The Banco Centro Americano de Desarrollo (BCIE) in conjunction with a Spanish group will be providing financing for a new aquarium in Punta Arenas. When finished in 2013 El Parque Marino del Pacífico will be 4,200 square meters in size. It will boast a 1,600 ton tank with a tunnel where people can observe Costa Rica’s marine species. The aquarium will house sharks, manta rays and other types of large fish.

The new aquarium is just one of the many projects that have revitalized Puntarenas over the last few years. The beach has been classified as a Blue Flag beach because of its cleanliness and improvements. Retirees can now take the New Caldera Highway from the Central Valley and be in Puntarenas in just a little over an hour. The new aquarium is just one of a growing list of activities you can participate in to stay busy in Costa Rica. Costa Rica cures everything! Pura vida!

With the World Cup just a couple of months away the interest in soccer here is really heating up. In case you don’t know the Cup is held every four years and is the Super Bowl of soccer. This year’s edition of the cup will be held in South Africa. If you retiree in Costa Rica you are bound to become interested in soccer or fútbol as it is called in the Spanish speaking world. The game is almost a religion. Whenever there is a major soccer game, virtually everything comes to a stop and the party begins. Children of all ages can be seen playing soccer on the weekends. Adults even play informal games during their lunch breaks called mejengas.

Yesterday I watched a “clasicazo” (classic) soccer game with my son. It was between perennial powers Real Madrid and Barcelona. The latter won 2-0 marking the second time they have defeated Real Madrid at home. Barcelona is led by the superhuman Lio Messi who is considered the best player in the world. In Costa Rica we have a clasicazo which refers to games played between arch rivals Alajuela known as la liga and Saprisa know as the monsturo.

Here are the rules for soccer for those of you who are interested.

Basically, here is how soccer is played:

• Using a round ball, a soccer match is played by two teams wearing different colored shirts. Each team consists of not more than 11 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. An official match may not start if either team consists of fewer than seven players.
• Up to a maximum of three substitutes may be used in any match played in an official competition organized under the auspices of the world governing body FIFA, the confederations or the national associations.
• In other competition, the rules must state how many substitutes may be nominated, from three up to a maximum of seven. The duration of an official match is 90 minutes played in two halves — each half lasting 45 minutes.
• The aim of the game is for one team to score more goals than the opposing team. The winning team is the team that has scored the most goals at the end of the game. Players score a goal when they succeed in moving the whole ball over the opposing team’s goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar. Players may use any part of their body except their arms and hands.
• The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed the goal line, or touch line – whether on the ground or in the air, and when play has been stopped by the referee.
• The game is controlled by one referee on the playing field and two assistant referees placed on opposite sidelines.
• The field (or pitch) of play must be rectangular. The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.
  • Length: minimum 90 meters (100 yards), maximum 120 meters (130 yards)
  • Width: minimum 45 meters (50 yards), maximum 90 meters (100 yards)
• International Matches
  • Length: minimum 100 meters (110 yards) maximum 110 meters (120 yards)
  • Width: minimum 64 meters (70 yards) maximum 75 meters (80 yards)
• The field of play is marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries. The two longer boundary lines are called touch-lines. The two shorter lines are called goal lines. The field of play is divided into two halves by a halfway line. The center mark is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of 9.15 meters (10 yards) is marked around it. A goal area is defined at each end of the field. A penalty area is defined at each end of the field. Goals must be placed on the center of each goal line.

Soccer vocabulary:

árbitro — referee
banda — sideline
cabezazo — header
cancha — field
defensores — defenders
delantero — forward
empate — tie
entrenador — coach
equipo — team
falta — foul
fuera de lugar — offside
fútbol — soccer
jugador — player
“Gooooooooooool! — Goal! — Said when some scores.
guardameta, portero, arquero — goalkeeper
marcar — to score
mediocampista — mid-fielder
mejenga — an informal pick-up game
mejengear — to play an informal pick-up game
partido, juego — game
pelota — ball
penal — penalty kick
penales— shoot out
primer tiempo — first half
saque — kick off
saque de banda — side throw-in
segundo tiempo— second half
tarjeta amarilla — yellow card (warning)
tarjeta roja — red card (expulsion)
tiro de esquina — corner kick
tiro libre — free kick
travesaño — cross-bar

The old Custom’s house in Barrio California, San José has been converted into a new cultural center called El Centro para las Artes y Tecnología “La Aduana” or Center for Arts and Technology “La Aduana“. The project took five years but is finally finished. The original customs building was constructed in 1891. A new modern-style building called the Casa del Cuño was built to the west of the existing structure. The latter will by the site of Cyber Arts which is program that will combine technology with traditional art. Concerts are planned for the esplanade are of this complex. The Theater of the Aduana will be continue to host plays.

Those who retire here often wonder what cultural events are available. As you can see the cultural center is one of the place where retirees can go for entertainment.

What is the annual Lagarteada?

Well, it is certainly something you won’t see in the United States. Perhaps the closest thing is one of he rattle snake round-ups held in the southwest of the United States.

In the Ortega de Santa Cruz village in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the people stick to their own Easter tradition of chasing after crocodiles. During this annual event, brave lagarteros (crocodile men) confront enormous reptiles along the Palma river, sometimes ending up in deep caves, where the prey is cornered. It can take up to two hours to finally tie down one of these large reptiles The day’s catch is taken on the shoulders of the lagarteros to the village for everyone to see up the close. The reptiles are on show until Easter Sunday. Afterwards the crocodiles are always released back into the wild, unharmed.

The lagarteada has been observed in Ortega since the 19th century without interruption, despite attempts by animal rights groups to have it outlawed by the constitutional court.The annual lagarteada is supervised by members of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía (MINAET), the environmental government agency.

On my monthly relocation/retirement tours I always talk about local customs. When we stop at the Río Tarcoles on my beach tour to observe the crocodiles, I always tell my guests about the annual La Lagarteada.

* Courtesy of Inside Costa Rica

Driving the new San José – Caldera highway can be a pleasure. It is pothole free, is well marked, has slow vehicle ramps on hills and takes your from Chepe (San José) to the Puerto (Caldera/Puntarenas) in less than an hour.

But, there are some things you have to be aware of before you set off on the new highway.

1. Tolls. In total there are four toll booths from San José to Caldera: Ezcazú (¢320_, Guacima (¢480), Atenas (¢640) and Pozón (¢490) for a total of ¢1.930, each way. Not having enough money on hand can leave you stranded on the highway.

2. Slow drivers. The highway seems to be filled with slow drivers, drivers who insist on going 40 km/h where the maximum speed posted is 70, 80 and 100 km/h. These slow drivers create major traffic congestion in areas where there is no passing or slow traffic ramps. See Mystery of Slow Drivers On San José – Caldera Highway Solved

3. Drivers do not move over. Costa Ricans are known for their “king of the road” attitude. They will not pull over, use the slow traffic lane where available or allow passing in spite. So, always be wary of slow moving traffic. Always assume that around the corner is a yatzu waiting for you to rear end him or her.

4. No service stations. Before setting off on the new highway, make sure, and I can’t stress this more, that you have a full tank of gas. There are no gasoline service stations on the highway and the nearby ones are in towns like Atenas, Orotina and Guacima. Walking to get gas from those points is an adventure in itself.

5. It’s dark at night. In sections between La Sabana and Piedades, at the toll booth centres and some sections between Pozón (Orotina) and Caldera are illuminated, but the rest of the highway is not. It gets dark out there and there are populated areas to fill the night sky. Make sure you carry a flashlight in case you get stuck. And with that thought in mind, make sure you have reflective clothing, tape, etc in the trunk to let other drivers see you in the pitch dark of night.

6. Watch your speed. Although the highway has posted speed limits, the road is conducive to speeding. There are some sections of the highway that you can easily top 120, 140 even 150 km/h. But, guess what? The traffic cops have figured that out also. And have posted themselves in unlikely places, with radar in hand, waiting for you. For the now the fine can be around ¢20.000 colones or the cost of a lunch, depending on the traffic cop, but come March 1, if the new Ley deTránsito goes in effect, that fine could be ¢200.000 and points or dinner out with the whole family, if you know what I mean.

7. Toll booth operators. By and large the majority of the toll booth operators on the new highway are courteous, greet you with a good day or evening and bid you a “buen viaje” (good trip), just like the electronic sign in says. But some, well, don’t even look at you, continue their shouting conversations with other attendants and make you feel that you are bothering their life, even after spending endless minutes in traffic waiting to pay the toll. And if you are one of those driving a van, be prepared to pay more at some toll centres, as they hit you with a “big vehicle” story.

8. And on tolls. I am not sure who is the genius behind the toll fares. Why not just make it ¢300 at Escazú, ¢500 at Guacima, ¢600 or ¢650 at Atenas and ¢500 at Pozón. No, sir. It has to be ¢320, ¢490, ¢640 and ¢480 (respectively), which means having to fumble for those pesky ¢5 and ¢10 coins, then have to wait while the toll operator counts out each coin or wait to get change back from a ¢1.000, ¢2.000, ¢5.000 or ¢10.000 note. (Can’t wait until the ¢20.000 and ¢50.000 notes come out, to pay for a ¢320 toll). For the sake of Pura Vida, just round out the tolls to the nearest ‘100?, it will work out in the end.

9. On Quick Pass. The Quick Pass is the smart way to cross the tolls. Of course not is you are in Guacima, Atenas or Pozón, since the Quick Pass lanes are also being used for manual payment due to the high volume of traffic. The idea behind the Quick Pass is exactly that “a quick pass”. The electronic sensor reads your approach, takes out the toll from your account, opens the gate and lets you by. But not on the aforementioned three toll stations, where you get in line like the rest of us. I am sure you are wondering what did you ever spend the us$30 bucks for the contraption.

10. More on Quick Pass. If you decide to splurge on the Quick Pass take note. For one, it can only be obtained from your nearest HSBC branch, where you will be asked to sign up for an account that requires your cedula or passport. Then the cost is us$30 if you are not a HSBC customer (us$15 is a customer). To open an account to save the us$15 be prepared for a banking bureaucracy second to none. I won’t go into that here, want to be fair to the other banks who have been shun out from this lucrative market.

All in all, barring the whining and complaining, the new San José – Caldera highway, some call it a road, is the next best thing to sliced bread when it comes to travelling to and from the Pacific coast.

A trip from San José La Sabana to the Puerto Caldera is 52 minutes, traveling to and Jacó is 70 minutes or less (without speeding and normal traffic).To and from Tamarindo, Flamingo, etc is now under 4 hours. San José to Liberia under 3 hours, Playas del Coco 14 minutes more. The southern zone is now more closer than ever, especially with the near completion of the Costanera Sur.

So, fill up your tank, pocket full of colones and go cruising in Pura Vida Land!