The organizer of the Jaco Arts Festival has returned and will be a fixture of this community. This event is a mixture of the last arts festival but with more activities for the kids and culture. The last festival really took Jaco by storm since the few activities that were offered for kids were well attended and very popular. So popular was the party that Garabito has kept the organizer here to manage other events such as this one.

From the looks at the site today, it seems that the festival will run right through Semana Santa. Check website for details of times and event confirmation.

http://www.festivaldejaco.com/ more…

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. 

Just after everyone was getting back to normal after this mornings earthquake, and a little aftershock another big earthquake this afternoon got those nerves jumping again. This time it is the same region but slightly inland, so I am not sure if this is an aftershock or a separate plate displaced by the this mornings event. So far they have given this one a 5.9 magnitude.

Again, this quake had the un-nerving lateral movement like you are walking on a hanging bridge. These two big quakes have been smooth in the sense of the lateral movement would slow down when it reached the edge of the wave and then return in a smooth way. The earthquake on Jan. 8th was lateral but very short and rapid lateral movements which is very damaging. Any surfer who has had a big wave close on them and put them through the “rinse cycle” knows what the fast lateral movements feel like.

Here is the current link for data This link is only good for 30 days after the event.

Here is the map location of the latest:

View Larger Map

Thursday March 5th I was going to surf and passed through a new park built with funds donated by the government of China. My friend(tourist from California) and I noticed that two Nicaraguans were climbing up the trees and using long bamboo poles. In the past, I have yelled at and stopped various people from capturing iguanas so they could eat them. Without getting all of you, touch feely people out there riled up about the right of these people to eat food. Please understand that most of the time their motivation is not for protein but the belief that the female iguana eggs are natural Viagra (I am sure you get the idea, this is a PG site.) These are the same people who also buy turtle eggs from people who dig them out of the sand (FYI there are no commerical farms where they cultivate turtle eggs) for the same ignorant belief. Anyhow, I saw two park security persons and asked why are they trying to capture the iguanas? He said they are removing them from the park. I was appalled and decided to come back after a few sets to take come pictures and video to show the world what was happening. more…

Let’s hope it is better organized than last years fiasco. If you were here last year, the location of the event was held in a marsh. That is what it turned out to be after it rained for many days and who can blame the rain, the event was held during the rainy season. After all, Jaco is located in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica.

This year the events organizer seems to have learned his lesson from last year and moved the date to take place during the tico summer which is now. Plus, this years event is being held at the all new and unfinished “Recreational and Ecological Park” on Pastor Díaz donated by the Chinese government after Costa Rica abandonded long time friend Tawaiin.  

As this post is being written, workers and event organizers are working furiously to not bump into each other while each does what they need to do. While sand is being fitted between the cobblestones, the tents are being erected above them at the same time. Let’s hope for the sake of Jaco and the municipality that its namesake arts festival will go as planned.

For more information, you can visit the Jaco Arts Festival site