Pez Vela: World-Class Marina in Quepos

Harold Lovelady has been planning on building this marina in Quepos for 11 years now and finally this June the marina officially opened. At this point there are 97 slips but expansion is already in the works, ““It started as a small project, but as more people expressed interest in a marina, we had to redesign the original plan to accommodate the potential demand,” Lovelady said. “It was evident we needed to make a larger, world-class marina. So that's how it turned out.”

The residents of Quepos, a port city originally built by the United Fruit Company to export bananas and administer surrounding plantations, do not seem to know what to make of the Pez Vela. Currently about 20 people work at the quiet marina and its location right outside of downtown worries many residents that the marina will not create the expected up rise in tourism and job opportunities. However the mayor of Quepos assures that it is very positive, saying, “Members of this town will be trained to work at the marina, which means there will be more education, more jobs and more investment. The people of this town will soon begin to see the benefits of having a world-class marina.”

Get-a-Way in Manuel Antonio

This weekend was my birthday, so we decided to take a mini road trip down to Manuel Antonio National Park (about an hour south of Jaco Beach). We got a great deal through some Realtor friends in San Jose and ended up staying at a beautiful ocean view luxury condominium on the mountain. Even though Manuel Antonio is not very different than Jaco Beach, getting away for a few days and relaxing in a different city always feels like a wonderful vacation. We spent some time at the beautiful beach, surfing, getting sun, people watching and best of all, monkey watching! And luckily we also had time to enjoy some delicious birthday meals and most importantly fabulous wine and champagne. I can’t wait to go back and spend more time in Manuel Antonio and at the fantastic condo at Pacifico Colonial.

International Living Conference in San Jose

This past week our RE/MAX team was in San Jose working at the International Living Conference at the big Marriott. We had a great experience both professionally and personally. It’s always nice to get away from the beach for a few days and enjoy the bustling city life of Costa Rica and now that the new highway is open it only takes us an hour to be in a completely different lifestyle.

Throughout the entire conference there were speeches being conducted and Hannah and I each got assigned a topic. Hannah did a speech on the Central Valley and mine was on Rental Management in Costa Rica. Public speaking is not my forte, so I was pretty nervous going into it, but as soon as it was over it was like this huge weight that was lifted off of my shoulders and then I really got to enjoy the rest of the conference.

Following the conference we had two days of Real Estate tours, the first all around the Central Valley visiting various projects in Santa Ana, Escazu, Ciudad Colon and La Sabana; then the next day we drove out to the Central Pacific (our comfort zone) and toured properties in Jaco, Hermosa, Herradura and Esterillos. The tours were a huge success and lots of people are now returning home excited about their new interests in Costa Rica.

Traditional Tope in Santa Ana

Yesterday my chicas and I attended the tope-a traditional horse parade/party in Santa Ana. It was a lot of fun. Tope’s are very traditional cultural events in Costa Rica and I highly recommend people to attend. You must like loud music and having a few drinks. I, of course, being the equestrian enthusiast that I am, brought my lovely horse on the trip. It was lots of fun!

New Rating for Costa Rica’s 1st Female President

After being in office for only 2 months, Laura Chinchilla has received a 64% approval rating, right on par with her predecessor Oscar Arias. When she began her presidency in May she wont with 46.7% of the vote and started off with a rough first few weeks. She inherited two messes from the Arias Administration: the premature opening of the Caldera Highway out to the Pacific Coast from San Jose and the self-appointment of former Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno to the ambassadorship to the United Nations. Additionally she added some chaos of her own by backing a 72% legislative pay raise and then later announcing she would veto the wage increase. Even so she is ranked pretty average for Central America, she follows behind President Mauricio Funes (76%) and Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli (66%). However she is still above The Honduran President (60%), Guatemalan President (50%) and far beyond the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega (38%).

Pro-Soccer Team Comes to Jaco Beach

In Costa Rica there is only one national sport, Soccer, so needless to say it’s a VERY big deal here! Ticos take their soccer very seriously, so you can imagine how exciting the news of a Professional Soccer Team coming to our little Jaco Beach was for the locals. However it is not just the locals benefiting from this great purchase, tourists from all over the world will be able to experience the excitement and cheer on the Rays at the new soccer field. Right now the city government is in the process of renovating the Municipality Soccer Field and getting it ready for crowds of fans and lots of excitement by adding upgraded bleachers and skyboxes!

Disastrous Oil Spill-Advantageous for Costa Rica?

The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been and will continue to be very harmful for the states along the gulf; however Costa Rica may end up benefiting from this enormous accident. The accident has spilled an estimated 150 million gallons of petroleum into the ocean, therefore utterly destroying the marine-life in these regions.

Undoubtedly there will be an increase in tourism to the Costa Rican beach towns due to the amount of cancelled vacations to Florida and Louisiana. Nonetheless the real advantage for Costa Rica will come from the business markets now vacated. Seafood companies that used to provide a large percentage of seafood to the US are now completely out of business and unaware of when they will be able to return to work. Many of these business owners and workers are now trying to relocate their entire families and businesses because they really don’t have another choice. So as we are already noticing in Costa Rica and will continue noticing, there has been an increase in Real Estate interest from US Investors. Additionally many sport-fishing companies that used to be based out of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida are now trying to move their companies to other locations like Costa Rica. They feel helpless staying along the gulf where there seems to be no hope for success, so many are left with no choice but to leave.