Crime is down in Puerto Viejo and the rest of Costa Rica's south Caribbean coast, police and residents say, and it's safer here than in some other popular tourist destinations. So why does a 2-year-old U.S. travel alert remain in place?
Many residents of Costa Rica's south Caribbean coast say that in the area surrounding Puerto Viejo crime is no worse than anywhere else. So why is there still a travel alert about armed robbery from the U.S. Embassy?
All lanes on the stretch of Route 27 between Ciudad Colón and Pozón de Orotina will flow in the Puntarenas - San José direction from 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday.
Powerful waves and rip currents started hitting beaches in the Pacific province of Puntarenas on Friday and will continue throughout the weekend. Oceanographers forecast a new stronger swell likely will bring even bigger waves to Puntarenas starting next Thursday.
Tuesday evening's closure of Route 32 from San José to Costa Rica's Caribbean coast makes the fourth time since June that authorities have closed the route due to heavy rains and landslides.
President Luis Guillermo Solís is considering upgrading the alert for these regions from Yellow to Red — the most serious in the country’s three level emergency system. Passage on Route 32, the main road connecting the capital San José with Limón province, was reopened Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.
A noticeable decrease in rainfall prompted National Emergency Commission officials on Thursday to give the green light for hundreds of families in six shelters to return to their homes in the northern and Caribbean regions of Costa Rica.
