In the latest Demoscopia poll, respondents were asked if they would pass or fail public figures.   Interviewed were 1,202 people over 18, between November 29 and December 6th, the poll has a margin of error of 2.8 per cent.

The Good:

+ 78,3% would pass Epsy Campbell legislator of the PAC party.

+ 71,6% would pass Monseñor Hugo Barrantes Archbishop of San José.

+ 62,9%  would pass once and future king Oscar Arias

+ 59,9% would pass Otton Solís of PAC, currently 2nd in the polls in the presidential race.

Also passing were Ex-president Luis Alberto Monge (59.6 %), Presidential Candidate of the Union for Change Antonio Álvarez at 57.9 % and Attorney General Francisco Dall’Anese at 57.4 %.

The Bad

- 61,6% would fail Ricardo Toledo, PUSC presidential candidate.

- 48.5 % and 46 % would fail President Abel Pacheco and First Lady Leila Rodríguez

The Ugly

- 78.4% would fail ex-president Miguel Angel Rodríguez

- 76.5% would fail ex-president Jose Maria Figueres

- 74.2% would fail ex-president Calderón

So far so good according to tourists and officials in Liberia and Alajuela.  In the peak travel week starting now, Al Dia interviewed officials and users at the airport:

Gary B. Midwinter, arrived to the LIberia airport from Canada and said "I’ve been on my feet for an hour and a half. There are enough personnel, but the service could be quicker.  On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d give it a 5."  He and his wife thought that the customs lines were long and more chairs for waiting are needed.

Adelina Geis from Panama said "the service here in Liberia was good. I would only look to improve the board system when they are charter flights"

Miguel Angel Mojic, of Mexico said " In Juan Santamaria the service is faster than before, there are more booths, and I didn’t have to go through such long lines"

Juliana Feano, from Miami rate Juan Santamaria hightly "This is my favorite airport, because the paperwork is faster than in other places."

The Liberia airport administrator, Analive Rosales, explained that on Saturdays about 1,500 people enter the country and another 1,500 leave. Now there are 25 immigration agents and more customs personnel to improve the attention.  For high season, the number of weekly flights increased from 21 to 35 by American Airlines, Continental, Delta, US Airways y United.

At least 4 skycaps and a snack seller are wealthier today after striking it big on "El Gordo".  One skycap who exchanged his tickets yesterday said that the tickets had actually been held for an airline pilot by the lottery seller hawking what turned out to be the winning sheet.  However, the luckless pilot never came back to pick up the $ 7 million prize and the ticket seller began doling out the sheet in smaller tickets on Saturday. 

Another lucky spot to be was the Jardin Cevichero Mexicano in San Sebastian on Friday night.  A couple enjoying a night out, bought tickets: "I told my wife that a ticket seller was over there, and when he was about to leave she called him over and bought 2 pieces of 03".  Another winner was a university student who studies bilingual preschool education: " I was out with 3 class mates, but only I bought tickets"  She had 3 tickets, worth 26,250,000 Colones (over $52,000).

The JPS (lottery ticket board) reported that 28 fractions of the winning ticket had been cashed in, for a total of 245 million Colones. Most winners were camera shy and would not give their names to the local press.  The JPS stressed that security measures were in place and that they offer winners a platform of services, so that they don’t have to take away cash.  The money may be deposited into local bank accounts, left in escrow accounts, or issued as a certificate of deposit.

4 police officers and 20 JPS inspectors are in and around the offices to watch for suspicious activities and the use of mobile phones is prohibited inside the cashier’s area. The JPS chief, Luis Polinaris stated that the winners of 3 large prizes deposited their money in the BCR (Bank of Costa Rica) "The winners should rest easy, knowing that we have a complete platform of services and nobody leaves here with cash. "

Well I had to write this right away so I could begin the recovery process. (see yesterday’s entry) I looked at the map this morning and realized how far Palmares was, so we decided to go back to the same store in Puntarenas. The salesman was very happy to see us again. We bought a double bed, 2 singles, and a couch and chairs, and they should be delivered tomorrow. The appliances we bought yesterday arrived early this morning, the house was completed this afternoon, and we should be moving into a fully furnished home tomorrow.

We picked up the part for Juan Carlos’ car today, but we couldn’t get it on because I didn’t bring all my tools with me. The mechanic will be here in the morning, and if all goes well, the boys will be home in Coronado tomorrow. We are all hoping for the best. We have had some minor problems, but all in all, things have been going well.

The highly anticipated Christmas lottery was distributed widely this year, with ticket vendors remembering very few sales of the winning sheets to a single individual.  The winning tickets were sold in San José, Puntarenas, Cartago (Paraíso y San Rafael de Oreamuno) and Alajuela.  The ticket series was 691 and the number was 03, paying 350 million Colones.

The number 3 was last a winning number in 1969 and paid 2 million colones.

Second prize this year was 25 million colones, number 02 and series 655, while the 3rd prize was number 58 with series 766 and paid 15 million Colones.

Today, I learned the verb llorar, to cry. I believe the cheap gene must be dominant. I am 4 generations removed from Scotland, and today was still very traumatic for me. Marvin, Linda and I went to Puntarenas today. We bought a fridge, stove, washing machine, microwave, and a washing machine. I must admit it is a good city to shop in. Once we found a parking space, we were able, with Marvin’s help, to comparison shop 4 appliance stores. I had checked the paper for San Jose prices, and expected to pay about $1300 for the 3 big items. We ended up getting everything for $1140. Not bad, but I am still shaking. The appliances should be delivered tomorrow, and our new home is really beginning to take shape. Tomorrow we are going to Palmares where Marvin’s friend makes sofas, chairs, and beds. Ouch, more money.

Marvin also had to take his washing machine to Puntarenas to be repaired. As we lifted the machine from the back of his pickup, a little fellow of at least 50 years put his shoulder under it and took it from us. I looked at Marvin and he nodded an okay. The little guy carried the washing machine across the street and upstairs to the repair shop. Marvin paid him the price of a beer and all were happy.

Juan Carlos’ car broke a timing belt yesterday, and I learned today that knowing the year and model of car is not enough. When shopping for new parts, try to bring the old one with you.

One of the warnings I would like to repeat from many sources. Handle everything with care! The crew found a snake in the bathroom, and I found two scorpions under an old bag of cement. The house had been unoccupied for a long time and human activity will keep many of these things away. But we also found a scorpion in our suitcase after putting our laundry away the previous day. It is common practice here to turn your clothes inside out when folding the laundry so you have to reverse it to put it on. This, combined with delicately removing the clothes in the first place helps to prevent scorpion stings. We found out later that this breed of scorpion is called an alaran and is no more harmful than a bee sting. That does not stop us from being very, very careful. If stung by an alaran, a local told us to urinate immediately, drink lots of milk, water, and beer to purge the poison. When I get the internet I intend to do more research on this matter.

The wiring on the house was completed yesterday, and the completion date is now 21/12. I will go to ICE tomorrow to request the inspection. We also plan to go to Puntarenas to buy our fridge and stove, and maybe some stools for the island in the kitchen and a washing machine. We are still having fun and enjoying the experience.

In a Christmas miracle, no passengers or crew were killed when a Nature Air plane crashed into the forest near Tamarindo.  At 11:00 am the plane took off from the Tobias Bolaños airport in San Jose and crashed upon arrival in Tamarindo at 11:50am.  The pilot Rocio Vargas, suffered the worst injuries and is under observation in San Jose at the CIMA hospital.  The passengers and copilot were treated for minor injuries and released.

The copilot reported that the flight was normal, but when they were approaching the Tamarindo airport and at about 500 feet of altitude, a gust of wind lifted the plane off course and caused it to fall. According to the OIJ, preliminary investigations indicate that the plane flipped due to an encounter with a pocket of air.

In a surprise upset on Saturday, the "Guerreros del Sur" of Perez Zeledon left Alajuela out of the final which will determine the champion of the opening phase.  PZ won the first match at home 1-0, but most locals expected La Liga to easily win by a two goal margin at home on Saturday.  But Alajuela could not score on the warriors, and only an own goal by PZ defender Alexandar Madrigal allowed La Liga to tie the global scoreboard.  The teams went to overtime and then to a penalty shootout, which Perez Zeledon won 5-4.

The warriors will await the winner of the Puntarenas - Saprissa series.

Saprissa closed the World Club Championship on a high note, beating Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia 3-2.  In the championship match Liverpool lost a match they dominated to Sao Paolo of Brazil. 

Saprissa scorer Alvaro Saborio finally got a goal at the 13 minute mark on a precision pass from tourney revelation Cristian Bolaños.  This goal was against the run of play, as the Saudis were pressuring Saprissa effectively at the time.  However the "Tigers" regrouped and came up with the tying goal in the 28 minute.

8 minutes into the second half, Mohammed Kallon was fouled by Ronald Gonzalez and executed the penalty shot himself to put Saprissa into a hole.   The Saudi side continued to pressure and was close to sealing the victory, but gradually Saprissa took control of the game. On an attack by Saprissa with only 5 minutes left to play, Ronald Gomez was taken down in the area and the referee awarded the penalty shot which Saborio converted to tie the game.

Although it seemed that a penalty shoot out was going to decide the 3rd place, a foul just outside the area in the 89th minute gave Saprissa a golden opportunity.  Ronald Gomez unleashed a missile that went into the corner of the goal and gave Saprissa the win.