Traveling

Viva Colombia!

By: Scott Bowers
Editor, The Costa Rica Zine

I recently had the privilege of visiting Medellín Colombia. I can tell you that this is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever experienced. Colombia has gotten a lot of bad press over the years and Medellín has borne the brunt of much of it. Admittedly, back in the days when Pablo Escobar and his band of sicarios were wreaking havoc on the city, Medellín was probably not the safest place for a gringo to visit. As a vestige of this period, today the law requires all motorcycles drivers to wear the license number on the back of a vest in order to never have the same terrible days where Pablo’s motorcycle-riding sicarios (hit men) would gun down intended targets. But those days are thankfully long gone. I was fortunate to have a wonderful guide during my visit, my beautiful Paisa girlfriend (who now lives in Costa Rica, but whose heart is still 100% in her pueblo natal, Medellín). Medellín is located in the department of Antioquia. It has an international airport (actually located about 1 hour outside the city). The population is around 2 million and the population of the entire department of Antioquia is 5 million (second largest in the country behind Bogotá).

Places worth visiting in Medellín would certainly include the National Museum, which features many pieces from Colombia’s most famous living artist, Botero. Medellín also has an incredible elevated train system that will take you almost anywhere you want to go (the pride of the paisas and very clean and safe). Also, they have a great Metro Cable as well that will take you over the city and offer you some great views. Of course, the night life is great too. The Mangos of South Beach is a carbon copy of Mangos in Medellín and will definitely offer a night to remember. Some of the pueblos you might want to visit include Poblado, Envigado (hometown of Pablo Escobar) and Sabaneta. These offer great little outside bars where everyone gathers to drink the famous Colombian guaro known as Agua Ardiente. Also, the malls are incredible, especially the grandest in the city, Mall Tesoro.

Outside of Medellín there are some really cool places to visit. One of those is the colonial capital of Colombia, Sante Fe de Antioquia. This is a beautiful and historic city with cobblestone streets and rows of pastel colored colonial homes and beautiful churches. It is like taking a step back into the colonial days when the Spanish first colonized the country. Another great place to go is Guatapé, where you will find the mysterious Piedra del Peñol, a massive rock of 200 meters in altitude. Also in this area are the beautiful lakes known as the Represas de Guatapé. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and there are loads of activities and sightseeing in the area. There are great hotels too!

No Mas Farc!

Colombia has so much to offer that it is a shame that the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) continues to terrorize the country with armed invasions of pueblos and kidnappings (despite the recent release of some high profile hostages at the behest of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, the FACR is estimated to be holding hostage some 700 persons). The FARC now enjoys very little support in Colombia (really only the narcos want them around to help guard their coca and marijuana fields). Recently there was a world-wide condemnation of the activities of the FARC, which took place in 125 cities around the world. I pray that the FACR would give up the fight for the good of Colombia and all its citizens as well as the people around the world that would like to visit safely and experience the magic of this incredible country.

Investment

More on the Central Valley: Santo Domingo de Heredia

By: Scott Bowers
Editor, The Costa Rica Zine

In the last issue of the CR Zine I wrote about the top investment locations in the San Jose area of the Central Valley. However, I recently moved to a charming pueblo in Heredia known as Santo Domingo. I did not talk about this area in the last article, because, frankly, I was unfamiliar with it. In this issue, I want to take the time to bring it to your attention because it is really is a great location. In next month’s issue of The Zine, I will feature the popular areas of Grecia, Sarchi, Zarcero and San Ramon.

Santo Domingo is located a short distance from the Pan American Highway and also the highway leading to the Caribbean Coast. I will have to admit that the traffic getting into and out of Santo Domingo during rush hours is horrendous. However, if you can put up with that little bit of discomfort; Santo Domingo is a great location to consider for investment.

Santo Domingo House The area where I currently live in Santo Domingo is known as Residencial Quizarco. It features many beautiful homes and with great views of the mountains. It has well maintained sidewalks and is only a walk away from the center of the pueblo where you will find stores and restaurants. As all pueblos in Costa Rica, the central plaza features a beautiful park overlooked by the church. There is a sports center close by as well that has a track and also I found a great gym less than a kilometer from my house. Downtown Heredia is only about 15 minutes away, including the Mal de las Flores, one of the newest and nicest malls in the San Jose area. Very near my house there is a large construction project that someone told me would be a Hipermas (the Costa Rican version of Walmart….and, in fact, owned by Walmart!). If that is true it will be a wonderful convenience and probably push prices up in Quizarco (and hopefully not traffic congestion getting in and out of the neighborhood).

Our real estate brokerage currently has listed a beautiful two story home in Quizarco with four bedrooms and three and a half baths. It has the same layout as my home. The views of the mountains from the bedrooms on the second floor are very beautiful. There is also a balcony, a two car garage and a garden area. The kitchen is spacious and there are dining and living room areas. The asking price for this home is $195,000. Total area of the home is 198 m2 (about 2,170 sq feet) and of the lot, 290 m2 (about 3,190 sq feet).

I would rate Santo Domingo as one of the best San Jose areas. Also Santo Domingo is only a short distance from San Rafael de Heredia (featured in the Central Valley article in the January 2008 issue of the Zine). San Rafael is one of the most beautiful areas and has many popular restaurants and bars/discos. Prices are similar, but maybe a little lower in Santo Domingo than San Rafael. Santo Domingo is also located closer to San Jose downtown. I believe the price of the house featured above is fairly indicative of the prices you will pay in Santo Domingo.

Stay tuned for the next issue of the Costa Rica Zine for more on Costa Rica’s hottest investment areas. If you would like to come and see for yourself, please call me today at 1-866-424-6439 and sign up for our Real Estate Exploration Tour.

Tico Style

Costarriqueñizmos:Pura Vida and other Costa Rica Slang

By: Scott Bowers
Editor, The Costa Rica Zine

If you have ever visited Costa Rica you will be quick to notice that Ticos (or Ticas) use a lot of expressions that may not seem familiar to even someone knowledgeable in Spanish.

Here are more (some humorous) examples from an email a tico friend recently sent me…..

Head - jupa, torre
Face - jacha, tarro
Eyes - guachos
Nose - ñata
Mouth - jeta, trompa
Stomach - panza, timba, chiberre
Ass - nalgas, fondillo, trasero, bumper
Underarm - sobacos, aletas
Legs - canillas
Fingers - troles, jocotes
Feet – patas
Walk - trolea, caitea, va a pata
Lazy - achantado, esta de bagaces, se la tira rico
Stingy - agarrado, codo, pinche
BoringBoring - se agüeva, se ostina, es un bostezo, tiene tigra
To get married - se ahorca, se suicida, se embarca
To owe money to someoned - amarra el perro
Distracted – está detrás del palo
To sleep - rulea, plancha la oreja, está jetón, echa espuma, babea
To kiss - apreta, marca
To vomit - se rancha, llama a Hugo, se arroja
To be ashamed - se la pela, se pega un bañazo
To assume - batea
To fight - arma bochinche, se agarra
To be sociable - bombeta
To work – bretea, chambea
To be a suckup - brochazo, es un sopla guabas
To flirt with a woman - echa el cuento, está ligando
To cry - moquea, es una bomba de mocos, mariquea
To have a boyfriend – esta jalando, tiene cabra, tiene guila
To have shoes - tiene cachos, caites
To bitch at someone - lo cagan
To take a piss - mea, le cambia el agua al pajarito
A child - carajillo, güila, mocoso, chiquito
To be without shame - carebarro, un montado, un cascarudo
To be careless - un tortero, un carne molida, un chapa, mete la pata
To be angry - se enchicha, se chivea, está de luna, se arranca, se encachimba
To be handsome – cito paolo, es un rico (a), un chicha, corrongo (a)
To go to the jail - lo enchorpan, lo engaletan, lo entaban
To have a house - tiene chante, choza
To have a car - tiene nave, chuzo o al contrario pichirilo, estornaco.
To die - cuelga las tenis, patea el balde, estira la pata, se palma
To be stupid - es baboso, como las vacas, menso, sorompo, jetas
To be doing well - pura vida, puros dieces, con toda la pata, tuanis
To like something - le cuadra, está chiva, está fresa
To brag about yourself - pesado, un culazo, es un dolor de guevos, rajón
To cause damage - se queda hecho mierda o leña
To be hungry - tiene filo, tiene moncha
To be a bother - jode, friega, es majadero, 'seas tan necio'
To be ugly - furris, güeiso
To have good luck - guavero, lechero, chepero
To have a hangover - goma
To be confused - se hace bolas
To be drunk - se juma, hasta la cara me duele, está tapis
To be in love - pepiado
To eat - jarta, jama
To be a liar – jetón, lengua larga
To be broke - anda limpio, lavado
To ignore someone - se hace el ruso, se hace el maje
To fail - se la pela
To play soccer - mejenguea, juega bola, patea bola
To have bad luck - miado, salado
To take advantage - se monta
To be a bookworm - es nerdo, verde, es pipa, tiene masa gris
To feel bad - paltigre, agüevado
To go to party - va de pelón, va de pachanga, va de rumba
To smell bad - patión
To make an effort – la pellejea, la pulsea, se pone las pilas
To have diarrea - tiene pringa pie, anda flojo, se le suelta el ruedo
To be nosey - sapazo chepo, vina
To be corrupt - es un choricero, trinquetero
To run - se pega un morón
To go or leave - se jala
To be sure or certain - al chile, fuera de vara

These are just a few of the commonly used slang terms that you might hear on the streets in Costa Rica. Of course, when using these terms be careful since they can be offensive to some people.

Advice

Costa Rica Ranks High in Environmental Perf Index

By: Scott Bowers
Editor, The Costa Rica Zine

According to the 2008 Environmental Peformance Index (EPI) Costa Rica is 5th among 149 countries of the world in protecting the environment. Moreover, Costa Rica was first among all American countries. Colombia was the only other country in the Americas to rank in the opt 10. It ranked 9. The EPI ranks 149 countries on 25 indicators tracked across six established policy categories: Environmental Health, Air Pollution, Water Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Climate Change. The EPI identifies broadly-accepted targets for environmental performance and measures how close each country comes to these goals. As a quantitative gauge of pollution control and natural resource management results, the Index provides a powerful tool for improving policymaking and shifting environmental decision-making onto firmer analytic foundations.

Here is how Costa Rica fared in various categories (scale of 1 to 100):

Category	Score
EPI	90.5
Environmental Health	93.2
Ecosystem Vitality	87.7
Environmental Burden of Disease	1.0
Water (humans)	92.8
Air Pollution (humans)	83.8
Air Pollution (Ecosystem)	99.3
Water (Ecosystem)	78.5
Biodiversity & Habitat	48.0
Productive Natural Resources	97.1
Climate Change	98.3
Forestry	100.0
Fisheries	99.1
Agriculture	92.0
Adequate Sanitation	90.6
Drinking Water	94.9
Urban Particulates	83.8
Indoor Air Pollution	75.8
Local Ozone	100.0
Regional Ozone	100.0
Sulfur Dioxide Emissions	98.6
Water Quality	57.1
Water Stress	100.0
Conservation Risk Index	95.0
Effective Conservation	15.9
Critical Habitat Protection	75.0
Marine Protected Areas	6.0

You can view the entire EPI rankings as well as statistics on Costa Rica and all other countries ranked at the EPI Website

Also, Costa Rica’s own Cocos Island is a candidate for inclusion in the new list of the Natural Wonders of the World, which will be announced this year on July 7th at the Official Declaration Ceremony in Lisbon, Purtugal. You can place your vote for Cocos Island at the Natural Wonder Official Website. As of the last update on January 24th, Cocos Island was ranked 5th of 77 candidates.

Pura Vida Mae!

Scott Bowers, Editor