While there has been a “man-o-war” invasion in the last few weeks, nothing like this comes up on our shores here in Costa Rica. I saw this on a funny forum post and I love pranks.

Iron Maiden’s world tour has added Costa Rica to their list of tour locations. The concert is planned for March 3rd and is their second time visiting Costa Rica. Last years reception for the legendary hard rock band was spectacular. The fans sold out the show and the groups was overwhelmed with their Central American reception. Many rock bands pass up countries in Central America because of logistics and lack of historical data of fan support. In February 2008 Iron Maiden took the chance to play in Costa Rica, but this year they need not worry about predicting the concerts attendance because it was sold out a few days after the tickets went on sale. more…

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When we arrived at this island, we were not prepared for the Gilligan’s Island feel. This truly is a isolated island in the middle of the Gulf of Nicoya.

The beach here is beautiful and the water is clear all of the time which helps if you want to snorkel.

They rent snorkeling equipment on the beach to visitors. more…

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Recently, I was walking back to my rented house here in Jaco and as usual was being harrassed by drug dealers on the street. For the most part, if you can handle the repeated questioning “You need anything, I got what you need,” they will leave you alone. But on this particular night, passing in front of Le Loft in Jaco, a group of college students were askingthe drug dealers what drugs they could get and for how much. I stopped to observe how they drew attention to themselves and were being sized up by street thieves.

Coming to a foreign country for vacation and then buying illegal drugs is insanity. People need to think before they do something that can have extreme consequences. The consequences extend to your friends and family too, not just you. While Costa Rica, is much safer than Mexico for vacation, there still is drug violence. So why invite that violence by conducting yourself in illegal activity? Chuck Herwig has five simple tips for Costa Rica vacation travelers. Take a look at number three.

My Travel Tips for a PURA VIDA Vacation By Chuck Herwig

1. Please slow down, don’t be in a hurry. You are on vacation
2. Prepare for a new and exciting/challenging experience. After all, you could have stayed home if you didn’t want something different.
3. Don’t buy or trade drugs, you just do damage to the local people
4. Don’t leave anything, anywhere, anytime unattended. Whether its in your car, in the lobby, next to you or the park bench, etc. It will grow legs and walk away
5. Learn a couple of good words and practice them daily ex Por Favor, Gracias, Pura Vida. Its amazing how fast you will be speaking Spanish. 

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Many people have asked me to post images of different areas around Costa Rica. Here is the best way I think to show what these areas look like and how it feels to be there. If you have visited these areas, you will know how accurate these virtual tours are of the specific location. Here is a virtual tour of Tortuga Island in the Gulf of Nicoya in Costa Rica. This particular day we took the Calypso Catamaran tour out of Puntarenas. I will post these under the category Costa Rica Travel Tips since these are areas that I feel you must experience when traveling here. Please be patient with the loading of the tour since I am experimenting on how best to display these for you. Enjoy. more…