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Free Conference “Confessions of a Converted Professor ”
Dictated by Dr. Eric Mazur, with simultaneous interpretation, Aug. 3, 10 a.m., auditorium of the Ciudad de la Investigación, UCR. Info: 2511-5114.

Theater at Noon
Features Historias sin cuento by Ailyn Morera, Aug. 3 at noon, National Theater.

Opera “The Italian Girl in Algiers (L'italiana in Algeri) ”
By Rossini, Aug. 3, 5, 6, 8 (5 p.m.), 10, 11, 7:30 p.m., National Theater.

Costa Ricans making the trek to Cartago this weekend suffered muscle aches, sunburns and even alcohol poisoning on the journey.

The Red Cross treated more than 6,663 of the estimated 2 million Ticos who participated in the romería, the annual pilgrimage to the Basílica de los Angeles in Cartago, east of the capital, to honor the Virgin Mary. The holiday was celebrated Monday, although devotees arrived in Cartago throughout the weekend. The Red Cross tended to those on the pilgrimage for 60 hours, with posts at various locations along the busiest route, from San José to Cartago.

Guillermo Arroyo, director of relief operations forthe Red Cross, said demobilization of the care stations, which were placed in 11 different locations, began at midday Monday. But for three days, the Red Cross workers were kept busy.

The majority of patients were treated for muscle aches (3,967), followed by general medical complaints (1,941). Third was miscellaneous (381), and the only other two complaints with treatment numbers inthe hundreds were trauma (112) and dizziness (102). Still, several other maladies were cited in a Red Cross press release about treatments during the romería. These complaints included sunburn, pediatric care, falls, aggression, collisions, cardiac problems and even intoxication.

Most patients treated were women (59 percent), while 615 were children under 11. Fifty-three of the children needed to be transported to medical centers. The post that received the most patients was Ochomongo (2,305) near Cartago, and the basílica medical post (1,443). The rest of the stations all treated fewerthan 1,000 patients.

Approximately 500 Red Cross employees,from physicians and paramedics to drivers and telecommunication officers, helped monitor the walk. The effort cost ¢35 million, including the cost of labor hours.

Rodrigo Bolaños, president of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), provided an analysis last Thursday of the nation's economic status through the first six months of 2010,with predictions for the remainder of the calendar year.

Bolaños revised the BCCR's inflation prediction, foreseeing that the rate of increase in consumer prices should hit 5 to 6 percent by year's end, a shade higher than the 4 percent goal set in January. In the first six months of the year, national consumer prices have risen 3.4 percent, primarily due to increased prices and tariffs on goods and services traded in the international market, as well as heightened tuition costs of universities and private schools. In the past 12 months, consumer prices have risen 6.3 percent.

Using the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE), BCCR concluded that the national economy has grown 5.2 percent through the first six months of the year, thanks in large part to larger revenue margins in the manufacturing, agriculture and service industry sectors. However, BCCR also reported that revenue earned in the construction sector has fallen 3.6 percent. The bank now expects the sector to finish the year with an estimated 6 percent loss in profits compared to 2009. The diminished growth in construction was attributed to a leveling out of the construction boom from 2005 to 2008, when the sector reported annual growth of about20 percent, and to a decrease in construction in free zones. In 2009, construction fell 5.2 percent over 2008.

Bolaños also addressed the fiscal deficit, which BCCR predicts will finish the year at 5.2 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP). The deficit currently represents 2.18 percent of the GDP, although throughout the year both the BCCR and Finance Ministry have projected it will rise to about5 percent by year's end.

As for the exchange rate, Bolaños said the current band system used to control the fluctuations of the value of the colón will remain unchanged, at least in the short term.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided at its 34th session in Brazil last week to remove Ecuador's Galápagos Islands from itsList of World Heritage in Danger.

The committee, which originally placed the archipelago on the list in 2007 because of threats from invasive species, deregulated tourism and overfishing, and said in a statement that “significant progress has been made by Ecuador in addressing these problems.”

“The committee welcomes the government's continuing efforts to strengthen conservation measures, especially in dealing with introduced species,” the release stated.

While environmental groups acknowledge the efforts of the Ecuadorian government to protect the islands, they say a lot of work remains to defend Ecuador's famous marine refuge. Some warn that the removal from the list comes too soon.

Tim Badman, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Heritage program, called the move “premature.” Last week, the IUCN recommended that the islands remain on the endangered sites list.

“Threats from tourism, invasive species and overfishing are still factors, and the situation in the Galápagos remains critical,” Badman said.

Sea Shepherd, a marine environmental protection group that has worked in the Galápagos, said the tourism sector is better regulated than in previous years and that several projects to minimize the expansion of invasive species on the islands are ongoing.

But they, too, urge that vigilance and management of the Galápagos remain high.

“Galápagos is our line in the sand,” the group said in a statement. “Being removed from the list is not sufficient or permanent, and efforts to protect the Galápagos must not slow down. Tourism, population growth, introduced plant and animal species, as well as illegal fishing still present serious threats if not managed properly.”