Happy New Year from Costa Rica Discovered!

Hola Everyone from Paradise!

We hope you had a great Christmas and wish you all the best for 2013!  So much for Mayan predictions as we all seemed to have handled the end of their calendar without any natural disasters!  Man made disasters are another story.  A good comment I read  recently - if the Mayans were so smart why did they not predict their own demise!!  Lots of people made a lot of money and worried themselves sick over this whole load!  I guess we will have to wait for another doomsday prediction.  Kind of reminds me of the cartoons we use to see as a kid where the guy stood on the street corner dressed like a bum holding  up a sign that said "The End is Near"!!! Here in paradise we experienced the busiest of our two weeks per year as all the beaches including Playa Hermosa were very busy during Christmas week as the Ticos head for the beaches as is their family tradition.  New Years Eve was nuts in Coco but as usual no major problems.  Costa Ricans know how to party without all the nonsense we seem to create up north.   We are now back to normal with the beaches cleaned up and the crowds very small.  As one resident put it - a busy Christmas time beach here is like a normal beach in some of the worlds busy beaches.  Pura Vida:-)
Visit our website www.costaricadiscovered.com 

Costa Rica: RACSA promises fast internet in January

RACSA, the subsidiary of the once-telecommunications monopoly ICE, promises ultra-fast Internet communications are coming for their customers next January.

Company manager Orlando Cascante blamed delays on RACSA’s Swedish partner, Via Europa, for the January target date for offering the service. Not only is service to be faster but it will be much cheaper.

RACSA’s customers have longed for a break for quite a while. The subsidiary has been a worry for parent ICE when customers began abandoning its service when the market opened up.

Revenues dropped as service declined and customers fled until, in 2011, ICE was forced to give RACSA a company bailout to keep it afloat in a sea of red ink.

RACSA management hopes the rot will stop when it is able to offer 10 mpbs service for the colon equivalent of $50 per month. Currently, the same service costs customers $100 per month, reported La Nacion.

Cascante said the service will be provided by the lines of the Power and Light Company — also an ICE subsidiary.

Originally, Cascante announced, at a function last Sept. 24 by President Laura Chinchilla, that the service would begin this month. But what he should have said is that RACSA was ready — but the Swedish partner wasn’t.

Costa Rica: RACSA promises fast internet in January

RACSA, the subsidiary of the once-telecommunications monopoly ICE, promises ultra-fast Internet communications are coming for their customers next January.

Company manager Orlando Cascante blamed delays on RACSA’s Swedish partner, Via Europa, for the January target date for offering the service. Not only is service to be faster but it will be much cheaper.

RACSA’s customers have longed for a break for quite a while. The subsidiary has been a worry for parent ICE when customers began abandoning its service when the market opened up.

Revenues dropped as service declined and customers fled until, in 2011, ICE was forced to give RACSA a company bailout to keep it afloat in a sea of red ink.

RACSA management hopes the rot will stop when it is able to offer 10 mpbs service for the colon equivalent of $50 per month. Currently, the same service costs customers $100 per month, reported La Nacion.

Cascante said the service will be provided by the lines of the Power and Light Company — also an ICE subsidiary.

Originally, Cascante announced, at a function last Sept. 24 by President Laura Chinchilla, that the service would begin this month. But what he should have said is that RACSA was ready — but the Swedish partner wasn’t.

Great Bicycle Riding in Pura Vida Ville!

For those of you wondering about riding a road bicycle in Costa Rica I can offer a little insight.  As an experienced cyclist I can tell you riding in Pura Vida Ville is an adventure! Having competed in and finished two Ironman Triathlons I have considerable experience  road riding in Canada, the USA, Indonesia and now Costa Rica!  Three to four times a week I hit the road at 5 AM for my morning rides from 1.5 hours to 2 hours in length.  I have several great routes with some hills that will challenge the most experienced riders.  You may or may not know Costa Rica has some of the best mountain bike and road bike riders in the world. This past year a Costa Rican rode for one of the Tour de France teams.   After riding here for 6 years I know why!  These guys and gals learn very young how to handle some very steep grades both going up and coming down!  The roads here are narrow without wide shoulders so you have to be careful and keep your wits about you.  In the morning I ride with a blinking red tail lite, reflective vest and a very powerful 180 lumens headlite!  Thank goodness for the designer of this little gem!  No more hidden potholes at 35 kilometers per hour:-)  Hopefully no more broken collar bones!  The morning rides are wonderful with light traffic and the sound of the birds and monkeys echoing around the valleys and hills.  Riding through the small towns you will catch the smell of the wood burning stoves and the preparation of Gallo pinto and other wonderful dishes.  The sun rises in the rainy season are spectacular and can make the whole ride worthwhile.  The drivers here do drive a little crazy but they are used to seeing pedestrians, dogs, cows, horses, bikes whatever on the road so they normally give you a wide berth.  So if you lo love to cycle do not be afraid to bring your bike down or buy a nice one at some of the great bike shops in Liberia.  These stores have all the latest in gear and bikes so you will not be disappointed when you head to the store.  Cycle Guilly in downtown Liberia is great.  Ask for Peter!  Next time a little on mountain biking. Happy Trails!  Visit our website www.costaricadiscovered.com to pick your piece of paradise!  

Phone Number Portability - Soon for Costa Rica!

Costa Rica residents will soon be able to take their phone number with them

November 26^th, 2012  Costa Rica residents will soon be able to change telephone service providers without having to change their phone number, which is known as number portability. 

The Telecommunications Superintendence (SUTEL) has received numerous offers from companies that are interested in managing the number portability system. 

Telecordia Technologies, Informatica El Corte Ingles, Teletech D.O.O and Consorcio CESA Porting are all interested in administrating the system. A committee comprised of representatives from the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), Movistar, Claro and Tuyo Movil will be in charge of selecting the firm that will operate the system.

 If those operators do not form such a committee, SUTEL will select the company that will operate the system.

 The deadline for bids by companies that wanted to manage the system was November 9^th, though no deadline has been set in the selection process.

 Eduardo Castellon, spokesperson for SUTEL, said their goal is to have the system in operation by February of 2013, but did not rule out the possibility of delays.

 The company selected to manage the system will have 3 months to put the system into operation, and one month for testing.  Given this, it would seem more likely that the service would be introduced in mid-March.

 Number portability is a now a right for telephone subscribers, established in the General Telecommunications Law.

Pick your climate!

Wonderful Rainbow Country as we sit on the edge between the rain forest and dry forest!

Costa Rica is a very diverse country especially when it comes to weather and country side.  There are 13 climatic zones in Costa Rica ranging from Tropical Dry Forest to Rain Forest with a lot of choices in between.  You need not travel far to experience the change in climate  This morning we left our mountain home near Rincon de La Vieja National Park.  Last night had been quite cool and we slept with a fairly heavy quilt.  This morning we got up to light rain, wind and cool - very refreshing but cool enough for a sweater and to put on the electric heater to take off the chill. I guess we Canadians are getting thin blood:-) We once lived in High Level, Alberta near the 60th parallel where the temperature in winter often dropped to below minus 40 C or F in the winter so the 20 degrees centigrade this morning should not have bothered us.  Today was an office day for me at our REMAX Hacienda del Mar office so off we went heading to the beach.  As we drove off the rain was coming in misty waves with the wind and our Nicaragua worker was dressed warmly including  toque:-)   We could see sunshine off in the distance toward the beach so we knew we would hit the warm soon.  At about the 400 meter level or 1,312 feet ASL we hit the sun and left the cool - this was only 12 kilometers or 7 miles from the house.   The sun was warm and windows went down.  We were soon in Liberia only 21 kilometers or 13  miles from the house and we were just about ready for a/c.  We drove the final 30 kilometers to the beach with the windows down.  Once we reached the apartment for unpacking the warm air hit us and on came the apartment floor fan.  I helped unpack then drove to the office with the a/c running.  What a change in a short time and distance.  Welcome to Costa Rica where you can pick your weather - Pura Vida! 

Life in Paradise – A Horse Lover’s Dream Achieved!

 San Jorge Cowboys - Herb and Rafael 

 Chalana getting her nails done by Huber

Prieto - our 4 year old gelding - I call him my sports model! 

One of the things I really love about Costa Rica is that finally I have achieved my lifelong dream of owning horses.   Ever since I was a little boy way back in the 1950s I wanted a horse.  We lived on a grain farm in Saskatchewan with no farm animals so the chance of getting a horse were slim and none and slim just left townJ  However I did pester my mom and dad for a lot of years for a chance to own a horse just like Little Joe on Bonanza (still on TV down here and I love to watch it for the old memories). As an adult, over the years we lived all over Alberta and Saskatchewan with no time, money or space for a horse.  At one point in time we lived on a nice acreage for 9 years in Bragg Creek, Alberta, but there was no room for a horse and boarding was out of the question with costs in the $400 to $500 per month range for boarding not to mention other costs like shoeing,  cutting manes,  medical issues etc.   When we moved to Costa Rica, owning a horse never occurred to me until we had spent some time here in Guanacaste which is a horseman’s dream.  Horses were and are a big part of the culture - they are used extensively on ranches and farms around the country.   So when we bought a farm in the mountains and I started riding the neighbor's horses, my dream came back.   We bought a nice creole mare about 1 ½ years ago for the huge sum of $300 and she is a great gentle horse – sure footed and intelligent.  I would trust her with any of our grandchildren.  This year we bought another horse from our neighbor for $500 - a four year old gelding that needed some work.  Now he is like a big puppy and a pleasure to ride as he has the Spanish gait that you see on TV or all around Costa Rica.  Monthly costs to maintain these great beasts are minimal.  Our neighbor, Huber, looks after shoeing the horse and all we pay for are the shoes and nails.   He expects nothing in payment but we do have a few shots of Johnny Rojo (Johnny Walker Red Scotch) after he is finished.  Rafael, our trusted Nicaraguan worker, looks after cutting manes and together we look after tick control and other minor issues.  We have free pasture for the most part and when we need a little extra our other neighbor, Jose, charges us 10,000 colones per month ($20 USD) for both horses.    Because the horses are doing what comes natural – grazing the open range - their medical bills are negligible.  Unlike horses that are kept in stables and stalls for extended periods, our horses are always moving and do not experience the problems other horses experience when they are locked up for long periods.    Riding in the mountains and jungle of Costa Rica in the early mornings is at times a mystical experience with the birds singing and the howler monkeys grunting like some huge intimidating beasts. So if you are horse lover – Costa Rica is calling!