|
|
|
Winners in my book: A young Nicaraguan girl sports her brand new New England Patriots Super Bowl Champions T-shirt, one of hundreds schoolchildren and their families in the small village of San Gregorio, Diriamba, who took part in the giveaway of shirts and caps of the losing U.S. football team. The program was organized by the World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, in conjunction with the U.S. National Football League (NFL) and Reebok. |
|
|
|
 |
| Costa Rican business owners stay optimistic |
Business owners are overwhelmingly positive about the economy here, according to the latest quarterly survey released by the Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP). |
| See More... |
| U.S. low-cost carrier to fly Costa Rican skies |
ATA Airlines will begin a direct Miami-San José route next month, the low-cost U.S. carrier said. |
| See More... |
| Court rules against women's waiting period after divorce |
Costa Rica's Constitutional Court struck down a law yesterday that obliged women – but not men – to wait 300 days after a divorce before they could re-marry, the Associated Press reported. |
|
Patriots ‘Champions' apparel trash for
U.S., a treasure for hundreds of Nicaraguans |
DIRIAMBA, Nicaragua – It may not have been the Super Bowl celebration that New England fans wanted, but the Patriots T-shirt and hat giveaway yesterday in the small village of San Gregorio, Diriamba, put a smile on the faces of hundreds of school kids and their families. |
|
|
|
|
Distinctive Dolphin
Leads Pod, Needs a Name |
Of all the animals I know in Costa Rica, one of my favorites is a very distinctive pseudorca I first met more than 10 years ago. Her unique dorsal fin is so different from that of others of her kind that she can be spotted from a great distance, and she really stands out in a crowd. This massive dolphin seems to be one of the leaders of her pod.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Costa Rican business owners stay optimistic |
By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net
|
Business owners are overwhelmingly positive about the economy here, according to the latest quarterly survey released by the Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP).
The survey, which asked the opinions of more than 400 business owners in Costa Rica, found 94% predicting the economy will either continue its strong growth or grow even faster in the coming quarter.
The private sector union conducted the survey in the first weeks of January, before the Central Bank released a pessimistic assessment of the Costa Rican economy that predicted growth would slow in 2008 to 4.8% from last year's 6.8%.
Still, the indices released by UCCAEP – the business owner perception index and the business owner confidence index – reflect the highest opinion of the country's economy since the union began conducting the survey a decade ago.
Read today's print or online edition of The Tico Times for more on this story. |
|
| U.S. low-cost carrier to fly Costa Rican skies |
ATA Airlines will begin a direct Miami-San José route next month, the low-cost U.S. carrier said.
ATA also plans to open routes to Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.
The Florida-Costa Rica flights, starting March 15, will cost $190 plus tax, Iván Casorla, sales manager of USA LatinSky, the company charged with ATA's Costa Rica advertising, told the daily La República. The price would change according to demand, he said.
ATA will become the third airline to fly here directly from Miami, after El Salvador's TACA and American Airlines. Its flights will be on the Boeing 737-800, which seats 148 in economy class, 12 in executive.
“The flight responds to the high demand in the United States for Latin America,” according to USA LatinSky operations manager Javier Araya.
|
|
|
Court rules against women's
waiting period after divorce |
Costa Rica's Constitutional Court struck down a law yesterday that obliged women – but not men – to wait 300 days after a divorce before they could re-marry, the Associated Press reported.
Article 16, section 2 of the Family Code says that women must complete such a waiting period.
Lawyer Kattia Umaña led the charge against what she called a discriminatory law, successfully swaying the court to rule the article unconstitutional. The Legislative Assembly will soon have to approve the legislation change.
|
-Tico Times
|
|
Patriots ‘Champions' apparel trash for
U.S., a treasure for hundreds of Nicaraguans |
DIRIAMBA, Nicaragua – It may not have been the Super Bowl celebration that New England fans wanted, but the Patriots T-shirt and hat giveaway yesterday in the small village of San Gregorio, Diriamba, put a smile on the faces of hundreds of school kids and their families.
World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, in conjunction with the U.S. National Football League (NFL) and Reebok, donated several hundred New England Patriots Super Bowl Champions, “Perfect Season, 19-0,” T-shirts and caps to this rural Nicaraguan village.
The officially licensed clothing – shirts and caps made for the players to wear on the field after the game – was the first batch of thousands more shirts and hats that are being sent to World Vision from major clothing retailers and sporting outlets in the New England area.
According to NFL regulations, the losing team's “championship” apparel cannot be sold in the United States. World Vision, therefore, donates the clothing to those in need in underdeveloped countries, rather than incinerate millions of dollars worth of championship apparel, which is made for both teams before the game to go on sale immediately afterwards.
Read next week's Nica Times, an eight-page publication of The Tico Times, for more on this story. |
-Tico Times |
|
|
Distinctive Dolphin Leads Pod, Needs a Name |
 |
Of all the animals I know in Costa Rica, one of my favorites is a very distinctive pseudorca I first met more than 10 years ago. Her unique dorsal fin is so different from that of others of her kind that she can be spotted from a great distance, and she really stands out in a crowd. This massive dolphin seems to be one of the leaders of her pod.
Pseudorcas, or false killer whales, are the third largest of the oceanic dolphins, after orcas and pilot whales. These enormous dolphins rank among the world's most impressive animals. Pseudorcas began thrilling people in Costa Rica long ago, and they continue to dive in our waters to this day.
 |
| Singular Pseudorca: The author's favorite pseudorca has a distinctive, easily recognizable dorsal fin. |
Shawn Larkin | Tico Times |
These strange beasts are longer than your car, but lean and muscular. Their heads lack the big bulge on top that other dolphin species have, but that doesn't stop many longtime guides and boat captains from mistaking them for the somewhat similar pilot whales, which grow to the same length but are stockier, thicker and darker in color.
I don't know how our heroine's fin got to be the way it is. Maybe she made a mistake surfing the wave of a boat, or a captain turned suddenly and the prop got her. Perhaps a shark took a bite when she was little and lost from her group. More likely, some fishing line got tangled around the tip of her fin and warped its growth. Or maybe she was born that way.
The sight of that old fin breaking the surface never ceases to fill me with excitement. This pseudorca has a grand presence and a stately manner in the way she always slowly approaches my boat, unlike the rambunctious younger members of her clan, who fly from the water and boldly surf the waves of the boat. Others may conspicuously eat or mate, swim a quick kilometer or so to surf the boat's waves for just a few seconds, then streak off back to whatever they were doing. But my fine finned friend would never show such behavior.
To get her to approach, you must figure out her course and speed, match it from about half a kilometer away, and then cruise along and wait. After she senses you understand who's in charge, she may slowly pull in alongside in a rather dignified manner.
This particular wild dolphin always seems to be constantly and closely attended to by other dolphins. Many others in her pod have distinctive fins that allow them to be identified as companions. When she breaks the surface to breathe, multiple others surface and take their breaths at the same time.
The direction this old dolphin swims seems to be one of the best indicators as to the course of the entire pod of approximately a hundred animals. While small groups of a few pseudorcas might break away from her and her entourage to hunt and surf kilometers away, the away teams always catch up to the one I guess is their leader.
Who knows? Maybe her other pod members bring us humans live fish gifts, as they have done off southwestern Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula for many years, on her command. Maybe she's been bringing her clan a few times a year to the Osa for decades. She might know a vast area of the ocean that spans the waters of many countries, and she might know where to feed and when better than any younger dolphins. She might remember individual boats and people. I think her brain, which is larger than mine, has a bigger picture of the Osa's waters than any human.
Incredibly, even having known her for so long, I have no name for her. I have heard many suggestions, but none ever stuck. I always give her a whistle when I see her, and I think of her as that whistle. Sadly, I cannot put that sound into words, so I think it's time to give her a word name. I thought perhaps Tico Times readers could suggest some names and see if other photos exist of this easily recognized dolphin.
Please send your suggestions to shawn dive@yahoo.com.
|
|
|
| 
| 
| Exchange Rates
