by Rod Hughes

The highway connecting Limon with San Jose was blocked by a huge landslide but engineer Margarita Soto told the newspaper Al Dia that the Braulio Carrillo Highway should be open by midday on Monday.

The slide backed traffic up five kilometers on both sides, reported the paper. A spokesman for the company, Santa Fe, charged with removing the landslide said the removal operation was complicated by the softness and instability of the soil and by a boulder perched precariously high on the mountainside above the highway.

This mountainous region has been hit by numerous rainstorms in the past few days and the Ministry of Public Works warns to drive carefully on the road because repeat slides are possible.

by Rod Hughes

Former Alajuela striker Erick Scott is off to play soccer in China, along with Honduran forward Emil Martinez, to join the Shanghai club, the newspaper La Nacion reported today. Both currently play with Marathon of Honduras.

Marathon’s head coach, who went personally to the airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to see his players off, said the players have been contracted for a year and that he hopes the opportunity to shine internationally will help them in their careers. He added that salaries for players in China range from $15-20,000, tax-free, more than Central American clubs can offer.

Chinese soccer has already siphoned off some of the cream of Honduran players such as Luis Ramirez, Walter Martinez, Elvis Scott and defender Samuel Caballero.

by Rod Hughes

This writer mentioned last year that while the daily newspaper Diario Extra may have a reputation for sensationalism, it does not rival the U.S. supermarket press (National Inquirer, for example) for yellow journalism. However, a news story that appeared last month may stretch the limits of credibility. Make your own judgement:

The headline read: “Woman Goes 25 Years without Eating.” Reporter Betania Artavia may have fudged slightly on strict accuracy. Her subject, Flora Chaverria of Canas, Guanaste province, does eat a soda cracker most days, topped with condensed milk, along with a couple of slugs of condense milk and a few swallows of coffee with milk in it.

One might be tempted to exclaim at this point, “What a killer diet!” Needless to relate, at age 70, she has kept her figure, if a bit on the anorexic side, perhaps. She does all the cooking, washing and cleaning for her husband Nicolas Rodriguez, who lamented to the reporter that he misses sitting down and sharing a meal with his wife.

It all started in 1983, the paper relates, when Ms. Chaverria was walking toward Canas minding her own business when she was overtaken by a really monster case of heartburn that took her breath away. At the hospital, she was told that she had some sort of torsion that made it difficult for food to pass into her stomach—she is vague on the medical details.

She says that the doctor told her there was no remedy and she has since resisted getting a second opinion for rear “that they’ll find something serious.” She says she has resigned herself to eating what a canary would consider a starvation diet, although when she is cooking she often has yearnings to sample the cuisine.

The paper reports that she has been married 52 years, has seven children (presumaably before her crash diet) and grandchildren and even 11 great grandchildren. They will have a story to tell their great grandchildren about great grandma’s dietary habits. We wonder if they will be believed.

by Rod Hughes

Costa’s Rica’s gourmet coffee has leveled off in price on the world market recently, reported the daily newspaper La Nacion. The coveted coffee so beloved of finicky private consumers and the Starbucks chain, shot up 20% over regular coffee beans in 2001 but was only 17% last year.

This country raises a class called Strictly Hard Bean, a high mountain type sought after on the New York Commodities Exchange. But last year’s premium over regular types were the lowest in six years. The record price differential was an incredible 47% in 2002.

Regular coffee prices have risen precipitously in the first years of the new century, from an average of $51.22 per quintal (a specialized measuring unit for coffee) in 2001 to $126.34 last September. Costa Rica’s premium beans became a tasty attraction for those farmers with the right soils and altitude because their coffees were getting even higher prices and last year their finest beans were getting $148.41. Not bad, but the gap is closing.

The New York commodities market is heavily influenced by the fluctuations of regular coffee in the world markets while the volumn of fine premium coffee available remains stable, according to Ronald Peters, executive director of Costa Rica’s Coffee Institute (Icafe). That the gourmet coffee customer deals directly with the exporter also contributes to price stability, he explained.

While this country’s premium beans averaged 22% higher than regular quality in 2006-7, Peters says producers here want to maintain or augment the advantage by brewing up the twin strategy of improving quality even more and marketing it more aggressively.

Certainly, today coffees from Orotina, Coto Brus or Perez Zeledon, for example, are well-known to fine coffee buyers. And this country’s coffees continue to stand up to international competition.

And when the posh British emporium Fortnum and Mason wanted something extra special to celebrate its 300th anniversary, the company chose to distribute small jars of ground coffee from Acosta and Aserri (going on the market for about $2,135 per quintal as contrasted with the current market $114 for plebean coffees).

But with 65% of the nation’s coffee on the gourmet market and 80% of total production being exported, you need all the promotion you can get. And this year’s crop is expected to be 6.5% larger than normal, about 2.5 million quintales to market.

by Rod Hughes

For many years, the Costa Rican Railway System (Incofer) was moribund except for some banana transport from plantation to port in Limon province. The railway was a victim of truck transport competition and a decrepid infrastucture. Today, Incofer is planning for the future, thanks to rising diesel prices for trucks and increased government interest.

Officials of Incofer intend to double the number of boxes of bananas transported by train to the Limon/Moin docks by refurbishing abandoned lines between Rio Frio and Pococí as well as to put the bridge over the Chirripó River back in action. What enables Incofer, a nationalized company, to do all this is a transfusion from the government of $4.2 million. The goal, according to Incofer president Miguel Carabaguíaz, is to carry 7 million boxes of bananas per year.

But their ambitions don’t stop with just bananas. They have their eyes on the tremendous export pineapple crop from the San Carlos area. Although pineapple producers are hopeful about this, pointing to diminished fuel costs per ton as well as less wear and tear on deteriorating highways, there is one technical hitch to overcome. After leaving the packing plant on their way to the port, pineapple has to be kept at an even, cool temperature. None of the antiquated railroad cars Incofer has at its disposal is refrigerated. Pineapple Producers & Exporters Chamber president Abel Chaves says the industry will have to study whether it can give Incofer refrigeration equipment for its cars and storage terminals.

Still another project is the total electrification of a fast passenger train to link Heredia, Alajuela, Cartago and several suburbs of San Jose together with regular service. Already a small train is serving part of this route but its locomotive is diesel-electric and the Arias Administration wants to make as small a carbon footprint as possible. A $1.2 million contract with the Brazilian company Engevix has already been signed for a feasiblity study on the project. “We won’t have to wait 30 years for this project,” says deputy Minister of Public Works Luis Diego Vargas, “We’re talking 2 or 3 years to be up and running.”

But just the first stage of the new fast line will cost upwards of $90 million. It all depends, says Minister of Public Works Karla González, if the government can convince the banks to finance the scheme. Certainly, she has no doubt that they will get many bids from would-be concessionaires to run the route once it is finished.

by Rod Hughes

Although fraud laws makes it a misdemeanor to profess to deal in witchcraft, in the far corners of the country a few believers still fear sorcery. This is the motive given for the murder of a 24-year-old man in the Guaymi area of southern Costa Rica

The murder of Joaquin Bejarano took place Sunday in an area so remote that it is accessible only by foot. Police say that two indigenous brothers named Garcia, 24 and 32, confessed that they had killed the victim for placing a spell on relatives, according to La Nacion.

Apparently they were quite open in their belief that their act was justified to “free the people” from the supposed shaman’s sorcery, according to police.

by Rod Hughes

Saprissa, the club that is currently defending champion of Costa Rica’s First Division soccer league, has been invited to play against several international powerhouses in Montevideo, Uruguay. Two games will be played per day in the Copa Ricard soccer extravaganza, that begins today.

Saprissa will go head-to-head with two Uruguayan clubs, Olimpa and Defensor, in Group B. Group A will pit Vaduz, a Lichtenstein club playing in the Swiss major league, against Uruguay’s Penerol and Defensor clubs. Matches will be in Montevideo’s huge Centenario Stadium.

This tourney will give Saprissa’s players on the National All Star team a chance to study South American-style soccer. And speaking of the All Stars (La Sele) Brujas midfielder Daniel Jiminez has been tapped to replace injured Roy Myrie in the Jan. 30 exhibition match against Iran.

by Rod Hughes

Although no Costa Rican government official will confirm it, the newspaper Al Dia today reported that this country had rejected credentials of the ambassador Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez named nearly a year ago.

Jose Huerta, 66, was tapped in February, 2007, by Chavez as his government’s representative in Costa Rica. “Well, there’s no legal limit attached,” mused international analyst Nuria Marin, “but a year is more than enough time and the lack of a response is a message he wasn’t acceptable.”

It is no secret that no love is lost between Chavez and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who have sniped at each other for years in public forums. Chavez urged the local voters to reject the Central American trade treaty with the United States (CAFTA) before last October’s referendum on the subject, which did not endear him to Arias who had bet a big stack of political chips on the outcome.

Whether this is the reason, or the accusation by his ex-secretary for sexual harrassment when Huerta was envoy to Paraguay is unknown. The diplomat was also accused of meddling in Paraguay’s internal affairs, reported Al Dia.

Marin suggests that not proposing another name to substitute for Huerta’s indicates that Chavez has “no interest in maintaining cordial and friendly relations with this coiuntry.”

by Rod Hughes

ICE, the government communications monopoly, feels the obligation to reimburse cell phone users for the 12-day interruption of service on its Alcatel net, according to ICE spokesman Elberth Duran.

The public telecommunications company is awaiting a technical study of what went wrong with the net. The Alcatel system, installed under dubious circumstances that resulted in the indictment of numerous public officials, including ex-president Miguel Angel Rodriguez, has worked poorly in the past. Finally, ICE was forced to take over the net to try curing its technological deficiencies.

The failure in the system may have affected 20,000 ICE customers who pay 3,500 colones per month for the service.

by Rod Hughes

Private universities here graduated almost twice as many students as public higher education institutions last year, reports La Nacion, the country’s largest newspaper. In 2007, public universities graduated only 11,370 students contrasted against 19,876 in private colleges.

The central government’s budgetary bind has meant that financial backing for public higher education had to be curtailed to only an adjustment for inflation, amid bitter complaints by university rectors. But the number of private university graduates is a tribute to the high value Costa Rican parents place on education, certainly a sacrifice for them since enrollment and numerous extra fees make private education expensive in colon terms.

Certainly, compared with soaring education costs in the United States, Costa Rican private universities are bargains. But local private students get a savings in time, if not in tuition. They can get a BA in three years, since many private institutions waive requisites that do not pertain directly to the the subject being studied. Public officials feel their graduates are more well-rounded and benefit from the broader view of the world.

As we reported in an earlier article, the four public universities this year had to turn away 48,000 students clammering for entrance. University of Costa Rica, National University, Costa Rican Technological Institute and University at a Distance can hold only 60,000 students while the National Council of Private Higher Education estimates that private institutions can accommodate twice that number.

One aspect the report does not treat is that the number of graduates creates a glut in the job market in certain fields, including, surprisingly, medicine. Studies have noted that the country turns out a superabundance of young lawyers while certain technical fields beg for bilingual graduates. And some doctors unlucky in the lottery that allows them to work for the Social Security Administration (Caja) find themselves working in the private sector for slave wages or at jobs unrelated to medicine.