www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I'm suppose to reach at 8:00PM on Friday. I'm just staying on Saturday. As my trip is part of AA Mileage run I'm prepared to stay only 2 nites. But I'm now worried to go or no to go because of Swine Flu. I just dont want to catch from Chicas and return to Chicago with Mask on. What is the Scene at San Jose Airport for Passengers arriving from US. I'm sure US Immigration guys may give hard time when we come back from CR. Any Ideas What I should do now?. Should I cancel my trip or should I go. I'm confused really. Btw, I have reservation at Morazan.

Not sure why you would feel U.S. Immigration guys would give you a hard time returning from Costa Rica. CR is hardly, at this time, a hotbed for the current flu virus.

Obviously being in a confined space like an airplane with people of who have been exposed to varying degrees of possible exposure to the virus is not as safe as confining yourself to your home completely isolated from others. The question is how much risk do you think is prudent. That is a question only you can answer.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Morazon????? Swine flu/ pu*sy, swine flu/ pu*sy, swine flu/ pu*sy........time to prioritize!!!

I am in CR now and there is no issues.

Einstein would have put forward this postulate.

"Swine flu magnified by the media equals fewer tourists which equals less business for ho's which translates to lower prices and hence to mo phfucking."

So, go forth and send us trip reports.

When are you guys going to substitute your life experience and gut instincts for the crap that our hear parroted every 15 minutes of news stations that are trying to fill dead time on radio and TV?

Flu is flu and it only bothers you if you die from it or if one one of your relatives gets it. It is a small percentage bad event. It'd real but remote at the moment.

_________________
Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

I saw CR is now on the list of reported cases. Having said that so is the US. It seems the strain is missing an important amino acid for fast replication. That is good news for now.

There is more cases of Swine Flu in the US than in Costa Rica. This strain is supposedly much virulent than the previous pandemic.

There was a story in the news over the weekend about a farmer in Canada passing on swine flu to his animals, pigs I think. How did that happen? Was there passionate kissing involved?

I meant much less virulent.

This is part of the latest alert sent to expats by the Embassy.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I received this message via email from the U.S. Consulate in Costa Rica. The message was sent the day before my flight from the U.S. back to C.R.

warden message
May 5, 2009

This Warden Message alerts U.S. citizens to the latest information regarding human cases of H1N1 Influenza A, formerly known as swine flu.

To date, there is one confirmed case of H1N1 Influenza in Costa Rica, and seven probable suspicious cases that are being investigated. The Costa Rican Ministry of Health has issued guidance on measures that should be taken to minimize transmission or exposure to the flu. This information can be found at their website at http://influenza.ccss.sa.cr/

Additionally, the Costa Rican Ministry of Health now requires arriving and departing passengers to complete a health questionnaire that includes whether the traveler has any flu symptoms, what countries the traveler has visited in the last two weeks, and where the traveler will be staying or has stayed while in Costa Rica. Travelers exhibiting flu symptoms shall be referred to a medical consultant to assess for possible H1N1 influenza. In suspicious cases, legal residents and citizens of Costa Rica will be referred for medical treatment (emphasis added). Non-residents who are well enough to travel may be denied entry by Immigration authorities and returned to their point of origin.

The U.S. Embassy will continue to monitor this situation and will issue updated messages, as warranted. For further information about H1N1 flu, including steps you can take to stay healthy, please consult the department of State information at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... demic.html, the United
States Centers for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu, and the World Health Organization website
at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html.

For additional travel safety information, please consult the State department's website at www.travel.state.gov.

U.S. citizens may also call the Office of Overseas Citizens Services in the United States for the latest travel information. The Office of Overseas Citizens Services can be reached from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday, by calling 1-888-407-4747 from within the U.S. and Canada, or by calling (202) 501-4444 from other
countries.

Americans living or traveling in Costa Rica are encouraged to register with the Embassy in San Jose through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within Costa Rica. Americans without internet access may register directly with the Embassy. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. The Embassy is located at the intersection of Avenida Central and Calle 120 in the Pavas Section of San Jose; telephone (506) 2519-2188; after hours emergency telephone (506) 8863-4895; ACS unit fax (506) 2519-2099; e-mail at consularsanjose@state.gov ; web page http://sanjose.usembassy.gov/.

Thank you for the data, DiegoC. I have taken the liberty of cleaning up a couple of your links:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... _4493.html

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

http://www.travel.state.gov/

https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/

http://sanjose.usembassy.gov

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

I returned to CR last night after about two weeks in the US. My time in the US is about the same time period as the Swine Flu scare.

During my trip to the US, I was in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Ontario and a few other smaller cities and their adjoining airports. I attended large groups - convention type events. The only person I saw during my entire stay, who was wearing mask, was a lady in a wheel chair at Houston International Airport.

Then I stepped off the airplane in SJO. It was almost shocking to see so many people wearing masks. More than half of the workers.

One of the so called symptoms is a runny nose.
The minute I hit the ground in CR my nose started running due to pollution. I had to hide the dripping entering immigration.

ugh.

_________________
PacoLoco: "You pay for it one way or another."
Ace: "Rent everything, do not buy in Costa Rica"

Yea, I thought it was kind of funny too, all the masks. I started thinking I hope the girls at dr dont have them on...but then again in some cases it could be a good thing.

_________________
I came... I saw... I came