Laura Chinchilla beat her National Liberation Party rivals in a primary election victory Sunday that puts her in line to seek to become Costa Rica's first female president.

With less than 20 percent of the votes counted Sunday evening, party officials said the former vice president Chinchilla came in 10 percentage points ahead of former San José mayor Johnny Araya.

San José came alive throughout the day as campaign flags flapped outside honking vehicles, green and white paraphernalia decorated streets and buildings and voters clogged traffic in a day at the polls to choose the governing National Liberation Party's (PLN) presidential candidate.

“It's beautiful,” said Norma Cecilia Castro, as she directed voters to tables in the Liceo de San José school in Barrio Mexico. “There is a lot of voting and the people are happy.”

Pointing to a line of voters 12 deep, she said, “Look at the lines. It's wonderful.”

“It's an important day,” said Gonzalo Ureña, helping the Laura Chinchilla campaign outside Escuela República de Venezuela in the center of Escazú. “For the first time, we are going to elect a woman to the presidency; a woman with power, a woman with principles and values and someone who will carry on the good work of this government.”

Two weeks before the election, Chinchilla was 11 percentage points ahead in the polls. Said to have current President Oscar Arias's support, Chinchilla represents a continuation of his government to many voters.

The poll, conducted by Unimer for the daily La Nación, was a call to arms for Araya and his followers. During the primary election, Araya supporters had a fleet of cars on hand streaming back and forth from voters' homes, hoping to collect a few last votes.

In stark contrast to last week's convention, in which the opposition group Citizen Action Party (PAC) hosted its first primary (with voting limited to registered party members and less than 30 percent turnout), the PLN's polling stations were celebrations in themselves, with loud music blasted over speakers, children chasing after balloons and neighbors chatting in long lines.

Chinchilla will face the PAC's candidate Ottón Solís, along with a slew of other candidates from smaller parties in February 2010.

To see the complete results and a video report, check back Monday at www.ticotimes.net.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – After years of uncertainty, speculation and exasperating lobby, Nicaragua's beleaguered private sector is exhaling in relief this week following the recent legislative approval of the long-awaited Coastal Law.

Following an intense debate last week in the National Assembly, the Coastal Law was approved unanimously June 4.

The law is meant to establish one clear set of rules and guarantees for land ownership and development of coastal properties, cutting through a century-old spider web of intertwined and contradictory legislation.

The measure is expected to stimulate Nicaragua's once-budding investment and development sectors, which have slowed considerably over the past few years. There is an estimated $1 billion in coastal development projects on standby awaiting the law for clear rules on how to proceed.

The law's expected ratification this week could come as a huge boost to Nicaragua's struggling economy by reactivating the construction sector and creating as many as 10,000 new jobs within the next year, according to industry leaders.

See the June 12 print or PDF edition of The Nica Times, a publication of The Tico Times, for more on this story.

A heavily contested, though lightly defended, game against Trinidad and Tobago Saturday helped keep Costa Rica at the top of their division's leader board for the qualifications for next summer's World Cup.

Torrential rains in Trinidad slowed the pace of the game, though it did little to slow the action at each end of the pitch. A combination of careless defending and offensive persistence led to the high score, as the Ticos logged a 3-2 victory.

A first half full of almosts was broken by Trinidad and Tobago's Carlos Edwards in the 29th minute on a free kick. The half ended in a draw when Costa Rica's Alvaro Saborio scored five minutes before the half.

The second half was nearly as full of offensive promise as the first, and both teams took advantage of weak defensive clearances to test the net's durability. With the score tied at 2, a calm, well-constructed attack ended with Costa Rica's Celso Borges finding the back of the net for the second time in the 68th minute.

The rest of the game passed in nail-biting anxiousness for the Ticos, as they tried to hold on to their lead amid frantic attempts on goal on the part of Trinidad and Tobago.

With the Tico's thorough trouncing of the United States Wednesday, they earned themselves first place in the North American, Central American and Caribbean division of the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, to be held in South Africa. They held on to the spot Saturday – two points ahead of the United States – amid big shakeups over the past week.

The United States came from behind Saturday night to beat Honduras 2-1, while El Salvador gave Mexico its second surprise defeat, also ending 2-1. Normally one of the dominant teams in the division, Mexico has lost three games so far in the qualifying round –in addition to El Salvador, to the United States and Honduras – and sits second from the bottom in the standings, just above Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ticos are two points ahead of the United States, with 12 points earned from four wins and one loss – the loss coming at the hands of Mexico in Mexico City. Costa Rica's next game will be played away in Honduras on Aug. 12. They will host Mexico in San José on Sept. 5.

Natural impression: Miguel Albero, cultural advisor to the Spanish Embassy, presents “Costa Rica objetivo pura vida,” a collective exhibit at Calderon Guardia Museum in San Jose of Costa Rican nature through the eyes of four Spanish photographers.

Whitney Martin | Tico Times

The ancient arid land of their Iberian Peninsula did little to prepare four

Spanish photographers for a recent journey to shoot the immense lushness and biodiversity contained in this little tropical country on an isthmus.

The new exhibit at the Calderón Guardia Museum in San José displays their fresh look at Costa Rican nature, with large prints of landscapes, insects, frogs and snakes, all of which seem to dance before the Spanish photographers' lenses. “Costa Rica objetivo Pura Vida” showcases nearly 70 colorful images captured by Cristóbal Serrano, José Benito Ruiz, Isabel Díez and Eduardo Blanco, who toured the country's parks and nature reserves from January through February.

“I've done several exhibitions of photography, but never nature photography,” said Miguel Albero, cultural advisor to the Spanish Embassy in San José, who curated the show.

Albero picked photographers from different regions in Spain such as the Basque Country in the north and Alicante on the Mediterranean coast, and set them loose on Costa Rica's wild nature.

“These photographers are used to doing things for magazines or books, but always with a purpose,” he said. “My idea was there's no purpose; this is not a guide. They could give a more personal view of their work and that's what they've done.”

While the exhibit's attractive catalog could make an excellent coffee table book, the show offers an opportunity to see the book's images large and close-up.

“We all have the postcard of Poás and Manuel Antonio,” Albero said, referring to the volcano north of San José and the popular national park along the central Pacific, respectively. “We've seen this but we've never seen it like this.”

The National Biodiversity Institute, which assisted the group in identifying the species that feature in the photos, will exhibit the pictures after the show's run at the museum through June 27.

The Calderón Guardia Museum is located in San Jose's Barrio Escalante, 100 meters (one block) east and 100 meters north of the Santa Teresita Church.