The longstanding restrictions on foreigners buying property along Mexico’s coast and borders were loosened on Tuesday after Congress’ lower house voted on a proposal that drew stiff criticism from some quarters. The measure, which passed 356-119 in the Chamber of Deputies, still needs approval from the Senate and a majority of the country’s 32 state [...]
Former ABC Coast FM staff member Gemma Snowdon is in La Ticla, Mexico, known for having the best waves on the west coast. Intense violence between the Mexican Government and the Indigenous community has marred the region in recent years but, as Gemma reports, surfers are now starting to return. Listen to this awesome NPR style [...]
I have been traveling to Baja for 35 years—it is likely the one place on the planet that has served up some of the best waves of my life. For the last few years Baja has been plagued with negative media and unwelcoming stories. Coyote Adventures, started by Ivan Feerman, was born out of one surfer’s desire to change all that.
Getting Caught With A Gun at Mexican Border—don’t let it happen to you.
Costa Rica suffered remarkably little damage from September 4ths magnitude-7.6 quake — a few blocked highways, some collapsed houses and one death, of a heart attack caused by fright. Officials credited the relatively deep location of the quake and building codes that Costa Rican officials call as strict as those in California and Japan. The [...]
Costa Rica is most famous for its lush national parks, evergreen rainforests, white beaches, and thermal springs. The country’s parks draw an average of 300,000 tourists per year, generating approximately $2.1 billion a year that makes up roughly 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Unfortunately, Costa Rica’s parks, jungles, and marshes do not [...]
On Wednesday, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) announced that 1,285,599 foreign visitors arrived in the first six months of 2012. That’s a 7.4 percent increase over the same period last year. For 2011 as a whole, Costa Rica received 2,195,960 foreigners, up just 4 percent over the prior year. ICT’s 2010-2016 National Sustainable Tourism [...]
A Costa Rican administrative court on Monday ruled in favor of a $1 billion port renovation project in Moín, on the northern Caribbean coast. The project, worth an estimated $992 million, will permit Dutch company APM Terminals to modernize the Atlantic coast’s dilapidated ports. Nobody knows ports and water systems better than the Dutch. This is great [...]
This was too funny not to post. Back in the day this sort of thing was more acceptable in Latin culture but as CR becomes more ‘westernized’ the policies become more Americanized. A Costa Rican government official who was dismissed from her position over a racy video says she was being extorted to prevent its [...]
A Three Part Series: Trujillo, Honduras to San Ignacio, Belize Part I: Honduras to Guatemala This entry covers my 90-day visa journey from Trujillo, Honduras to San Ignacio, Belize. Just under 500 miles if you don’t get lost! As I’m sure some of you know after 90 days in Honduras you have to leave the [...]