Sunday 07 December
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
4.000 Foreign
Prostitutes Working In Costa Rica
Immigration Police
Uncovers Costa Rica
Bridge To US For African
Migrants
Costa Ricans Soon
To Get New Cedula
Christmas in Costa Rica
Shop, Shop, Shop Until
You Drop!
Summer Is Finally
Here. Maybe.
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Christmas in Costa Rica
Shop, Shop, Shop Until
You Drop!
If there is a world
financial crisis, it is
not evident in Costa
Rica. Not in downtown
San Jose, at least.
Avenida Central, as well
as the other pedestrian
boulevards and streets
in the downtown core
could be described as "verdadero
hormiguero" (hive) of
shoppers, with pockets
full of cash, looking
for that perfect
Christmas gift na/or
Christmas bargain.
And the situation will
is expected to be worse
tomorrow (Monday).
This week the "aguinaldo"
hit the streets, as many
private companies and
state agencies paid
their employees the
annual "Christmas
bonus". Tomorrow,
central government
employees get theirs.
The shops are filled
with buyers. There
practically no elbow
room on the boulevards,
as sales clerks bark out
to get the attention of
shoppers.
And the traffic is even
worse than ever. It
takes about 20 minutes
to go from the Hospital
San Juan de Dios to the
Teatro Nacional, about 7
blocks, on Avenida
Segunda. The large
amount of traffic, the
diagonally parked
vehicles on the north
side of the street, the
buses making their stops
on the south side,
construction at the BCR
building and the sheer
volume pedestrians criss-crossing
the street and that
traffic lights, all add
to the downtown
confusion.
Many have decided to
avoid the downtown core
and hit the shopping
centres and malls. Not
much releif there. While
others have decided to
make a family trip out
of the situation and
headed to the Depósito
Libre de Golfito (duty
free zone near the
Panama border).
Whatever the case may
be, there is no evidence
of a financial crunch in
the country. And nothing
that says Ticos are
worried of what may lie
ahead.
Christmas in Costa Rica
is as usual. Spend,
spend, spend. Shop,
shop, shop until you
drop! |
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