Residente 2006-09

ARCR !DMINISTRACION 3 !

%DITOR IN #HIEF

2YAN 0IERCY

$ESIGN 0RODUCTION

!2#2 !DMINISTRATION

!DVERTISING 0UBLICITY

#INDY 3OLANO

3UBSCRIPTION 2ATES

&REE FOR !2#2 MEMBERS

.ON -EMBERS #OSTA 2ICA PER ISSUE !BROAD YEAR SUSCRIPTION ISSUES

0UBLISHED BY

!2#2 !DMINISTRATION

!DDRESS

3AN *OSĂ? !VE #ALLE #ASA #ANADA "UILDING 4EL &AX % MAIL ARCR CASACANADA NET HTTP WWW ARCR NET 'UANACASTE 0LAYAS DEL #OCO 4EL &AX\ % MAIL ARCRGTE HOTMAIL COM

Editorial Note: Sometimes it is difficult to get the creative juices flowing, but the simple rule I learned recently was that the best key to writing is... to write, not to think! What I thought a very interesting line from Sean Connery in the movie Finding Forrester.

Well, finally I decided to take the magazine in a direction that has been on my mind for some time, highlighting each province of Costa Rica. While we are here in a small country, I have always found it intriguing how different the culture here really is from coast to coast.

We hope these issues help to bring you a little bit closer to each of these subcultures, starting with the central province of San Jose.

Enjoy the journey.

- Ryan Piercy

Is your CCSS up to date? Are you receiving your monthly slip? Call us!

0LAYAS 4AMARINDO 4 EL &AX % MAIL CSIMMONS RACSA CO CR 0 / "OX #ENTRO #OLON 3AN *OSÂŁ #OSTA 2ICA

(OURS -ON &RI !- TO 0#2# 4IME '-4 )F MAILING IN 53! OR #ANADA

53! 0 / "OX !2#2 3*/ 0 / "OX -IAMI &L

This magazine has been published every two months for 10 years as the ofďŹ cial communications media of the Association of Residents of Costa Rica. Our organization provides service to thousands of foreigners who have chosen Costa Rica to reside for short periods or for permanent residence.

Since 1984 the Association of Residents of Costa Rica has been offering reliable SERVICES, INFORMATION and ADVOCACY to Costa Rica’s foreign residents. We have the experience and ability to help you with your residency application, immigration, business and ďŹ nancial management, real estate purchases and rentals, property management, insurance, pet importation and much more.

If you wish to place an ad in El Residente, please contact the ARCR main ofďŹ ce.

El Residente

2

Presidents Repor t by the Board Robert Miller and his wife Elsa have safely arrived in the north, writing us that all is well with them. We are very glad to hear it!

On the home front, acting president Earl Tomlinson has returned from his surgery, and Attilio Gilberti is back as well, joining Terry Renfer in the quest for new members of the board. That’s correct, in just over one month, on October 12th, the Association will be adding new officers in the hope we can carry on with all the hard work and accomplishments of these past few years. Already we have some eager newcomers who are willing to join forces, but want the call to go out to all who are willing to help.

Are you looking for something to devote some time to?

Something to keep busy and obtain a little satisfaction?

Then why not consider assisting the Board of the Association, or even joining the Charity Committee in their efforts to make our adopted country a little better place to be?

If you are interested, please contact the office, or send an email to board@arcr.net.

We are also looking for feedback, input or ideas from our members. We are here only because of you! We are nearing 2500 members now, and we know there are some great ideas and minds out there.

Casa Canada, the management of the ARCR, continue to show their support for charity, this time in the form of sponsorship to the Womens’ Club main event. This fundraiser takes place September 2nd, but the WCCR continues to need support all year long. Please help, the kids deserve it!

And can you help our Charity Raffle? Do you own a business that deals with the public? Would you be willing to help us sell raffle tickets to your guests?

Monika and Nevis did, and two of their clients won already! What Great Publicity!

Our raffles now run all year long, with great prizes and, more importantly, great causes!

In fact anything you are able to do would be most helpful, and we really appreciate the assistance of those who have come forward already. Thank You. To make a donation for childrens’ education please contact the committee at the office, or to help children in need of medical care please donate directly to the account below, and fax us your deposit.

Account: Asociacion Damas Voluntarias HNN # 161-0100262001116-7 We would appreciate any help you can give, and I assure you the children will also be extremely grateful to you from the bottom of their little hearts.

Cover Collage Province 1-San Jose: San Jose, Capital of Costa Rica, and perhaps the heart of its culture. Still today in this modern city one can see the great history its buildings tell in their architecture.

Especially notable are the arts, being home to the countries major museums, theatres and galleries, housed in classical buildings throughout the major city. Also a center of learning, with the Universidad de Costa Rica alone educating thousands yearly. Yet also to the South of the province, San Isidro del General is a proud legacy to a grand past.

Though the fifth province in physical size (4966 km2), San Josefinos show a pride of accomplishment that matches the greatest of the cities in the world, and over 1/4 of the population, 1.35 million call it home.

September-October, 2006

3

Association of Residents of Costa Rica ARCR has now begun a series of continual Charity Raffles to be available through the office. We will be holding 4 series per year, with many prizes to be won at each draw. Tickets are only ¢1000 each, with thousands of dollars in prizes to be won, so don’t forget to buy some on your next visit to the office! All proceeds go to Charity.

Are you the owner of a business? Would you help us sell our raffle tickets? Remember the ARCR charity funds are 100% for charity. We have no overhead.

Please contact the office if you can help. website: www.arcr.net Alcoholics Anonymous Groups meet daily throughout the country; times and places change frequently. Call for up-to-date information.

San José 222-1880 (Anchor club, also serves Narcotics Anonymous) Av 6 Calle 1, 2nd floor Maryland Building.

Heredia (Laura) 267-7466, Puerto Viejo Limon 750-0080, Zancudo 776-0012, Tamarindo 653-0897, Flamingo (Don) 654-4902, Manuel Antonio (Jennifer) 777-1548, Jacó (Nancy) 637-8824, Zoo Group Escazu 293-4322.

Al-Anon Meetings Sabana Vigilance Club: Sandy 288-4836 or Martha 483-1275 American Legion Post 16 All veterans are welcome. Meetings are the second Tuesday of the month at Hotel America in Heredia.

Contact Post Commander Jim Young or Post Adjutant Ken Johnson at 591-1695.

Bird Watching Club The Birding Club of Costa Rica sponsors monthly trips to observe local and migrant birds in various areas of the country. For more information contact us at 282-5365 or at costaricabirding@hotmail.com Canadian Club LTG Funraiser, September 24th.

By popular demand, in lieu of a regular luncheon, we will host another special day at the little theatre for the 1st Sunday performance of the comedy “Jimmy Dean- Jimmy Dean”.

This event will also be sponsored so that all the money raised will go to Outreach programs. Please reserve in advance.

Only ¢5000 pp. Contact Alan at 288-2285 or Vicky at 2033652, email andreason@racsa.co.cr website: www.canadianclubcr.com Democrats Abroad The Democrats Abroad of Costa Rica meet the last Saturday of each month at the Aurola Holiday Inn, 9:30 a.m. to noon, coffee break menu. Visit cr.democratsabroad.org or contact Luisa Kaufman for information and reservations.

820-1912 or 239-5042, ladyauag@gmail.com Little Theatre Group LTG is the oldest continuously running English-language theatre in Central or South America. The group currently puts on a minimum of four productions a year offering a choice of modern, classic, serious, and farcical plays. Continuing in the tradition of its founders, LTG regularly donates to charity, sponsors school drama festivals, trains new directors, and takes productions on the road to the more remote areas of

El Residente

Send us your club news or activities for free publication in this column

the country. The group’s monthly social meetings are held in the theatre on the first Monday of the month from 7p.m. to 9 p.m. and everyone is welcome. Membership costs C 4,000 per person or C7, 000 per family. Also, earn your Wings, become an LTG Angel. For more information Call the LTG Box Office 355-1623 or www.littlethe atregroup.org Newcomer’s Club A women’s social organization that meets the 1st Tuesday of each month. We welcome English speaking women who reside in Costa Rica. New and long term residents-contact Nancy 416-6165 or newcomerscr@yahoo.com PC Club of Costa Rica This computer Club meets on the third Saturday of each month at Pan American school, in Belen, 830 to 11:30 am 2 months Free Trial for newcomers. For information call Chuck Jennings. Phone 266-0123 www.pcclub.net Republican’s Abroad The Republicans Abroad of Costa Rica meets the second Tuesday of each month. Contact Francis 203-6131, or or fax 282-2150.

Radio control Sailing Club Meets at Sabana Park Lake. For information contact Walter Bibb.

Wwbbsurf40@yahoo.com Wine Club of Costa Rica Please mark your calendars The wine club usually meets at 1 P.M. on the last Sunday of each month. Join us to tantalize your taste buds and expand your education.

For more information on upcoming events please contact us Phone 279-8927, 257-2223 Women’s Club of Costa Rica Founded in 1940. The Women’s Club of Costa Rica is one of the oldest, continuously operating service clubs in the country. The name has changed in 63 years, but our motto “friendship and service” has remained the same,. An English-speaking organization, our club has approximately 350 members, originating from over 30 countries. Please join and help us to continue to grow. Remember that you can contact us or keep in touch through our website www.wccr.org Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (open to men too) Bilingual group meets in Heredia on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. in the clinic of Mireya Gonzalez.

We work on peace and human rights issues. Call Mitzi 433-7078 or write peacewomen@gmail.com Young Expats of Costa Rica Some Expatriates under the age of 40, and currently living in Costa Rica, have formed a new social club to be coordinated through their website This club will help younger expatriates living in, or moving to, Costa Rica meet other expats in their age group for; friendship, romance, travel and activity partners, and professional networking. www.YoungExpatsOfCostaRica.org

4

turned our capital into one of the most cosmopolitan, cultural oriented cities in Latin America.

San Jose

by Ana Hernandez

A Mix Of Nostalgia And Progress Hard to believe that Ticos instead of working, dining and shopping in downtown San Jose as many of us do today, could have been heading East, about 20 kilometers towards the fertile foothills of the Irazu Volcano to work, dine and shop in Cartago, the old capital city of Costa Rica.

If San Jose had not been chosen by our nation’s fathers to be the capital city, no doubt that the vibrant hub of commercial activity, the sophisticated theaters, the cluster of narrow streets and avenues crisscrossing the center of San Jose, and the endless stream of pedestrians moving up and down Central Avenue, would all have been part of downtown Cartago today.

Political and monetary interests determined in 1823 that the capital of Costa Rica was to be moved to the Province of San Jose where many from the political elite had chosen to settle.

By this time, coffee plantations had started to prosper in the central valley and Costa Rica struck gold with the exportation of this bountiful product. Commercial trade with Europe made it possible for many coffee growers to become rich almost overnight. Wealth brought interest in the arts and education and many of the offsprings of the coffee aristocrats traveled to countries such as France, Italy or Spain to pursue university degrees and obtain further knowledge of etiquette and refinement. The first Costa Rican university “La Universidad de Santo Tomás” was funded in 1843.

The new elite of coffee barons brought back with them images of baroque and renaissance buildings, exciting museums, art galleries, outdoor cafés and dreams of bringing the customs of the upper society to Costa Rica’s tiny new capital.

Many European style buildings began sprouting in downtown San Jose, giving the city an air of sophistication.

Impressive neoclassical architecture sprouted everywhere in old San Jose. Our beautiful national theater, similar to the Opera House in Vienna, Austria, was built in 1897 using lottery money, coffee taxes and state bank loans. Other famous theater houses, that later became well-known movie theaters, such the Variedades, Raventós and Palace,

September-October, 2006

With the modest amount of 25 electric lamps that illuminated the whole downtown area, San Jose became in 1884 the third city in the world to have hydroelectric power, only behind New York and Paris.

The unprecedented urban growth that continued in the 1900s had some drawbacks. An unfortunate lack of adequate city planning did not contemplate the needs of the city dwellers of the 21st Century. The narrow oxcart roads of yesterday could barely accommodate the wider avenues and highways of today, particularly in the heart of the businesses area. The city of today has a congested look, made worse by bus fumes, bottle jams and noisy horns of daily traffic.

Although affected by crime and other modern society problems, San Jose is among the safest, less violent cities in Latin America.

With little room for expansion and almost bursting at the seams, this little capital still manages to be active, vibrant and fast paced. The city is a rare hybrid of commerce activity, politics and government institutions mixed with music, arts, fruit stands and peddlers of cheap trinkets.

San Jose has many beautiful parks, some with old music kiosks and elegant cathedrals, some surrounded by tropical vegetation. People looking for a little relaxation sit on benches while feeding the pigeons. Plaza de La Cultura next to The National Theater at the heart of downtown is a great place to sit for a while to listen to the happy chords of the marimba and watch people.

As cosmopolitan as downtown itself are the areas of Escazu, West of the city, with an exciting mix of excellent restaurants and yuppie shops and a location many North Americans have chosen to live. Rohrmoser, an upscale neighborhood also to the West of San Jose, houses the American Embassy. To the East, there is the thriving town of San Pedro, famous as the site of the prestigious University of Costa Rica and the nearby progressive communities of Curridabat and Tres Rios, with thriving malls and new and old businesses crowded alongside the highway.

Night activity is abundant, not just in the downtown area, but in all nearby vicinities where the greater San Jose sprawls.

Ticos absolutely love pubs and camaraderie. The city bars and eateries do very well any day of the week but on Friday and Saturday evenings there is highly a booth or barstool unoccupied anywhere.

5

El Residente

6

Business Brie efs FTA with the European Union Exporters, politicians, and social groups in Costa Rica reacted with optimism to the announcement of negotiations for a free trade agreement between Central America and the European Union. The business sector pointed out the need to diversify markets and to cement the relations with the UE via the proper legislation. Last year Costa Rica exported $1.143 billion to Europe, where 455 local companies sell over 500 different products. The recently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Stagno, asserted that Costa Rica stands to benefit the most from the FTA, pointing out that this country currently represents 60 percent of overall Central American trade with Europe.

Visa restrictions lifted The Government of Costa Rica lifted the restrictions on visas for citizens from 102 countries. Now, the nationals from a large number of nations – including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and others – will be allowed to visit here for 90 days with only their regular passport. Visitors from several other countries can do so for 30 days. Some countries will require a consular visa, and only Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, Palestine, Syria, China, North Korea, Somalia, and Sri Lanka will be require approval by the Restricted Visa Commission of the Immigration Service to enter Costa Rica.

Fern Growers Sue DuPont

The heads of state of the 60 nations attending the Latin America-Europe Summit endorsed the initiative. The parties “expect to have an accelerated negotiation process” and “an effective launching of the agreement,” according to the declaration. Analysts believe that the FTA would benefit the European Union, which would thus gain access to the United States market, since Central America and the US have entered a FTA that only Costa Rica has failed to ratify.

A court in Florida granted several Costa Rican fern growers from $50 million to $60 million as compensation from DuPont Co. due to damage caused to their plantations by its pesticide Benlate. According to the court, it will take years for the plantations to recover from the underground damage caused by the pesticide. While DuPont sources say they will appeal the decision and are sure they will win, counsel for the growers said they expect the compensation to increase to some $150 million.

Construction up 48 percent

Exports 17.9 percent up

The building of condominiums, houses and business buildings boosted construction by 48 percent in the last 12 months compared to the same period of 2004-5. The rhythm of construction accelerated last December to take advantage of the dry season, sector sources said. The chief executive of the Costa Rican Chamber of Construction (CCC) Randall Murillo pointed out that the most dynamic areas are on the coast. The increase in Guanacaste was 152 percent in the first five months this year, followed by Puntarenas at 121 percent and Alajuela with an 84 percent increase. All provinces have had an increase in construction.

Costa Rican exports reached $4,066.9 million during this year’s first semester, a 17.9 percent increase over the same period in 2005. According to data from the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER in Spanish) the most dynamic area was electronic components for microprocessors, whose exports were up 36% from $595 million the first six months last year to $810 million for the same period this year. Pineapples, bananas, and pharmaceuticals were among the goods that performed the best, while textiles and coffee were lower.

21,000 jobs at free zones $300 Million Beach Resort Global Financial Group, a Romanian company, confirmed that it will invest $100 million in the first stage of a beach resort in Brasilito, between Tamarindo and Flamingo, on the Costa Rica north-western Pacific coast. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts announced that they will build the Hyatt Regency Azulera Resort on 557 acres, with a 215 room hotel, 100 hotel condominiums, an 18 hole golf course and over 1,000 residential units. Construction is to start in July.

September-October, 2006

The companies operating within the free-zone regime opened 9,000 new jobs in the last four years, according to data from the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (CINDE in Spanish). The companies operate mainly in electronics, medical supplies, and services based on computer technology. Employment increased from 12,000 in 2001 to 21,000. CINDE sources said that another 5,000 people would be hired in the coming weeks indicating acceleration in job creation.

7

Letters to the e Editor To Robert Miller: As Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee of the Women’s Club of Costa Rica and for the previous two years (2004 and 2005) Club President, I would like to support you and refute the accusations against the Canadians and the ARCR published in the previous edition.

The Women’s Club is a multinational social and service club that has been in existence for 66 years. The ¢6000 a year Membership fee covers the membership needs BUT our service programs are supported by donations and general fundraising.

The aim of our Social Service Program is to help the women and children of Costa Rica: giving school supplies to poor schools throughout the country, paint or tin for roofs, handrails for old people’s homes, or helping women’s groups start up small businesses and so on. Another branch of Social Service is the “Reading is Fun” Project where small primary schools in deprived communities receive a donation of new books to encourage the early habit of reading for pleasure Finally The Scholarship Program has been in existence for over 30 years. In this Program we aim to help the poor, but brilliant high school students, complete their education in public high schools so that Costa Rica will not lose the input

El Residente

of these bright youngsters because they failed to continue their education for a lack of a small amount of money.

The Women’s Club receives money to support our Scholarship Program from private donations and the Women’s Club General Funds. During this time period of five years when I have been in charge, we have received a tremendous support from Canadians in particular and have had allocated matching funds from the Canadian Club’s Outreach Program. To be fair we have had donations from all the other nationalities in our Club, including citizens of the US, but the Canadian support has been outstanding.

Furthermore ARCR has strongly supported the Women’s Club during the years for example taking full-page advertisements in our annual directory which goes into our General Fundraising to support the above programs. ARCR has also given generous donations for Scholarship and sponsorship for our larger fundraisers, all of which goes to support the Social Service and Scholarship Programs that are slanted towards helping the youngsters of Costa Rica.

In the Women’s Club we are all volunteers, we have no office, we use our homes and equipment so that all the fundraising goes to help the women and especially the children of Costa Rica and our voluntary work is our additional contribution. If you wish to know more about us go to our website: www.wccr.org So I thank all our supporters of every nationality but especially ARCR and the Canadians, Anne Sobel, Scholarship Chairperson, former President and a Brit.

8

September-October, 2006

9

Wild & SAS SY

by Janie Kainrath & Jo oyc ce Kober

An Animal Story... Of Hope.

Most of us claim to love cats and dogs. More than a million households in Costa Rica have pets. But we should take a hard, sobering look at a different annual statistic: the hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats given up to shelters or left to die on the streets. And the numbers tell only half the story.

Each and every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation — whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease, or neglect — is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes one small step to a solution, starting with not allowing our animals to breed.

This solution is available to everyone…even the most needy.

SASY! was created by two women in 2005 to support and fund existing efforts against animal abuse and abandonment, animal care education, and low cost spay and neuter programs, especially in low income barrios.

SASY! is a non-profit organization for fund-raising purposes only, whose activities are varied, inventive and passionate.

SPAY/NEUTER PROGRAMS: Currently, clinics are held weekly throughout various parts of the country so that those without monies for a veterinarian, can get aid nearby. Volunteers from ANPA (Asociacion Nacional Protectora de Animales, Amigos de Zaguates, and SASY! hit the streets with generous and valiant veterinary doctors. They move into ugly poor barrios for the weekend to educate and to spay and neuter cats and dogs. SASY! funds pay for medicines at these clinics.

In addition to the rotating neighborhood clinics -- with an on-site veterinarian staff of six -- medical care and spay/ neutering is available seven days a week at the permanent animal shelter, AHPPA (Asociacion Humanitaria para la

Proteccion Animal de Costa Rica) Refugio, in San Rafael de Heredia, for low or no cost. Most recently a new halfway house facility opened to service Escazu and the surrounding areas -- AHPPA de Escazu.

When strays or mistreated animals in the area are reported, the driver responds and picks them up. Call Pablo for a pick-up at 288-5695 casa and 871-6318 cell. He will house the animals; then once or twice a week, he delivers them to the shelter in Heredia for vet treatment, spay/neuter, and home placement, if needed.

This new facility will also handle animals from more distant locations in CR (such as Guanacaste and Puntarenas) who need spay/neutering and medical care by the Refugio.

As a result more outlying areas of the country will have a sterlization program available to them. SASY! funds will allow this holding facility to develop and expand.

PUBLIC EDUCATION Teaching future generations to respect animal life will make our society more humane. SASY! Funds provide assistance to the AHPPA school in Heredia. Children from classrooms around the country are transported here for animal education and care classes, as well as hands-on participation. Prevention of animal abuse starts here! To book your children’s group, call the AHPPA to schedule an appointment at 267-7158.

CRUELTY & ANIMAL ABUSE prevention is an important part of the SASY! program.

Cruelty can range from simple neglect (failure to provide food, water, shelter or necessary medical care) to intentional abuse, torture or death. Violence against animals can also be part of a pattern of violence against people. To make life more humane for the animals sharing our environment, here’s how you can help: If you witness or hear about animal cruelty taking place, report it to the Refugio…2677158.

If you own a pet, be responsible and provide it with annual veterinary check-ups and preventative medical care; spay or neuter your cat or dog to reduce the pet population, and urge your friends to do the same.

Continued on page 11...

I’m Archie, and I’m the luckiest dog around... well that’s what I think.

I didn’t have a great start in life; my people abused me, so I ran away and went out on the streets in search of a better life. I had lots of fun with all the girls and made lots of babies, but I could not take care of them. Then one day I had an incredibly lucky break. I got picked up by a family and taken to their house.

The house was not fancy, but it was clean and kept me out of the rain. They washed me up and gave me lots of good food…and most of all love. Then they said they did not want me to make anymore puppies, so they took me to a low cost spay/neuter clinic near our house. Now I play with all the girl dogs and have lots of fun…and best of all I get lots of love from my real family.

And hey, don’t I look the handsomest now?

Love, Archie.

El Residente

10

I was born in Nosara, Guanacaste, and I’m very lucky to be alive today. I was only one month old when a visitor from Maine, U.S. found me thirsty and hungry, living by her hotel. I was terrified, but this kind person cleaned me up and fed me. When it was time for her vacation to end, she called a rescue volunteer in the Central Valley, who referred her to a friend in Nosara; it was the friend’s birthday, so I was her present! These people took me to their vet. Luckily, the only damage was to my pride and empty stomach. I was such a good girl that the people kept me and are now my mom and dad. Later on they took me to get spayed. I’m now nearly six months old and am almost as big as my new sister and best friend… Penny!

Penny had been picked up on the streets of San Jose and taken to the Refugio shelter. My parents adopted her from there two years ago. We are now both healthy and happy. We have a wonderful home and play together all the time.

We are very lucky girls! Love, Moxie

Other ways you can help: lend a hand to the local rescue groups and shelter with food, money or supplies. Volunteer your time or foster a homeless animal. To volunteer with SASY! or make a cash donation…contact Lili Hale 289-5620. Tax-deductible contributions should be made payable to AHPPA. Please support SASY ! in their fund-raising efforts to help the animals and the animal welfare groups by attending these special events:

And by purchasing the Calendar Girls 2007 calendar. Can you find your favorite lady in this picture?

Wild and Sasy Calendar Girls of Costa Rica, 2007 Four-Color, 21 page 2007 calendar. 14 incredible women who call Costa Rica their home are beautifully photographed amidst a menagerie of animals…all are ‘exposing’ themselves to help the animals they love! Call Janie 249-2481 to buy yours today for $15.00 or visit our website: www.sasycostarica.com

September-October, 2006

“PASTOR”, SASY’s 2006 mascot at the refugio/AHPPA.

Janie Kainrath has made Costa Rica her home for three years; Joyce Kober for two. They have been volunteers for the animals since their arrivals.

Janie has an adopted dog, and Joyce has two adopted dogs and three cats. Both ladies are Members of the Executive Board of SASY! – Stop Animal Suffering - Yes!

11

Provincial Par ks

by Ana Hernandez

Go Fly A Kite... at Sabana Park.

Perhaps Mary Poppins never flew a kite in Costa Rica, but likely, if she had, she could have chosen La Sabana Park to fly her kite. A large oasis of green vegetation and recreational amenities in the middle of urban expansion, the park is located at the end of Paseo Colon just a few kilometers West of downtown San Jose. Officially named as “Metropolitan Park,” it is simply known by Ticos as Parque La Sabana.

With a geographical extension of approximately 1 square kilometer, the park surrounded by blue mountains on all sides, is large enough that it was actually used as the country’s first international airport. Nowadays, the beautiful control tower building actively used in the 40s and 50s when the park was still an airport, was remodeled and converted into the National Art Museum, home to famous sculptures and paintings.

Scattered everywhere within the park are important buildings such as the National Soccer Stadium built at the park’s western end in 1941 and the bulky National Gymnasium in the south corner, used for national and international athletic competitions at high school and college level.

The National Stadium where great national soccer players became legendary is the site of presidential inaugurations and international music festivals. World-famous singers and musicians, such as well-known Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti have performed here. At one corner of the stadium there is the mounted police academy and a shooting target school. During my lunch hour, when I do my walking around the park, I jump every time members of the academy practice at honing their shooting skills. But for the most part, I relax and breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the peace and tranquility that the park offers.

Flying kites is not the only sport people do at the park.

Amidst dozens of sculptures made by national artists and brown-tile roofed buildings used for maintenance, Sabana Park gets lots of use by children and adults alike.

El Residente

From early morning and until late afternoon, dozens of families claim their own little green space, almost always in the company of pigeons and long-tailed ravens eating the morsels of food left over from their picnic baskets. While parents eat and relax, the kids play ball, chase a Frisbee and climb monkey bars at the children’s playground. During the school break, a favorite pastime for the kids is to ride very small ponies or full sized horses that are rented for about 3 dollars per ride.

At the noon hour, when workers take their lunch breaks, many improvised soccer and basketball games take place.

Joggers jog around the park or do laps around the official running track. There are a few tennis and volleyball courts available but people have to arrive early to grab space for a match.

There are softball fields and an Olympic size swimming pool and when the weather is nice and sunny, these two activities become very popular. Come to think of, the weather is almost always sunny, even during the wet season with its expected afternoon showers.

One of the nicest features of the park is the man-made lake at the center of the park with little islands and a water fountain right in the middle. Small fish live in the lake and people spend long hours with improvised fishing canes and an assortment of lines from nylon to rope, testing their skills at fishing and taking it easy, while ducks lazily swim nearby.

At the park’s northern end, right across from ICE, the national power and telephone institute building, there is a little driving school for children: an entire mini-park complete with little roads, houses and traffic signs. They teach small children how to drive defensively there and the idea is to train them to become better drivers as adults. Too bad the rest of us Tico drivers, judging for our crazy behavior on the road, did not take classes at the little driving school at Sabana Park.

One of the park’s most important landmarks was built in a hilly area near the national stadium: a gigantic concrete cross that serve as a reminder to visitors of the strong Catholic roots people have in Costa Rica.

Standing there silently and very unassuming, the cross provides shade and welcomes everyone who rests under its amazing bulk.

12

September-October, 2006

13

What I Did On My Winter Vaca atio on

by Allen Dickinson

Day Two I am not going to detail every hour of every day I spent in Costa Rica in this and subsequent missiles. But the first few days was such a flood of new information that I don’t know how else to communicate it and give the sense of wonder, discovery, and excitement I was experiencing.

I awoke the morning of the second say roaring to go. Even the trip up the hill from the hotel didn’t dampen my mood. I went straight to McDonalds. Sure enough there were five “gringos” parked in some front booths. The word Gringo, by the way, isn’t considered a slur, as it would probably be in this country, it’s simply a descriptive term used by all to designate those of non-Tico origin. All the Gringo persons I met were, by the way, males.

size, and laminated - very much like a driver’s license.

That way, I could easily carry the pertinent document and not have worry about losing it or having it stolen. After about an hour of talk the group broke up and we all went on our way, I off in search of getting my passport copied.

As started my quest I passed one of the numerous banks and decided to change another couple of travelers check to Colones. The travel books warn that banks have long lines for such transactions and to be prepared to wait. In this bank, however, there were but six persons in front of me, and the line went quite rapidly. It wasn’t always that way, though. More later.

The exchange rate (that day) was 495.6 Colones to the dollar. Costa Rica Colones (¢) are in coins and bills and I walked away with a group of each. It was time to become more familiar with them and what I had, so I could know what I was spending. I walked a block to another one of the numerous plazas and sat down to figure it out.

Colones (named after the Spanish pronunciation for Christopher Columbus) come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 coins. Bills are in 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10000 denominations. (There are undoubtedly larger ones, but I didn’t encounter them.) For mental conversion calculations it’s easier to say a 500 coin = $1: a 1000 bill = $2: and a 5000 bill = $10, etc. Everything else was equally simple to deduce: a 100 coin = 1/5th of a dollar or 20 US cents, and so forth. After 5 minutes, I was set. It couldn’t be easier.

It took several tries but I eventually found an office supply store on a side street that could make the color copy I needed and reduced the two facing pages of my passport.

Cost: 55 cents. (You can’t get a color copy of anything in this country for less than a buck a page!) Then it was off to get them laminated.

I bought an Egg McMuffin and in the process learned Costa Rican McDonalds prices are roughly equivalent to US prices, and sat nearby. It took about five minutes and I was invited to join them. The “youngest” member of the group had lived in Costa Rica in excess of 20 years and one had been there more that 30. All were open and talkative and I immediately began to get good information. Something I found consistent with all the Gingos I met is that they are friendly, very willing to share information, answer questions, and be generally helpful to newcomers.

One of the first things I learned was that it was smart to have the first two pages of my passport, the ones with my picture and identity information, duplicated in color, reduced to card

El Residente

Finding somewhere that could do laminating was a little more difficult. First, I had no idea how to say “laminating” in Spanish so I tried “Plastico con ...” and made the gesture for a sandwich (two hands placed together palm to palm.) I guess it worked because every place I asked they seemed to know what I wanted and sent me on to ‘somewhere else’ where it could maybe be done.

After about 5 or 6 stops I found a guy set up with a heatlaminating machine on a small table on the sidewalk of a main street. That was his sole product, laminating things.

Another 40 cents and I had a color copy of my Passport in a handy wallet size that matched anything I could have gotten in the US. I wondered how anyone offering such a limited service at such a low price could make enough money to justify the effort, but while he was doing mine, Continued on page 15...

14

three other people walked up and also used his services, so I guess he was doing OK. Next objective: find a bag in which I could carry everything safely and easily.

Another thing I had learned from my new Gringo friends was that it’s not advisable to carry one’s wallet in a back pocket - there are pickpockets around. (A cultural issue is that it’s not “dishonorable” for a Tico to steal from a Gringo -- in some circles we are fair game.) Besides, I had a 5-inch X 8-inch spiral bound notebook with all my questions I was looking to get answered, plus other information, I was carrying and I was tired of having to hold it in my hand everywhere I went. Plus, there were other things, my cigarettes, lighter, change, maps, etc. that needed a way to be comfortably carried.

I went in and out of stores for a while and finally came across one that sold exactly what I needed. A name brand, nylon fanny-pack. Cost: $3.60. Perfect! Now I was ready to really travel.

San Jose is a beautiful city and very modern. Any image of a third world country should be immediately dismissed. It has broad streets, high-rise buildings, heavy traffic, neon signs, and businesses of all types. In many ways it would be hard to tell it from any other metropolitan city anywhere else in the world.

level. But now, over time, and after multiple repaving, the street surface has raised up nearly equal to curb height.

Maybe it’s deliberate, they do have a rainy season, but the result is a deep gutter that can be up to 18-inches wide and 10-inches or so deep. Care as to where one steps is necessary when crossing the street.

The sidewalks (always crowded in the commercial area) have street stands selling everything from cigarettes to fruit to personal grooming stuff to ... you name it. In addition, there are numerous hawkers selling everything from socks to lottery tickets to, of course, laminating services, set up on TV tray size tables everywhere. It occasionally makes for restricted walking but the Ticos’s don’t seem to have any difficulty maneuvering through a crowd, and neither did I. Another point of caution though; Over the years the sidewalk surfaces have not been kept up to American standards and are frequently a hodgepodge of materials, surfaces, and levels. So, in addition to needing to be careful of gutters at corners, one needs to also be observant as they walk down the sidewalk or they will stumble over some surface bump or step in a hole where some part of the pavement has been removed.

Between my purchasing quests, lessons in low finance, and general gawking, time had passed and it had become early afternoon, and time to go back to the hotel - when I had left they weren’t sure they would have a room for me that night.

But first I need to make a brief stop at the Boca where I had bought the sandwich the day before. I was greeted like an old friend - red carpet treatment and instant café con leche.

This time I had another delicious sandwich and a pasty before heading down hill again.

When I got to the hotel I was informed they were booked for the night - but they had a referral at another hotel up the street about two blocks. Bless the person who decided all luggage should have wheels because that hotel was up the hill.

San Jose is, in fact, very progressive - it was the third city in the WORLD to be wired for electric lights, in August 1884, after New York and Paris. There are large, well kept plaza/ parks everywhere – about every two to three blocks. One of the main streets, Avenida Central, has been closed to traffic and the street is one wide sidewalk/mall for at least 12 blocks.

Yes, some of the side streets are narrow, but even so there is enough room for parking on at least one side with room for cars and trucks to pass by freely.

One “oddity” of the side streets are the gutters - they are very deep and wide. It’s as if, when the streets were originally built, the sidewalks were about 10-inches above pavement

September-October, 2006

It seemed to be a fairly nice place when I got there. They stuck me in a basement room, off a closed restaurant, somewhat larger than my prior accommodations, at an eight dollar a night premium, however. Personally I didn’t think I needed the extra room, but it would OK for one night.

I would find something cheaper tomorrow.

The room was clean and neat and the towels were folded in the center of the bed to resemble two upright swans face to face. An impressive start. However, I soon learned that not all things were quite as wonderful as the artistic towels.

Continued on page 16...

15

For instance, the combined wattage off all the lights in the room totaled about 25. OK, I wasn’t going to live there 24/7 and didn’t need lots of lights, but then I noticed the TV had no remote. And the clock wasn’t working. Hmmm, not so good. I could live without the clock, but no TV remote? I’m not a barbarian!

Up to the desk where I was told the clock was for show but a remote could be found for me. It was but it was ‘universal’ type and a maintenance man was sent down to my room to program it. Unfortunately, once the TV was on the picture was really bad, so another TV was found and brought in. It was worse. To make the story short, after four TVs it was discovered the cable was bad and couldn’t be fixed until the next day. Oh, there was a picture and sound, but the snow was Andes quality.

After a nice nap, and to compensate myself for having to suffer with a poor TV picture, I went to the casino next door at the Clarion Hotel. Gambling is legal in Costa Rica and nearly every larger hotel has a casino on premises. It wasn’t a huge operation, but respectable – 50 slot machines, 2 black jack tables, a roulette table, and a couple other tables.

I bought about $10 worth of 25 coins and proceeded to feed a slot machine for a couple hours. Like casinos everywhere, I was plied with free drinks as I gambled.

Eventually I ran out of coins but I had had as many drinks as I desired so I slipped off to the hotel restaurant.

For dinner I chose shrimp fettuccini in Alfredo sauce.

Mmmm! I soon learned that the meals served in Costa Rica are generally larger than one can possibly eat at one sitting.

Not only was there an abundance of pasta placed in front to me, but there were fresh shrimp in every bite. Plus there was bread and fresh steamed veggies on the plate. In the end I was reduced to fishing out the shrimp and bypassing the fettuccini in fear of exploding. BTW, shrimp in Spanish is Cameron, my second new word in Spanish.

(To spare the poor reader, I will here semi-depart from my chronological recounting of events and transition to a

El Residente

(sometimes) -categorical summary of things. I will start with food.)

How can I express in writing the wonderfulness of the food I encountered throughout my travels in Costa Rica. It’s not enough to say that I never had a bad bite of food while I was there because it’s so much more than that. To start, everything is fresh and freshly prepared (McDonalds et al. excepted) and natural, not processed or imitation. For instance, the butter tastes like all the ads on TV in the US promise margarine is going to taste - but doesn’t. The eggs, whose yolks are nearly orange they are so yellow, are wonderful. The fruit, cantaloupe, bananas, grapes, and pineapples - all taste like they did when I was a kid -- back in the days before everything here was processed and mass produced for shipping to markets far away. And, if you like papaya, which I don’t, you would love it. And the bread, the bread...

Remember I said ice cream was popular? No wonder, it’s “real” ice cream, not the soy based soft serve crap we usually get here. I had a milkshake from one of the stores around the main plaza on the third day I was there and I was instantly addicted - I went back every day after for another. It was a joy watching the girl scoop real ice cream from 5-gallon bulk containers; add milk and flavoring, and then blend. (I knew I could remember drinking a milkshake through a straw when I was a kid, something nearly impossible to do with modern “milk shakes.” Now I know it was true because these were easily sucked up the tube and into my delighted mouth. Oh, and for your information, it’s not hard to suck up a milkshake and grin at the same time.)

From street side vendors to fancy hotel restaurants, every meal I had was an taste event. From lowly sandwiches to full blown meals served by waiters in tuxes, it was all some of the best food I have had the privilege to enjoy since leaving Italy.

It was now a distinct advantage that my hotel was at the bottom of a hill - I needed the exercise!

That night, after my delicious meal, accompanied by a very high quality trio of live performers doing ‘60 and ‘70s songs I might add, and followed by a delicious cup of café con leche, I rolled myself back to my basement room. Even with the bad TV it was getting better, if possible, every day.

---------Allen Dickinson is a member of ARCR. After serving 23 years in the US Navy he settled in Pensacola, Florida, and owns his own licensed mortgage broker business there. He holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of the State of New York and a Masters Degree from the University of West Florida. He will soon be retiring and moving to Costa Rica. He can be reached at humphree@bellsouth.net.

16

September-October, 2006

17

Top Ten Driiviing Tips for CR R

by Rick Chalmers

5-7. On The Road The following article is a primer, or introduction to safe and competent driving in Costa Rica. In this issue we will carry on with respect to local needs.

5. Frequently asked for and necessary documents •

•

• • •

You need a valid license to drive in Costa Rica. Costa Rica honors other countries’ valid driving licenses for 90 days. If you are here longer than 3 months, it will no longer be valid. After 90 days you should obtain the Costa Rican license.

Your passport or your cédula card if you are a resident.

If you don’t want to carry your original passport in your vehicle, you will need a photocopy of both the passport picture page and the page with the most recent entry stamp into Costa Rica.

The vehicle papers: copy or original title/registration, RTV and marchamo to date Front and rear plates (or your temporary paper plates) If driving outside of Costa Rica, there are additional documents required. Consult your attorney.

6. Be aware of the dry vs. wet season differences During the dry season (November - April), visibility can be impeded due to the high level of dust on the dirt roads.

People often are not prepared for this. In these low visibility conditions, we recommend leaving an extra amount of space between you and the vehicle ahead, for the dust to settle or blow aside off the road. The dirt roads become wash-boarded and rocky this time of year (please refer to tip about tire pressure, as this is applicable for dirt road driving).

During the wet season (May - November), there are many additional challenges which have been alluded to under the other tips. The roads are in worse condition, paved and unpaved. There is water in the potholes which prevents you from seeing the depth of the hole. We advise you to slow down! If you can’t find a path around all of the potholes, adjust your speed and drive slowly enough so that you do not hammer on your suspension system as you pass through them. More things on your vehicle will fail or break down in the wet season than during any other time! The rain, humidity and poorer quality of the roads, all take their toll on your vehicle. The rainy season is also the time when you need certain aspects of your vehicle to work properly more than ever. In particular, your wipers, defroster, and lights need to be operational at all times. Don’t put off vehicle repairs during the wet season!

A few words about river crossings: the rivers are deeper and moving faster during the rainy season. If you come to a river and it is “running bank to bank” (you don’t see the slope of the bank on either side of the river) then it is highly likely that the river is too deep for you to cross. Most vehicles have the ability to ford a depth up to the center of their wheels (some a little more, some a little less). When in doubt, watch other vehicles cross to see the depth, or, walk into and across the river yourself to measure its depth. Oftentimes, there is a build up of rock and sand slightly downstream of the crossing point. This provides you with a circular or off-center route around the deepest spot of the river - that way across is safer. Lastly, when encountering a river, and you are in doubt about crossing, don’t do it! If it is too deep, you’ll be lucky to get towed out by a tractor or larger vehicle and sustain minimal damage to the vehicle. However, if you are unlucky, you could lose your vehicle altogether!

7. Air conditioning adds safety to your driving Air conditioning enhances driving safety. During the wet season, it may be difficult to get your car aired out and dried out using windows alone. Older vehicles may not have an A/C. If you prefer an older vehicle, you might consider adding an air conditioner for both comfort and safety. Air conditioners also function as defrosters, which can be very important for visibility when it is rainy or humid.

Rick Chalmers, President of Adventure Motors: “Bigger Than Yours!” S.A., has over 30 years experience in automotive repair. He is a licensed mechanic and emissions technician.

Rick owned and operated an automotive repair business in San Diego, CA for 13 years. He currently lives in Costa Rica and specializes in the importation and modification of specialty off-road vehicles.

Questions or comments? Email: advenmotor@yahoo.com For the full version of this article: go to www.advmo.com and go to our Blog!

El Residente

18

Wild Side XXX XIII

by Ryan Piercy

The Corn Eaters.

When one thinks of San Jose, perhaps Pigeons come to mind, or Vultures (the birds, not the lawyers), however if asking a local, it is probable that the Comemaiz will be their answer. Actually the Rufous-Collared Sparrow, or Zonotrichia capensis may be small, but it is very large in the daily life of the country.

Actually a neotropical bird, it is a member of the New World Sparrows. This is no small family, with a more conservative writer numbering some 320 species. The Rufous-Collared Sparrow can grow to be up to 15cm in size, and as its name indicates, loves to feast on small seeds (or corn) and worms.

It is a solitary bird, coupling during mating season for the creation and caring of the young.

It is quite a pretty sparrow, with its collar of brilliant cinnamonbrown, as well as a crowned black and white head with a body in black-striped brown. This bird also boasts a melodious voice. Well, the male anyway. With a particular song of

September-October, 2006

chirps and trills, probably designed to impress members of the opposite sex. Its little feet are well adapted to its treelife, with three claws forward and one back.

If you go in search of these little neighbours in the city, be advised they like to rest in trees, but also hop about on the ground under the brush, looking of course for material for nests, or their favourite food. So next time you go to the park, remember to take a little popcorn or some kernels with you. Or perhaps some cornbread?

19

New At ARC CR

by Eduardo Tamayo

Forwarding Mail On April 1st 2006 Aerocasillas, our forwarding mail provider sent notice to all members who own a mailbox in Florida, of their new address only for packages and boxes. The P.O. Box for regular mail (letters, magazines, statements) remains the same.

This change became effective on May1st and all packages or boxes sent to the old address are being moved to this new location.

In the mailroom at ARCR we have been working hard to relay this new address change to our members and have included a flyer with this information with each letter.

Old Address: {your name} SJO #XXXX 1601 NW 97TH Ave. Doral, Fl 33122.

New Address: {your name} SJO #XXXX 7979 NW 21ST St. Doral, Fl 33172 - 2853

Our Mail Service To achieve a more comfortable living in our country, ARCR provides a reliable mail service to active members. Most people who get mail from North America can join this service and pick up their correspondence at our office easily. First, mail is delivered to Miami to your designated P.O. box and in a few days gets to ARCR, where we hold it in our files for each person. Then it’s picked up at the mailroom.

If you are already a member, it’s very easy to set an account. Come to the mail room, bring your passport, driver’s license or cédula, fill out the papers and in 24 hours you will be ready to receive mail.

Joining the service has no cost. It is included in the annual fee. You will only pay for the weight. Ask the rates per kilogram at the mailroom.

New Rates For Letters Effective August 1st the cost for every 100 grams of mail was raised to $ 0.70

...& on Imm mig gration

For Those With ARCR

by Jorge Gonzalez

1. If you have not heard from ARCR within 2 months, please contact Jorge as communication problems can occur. jorge@casacanada.net

Application Through The Consulate

2. Ensure we always have your current email address.

Starting August 12th, and until further notice, all requests for residency must be presented through a Consulate.

From this point on, due to this re-visited procedure, it is the recommendation of the ARCR that all applicants make photocopies of all documents before presenting to the consul, or preferably have the consul provide you with photocopies including their authentication, prior to the documents being sent by them to Migracion in Costa Rica.

3. For those still needing to present their application, ARCR can assist by submitting via courier, it is not necessary to appear in person.

4. Migracion is trying to now charge ALL who received residency in the past $300 per person, corresponding to the guarantee deposit. The ARCR is taking this to Constitutional Court, but everyone should be prepared to face paying it at their next renovation if we don’t succeed.

Also if possible have the Consuls office sign for receipt of the originals of said documents.

5. For those with permanent residency, please come to ARCR 4 to 6 months prior to renewal so we can request an appointment on time.

This is merely a precaution in the eventuality that the documents are estranged for whatever reason.

6. Be advised that the new (current) cost of the cedula has increased to $58 per person.

El Residente

20

September-October, 2006

21

The Japanese could tell us lots about real estate ‘bubbles’ and their aftermath.

Dollars & $en nse

by Alan Weeks

US Economy Heading For Icebergs This colorful viewpoint is just one of many similar opinions being expressed about the immediate future outlook for the US economy, by well-respected economists and global strategists. Their views have been gleaned from recent articles in leading mainstream, financial, and economic publications, and websites.

The following is a list of the most serious immediate “Made in the USA” problems from which these knowledgeable professionals believe there is now no escape. And, there is nothing the US Government or the FED can do now to minimize the damage.

1) The “IRRATIONAL” Housing Bubble 2) The Slippery Slope of US Oil Addiction and Oilflation 3) Consumers Awash in a Sea of Debt 4) The Plunging Current Account Deficit 5) The Shrinking US Dollar The fact these have now reached a critical juncture almost simultaneously, could be called “THE PERFECT STORM”.

Their combined impact will almost certainly cause far more serious damage to the financial well-being of many Americans and to the US economy than most realize, or are yet willing to admit.

A. THE “IRRATIONAL” HOUSING BUBBLE As the Yale University Professor, Dr. Robert Shiller, illustrated in the Second Edition of his well-researched book, called “IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE”, the average increase in US home prices over the last half of the 20th Century was less than 3% per annum, net of inflation. And, his in-depth study showed the average cost and population increases that could affect home prices fully supported this modest annual rate of increase.

Beginning in 1998, however, home prices started to surge in many ‘hot markets’, and more recently have ‘shot skyward’. Because none of the factors affecting prices had changed from the norm, Shiller concluded that the current housing boom was being driven purely by speculation.

Home and condo values in the ‘hot markets’ reached historically unprecedented heights at the end of 2005. For many reasons these high values are unsustainable!

David Rosenberg, the respected chief economist of Merrill Lynch pointed out “much of the move in realestate valuation has not been due to income generation, but rather by loose financial – market conditions and an increasing level of exuberance”. In early 2005, he was already nervous because no asset class at any time has failed to revert to the mean after such an upside move.

Warned David, “bubbles and baths usually go together”, and so we might add, do burst bubbles and tears.

El Residente

THE WINTER OF DISCONTENT A big ‘chill’ has already started to be felt in the, heretofore, ‘hot’ real estate markets. Mortgage applications have slowed dramatically. And, inventories of both new and used homes and condos have grown significantly in recent months. As a result, developers in many suburbs have had to be very innovative to move their newly built homes. At first, they were offering upgraded kitchens. Now it is more likely to be a free swimming pool, a new car, or even $50,000 in cash toward the down payment.

Early this fall, the long overdue tightening of mortgage lending standards is supposed to come into effect. This should make many of the high-priced homes and condos in the ‘hot’ market areas unaffordable to most buyers. Also, over the next period, many ARMs and ‘interest only’ mortgages will be coming up for renewals, requiring much higher monthly payments. It is reported that a significant number of these mortgages owners may be unwilling or unable to service the new loans.

One or more of these ‘iceberg’ factors should finally catch up with many speculators and could ‘trigger’ a selling frenzy.

Careless mortgage lending institutions could also end up with unhealthy levels of foreclosed properties.

This winter could also be the time when it finally becomes obvious to many home and condo owners in the ‘hot’ markets, that their homes are not worth anywhere near the values they had, heretofore, believed. It should be a very rude awakening to many Americans who got caught up in the ‘irrational exuberance’ and ‘gutted’ too much equity from their homes with easy loans. And, the height of discontent should ‘fall on’ those who spent the equity loan money on things they didn’t really need.

The Americans, who thought themselves much more wealthy because of ‘irrational’ home valuations, will have to start saving in earnest in order to re-build their retirement ‘nest-egg’ if they ever hope to enjoy a normal retirement.

This will slow consumer spending noticeably, and cause a comparable slowdown in the US economy.

The fact that many more jobs created since 2001 were based on the real estate boom than ever before in US history, should also result in many more job losses than normal as this boom ends. Other countries that have had similar ‘irrational’ housing and spending booms should suffer the same fate.

B. THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF US OIL ADDICTION & OILFLATION Many people in the oil industry as well as the Department of Energy were well aware that US oil production in the lower 48 states peaked in the early 1970s. The tapping of major reserves in Prudhoe Bay and the Gulf of Mexico brought new US oil supplies on-stream. However, these just delayed the production peak.

OIL ADDICTION In recent years, the US has been producing only 3% of Continued on page 23...

22

the world’s oil, but is consuming 25% of the world’s oil production. And, private vehicles in the US consume almost half of this. This addiction to oil is totally unsustainable. But, as an experienced US advisor put it, (some) “Americans still don’t get it”.

Because so many other countries are increasing their own demands for oil, the International Energy Agency projection of future global oil production ‘paints’ an even bleaker future. They estimate that global oil production is peaking right now and is projected to decline 25% by 2015.

Many producing nations have confirmed that oil production from their major fields is already declining.

Also, there is no hope that any of the known major untapped reserves around the globe will help the supply situation. This is because they are in geographically or geopolitically difficult locations, requiring megabucks to develop, and are at least a decade from being available.

Thus, in spite of the rhetoric from Washington, it is at least 15 years too late to do anything to keep gasoline prices from continuing to rise in future years. And, the much higher than expected US prices of gasoline, while still very low compared to prices in other industrialized nations, should continue to reduce the disposable income of US consumers.

Yes, there are viable alternatives to replace and conserve gasoline, but some will take years to be fully available commercially throughout the US. And, it will also take time for many Americans to replace their current fleet of relatively new gas guzzling vehicles.

On another sober note, you may recall that high oil prices have been a factor in every US recession since 1973. The second significant factor causing recessions has been the peaking of US short-term interest rates. Thus, the current high fuel prices and short-term rates are very likely to be another ‘iceberg’ that stops US economic growth. And, some respected US economists believe it is already too late for the US FED to reduce interest rates fast enough to avoid a recession.

OILFLATION Higher energy prices will also continue to cost Americans more each year to heat and cool their homes and businesses. To many, it will come as an additional shock when the first very cold winter sends the cost of heating their homes up astronomically.

In addition, oil and natural gas are the basic feedstocks for most synthetic products from fertilizers, to fibers, to all forms of plastic products. The increasing cost of these raw materials has added significantly to manufacturer’s costs and is now being passed through to consumers. Public transportation services are also using fuel surcharges to recover their higher fuel costs. All these will act as drains on household cash flow.

C. CONSUMERS AWASH IN A SEA OF DEBT As a number of respected economists have said in various ways: “Never have so many spent so much and saved so little”. In fact, not since the Great Depression of the 1930s, has the national average saving rate, a measure of household cash flow, become negative as it is now.

September-October, 2006

A recent FED survey also confirmed that the average US household income, adjusted for inflation, fell by 2.3% from 2001 to 2004.

The sad fact is that too many Americans are not saving nearly enough for retirement, and too few have set aside savings to cover emergencies. Added to this, the relatively lackluster performance of the US stock market, and low bond yields have slowed savings significantly in recent years.

THE GREAT CREDIT BOOM Over the last six years the world has become awash with excess money supply. The lure of increasingly easy credit terms, and seemingly unlimited access to credit cards, has trapped far too many into free-spending habits. In addition, many have not bothered to learn how credit works, and every supply outlet ‘under the sun’ has been successful in luring customers to buy.

In fact, the US economic recovery since 2001 has been largely dependent on IOUs. And, over the past 3 years, shop-happy consumers, under the illusion of vastly increased home-equity wealth, have been determined to live beyond their means. This seemed good while it lasted, but even the best of sprees cannot go on forever.

Making things much more disturbing is the fact that the most vulnerable companies, are the very creators of credit – the likes of GM, Ford, and Fannie Mae – along with the facilitators of credit – AIG, Ambac, MBIA, and the like.

The great credit boom is now drawing to a close. Credit card interest rates, which are based on short-term rates, have increased significantly over the past 18 months. Long-term rates are bound to increase in the future as foreign lenders become more prudent and less accommodative.

The combination of escalating daily living costs, and an increasingly likely recession, with job losses, and personal financial shocks, should force dramatic changes in US consumer behavior. There is also a distinct possibility that the US is headed for a long period of low economic growth.

D. THE PLUNGING CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT The US current account deficit has now reached unprecedented depths. Many would like to blame this on federal politicians, but it really is a measure of how much extra US consumers are purchasing from foreign sources, over US exports. Imported energy now accounts for 25% of this deficit.

Because the manufacturing sector now represents only 10% of total US economic activity, the US cannot export itself out of this deficit. The result is a huge global imbalance, which is unsustainable. On the subject of sustainability, to paraphrase Ben Stein: “That which cannot go on forever, will stop”.

The significant slowdown in US consumer spending has already started. This resulted in a greater slowdown in US economic growth in the 2nd quarter, than most had forecast.

And, for any number of reasons cited earlier, US consumer spending and economic growth are likely to slow even more in the future.

Continued on page 24...

23

E. THE SHRINKING US DOLLAR Historically, global trade imbalances have been corrected by a devaluation of the debtor’s currency. The US trade deficit over the last few years has already resulted in a significant appreciation in value of the British Pound, the Euro, and the Canadian dollar vs. the US dollar. And yet, the US trade deficit has only worsened.

computers, cell-phones, or that they will stop aspiring to own their own homes, you are grossly underestimating human nature.

It has also been very fortunate for the global economy that the major European countries have been slowly but steadily growing, in business and consumer confidence, and in overall economic growth. The European corporate sector “has sharpened up, while governments have been less bad”. And, the unemployment rates continue to fall. In addition, some global economists now expect European economic growth to exceed that of the US, at least in the near term.

US money outflows have been increasing at a torrid pace, now nearing $700 billion per year. How long can that continue? For as long as the Federal Reserve keeps cranking out the IOUs. At some point, however, foreigners will recognize that the US currency is being debased. One of the alternatives for foreigners is to acquire gold bullion in WHERE TO INVEST NOW? Many people have already liquidated their real estate lieu of more US Treasuries of questionable value. investments. They should realize that this is a poor time Meanwhile, the US government has been putting pressure to invest in longer-term bonds. And, money market type on China to allow a significant increase in the value of investments are barely yielding enough to keep up with the Yuan as a way to correct trade imbalances. As an increased living costs. The question then is: Where should alternative, a New York Senator was talking of putting a 27% they invest responsibly now for the long term? tariff on Chinese imports.

Many Americans probably have not yet realized that the The US Administration, meanwhile, has also been working overall US stock market, as measured by the S&P500, has through the IMF to try to persuade China to allow its currency been one of the worst performing markets in the world in to appreciate faster. In addition, the IMF has been trying to recent years even with strong US economic growth. For get China – and by extension the other major Asian nations more details on this, Yahoo Finance has an easily accessible – to reduce their reliance on weak currency-driven exports. world stock index comparison in chart form to illustrate this.

Currency specialists estimate that most major Asian currencies are now undervalued by at least 20%. And, it is expected that these currencies could appreciate this much over the next few years.

Of course, investing in multinational companies does achieve some global diversification. However, quite a few multinationals are still at least 50% dependent on US sales.

This limits international diversification, and the probable growth in earnings.

The Canadian, British, and Euro currencies are also expected to appreciate by a further 5 to 10% over the next There are also currency comparison charts on Yahoo Finance to show that the US dollar has already depreciated period. significantly against the Canadian and European currencies.

Of course, all of this foreign currency appreciation is really a This also happened before any US economic slowdown. de-facto devaluation of the US dollar. And, as a result, Asian goods, and finished products from Canada and Europe, will In previous Dollar & Sense articles, I highlighted investment become noticeably more expensive to US consumers and opportunities in resource-rich Canada. This country has been the No. 1 supplier of energy to the US in recent years. businesses.

And, because of its proximity, the many corporate ties, and a stable, friendly government, Canada is likely to remain the WHITHER THE OTHER GLOBAL ECONOMIES When, not if, the US economy has slowed dramatically, preferred source of foreign energy forever. it is bound to cause a noticeable slowdown in the global Canada is also the major supplier of nickel, metallurgical coal, economy. and other materials to the Far East and the future source of We are incredibly fortunate, however, that China has grown uranium for the world’s growing number of nuclear powerrapidly over the last 5 years and has become a global generating plants. Canada is also a significant supplier of powerhouse. China’s rapid growth in imports to support gold. both the export and consumer segments of their economy has acted like ‘wind in the sails’ for Japan and the other Other Dollars & Sense articles reported on value investment Asian economies, as well as for the resource economies opportunities in the UK, ‘Old Europe’, and in the major Asian nations. In fact, over the last 3 years, many of our from Canada to Australia. recommended international value investments gained over Consumer spending in the Asian countries from India to 30% per annum, when measured in US dollars.

Japan also started with a ‘vengeance’ about 2 years ago, and has now become an important segment of their overall Thus, even with the likelihood of a slowing global economy, economic growth. We have also witnessed the Asian when further currency appreciation is added to the expected nations becoming much more interdependent than ever investment gains of high dividend yielding companies, the before. As one example, China is now Japan’s No.1 export potential for double-digit gains on selected international market – not the US. investments still looks very promising.

With regard to an Asian economic slowdown, if you think for one minute that the 100s of millions of eager, hard-working Asians are going to stop craving their first flat-screen TVs,

El Residente

For more information please contact Alan Weeks at 256-5848

24

Learning The Language e

by Christopher Howard

The Double Dotted Ăœ!

In Spanish when a “U� is found next to another vowel, the “U� is sometimes pronounced separately. If the accent is on a letter other than the “U�, a couple of dots called the dieresis mark are used to indicate the separate sound for the “U�.

This dotted “U� usually comes after a “G� in a word, and is followed by another vowel.

This “GĂœâ€? combination is usually pronounced like the letters “GWâ€? in English. Below are some Spanish words that pose pronunciation problems for many English speakers. Practice saying them out loud! agĂźero ambigĂźedad bilingĂźe cigĂźeĂąa desagĂźe gĂźero

omen ambiguity bilingual stork, crane drainage ditch blond (Mexico)

lengĂźeta lingĂźista pingĂźino ungĂźento vergĂźenza

small tongue linguist penguin ointment, salve shame

Here is your Costa Rican expression or tiquismo for this week: “Platero� is a person that is obsessed with making money by any means, i.e. ‘money hungry’

Ăœ

CALL TODAY! (506)

672-1181

www.FirstRealtyCR.com September-October, 2006

25

Exchange rate of the Costa Rican ¢ to the US Dollar February 501.38 March

504.84

April

506.59

May

508.80

June

511.93

July

514.96

Basic Interest Rate February 15.25 % March

15.25 %

April

15.25 %

May

13.75 %

June

13.50 %

July

13.75 %

Exchange rate of other currencies to the US Dollar Japanese Yen 114.67 Swiss Franc

1.2312

Canadian $

1.1313

Giro (DEG)

1.4839

ÂŁ Sterling

1.8677

Euro

1.2767

Mexican Peso

10.965

Korean Won

955.70

Danish Krone Norwegian Krone Argentine Peso

5.8446 6.1578 3.0720

Colombian Peso 2,428.1 Brasilian Real

2.1775

Libor Rate 1 month 5.3906 % 3 month

5.4656 %

6 month

5.5100 %

12 month

5.5394%

Prime Rate

El Residente

8.25 %

26

Holidays Of Costa Rica September 15th ‘Independance Day’ October 12th ‘Dia de las Culturas’ ‘Columbus Day’ ******************** A Touch of Wisdom “Happiness depends on ourselves.”

Aristotle (384-322BC) “If you’ld have a servant that you like, serve yourself.”

Ben Franklin (1706-1790) “Nothing is as burdensome as a secret.”

French proverb ******************** One Liners to take on your next trip I just got back from vacation and, boy, do I need a vacation!

I really needed a vacation.

I was starting to hum the tunes to rap songs.

On our vacation we stayed in an 18th century inn that was the site of a notorious affair between Betsy Ross and John Quincy Gifford.

“Winnebago” — I think that’s an old Indian term meaning “I’m gonna kill those kids when I get home!”

Just got back from vacation, and I’m glad to say that my credit cards are all in remission.

September-October, 2006

27

El Residente

28