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Tourists "Invade" Limon
This weekend since the official start of the cruise liners season in
October, Limon experienced for the first time the much anticipated wave of
tourists with about 8.000 passengers and 2.000 crew personnel arriving at
the same time.
The arrival of multiple cruise liners in this port town disrupted the normal
loading and unloading of freight ships.
Restaurants, artesan shops and tourist destinations were prepared for the
influx of tourism dollars.
Alberto José Amador, president of
Junta de
Administración Portuaria y de Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente Atlántica
(JAPDEVA)
- the government agency that promotes tourism in the region - estimates that
each tourist leaves behind about $128 for each visit.
JAPDEVA has so far this year registered 69 cruise ships with an estimated
87.000 passengers and 49.000 crew that have docked in the port of Limon.
However, this weekend was the single most visitors at one time.
The government agency has invested 400.000.000 colones to improve the docks
for the cruise liners and an additional 55.000.000 for road work and
markings.
Internet Entrepreneur Creates Tropical Paradise Work Vacations
Glen Roberts, a highly successful businessman, was literally sick and tired
of the cold northeastern weather. In December 2002, Roberts went looking for
adventure and year round good weather, a way to mix serious business with
pleasure.
What he created is one of the best kept secrets for both travelers and
business people alike.
The Casa Claro De Luna, a high tech Bed and Breakfast in Costa Rica. This
brain child is for those who want to relax in the sun and wait for piña
coladas, not internet connections.
Roberts understands the daily stresses of work and daily living. That is why
Casa Clara De Luna is considered one of the best getaways for those who are
looking for adventure, living stress free, and staying in touch with their
business.
With high speed internet access, spacious, quiet and affordable
accommodations, full Costa Rican breakfasts, minutes from the international
airport, and a waterfall in the garden, life and work are a match in heaven.
Many travelers for both business and pleasure have experienced difficulties
in the Costa Rican infrastructure. Services that are now considered standard
in other parts of the world are not available.
This is part of the reason Roberts chose Costa Rica, to provide these
support networks. Sleeping and working with views from 3000 feet above sea
level, you can visit an active volcano, work on your business reports, take
a bus ride to swim in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans (your choice), check
your email and take a conference call, and then head into the rain forest
for a change of pace.
But more than that, this high tech B&B is a home away from home. Whether you
are looking to stay a week or a day, the Casa Claro De Luna can give you
that and much more. Past guests have said such things as “…your place was an
oasis of tranquility and the perfect place to recharge our batteries before
we began our tour of Costa Rica.
On our return we would not have wanted to have stayed anywhere else before
we flew out of the country…the fast internet access helped us plan our
journey more efficiently… and we saved money too…” Creator Glen Roberts
speaks of Costa Rica as “…a bright new business environment. An environment
where I could focus on the creative aspects of my business and not the daily
details. Yet with the internet I’m never too far away that I can’t keep an
eye on the daily details.”
With work conditions like these, it is hard not to become a dedicated
workaholic with a view. Especially when the city of San Jose is only a 50
cent bus ride away and coffee fields abound.
Canadian Prime Minister Casts Doubt on FTAA Deadline; Stresses Bilateral
Seals
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin cast doubt Sunday on the likelihood that
a 2005 deadline to create the world's largest trading zone can be met.
The plan to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas by Jan. 1, 2005,
which would encompass most of North, South and Central America (Costa Rica
included, though it did not sign the agreement last month along with the
other Cental American nations), is overly "optimistic," Martin said, adding
Canada should focus on its bilateral trade deals in the hemisphere. "It's
unfortunate," he said of the deadline. "We should build on our foundation
(of bilateral trade agreements)."
Martin, who made the remarks en route to attend a special Summit of the
Americas, said snags have included reluctance on the part of Brazil over
"unfair" U.S. agriculture subsidies.
"If you take a look at the position that Brazil has taken, clearly there
would have to be a whole settlement of the agricultural issue. It may well
be that Brazil . . . would have to feel more confident within themselves."
Martin said the goal of a free trade zone incorporating 34 countries (Cuba
is not included) should not be abandoned. But his remarks were the first
public acknowledgment by Canadian officials that the deadline is perhaps
unreachable.
"If we miss that deadline, I don't think we should give up. I think we
should continue to push for free trade of the Americas. I think it would be
very good for South America and I think it would be very good for Canada,"
he said.
Martin is scheduled to meet Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Chilean
President Ricardo Lagos.
Canada has already pushed ahead with bilateral agreements with Chile and
Costa Rica. Negotiations with the other Central American Four - Guatemala,
El Salvador Honduras and Nicaragua - have been underway for years.
Delta Adds Flight
Between Atlanta and Liberia
Delta Air Lines is to offer one additional nonstop flight a week between its
Atlanta hub and Liberia, Costa Rica, starting from April 4th, 2004, bringing
the service to a total of six times weekly.
Liberia is the major town in the Pacific Northwest that connects to all the
Guanacaste beachers, including Tamarindo, Flamingo, Hermosa, which is about
4 hours from San José traveling by car.
The flights will operate from Tuesday to Sunday each week, using a 148-seat
Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
"We were the first U.S. carrier to offer year-round, scheduled service to
Liberia, and the popularity of this exciting leisure destination is
continually growing.
We are adding service to meet that growing demand," said Subodh Karnik,
Delta's senior vice president for Network and Revenue Management.
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Latin American
Nations Resist US at Regional Summit
Latin American nations resisted U.S. efforts on Sunday to push trade issues
and tough sanctions against corrupt governments center stage at a regional
summit this week.
Hundreds of Mexican workers march as they take part in an anti-American and
free trade protest as leaders arrive for the Summit of the Americas in
Monterrey, Mexico January 11, 2004.
U.S. officials want leaders throughout the Americas to commit to reaching a
34-nation free trade pact by January 2005, and they are proposing that the
most corrupt governments face possible exclusion from regional meetings.
But several Latin American nations, worried about strong U.S. influence in
the region, were blocking the proposals.
They insisted the two-day Summit of the Americas, which starts on Monday in
Mexico's northern city of Monterrey, stick to the issues it was originally
called to discuss -- poverty, economic and social development and democracy.
"There's a lot of opposition," a senior Latin American delegate said on
Sunday. "The summit is about reducing poverty and strengthening democracy.
We shouldn't allow it to lose that focus."
Brazil led the opposition to making trade talks a central part of the summit
agenda and several nations, while backing anti-corruption measures,
criticized the U.S. proposal aimed at punishing the region's most corrupt
governments.
"The U.S. proposal is not clear, because who will decide which government is
corrupt? We think there would be a risk that this mechanism could be used as
political retaliation against any government," Jorge Valero, Venezuela's
ambassador to the Organization of American States, told news reported.
Negotiations continued throughout Sunday in the search for an agreement
before the region's presidents meet on Monday.
Assertive new leaders in Latin America are increasingly questioning U.S.
leadership of the Western Hemisphere, saying the economic policies pushed by
Washington have failed to generate growth and done even less to ease poverty
levels.
There is also widespread concern over the Bush administration's aggressive
foreign policy and security measures, especially the recent decision to
fingerprint and photograph foreign visitors. Brazil responded by doing the
same to all U.S. visitors landing at its airports.
The leftist governments in Brazil and Argentina are openly critical of
Washington's security and trade policies, while Venezuela's fiery President
Hugo Chavez has repeatedly clashed with senior U.S. officials.
Before traveling to Mexico, Chavez accused Washington this weekend of
"sticking its nose" in Venezuela's affairs and plotting a coup or
assassination should his domestic opponents fail to win a referendum vote
against him this year.
U.S. President Bush hopes to win over his critics in the region at this
week's summit and get their support for tighter regional measures against
terrorist threats.
He won some points last week by announcing a new immigration reform plan
that would give millions of illegal immigrants, most of them Mexican, a
chance to gain legal status for at least three years under a temporary
worker program.
Mexican President Vicente Fox has backed the proposals while saying he will
continue pushing for more ambitious steps ultimately leading to open borders
between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
American Summit Expected to Discuss Fight Against Terrorism
Leaders from 34 American nations are expected to try to map out a common
vision at their summit on Jan.12-13 on how to make the region safer,
balancing concerns about security in the hemisphere with alarm over an
increasingly aggressive US response to terror threats.
Although terrorism may not be the central focus of the Special Summit of the
Americas taking place here next week, the topic, along with migration and
trade, is certain to dominate the attention of delegates given recent US
anti-terrorism measures that have raised concern among Latin American
leaders.
The summit's executive secretary, Irene Klinger, has said that the meeting's
draft declaration would address how nations across the Western Hemisphere
can prevent terrorist acts.
Governments from Mexico to Brazil have cried foul over US measures to
photograph and fingerprint visiting foreigners and to cancel airline flights
over what some call dubious evidence of possible attacks.
But leaders excited about US President George W. Bush's proposal to allow
their citizens to work in the United States may be hesitant to openly
confront his policies during the two-day summit in this northern Mexico
city.
Bush and most other leaders are scheduled to arrive Monday for private
meetings before the formal start of the summit.
The Organization of American States (OAS), which groups all the35 nations in
the hemisphere except Cuba, held its last summit in Quebec in April 2001 and
had scheduled the next for 2005 in Argentina. But last year, Canada called
for an interim meeting to deal with the regional repercussions of the Sept.
11 attacks.
Bush said this week that one way to alleviate terror concerns would be to
allow millions of migrants to work legally in the United States for at least
three years and at the same time to crack down on illegal workers. |
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