meals and grilled meats, light their wood fires, and attend to their medical needs.It is a family operation that includes Martin’s mother, Tita, who is a nurse and administers shots and helps with medication, and Lorena’s brother and his wife. Each cottage is an independent unit, some small and cozy, others larger with kitchens and multiple levels. Martin pores through Architectural Digest magazines and books of architectural photography seeking ideas for their decoration and their design.He began work on four more houses that will be replicas of domed buildings on a Greek island that he has seen only in photos.WOODS carved in images of bald eagles, bears and suns, among others, frame doors and adorn headboards.Floors are of multi-colored natural woods and ceramic tiles in bathrooms.“I’m trying to put a lot of details in there,” he said, something he has accomplished with fireplaces of river rock, a jacuzzi, a social room, not yet finished, where guests can meet to talk, use the Internet, or order from the protein drinks bar, and a masseuse who visits to give therapeutic massages.SOMETIMES they invite musicians to play concerts for a night, and other times they host dinners for their guests in their home and serve Martin’s Argentinean wood-grilled chicken.“We are so close when they stay here,” Lorena said. “We get to know their lives. They are just like part of the family.”The food served is all natural, no sugary beverages or alcohol that might bungle the healing process (though they are always available in town for the obstinate). José Vásquez, much better known as “Fincho,” keeps the grounds, acts as nightly security and saddles horses and guides trips.MARY Wigginton, a surgery patient who stayed at the ranch, considered it vital to her recovery.“Even with the finest surgery in the world you just can’t make it without the aftercare,” she said. “Chetica meets you at the airport with a big sign and a smile and makes you feel wonderful.”EVERY service, except the massage, including the meals, the transportation from the airport and to the clinic and the horses, is included in one price of $75 per patient. A friend of a patient can stay for $35, and two patients who stay together can stay for $65 each. Kids are free.For more info about the ranch, call 268-6133 or e-mail chetica@racsa.co.cr. The Web site is www.cheticaranch.com

WHEN the Circuito Nacional de Surf 2004 finals start today and tomorrow at La Curva, Playa Hermosa, south of Jacó on the central Pacific Coast, surfing in this country will officially elevate to a new level.The Costa Rican National Surf Team is one step closer to receiving official Costa Rican government acknowledgement as the Federación Tica de Surf, according to Delia Villalobos, director of Icoder, Costa Rica’s government division that oversees the country’s official sports teams.The acknowledgment means a Costa Rican National Surf Team may soon be competing in the Summer Olympic Games.The announcement is not the only accomplishment the team has had recently. They also surged from last place to ninth in the world in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games in Ecuador last month.NOT long ago, these were seemingly impossible goals of Antonio Pilurzu, owner of Tamarindo’s Cala Luna Hotel and father of surfing’s up-and-comers, Federico and Ricardo.“Four years ago, many people in Costa Rica didn’t understand surf competitions and why they had to train,” Pilurzu said. “They thought surfing was for partying.”And while the nation’s surfers had vast experience in the excellent waves, the public seemed to acquaint the sport with a wild lifestyle – a perception Pilurzu intended to change.PILURZU combined efforts with Quiksilver’s Jeff Booth and the pair founded the Circuito Nacional de Surf (The National Surf Circuit) in 1999 to allow young surfers to experience competition and have an opportunity to make a name for themselves and Costa Rica through the sport.“In all the world, surfers are athletes,” Pilurzu said. “Now, our guys are breaking those (partying) habits, training, going to sleep early and being athletes. Last year, we did third in the Pan American Games. That never happened before.That’s because we we’re doing everything seriously.”Now, in the final weekend of the Circuito 2004, the contest entering its championship phase – after more than 120 participants from all over the country competed over seven months at eight different beaches.The winners of the championship will be awarded $5,000 in prize money.THIS two-day experience also features the Reef Classic, where Chica Reef Costa Rica will be selected. She will win $500 in cash and $500 in prizes, including a gym membership and beauty products as well as a chance to represent this country in the International Chica Reef Competition.Hermosa will be one of the toughest competitions – it’s a six-star event, meaning challengers will earn more points than at most other beaches for these rankings as they compete in categories that include:Open, Junior (18 years), Boys (16 years), Grommets (14 years), Mini-grommets (12 years), Longboard, Bodyboard, Women, Master (40 years).THE person with the most points in their best seven contests out of eight, overall throughout the competitions, is named the champion in the respective category. As the countdown draws near, the top spots are hotly contested.Before Hermosa, the Top 20 included: Alvaro Solano, Diego Naranjo, Luis Vindas, Gilbert Brown, Freddy Camacho, Germain “Nino” Merdrano, Luis F. Hernandez, Marcelo Herrero, Killian Raust, Minor Picado, Denis Guadamuz, Rony Obando, Ian Bean, Luis Castro, Ronald Brown, Isaac Vega, Jose Umeña, Federico Pilurzu, Jason Torres and Rogelio Araya.After the winners are announced tomorrow afternoon, there will be a free concert on the beach featuring the one of the first bands in Argentina to play reggae, Los Cafras.FOR Pilurzu and the other Circuito Nacional de Surf organizers, surfing will afford Costa Ricans worldwide recognition one day – either through the ISA’s planned formal inclusion in all the Pan American Games by 2007, which has the second largest sports audience just behind the Olympics, or in those Olympics themselves. “In Costa Rica, surfing is the best chance a person has to become idolized around the world,” Pilurzu said.“Right now we are ninth in the world. One day we will have a guy on the Pro-tour.“We are talking about putting the name of Costa Rica out there. We have the best waves in the world; we could easily have the best surfer. But this takes time.”For more info, e-mail circuitonacional@hotmail.com or surfingcr@hotmail.com

Circuitos Secuenciales, a Miami-based jazz quintet, kicked off its 10-day tour of Costa Rica on Monday.The quintet is visiting as part of an intercultural jazz program “95.Cinco JAZZ Beat at TEO,” organized by the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center and 95.Cinco Jazz radio station.The program is aimed at promoting the development and education of jazz in Costa Rica.While the group was formed in Florida, its members come from throughout the Americas.Fernando Ulibarri, on guitar, and Rodolfo Zuñiga, on drums, are both from Costa Rica and met one other while attending college. Lasim Richards, the quintet’s trombone player, hails from the United States’ Virgin Islands, while bass player Carlos Iturralde is from Ecuador. Saxophonist Robert Havey Smiley, from Florida, rounds out the group.All members, with the exception of Ulibarri, met while studying music at Florida International University. Ulbarri attended Berkley College of Music. Their musical style is just as diverse as the band’s members.“I guess you’d describe us as contemporary jazz,” Zuñiga said. “We’re not really swing, but a combination of different styles with jazz.”“We’ll be playing some stuff from the Dave Holland’s quintet,” said Zuñiga, in trying to narrow down some of the group’s influences. “They have the same instruments as us.”People attending Circuitos Secuenciales’ gigs in Costa Rica can expect to hear the group playing its own compositions as well as pieces by other jazz ensembles.While participating in 95.Cinco JAZZ Beat at TEO, the group will be taking part in a series of workshops, performances and jam sessions.The cultural and educational presentations of Circuitos Secuenciales is being sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. On Monday, the band took part in a radio program taped for 95.Cinco Jazz, and followed it up with an open jam session Tuesday evening.Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Circuitos Secuenciales will be performing at the Eugene O’Neill Theater at the Cultural Center in Barrio Dent, 200 m. north of the Los Yoses gas station. Admission is ¢2,500, ¢2,000 students and seniors.For info. call 207-7555.The quintet will also be performing at Jazz Café on May 4 and 6, and at Café de Artistas on May 7.

IT might not be the ideal scenario of vacation fun, but spending a night sleeping, surprisingly well, on a solidly constructed stone platform in a gash of a cave hewn by nature from a cliff behind a waterfall, is actually a pleasant and comfortable experience.The exhausting struggle to reach this eerie place may have influenced such a deep night’s sleep. Although a mere hour-and-a half of hiking to reach the Casa de Piedra (Stone House) at the Diamante Falls, which drop from the Tinamaste range close to Dominical in the Southern Zone, every step was a steep, sweaty effort in high humidity and heat.Within minutes, our group was scarlet faced with clothing drenched at the effort to clamber the precipitous, but well-maintained trail that leads up through dense coastal rain forest to the falls.Theory has it that the Brunca indigenous group used the cave in pre- Columbian times, but today the cave and 200 acres of surrounding first growth forest are owned and managed by Jon Chapman, founder of the Tree of Life organization.THE group is a non-profit, Christian community providing people from all backgrounds with unique experiences through challenging adventures to help foster spiritual renewal and a reassessment of life’s values.The adventures can involve several day visits to the Casa with rappelling, canyoneering, tree canopy exploration and horseback riding.We were a small group, hiking our precious Semana Santa free days with guide Luis Molina, of Sarapiquí Outdoor Center, a small adventure-based agency specializing in well-off-the-beaten-track tours.His trip instructions assured us that the cave boasted sufficient bedding, candles and cooking facilities, which only served to pique our curiosity further. Not only were we to walk through breathtaking forest trails, but there were luxury cavern comforts at the end.CERTAINLY our frequent recovery stops were rewarded with excellent birding – Molina’s keen ears and eyes picking out a motmot, laughing falcon, ant shrike, toucan and black guan.The final stretch was thankfully downhill, accompanied by an increasing roar of substantially falling water when suddenly around the last twist of the path, the huge horizontal crevice gaped at us ahead.The Diamante Falls crash down in three main streams over the cave but because of its depth and shelter, the area is mostly dry apart from occasional drips, where imaginative predecessors have planted shrubs and flowers. We tottered over a tree-trunk bridge and along a shale strewn ledge to reach our petrified lodgings.RAISED stone platforms tucked in at the back serve as multiple sleeping areas, mattresses and comforters soften the uncompromising reality of un-sprung bed bases. Further along, protected with rustic handrails from the vertical drop to the right, a cooking area with stone tables and even fresh-from-the falls showers have been set up.At its highest, the roof reaches more than two meters, giving ample room for meal preparations. Latrines are discreetly located along the path in the forest well away from any water source.After catching our breath, admiring the room with the view to beat most others and downing quarts of juice, Molina guided us along another trail to reach the top of the main Diamante Falls, thankful for a steel hawser to protect us from the 200 meter sheer drop, shuddering at the tale of a lone, foolhardy photographer who ventured too far over the brink and was swept off by a gusty uplift of wind, but inspired by the majestic views of the Pacific coastline toward Manuel Antonio.THIS broad ribbon of water is visible from various parts of the main coastal highway close to Dominical – it was very satisfying to be at this end, right in the heart of the view so to speak and the pool at the base more than refreshed both body and spirits.The recent Coast-to-Coast Race came through the area, as kayakers rappelled down the falls as part of their grueling challenge. The thrill was also offered to us (we decided to postpone it for a future visit).Back at the casa, we devoured the vegetarian rice meal prepared by Molina and as dusk fell, we gathered on a wooden bench at the edge of the cliff to peel our eyes for star spotting helped by fellow hiker and veteran astronomer José Alberto Villalobos. With his piercing laser indicator light to guide us, we had glimpses of Orion, Taurus, Sirius and the Pleiades before clouds stopped play.LIKE roosting birds, by 8 p.m. we were more than ready to seek out our stone perches and settle for a night’s dreams to the splashing of the falls, but also conscious of an integral peacefulness and serenity. A choice haven for soul searching and inner contemplation.Getting there: To Casa de Piedra: 4 hours south of San José via San Isidro de El General road toward Dominical, 2.5 km from Platanillo with signs to the Diamante waterfall and Camp Santo Cristo.Contact Tree Of Life c/o Jon Chapman; APDO, 49; San Isidro de El General; Perez Zeledon 8000. Or e-mail info@treeoflifetours.com or call 771-6200 for more info. The Web site is info@TreeOfLifeTours.com.orAbout the tour:A two-night/three-day trip with Luis Molina at Sarapiquí Outdoor Center costs $80. It includes the overnight at Casa de Piedra, and a Dominical hotel, visits to Nauyaca waterfall and Playa Ventanas with transport and some meals.Tel/fax: 238-2313 or 352-8935 joshuatour12@yahoo.com

I haven’t received fishing reports since last weekend – the day before those heavy rains (at least in Santa Ana) last weekend, but as of Friday the tarpon bite on the Caribbean was back on – hotter than ever.Judy Heidt, at Parismina Lodge, said the ocean was flat and the tarpon thick, when taken at the river mouth.“Average size is 65-135 pounds this week and the sardines moved in close to shore, so the jack crevalle, tarpon, snook and other species are all competing for a sardine dinner,” Heidt said. “Machaca, and mojarra fishing in the rivers are good, and several snook in the 18-pound range were taken in the Pacuare River.”Rio Colorado Lodge owner Dan Wise headed home to Mississippi last Saturday to see his ailing father. As of Friday, Phil Hoover was at the lodge on one of his regular trips with up to 10 tarpon releases a day.No news is often bad news on the Pacific coast, and I haven’t heard from anyone there, so your guess is as good as mine. I received an e-mail from Dan Browning, commenting on occasional mentions in this column of Santa Ana boat builder Capt. Pete Magee.“I am trying to decide whether to bring a boat from Florida, a Proline 24-footer, or buy a boat in Costa Rica,” Browning writes, “and can’t find an online Web site or phone number.”He also needs info to get a charter boat license for his son, who has spent four winters fishing in Costa Rica.Magee’s phone numbers are 350-4764 (cell) and 203-5508 (at the boatyard). Or email at captpetesboats@racsa.co.crI don’t know if they give the U.S. Coast Guard licensing examination in Costa Rica, but doubt it. You might contact the U.S. Embassy, but I suspect it will be faster and easier for your son to take the exam in the United States. Or check with the Coast Guard office in Florida.Another reminder that the Costa Rican leg of the Central America Presidential Challenge Billfish Tournament will be at Ocotal Beach Resort in Guanacaste June 27-29.Contact tournament director Joan Vernon in the United States at (305) 361-9258. Or fax (305) 361-9923. E-mail pezvelajv@aol.com for more info or to sign up.For more info on fishing or assistance in planning a trip to Costa Rica, contact Jerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.com Skippers, operators and anglers are invited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishing reports by Wednesday of each week. Call or fax: 282-6743 if calling from Costa Rica, or through the e-mail address above.