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Aug
27
Jump on the Band Wagon
August 27, 2008 | Tags: Community Calendar | 1 Comment
| September 2, 2008 |
They are doing it again. The band, to be named but known as “The John Wheatly Experience”, is heading to Bocas del Toro to play some gigs, snorkel, explore the islands, make a party, renew their passports, and in general have a ton of fun with you!
So, as you can see, a major part of the plan will crumble if you do not come. So they’re inviting you to join them. Who are they? The band includes members John, Marc, Eric, Kristy, Liam, and special guest Jim MacDougall.
They are doing this international tour/fiesta every three month as a fun way to get their passport stamps. You may have heard that people are now getting busted for having false stamps! So this is a great way to get legit.
Even if your passport may not be ready to renew just now, but if you go early with us this time, you will be in sync with them forever.
They’ve arranged a shuttle service that will pick everyone up in private vans from Puerto Viejo and drive across the border all the way to the ferry in Panama. A ferry will be waiting to whisk everyone to Bocas Town on Isla Colon. This shuttle includes the ferry ticket so you are guaranteed a seat on the boat and won’t have a long wait for the next ferry. The shuttle will save at least an hour, maybe two, over taking public transportation. It’s the easy, fast, secure, comfortable way to go. It will only cost a couple dollars more than doing it with public transportation. And it will be fun with a van load of friends. Crack a beer if you want, and relax! This shuttle returns at the end of the trip, as well. There is limited space so reserve early. $20 each way.
The band will be leaving Tuesday morning, September 2, and returning Friday morning, September 5. Depending on demand, there will be various departure times.
Over the next few days they will be developing a written itinerary. It will include the gigs, activities, parties, costs, suggested meeting points and times for meals, cocktails, etc., transportation times, etc. They will also be deciding on a hotel(s), and we will be able to help you with reservations. Of course the location of the band hotel will remain a secret so as to avoid the paparazzi and your basic panty-waving fanatics.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions, or would like to reserve a spot, please call your favorite bando:
Kristy: 8841-4007, Purejoy23@hotmail.com
Eric: 2750-0168, e@erichaller.com
Marc: 8864-3230, cdmastering@gmail.com
Liam: 8878-7577, liam@tropicaltales.co.cr
Jim: 8859-7511, e3r4t2000@yahoo.com
John: 8849-7600, JungleJamJohn@gmail.com
Aug
27
The Other Side of the News
August 27, 2008 | Tags: Tourism | Comments Off
One of the challenges of writing news anywhere is presenting a balanced view of the community when major stories are often negative — accidents, tragedies, crime, etc.
The controversy over the Tico Times article (see Violence Causes Spotlight to Fall on Puerto Viejo) has caused many to wonder out loud whether this is a balanced portrayal of our community.
I’ve spent the last few hours reading blogs written about visitors’ stays in Puerto Viejo that have been written in the last month — I’ve added links to them on the photos and blog page. And I have to say that a huge majority of visitors seem to have really enjoyed their visit to Puerto Viejo.
Some of the comments from bloggers:
I had an awesome weekend in Puerto Viejo de Limon. I completely fell in love with the place.
We spent most of our time in Costa Rica in a small, Caribbean coastal town called Puerto Viejo. This town is full of backpackers going to and from Bocas del Toro, Panama, and surfers attracted to the 8-foot waves and laid back atmosphere.
We decided to head to the Caribbean side (Puerto Viejo) of Costa Rica and let me tell you it is amazing!! The beach is so warm, there are wild horses just chilling by the ocean and everyone is very kind!
The beach was in a beautiful cove on the edge of the rain forest right out in the middle of nowhere and we had the beach nearly to ourselves with just one or two other families coming and going while we body surfed and floated on the waves. It was such a relaxing day and I was so lucky to be there with 3 very chilled, relaxed and easy going girls who were all just ready to go with the flow, accept that the weather was bad but enjoy it anyway!
I’m staying right across the road from the beautiful beach in Playa Cocles I discovered on my jog the first day, which makes me a happy little camper (though, not literally camping…staying in a dorm room…that I have all to myself as of now! What a score!) Spent the afternoon on the beach, soaking in the sun and recovering my tan that was stolen by the chilly weather in Xela, Guatemala. Watched the AWESOME surfers rip it up on the huge waves that kept rolling in.
So why even go? We all know the answer to that: it’s the beach, and the sun, and the forest, and the monkeys, and the air. I could never breath enough of that fresh oxygen and plants and life growing on every tree and gate and wire and road. It’s incredible. Days on the sand, the kids would loose themselves in play and imagination and sticks and rocks. We lived very much in the NOW; the beach is all about the NOW.
Even those bloggers who didn’t have a 100% great time were pragmatic about their criticisms. Like:
Petty theft is a problem at the beach. Keeping a guard up is just wise. There’s a lot of drug use. It comes with the territory. We were robbed once because someone staying in our guest room on the bottom floor didn’t shut the little wooden shutter at night. Though the guests lost cameras, phones, and clothes, thankfully no one was hurt. But common sense goes a long, long way at the beach.
Can I be honest? I’ve spent the past week or so desperately looking forward to going home. Paradise has felt especially un-paradise-like lately. Nothing has really changed or happened to make me feel this way. It’s just the cumulative effect of a lot of factors that have been in place the whole time. I don’t regret that we’re here. But it’s not paradise. It’s hard, fun, interesting, different, expanding, exhausting, educational… And itchy.
In my experience, people feel motivated to write about their experiences either when they’ve had a great experience or a really bad one (not so much when it was just average) so these entries should encourage us that despite the frustrations resident sometimes feel, the average visitor is having a good time and wants to come back for more!
The latest reviews of area hotels on TripAdvisor bear this out too — most are positive about the service they’ve received and their experience in town. In many places I’ve traveled to I’ve used Tripadvisor only to not know where to stay since it seems like the vast majority of reviews were negative.
So before we get too down with the frustrations of life here, let’s remember to give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done for most of the visitors and hope that we can continue and improve even more!
Aug
26
Violence Causes Spotlight to Fall on Puerto Viejo
August 26, 2008 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Comments Off
 Self-proclaimed hitman, Gordo Malo. Photo by Nick Wilkinson courtesy of Tico Times |
Continued violent crime in our community has caused even more negative media attention, and has the community talking about a provocative news article published in Costa Rica’s English language weekly, The Tico Times.
The latest incident claimed two persons in a fight which turned deadly on Aug 15 at Stanford’s Restaurant when the combatants started firing (see La Nación: Dos rivales fallecen en un intercambio de balas en bar). This event, like most of the dramatic headline crime events, involved criminal gang members fighting it out for control.
But the continued violent crime has also got local residents and tourists worried. Not least because of the still unresolved case of the rapist who was victimizing female tourists on Playa Chiquita. While there have been no more of those events reported recently, there have been no arrests made either. Community leaders have called for the suspect to be held under preventative detention while the matter is investigated but to no avail. The suspect has apparently been under closer supervision from his family instead which may account for no more incidents.
The Tico Times featured Puerto Viejo in this week’s issue as their top story. The story, entitled Fear and Loathing in Puerto Viejo (original article here or archived here), has the community talking, not the least because the article accused local real estate agent Manuel Pinto of considering hiring a hit man, after his family was assaulted, a charge Pinto vehemently denies. “[The statement has] been completely taken out of context and is absolutely and unconditionally false,” says Pinto. He continues that “Despite our deep and extreme frustrations (the important theme of the article) with the legal system that has all but ignored us and in many cases aggravated our situations, we continue to use all legal options and avenues to resolve the threats made against us. This is a long and painful process – but one we are committed to and are fully engaged into.” You can read his full response here.
The article then goes on to interview a local self-proclaimed hit man Magno Enrique Beñavides, known as Gordo Malo, for his opinion on the violence.
Hopefully all the talk and attention on the situation will actually result in some substantive changes to the way the police and justice system operate.
Aug
15
20 Years of Stash’s Art
August 15, 2008 | Tags: Community Calendar | 1 Comment
| August 20, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Local celeb Stash, great cook and great artist, is presenting a retrospective of 20 years of his art. The show is Wednesday Aug 20 at 7pm at the Tree House Lodge.
Aug
11
#1 on Google!
August 11, 2008 | Tags: Site news | 6 Comments
July was a great month for Puerto Viejo Satellite — not only did we hit a record for number of visitors, surpassing 10,000 visitors in one month for the first time, and a record number of page views, over 22,000, but we are now #1 when you search for Puerto Viejo on Google.
Of course, you’ve known we’ve been the most comprehensive and up to date site for Puerto Viejo for a long time but Google just took a little while to catch up.
If your business still isn’t listed on the Puerto Viejo Satellite map, you’re missing a lot of potential customers. You can add it in a few minutes on the List Business page.
If you’re already listed, you can upgrade your listing to include a weblink to your website for just $75 a year. You can upgrade here. Upgraded listings not only get a weblink to their site but have lots of other benefits.
Aug
9
Recycle Clean Plastic Grocery Store Bags at ATEC
August 9, 2008 | Tags: Community News, Environment | Comments Off
ATEC will now accept clean plastic grocery bags for recycling at their office. Look for the box near the entry.
They will be used by a women’s group that weaves them into handbags and other products for sale and then further support of their activities.
Bags that look like this:
Will be transformed into this:
The finished product can also be purchased at ATEC.
Thanks to Greencoast News for the heads up.
Aug
7
The regulator has approved bus rate increases on long distance bus routes effective in one week.
The rates will increase as follows:
| Route | Old Price | New Price | Approx in US$ |
| San Jose – Limon | 2,180 col | 2,460 col | $4.50 |
| San Jose – Cahuita | 3,455 col | 3,900 col | $7.10 |
| San Jose – Puerto Viejo | 4,020 col | 4,535 col | $8.30 |
The schedules will remain the same.
Interbus and Grayline have also announced rate increases effective Dec 1st, 2008. The rate for hotel-to-hotel San Jose to Puerto Viejo area will go from $35 to $39. The rate from Puerto Viejo to La Fortuna/Arenal will increase from $45 to $49. Schedules and the booking form for the shuttles can be found on the transportation page or you can go directly to the booking form here to search routes, schedules and prices nationally.
Finally, prices for private transport between the Caribbean and San Jose will also be going up. The best price we have been able to obtain for our clients between Puerto Viejo and San Jose is going up from $160 to $190 effective November 30th. This is for a 10 passenger van which can accomodate up to 8 people comfortably with luggage. This service is popular with people who want to maximize their vacation on the coast as the driver will meet their flight at the international airport and bring them straight to their Puerto Viejo hotel or vacation rental house so it’s still a bargain considering the option is often losing a day of your vacation waiting in San Jose for the next day’s bus or shuttle. The booking form where you can search rates nationally for this service and make a reservation is here.
Aug
2
Marina Development Shelved by Owners
August 2, 2008 | Tags: Economic Development | 19 Comments
 Site of the proposed marina. Graphic courtesy of La Nacion |
Grupo Caribeño Internacional S. A. has put their plans to build a marina in Puerto Viejo on hold.
The news comes via a letter that the company’s president, Jan Kalina, wrote on July 31st to CIMAT, a government body whose regulatory approval would’ve been required for the project to go forward.
The project would have built a 100 berth marina (reduced from the original plan for more than 400 berths) and accompanying development totaling some $40 million US.
The project had been strongly opposed by many groups in the area which called for a more sustainable development model for the community and were concerned about the damage to the coral reef which recent studies had shown that while less than 9% of the reef remained alive, there were possibilities of regenerating the reef.
In his letter to CIMAT, Kalina complained that the opposition was “a minority, not the [opinion of] the people of Puerto Viejo”.
The company asked that the project be shelved but left open the possibility of restarting the development in the future “if there are better opportunities”.
Source: La Nacion: Plan de marina en Puerto Viejo se archiva.
Jul
17
Puerto Viejo Open Surf Tournament Set for Aug 9 at Cocles
July 17, 2008 | Tags: Community Calendar, Sports | 1 Comment
| August 9, 2008 | ||
| 8:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
The next Puerto Viejo Open Pro surf tournament, also known as the Legalize Open Pro, is set for Aug. 9 at 8 a.m. at the beach break in Playa Cocles.
Mark it on your calendars, as these tournaments are always lots of fun. For entry information, contact Beto at 8885-9688, or email reservations@cashewhilllodge.co.cr.
You can see video from January’s tournament on the Videos page.
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