www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Speaking of the road to Jaco......is the toll road still being built? Any progress? Anticipated completion date?

Widening of the road from La Sabana to Santa Ana is well underway. Do not know, other then hearing, that they also are working around Orotina. Since the government gave up on the project and awarded it as a concession to a private group they have been making a lot of progress. Since they can't collect tolls to pay back their investment until the road is open they are really pushing. I think I remember them saying that it should be done in late 09 or early 2010.

Been waiting over 20 years so what a few months give or take.

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

Either Rico reads CRT or this is coincidental. From Inside Costa Rica this morning an article on the progress of the "new" highway.

"San José - Escazú Highway Reduced To Two Lanes Beginning Sunday

Construction of the new highway to Caldera on the Próspero Fernández is advancing as the 2010 completion deadline nears.

Drivers on the Próspero Fernández between San José and Santa Ana have seen the new six lane highway take shape, as well as feel the constant traffic problems through the area, as traffic from the Circunvalacion to Guachipelin has sometimes backed up for a kilometre or more.

Beginning Sunday the traffic situation through the area will get even worse.

The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) has announced that traffic between San José and Escazú will be reduced to two lanes - one in each direction, to allow for the demolition of the concrete roadway to make way for a new asphalt surface.

The 3.5 kilometre section between San José and Escazú, from the Ginmasio Nacional to the Escazú will be affected, including the closure of the exit to Sabana Oeste.

Drivers are asked to find alternate routes to avoid congestion.

The six lane highway between San José and Santa Ana will reduce to four lanes between Santa Ana and Caldera, with a major intersection at Orotina that leads to the beaches of Jaco, Herradura, Quepos/Manuel Antonio, connecting to points south by way of the Costanera Sur wich is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Once completed, the highway will make a trip between San José and Caldera, Puntarenas or Jaco and Herradura, in 45 minutes, more than half of what the trip takes now."

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

We were close to chartering a helicopter. Had all the details worked out when one of the guys said the economy is hitting him hard and he would rather spend the money on other things while in Costa Rica. So, we will be on the road to Jaco soon...teasing crocs...and planning our vacation.

A hilo to Jaco?
I would like to know how much that is ?? A house payment??
If you do not like small planes I tend to belive a chopper ride is not one of your top things to do?
Have a blast and feed a chicken to the croc's for me

Hate to be the wet blanket here. "Teasing" crocs may all sound like great fun and admittedly many people do it, but that does mean its something that people should really do for a few reasons.

1) They are not the smartest animals, they have a very small brain, their brain is about the size of their eyeball. When they begin to associate food with man, it is over; they believe all men have food or (at least in the case of small Ch*ldren) can be food. Nearly half of all humans killed by crocodiles are Ch*ldren under the age of twelve. And, forty percent of crocodiles killed after they attack have unnatural food in their guts…meaning they were being fed by humans. Fed crocs lose their fear of man and learn to associate man with food, making them both dangerous and easier targets for poachers.

2) That chicken might be tasty but it is not part of their natural diet. They do not provide any of the proper nutrients a croc needs to live a healthy life. Such an improper diet can cause gout, diabetes, and heart disease in crocodiles just as in humans. Becoming fat and lazy and just plain sick of that steady and easy diet of hand (or rope) fed chicken, those crocs could turn to an equally close by and available alternative - all those tasty little tourists who are either feeding them or watching those who do.

3) Crocs are the apex predator in their area playing a vital role in maintaining a healthy, wetland mangrove habitat. Crocs keep down small mammal populations, such as rats and raccoons; as nest builders, they dig holes aerating the soil and carefully construct nests from vegetation which over the years adds land to mangrove areas and when their nests break down into peat, a moisture-absorbing plant matter that acts as a natural fire retardant; they control non-game-fish populations, such as catfish and eels, which otherwise would overpopulate and decimate resources for game-fish; when they travel from one place to the next over land, their heavy bodies make trails through the mangrove that are important for water flow; and they dig croc-holes to stay cool in during dry season which also provide refuge for crabs, fish and turtles. By disrupting their natural patterns and drawing them into a concentrated area like around the bridge, humans could be contributing to problems that go well beyond their impacts on the crocs alone.

Do what you want. Others certainly will. But for my part, being the responsible eco-tourist that I am, I wouldn't be contributing at all to it or encouraging it.

Pro-
Glad to see your eco-tourist concern about the crocs' diet and their vital role in maintaining a healthy, wetland mangrove habitat--while you're at it, why don't you see what you can do about the raw sewage that they live in--
locally known as the Tarcoles River.

LOL, touché, Diablo. You're absolutely right. We can't do much about their polluting their rivers any more than we can much about anyone ELSE feeding the crocs. All we can do much about is what we do ourselves, which was my only point in the end. Or was your point something like, since they dump raw sewage into their rivers anyway we should be dumping our industrial waste there too?

No point intended--just foolin' with ya. However it just amazes me how CR bills itself as such an eco-destination. I just can't imagine all the health hazards those crocs are subjected to. Hell, I rather take a drink out of the Detroit River rather than the Tarcoles river.

At least the government is aware of the problem and have plans in the works to alleviate the situation. How many years past the scheduled completion date it will take is questionable.

From yesterdays AM Costa Rica.

"Biogas would be a byproduct of valley sewer plant
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The country will try to produce biogas to generate electricity as a byproduct of its proposed sewer plant.

That is part of the plan by the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. But so far there has been no obvious work.

The Asamblea Legislativa approved a $130 million loan from the government of Japan in 2006. The money would pay more than half of what is considered a $230 million job.

Officials from the water and sewer company were at the legislature Thursday giving an interim report on the project. The entire project in two stages will run from the Cerro de Ochomogo on the east to the cerros Coyote and Palomas between Escazú and Santa Ana on the west. The project encompasses San Rafael de Coronado, San Gerónimo de Moravia and San Juan de Tibás. To the south the project will take in Aserrí, San Miguel and Higuito de Desamparados and the cerro del Tapezco in Escazú.

All of San José centro would be included in phase one as will San Pedro and Curridabat. So will much of La Uruca, part of Alajuelita, San Miguel, San Antonio, Damas, San Rafael Abajo and Gravilias, all Desamparados, Guadalupe, San Francisco, Calle Blancos, Ipís and Purral in Goicoechea, San Vicente and Trinidad in Moravia and León XIII, Colima, San Juan, Cinco Esquinas and Anselmo Llorente in Tibás. The rest of the valley will have to await phase two.

The project would join the four separate main sewers in the valley. They are named after the rivers they parallel.

Right now there are 104 kilometers of main sewers with 1,100 kilometers of secondary pipes. There are 140,000 connections for about 575,000 persons. The sewage goes directly into the rivers without treatment. The sewage ends up in the Río Grande de Tarcoles and then in the Gulf of Nicoya.

The proposal is to rehabilitate and extend the system and construct a primary treatment plant west of San José in a location known as Los Tajos. A 1.8-kilometer tunnel will take the sewage underground in Hatillo. Sewage in Pavas and Escazú will be pumped up to a treatment plant. The rest of the network relies on gravity.

Efforts will be made to produce biogas to fuel electrical generators from the sludge, said the institute. The process is supposed to reduce the volume of the sludge by 40 percent. The remaining sludge goes to the Los Mangos landfill in la Carpio. Primary treatment will cut in half the suspended solids in the sewage, officials estimated.

By 2014 officials hope to have 65 percent coverage servicing a million persons and providing primary treatment.

The second phase, scheduled for completion in 2025, will cover 85 percent of the population or some 1.6 million persons. An upgraded plant will provide secondary treatment that will reduce suspended solids in the effluent by about five times so that the final produce has about 10 percent the solids as the sewage entering the plant. Many homes outside of the Central Valley core use septic tanks today. Many are inadequate.

Pavas and Escazú are in phase two, as is Asserí. The districts of La Unión are in this phase, too, as is the remainder of La Uruca, several districts of Desamparados, Granadilla in Curridabat and several sections of Alajuelita.

Thursday Ricardo Sancho Chavarría, president of Acueductos y Alcantarillados, told lawmakers that the country has avoided talking about sewers for a long time. He said the same problems that exist in San José are found in Cartago, Alajuela and Heredia. "We have practically converted our rivers into open sewers," he said.

The project, when and if it is completed, would be a boost to real estate. The area in which sewer connections are available will increase, and the type of structure could change too, because lots would not have to accommodate septic tanks, officials said."

Link to map showing main lines.

http://www.amcostarica.com/sewerlinesincolor.jpg

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

Ok...in the name of ecotourism I will leave the crocs alone. I hope we can find something else to do on that long ride.

For Brother Nhhank and other interested parties:
Helo Services in Costa Rica

www.aeroteccr.com 6 diff craft 8383-3076
www.jaguarlimousineservices.com/helicopters.php 5 diff craft 866-952-4827
www.crica.com/special/helisa.html 2231-6867
www.coachcostarica.com/ing/limo.html 2229-4192
These were only the top Google search hits--there's doubtless others, which shouldn't surprise given CR's mountainous terrain. Pretend you're flying with TC on Magnum, P.I.! Wow the crowd at Clarita's by landing on the beach. Fun galore!
And Hey! For you big-bucks buckaroos, The White House Resort will soon be offering their own helo's and custom tours! Now there's a reason to live! Yes!
N.B. The Websites were tested but no guarantees on the Phone #'s.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

White House is offering helicopter tours for the special rate of $99.00. Guess the U.S. recession has really effected their business as they have a group of specials besides the helicopter tour.

Dinner for 4 $99.00, $99.00 match play in the casino, One day Harley tour $99.00, $99.00 spa day, Hummer tour (the vehicle perverts ) $99.00, Deluxe room $99.00 per night.

Caution: all are marked restrictions apply

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