In January of 2005 Costa Rica Books released the 14th edition of Christopher Howard's perennial bestseller "The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica." In April Costa Rica books publish the one-o-f-a-kind "Christopher Howard's Guide to Costa Rica Spanish. " Also look for Christopher Howard's "Official Guide to Costa Rican Real Estate" in late 2005.

The national parks of Costa Rica generated more dollars than the joint exports of bananas, coffee, and pineapples in the year 2002, according to the Minister of Finance Federico Carrillo. While the protected areas earned $814.5 million that year, the combined income from the three products mentioned was $793 million. Official sources said that the overall amount for the protected areas includes admission fees, hotels, car rentals, fuels, and other related areas. Minister Carrillo resorted to these data in order to promote more funds for the parks, which currently meet a shortage in maintenance and wardens, to mention two areas in which the system is lacking.

The international hotel chain Hyatt plans to invest $50 million in Costa Rica in the next two years, mainly in a 200-room hotel, according to firm sources. Hyatt's vice-president for development Michael Schindler visited the country in order to analyze possible locations for the hotel. Rodrigo Trujillo, Hyatt's business director, said that the site has not been decided yet, but that the firm wants to be present in Costa Rica.

If the opinion of a majority of Costa Ricans counted at the polls, a woman would be the next President of the Republic. This surface in a recent survey, in which 56 percent of the respondents said that they would rather have a woman as President, while only 17 percent said they would prefer a man. For 26 percent of the Ticos, according to the survey, the sex of the person at the helm is not important. The next election will be held the first Sunday in February 2006, but so far no woman has entered the presidential race.

As President Abel Pacheco and his counterparts from the rest of Central America and the Dominican Republic descended on Washington, D.C. this week to discuss the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), both U.S. and Costa Rican supporters of the agreement began increasingly vocal and costly lobbying efforts for its ratification.

Costa Rica: No artificial ingredients and no stress on the budget This Carolina-sized country working its way up "top destination" lists, it's no wonder. Even though the thought of lush green scenery, pristine beaches, and intense biodiversity will excite you, you'll be more pleased to learn that doing this trip for under $1,000 was no challenge at all.

The Saint Mary's University PowerTrak MBA program in Minneapolis hosted representatives from EARTH University in Costa Rica in early May to explore potential partnerships such as MBA capstone project opportunities, and student and faculty exchange programs.