Going going, back back to Manuel Antonio

One of the best things about being here for a few months is the ability to return to places I've already been in order to catch something I may have missed the first time. In the case of Manuel Antonio, that something was only the main reason most people go there: Manuel Antonio National Park, the 2nd most visited national park in the whole country, and the home of some of Costa Rica's most beautiful beaches.

Those beaches, however, just lost their Blue Flag status, which is nationwide recognition for eco-friendliness, because of the risk of sewage contamination (for more, see my article in The Tico Times earlier this week here).

You see, my weekend at the beach wasn't all fun in the sun (although there was plenty of that). I had four stories to write--a hotel review, feature on a local gift shop that opened a bar & grill, and a piece on a new clinic to rehab injured jungle animals, and, last but not least, a report on the sanitary issues at the national park. That may sound like a lot to handle in two and a half days, but things surprisingly worked out well.

I knew we were set for a good weekend when Avalon and I got out of the house late on Friday, had the slowest taxi driver known to man, and showed up 5 minutes late for our noon bus to Manuel Antonio. Running to the bus station from the curb (Avalon, you may be surprised to hear, is actually quite fast when need be) we managed to get on just in time. Sometimes, Tico Time (or the fact that most things here run late) is just what you need.

Yesterday, the country's health minister visited Manuel Antonio to check on the progress the park had made in cleaning up its act. There was a reasonable chance she would order the park closed--meaning I would have been there the last weekend possible--because of the sewage leaks from the bathrooms, a problem that is endemic to the entire park system and has existed for years.

Luckily, she agreed to give the park a few more months to come up with a long-term solution Hopefully, the specter of a closed-down Manuel Antonio will scare the environmental industry, as well as local businesses, into action. Closing the park would have been a huge blow to the local economy, but the country can't afford to neglect its environmental gems anymore.


And, on that somber note, I'll leave you with some more pictures of the beach and the park. Including monkeys, which lost a little bit of their luster when I realized how tame they had become in order to try to steal food from people. When some French tourists started feeding them, ignoring the orders of the park ranger, I had to get out of there.

Unfortunately, this sign was ignored:

Where is CJ Craig when you need her?

Today, I went to my first politics-related press conference. I've been to press conferences before here, but this was at the Casa Presidencial, or the Costa Rican equivalent of the White House. The president wasn't there, but the Presidency Minister (still not sure what that means, exactly) as well as a few other ministers were on hand to talk about the economy. At least, I think that's what they were talking about...

In many ways, the press room at the Casa Pres reminds me of Kresge Auditorium, a lecture hall back at Stanford, but on a smaller scale. The set up is almost exactly the same--podium up front, stadium seats ascending away from the stage, and the huge windows on the side walls that allow you to daydream and gaze at the palm trees outside. Also, exactly like a group of college students (and unlike the White House) the press corps fill all the back rows first, only very reluctantly taking the risk of sitting up front. Fake plants adorn the stage, highlighted by green and orange accent lights--something Kresge could probably use back at Stanford to liven up those econ lectures.

As the press conference begins, I struggle to keep up. The ministers refer to several events that took place in the country before I arrived, and, without the context, following along is difficult. The rapid-fire Spanish compounds the problem. To top it off, however, several cell phones go off during the conference--and the reporters have the gall to answer them and carry on a conversation! This would never happen in a Stanford class, much less in the White House!

I hear that such occurances are actually common. In fact, a co-worker told me a story involving a doctor who answered his phone while performing surgery. So, those of you who were contemplating it, it may be time to reconsider the whole medical tourism idea.

Keeping up on the news: the good, the bad, and the ugly

OK, I swear I'll get back to writing about Costa Rica soon. But there were three articles today that caught my eye, and I couldn't help commenting on them. Let's call them the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First, the good. Obama's new plan for the federal budget may be massive, but it's a step in the right direction. I was particularly encouraged by his plan to cut farm subsidies, which have been a pet peeve of mine since I researched the Farm Bill (for more, check out Michael Pollan's seminal 2007 piece in the New York Times magazine). While farm state members of Congress always fight subsidy cuts tooth and nail, screaming that to do so would destroy the American farmer, the reality is the American taxpayer is funding large corporate farms. Luckily, the Obama Administration is coming out early and arguing that the large farms are being targeted specifically, which may take some ammo out of his opponents' arsenal in the looming Congressional battle.

Now, for the bad. This story is slightly problematic for me since it relies on a single source and seems like Reuters may be stretching for an "exclusive." But the premise is troubling enough: abuses in Guantanamo have actually worsened since Obama took office.

Finally, the ugly. I don't normally read the entertainment section of Google News, but the word "Sacramento" always will catch my eye. From MSNBC, of all places: Sacramento radio station bans Chris Brown.

More malas noticias (bad news) for the news industry

I used to love our family vacations to San Francisco. The sights and sounds, Chinatown, the thrill of Giants games, the glorious Golden Gate... and the Sunday Chronicle. Now, as the news industry continues its spiral to oblivion, reports are that the Chronicle is teetering on the brink:

"The Hearst Corp. today announced an effort to reverse the deepening operating losses of its San Francisco Chronicle by seeking near-term cost savings that would include "significant" cuts to both union and non-union staff.

In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished "quickly" the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year, Hearst said."

Clearly, operating print newspapers on a for-profit basis is no longer viable. But what is the answer? No one knows. In my history and future of journalism class last spring, we discussed some of the possibilities, including non-profits and the Web. There is no perfect solution.

As the article suggests, the organization's Web site "depends on the Chronicle's print news staff for much its content." Cutting down somewhat and re-launching as a Web-only news outlet would be better than closing altogether, but how much journalism would that organization be able to produce? And would that even be viable?

One article I read said that San Francisco is a tough market, since the Bay Area is saturated with daily newspapers. But wouldn't you think that The Chronicle would be the last one standing? Why would anyone like me want to be starting a career in journalism again?

UPDATE: The Rocky Mountain News, which has operated in the Denver community for 150-odd years, is folding. The days of two majors newspapers in most metro areas are long gone, but troubling news for the industry nonetheless.

Keeping up on the news: Political musings of the week

Living abroad means I cant be the news junkie I am when back home. I only glance at The New York Times Web site a couple times per day, depending on how busy I am at work and how tired I am when I get home. A sad state for any would-be journalist and blogger, I really only get to skim the headlines on Google News. For those lamenting the demise of the news industry, I am part of the problem.

That said, I do get to check out The Sacramento Bee as well (mostly for updates on the sad state of affairs regarding your Sacramento Kings) and was happy to see that the budget finally was passed. I was less happy to see that the state Republicans ousted their leader for his willingness to compromise and openly mocked their own members who were willing to strike a deal (speaking of "being of part of the problem and not the solution"...). This mirrors some of the news I saw this weekend, regarding Republican governors and their political grandstanding on the stimulus package. Thankfully, Arnold was not one of them.

While I voted for his opponent both times, I’m happy to see Arnold assume the mantle of moderation within the Republican Party. It’s somewhat of a shame that he can’t seek the presidency (thanks to the constitution) because I’d much rather see him setting the national Republican agenda than conservatives like Palin or Jindal, both clearly pandering to the conservative base with their eyes on 2012. Of course, political grandstanding is nothing new, but playing politics with the economy in a time of crisis is something I can’t really stand for. I applaud Arnold’s pragmatism, recognizing that tax cuts aren’t the solution all the time. (And really, if you think tax cuts are the solution when the economy is good, and you think tax cuts are the solution when the economy is bad, isn’t that just a sign of the kind ideological indoctrination and blockheaded stubbornness that got us into this mess in the first place? Show some common sense and willingness to adapt to the situation, why don’t you?)

It’s not like the Democrats are blameless either. I just read in today’s Times that Obama’s first forays into Social Security reform are being met with opposition from liberal Democrats and Congressional Leaders. I’ve long said Obama may have more trouble with Democrats than Republicans in Congress. Hopefully, he’ll be able to continue his pledge of bipartisanship and putting national interest above party or ideology. The article notes, I must point out, that analysts agree that both taxes and cuts in spending are needed to solve the problem. Sounds a lot like the California budget crisis doesn’t it? Hopefully, Obama will fare better than Arnold in convincing legislators to do the right thing. What’s clear, however, is that we need more Obamas, and dare I say more Arnolds, to continue to press for a consensus of cooperation, moderation and practicality. A little compromise could go a long way right now.

Now, back to Costa Rica…

In case you're still on the fence about visiting

Good economic news--for once:

"The exchange rate between the US dollar the Costa Rican colon reached an all time high yesterday, the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) setting the sell at ¢567.94 and the buy at ¢558.18. The exchange rate a little over two weeks ago, on January 31, was ¢558.18 for the buy and ¢555.51 for the sell.

...

One economist, Roxana Morales, of the Universidad Nacional (UNA) says that the trend will continue, due to a decrease in exports and a decrease of tourists visiting Costa Rica."

Bordering on insanity

You know something isn't quite right when a two hour border crossing makes the rest of a 9 hour bus ride feel like a breeze. But such was the case crossing the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, on our way from San Jose to Granada.

It sounded like it would be a piece of cake when one of my coworkers told me about the experience. "They collect your passports on the bus and take care of everything for you," I thought I heard. "You don't have to wait in line." That memory must have been my imagination.

The bus operator did, in fact, collect our passports. Twice, actually. First, they take everyone's passports to get stamped departing Costa Rica. Then, as you pass through Costa Rica's border post into Nicaragua (where it seemingly got hotter by about 10 degrees) they handed passports back, calling names out one by one on the bus. Next, you pay the $8 entry fee for Nicaragua (which they say is only for Nicaragua, but in fact there's one on the flip side for Costa Rica, albeit somewhat less) and they collect passports once more to get the entry stamp for Nicaragua.

At that point, we filed out of the bus. People milled about gathering their luggage out of the bus's baggage compartment, while Avalon and I were able to get a head start at the customs line since we only had carry on luggage. Convenient, but we had to wait for everyone to process, anyway. Customs itself was uneventful. You present your customs card and then press a big yellow button and try your hand at customs roulette, as a stop light will light up either green or red. Green means you're home free (relatively speaking, as you're free to go stand by the bus and wait for everyone else) but red means you go get your bags searched. Avalon and I both passed with green. But behind us, an old nun in a white habit pushed the button and was greeted with a red light. I assume she'll get her reward in Heaven.

Finally, after fending off locals trying to sell us gum, spirographs, and passport wallets, and waiting for the rest of our co-passengers to pass customs, a border agent passed out passports and we boarded the bus and ambled on to Granada. As we left, I noticed a mass of people lined up to get their passports stamped on the other side of the building where we had been. As bad as the border wait was, I imagine if you didn't have a bus company coordinating your crossing, it could be much worse.

Now, the border crossing on the return trip included a much quicker trip through the Nicraguan side, but logically, Costa Rica then wanted to make sure we weren't bringing anything nasty back. We also had to get out of the bus to get our passports stamped, which I didn't mind at all, except the guards were very anal about which way the line went. Costa Ricans tend to be arbitrarily anal about rules that don't matter at all, while simiulanously ignoring general principles and otherwise helpful rules. (Expect a blog post on this soon.)

We got our stamps (and yes, the 3 days out of the country does get you another three months on a tourist visa, or so it seems) and went to customs. Which, strangely enough, was much less organized than the Nicraguan side.

At Penas Blancas on the Nicaraguan border, Costa Rica customs consists essentially of a man in a dirty button down shirt and dress pants ordering everyone line up to put their luggage on a bench outside the office. Then, he first inspects not the luggage or its contents, but the manner in which the luggage is lined up. If it's on its side a certain way, or not maximizing the space of the bench, he will rearrange it. After several minutes of this aimless activity, the man dissapears. After 10 minutes doing God knows what, he returns, and he and his cronies rifle through the luggage briefly to inspect for whatever they inspect for at customs. Except, if you're like Avalon and I, standing in between the benches because no one told you to move or put your luggage down, then you apparently don't get checked, as we slid away surreptitiously without being searched. (Lord knows what we could have smuggled into the country and could be selling now for triple my Tico Times salary). All this time I was sweating profusely and trying to do the math in my head of how much the country pays the customs man and his cronies to do what a simple x-ray machine could do at a much faster rate, and how much said machine would cost or save in the long run. But, by the time I could finish my math, we were back boarding the bus and on our way to San Jose. This actually took a while. I am bad at math.

Border issues aside, we had a fantastic three days in Nicraragua. The country--well Granada at least--is cheap and charming. Expect further posts on our stay in the next day or so.

Rocking times over, tourism slump has Costa Rica singing the blues

You won't believe me, but the music metaphor wasn't my idea but my editor's. But anyways, here's my story (as promised) about how the economic slowdown is taking its toll on the tourism industry in Costa Rica. I've posted the first few paragraphs, click on the link for the whole story:

On a Saturday night in Puerto Viejo in late January, Rocking J's is packed. The hostel, a popular destination for backpackers and budget travelers on the Caribbean, teems with twenty-somethings shouting and laughing, kicking back with a beer after a long day of surfing and tanning on the beach.

Unfortunately, nights like this are increasingly rare in Costa Rica these days. In interviews with nearly a dozen hotel owners, tour operators and tourism officials, almost all expressed the same concern: The global economic downturn is beginning to take its toll on tourism in Costa Rica. And many are worried, unsure when the crisis is going to end and just what can be done to weather the storm.

“We were dead in the water,” Rocking J's owner Joseph John Korchmaros said of the slowdown that hit his hostel beginning in October, considered to be the high season in the Caribbean. “We could barely stay afloat. We didn't have a high season.”

For the tourism industry in much of the country, the high season is just beginning. But according to a poll of 66 businesses conducted by the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) last month, more than 60 percent of respondents said reservations for the first quarter of 2009 were down compared to 2008. Those that reported a slowdown said reservations had declined an average of 29 percent. And the number of passengers at Juan Santamaría International Airport was down 8.25 percent for the first 15 days of the month, CANATUR reported.

“Definitely, there is a slowdown,” said Alexi Huntley, commercial director at Nature Air. “We've seen about a 10 percent reduction in passengers flown. People are really shopping around; they are more price-sensitive and are comparing different providers. People are holding on to their money more, and that hurts everybody. Everyone's a little freaked out.”

Don't stop the Rock

Rocking J's, the hostel we stayed at in Puerto Viejo, is something like a Hawaiian Hofbrauhaus set on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. In the morning, Jack Johnson songs meander their way up to our private room (while advertised as "Costa Rica's one and only hammock hostel" we decided to fork out the few extra dollars for a bit of privacy). The walls and floors are covered in either colorful tiles or murals, both seemingly the creation of backpackers come before. Indeed, on Saturday, J himself invited us to create our own tile art on the other side of the hammock room, but we elected to bike down to Punta Uva instead (a fateful decision).

Biking is the best way to get around Puerto Viejo. There's not a whole lot in the "town" per se, with many bars, restaurants, hotels and shops straddling the beach and the road south toward Manzanillo. Thankfully, there's not a lot of development, and where there is, it doesn't block the view of the beach from the road in most cases. That just doesn't seem to be the Caribbean style.


I wrote this initially under a thatched roof with hammocks, rocking chairs, and a large hollowed out log (where I chose to sit). My bag sits on a bench plastered with old music CDs--an interesting mosaic of styles and colors. By day, J's is mostly quiet, but at night it livens up quite a bit, somewhat too much. As Avalon said, "We're on a hostel budget but over the hostel scene." Some hostel scenes aren't so bad, quite fun, in fact. But J's Saturday night was a bit much, with a group of kids ("retards," Avalon says) who one would think had never touched alcohol before or spent much time with members of the opposite sex. But back to the story... I'm working on an article for The Tico Times about the economic slowdown and its effects on tourism in Costa Rica. While many hotels in the country are struggling, J's seemed to be immune. Or so I thought.

I talked to J himself today, and it sounds like things are pretty rough there too. This weekend was packed but it's been slow otherwise, he said. Actually, what he said was "October through December f***ing killed us, man." That part probably won't make it in The Tico Times. When the article comes out, I'll post more here.

Stay tuned tomorrow, as there apparently may be a taxi strike that shuts down roads throughout San Jose. As if commuting wasn't fun enough!

Sloth Sighting!

It was a slightly overcast Saturday on the road from Puerto Viejo to Punta Uva. The road, filled with potholes, meandered south between the beach and the jungle. Unlike Costa Rica's Pacific coast, the Caribbean side is far less developed, meaning instead of high rise hotels and massive marinas, each turn brought a small lodge or perhaps simply a local soda. Most turns brought more jungle.

There were nearly a dozen of us biking, and Avalon and I were at the end of the pack. We turned one corner and saw a group of bikers congregated a couple hundred meters ahead on the right side of the road. "Oh man," I thought, "I wonder whose bike went out?" (Several had already experienced issues with their tires and chains).

As we got closer I realized that there must have been an animal by the road, as several people had their cameras out and were carefully making their way off the shoulder. I assumed it was a monkey, but was pedaled faster to see because we had seen a lot more flora than fauna so far on the trip. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find it wasn't a monkey, but a large sloth sitting in a tree by the road!


Avalon thought it was disgusting (apparently sloths house some sort of fungus on their fur) but I was excited, hoping to see a sloth for some time now. OK, excited may be an understatement. The lighting was pretty dark but I took some photos (since brightened by my completely uneducated hand in iPhoto--any photoshoppers out there want to take a stab at them, let me know) as well as a video, which I'll post at the end of this entry.

The skies opened up and we receieved an unwanted shower when we reached Punta Uva. It was fun for a while swimming in the Carribean in the rain, but soon we got pretty wet and miserable. Luckily, the rain stopped during the ride back, and we went from being cold and soaked to refreshed and damp. And, in the end, it was completely worth it to see the sloth. Now, if only we can see some monkeys...

More on Puerto Viejo to come soon