[sstarkey]

I use ADVANTIX on my dog. It’s a once per month flea/tick treatment – it’s drops that you put onto the dog’s back. In 8 months in CR, I have only found about 5 ticks on my dog and she loves to run in the woods. She has short hair so it’s easy to see the ticks and I check her closely every day. Long-haired dogs should probably be brushed daily.

I also supplement her dry food with a cooked chicken liver/rice mixture with a little bit of garlic added in – the garlic is supposed to help repel ticks but I think you shouldn’t go overboard with it.

No idea how to get ticks out of the house though, other than normal pest control and thorough cleaning.

Good luck!

[sstarkey]

I’m pretty sure my dog sleeps most of the way – yes the jet engines are her friend – and then socializes with the cargo guys during transfers. In fact, on both of our very long flights she didn’t even potty in the crate ONCE! She’s quite the cool traveler.

Jejejeje…yeah definitely I need the Calming Agent…but I’ll stick to Bloody Marys!

[sstarkey]

I don’t recommend tranquilizing the dog – whether in Cargo or in the Cabin – in fact some airlines won’t knowingly allow it to fly if has been tranquilized. The tranquilizer can interfere with the dog’s ability to adjust to temperature and air pressure changes – it can be VERY dangerous – particularly if you accidentally ‘overdose’ – imagine what you’d do with no Vet to run to! Better for the dog to bark a little en route than to expire!

I’d instead look into a ‘pet calming’ spray that uses Lavender, for instance, to spray the bedding AND, you can use bedding with your smell on it to help keep the dog calm.

My dog has flown back and forth twice using Continental’s PetSafe program (traveling as Cargo) and I’ve posted about it on this forum so use the search engine to find the thread. We’re flying back again in a few weeks. She has done fine and both times the total fly / transfer time was about 14 hours. It will help if the dog is already well crate trained so the crate is their “safe place”. This will help the dog deal better with the trip.

I was a nervous wreck both times too – but try to remember dogs fly all of the time (dog shows anyone?) and they’re pretty sturdy, resilient creatures!

[sstarkey]

Well now I can sleep much easier knowing I fed the nice Customs Officer’s soul, at least for a day!

But dang, sure wish I had bought a big honking $999.99 TV instead!

[sstarkey]

Now THAT is helpful info David, THANKS!

Yeah, I wondered what would happen if we had ended up getting busted for paying off the Nicaraguan. That said, wasn’t HE breaking the law [i]in extremis[/i]? Not that it would matter as it would have been his word against ours. In any case, I have no intention of trying that stunt again – I would rather avoid the Nica border altogether.

Now here’s a related question about the Customs exemption – maybe you have a good answer?

I went to Florida after Christmas and bought some things for CR for personal use. One was a small LCD TV for which I had the receipt. The Customs Agent in Liberia said it was a ‘dutiable item’ and I duly offered him my receipt (for $249 US) knowing that would be under the limit but he didn’t bother to take the receipt. However, he then took my passport into his little back room and put a Customs stamp in the back page BUT, he did not fill in a Dollar amount – just left that line on the stamp blank.

So, what in the the heck does this stamp now mean? Does it mean they are saying I’ve used up my limit…or does it mean I should fill it in with some $ amount on my own…or does it mean he just felt like using his official little stamp? :?::lol:

[sstarkey]

David –
I hear you completely about the rules and my definite intention is indeed to get legal CR residency as soon as I can qualify for it. For the moment, I’m just trying to get my house built and I need (OK, WANT) to be in CR to oversee that process. I’ve left CR 5 times in 10 months (3 of those for 72+ hours) and in fact am in the States as we speak.

I have no problem respecting CR’s immigration rules. This is my 6th country so I’m used to them and have always done my best to abide by them wherever I’ve lived.

To me the problematic issue about the CR Tourist Visa is the ambiguity and lack of clarity in the actual requirement (ie, how many hours out of CR are truly required) and then in its enforcement or lack thereof. Everything I had heard leading up to that particular trip to Nicaragua from those who had recently done it indicated that the so-called 72 hour rule was no longer in force, thus I went along with my friends who were planning a short turnaround vs. a 3-day stay to test this theory out (and save a few bucks on hotel bills).

Believe me, I didn’t like having to bribe my way out of Nicaragua by paying off some enterprising Nicaraguan border official and my friends and I most CERTAINLY did not solicit this payoff, indeed it was QUITE the other way around and I have no doubt this man’s pockets were bursting at the seams with dollars extracted from unsuspecting and somewhat confused (as we were) border crossers.

Again, the funny thing was, the Costa Rican border guards were quite fine with our one-day turnaround. So, either we broke a CR 72-hour law or we didn’t – we honestly don’t really know if that law exists – but the CR guys didn’t indicate that we did. This tells me either we did NOT violate the current law, OR they just don’t care OR the CR border guys are sharing the shake-down bounty with the Nicaraguan guys who are doing the dirty work of intercepting tourists just steps away from the CR crossing point.

Any thoughts on what the right answer to the above is?

[sstarkey]

Well, the last few times my friends and I have crossed into Nicaragua for our Visa Run, we only stayed in Nicaragua for a few hours. However, in one case, the enterprising border guard on the Nicaragua side made a few bucks off of us in bribes when they ‘questioned’ our ‘quick in/out’ timing. Not being confident if we were on the right side of the law or not, and not wanting to get stuck at the border, it was easier to pay off the dude who told us that ‘his family needed food’ than fight.

And funny enough, it should have been the CR guys who questioned our quick return and NOT the Nicaragua guys (why the he** would they care that we’re leaving their country early?!)

It’s all a big game and it’s easy for them to play in order to suck bribe money from our pockets since the law is so unclear. My guess is that the Nicaragua and Costa Rica guys are in cahoots and sharing the booty from all of this shakedown activity, but I could be wrong.

Bottom line – cross at your own risk in terms of timing and keep some extra bribery dollars in your pocket just in case you decide you don’t want to stay 72 hours – and even then, look out.

[sstarkey]

I’ve been living out of the US off and on (mainly off) since 1995. Costa Rica is the 4th country I’ve lived in in the years since. I maintain a California Driver license simply by renting a PO Box at a UPS Store which has given me a permanent address in CA and I simply renew the license when necessary which occasionally means showing up in California.

I use this address to renew my drivers license and keep in the ‘voter’ loop. Although I care less and less about voting for officials such as the local dogcatcher in my old ‘hood, my permanent address ensures I am in the loop for more important electoral events. Jury Duty notices DO present a problem – however when I tell them I’m living in Timbuktu and NOT actually residing inside the confines of a 7″ by 5″ mailbox the Jury Duty Police generally leave me alone.

The other benefit of this PO Box is that the UPS Store will forward my mail to me wherever in the world I live and my US banks / credit card companies, etc. all still think I’m in the US which makes life a lot easier in some respects since most of these entities think the world outside of the US doesn’t exist (in other words, they refuse to send mail to you if you’re not inside the border).

[sstarkey]

[quote=”2bncr”]Isn’t funny how almost all the gringas I meet here have a problems with Ticas and how they live their lives. They are hell bent on brainwashing them that traditional roles are taboo and they need to compete with men. [/quote]

Errmmmm…perhaps you need to be just a tad more selective when choosing who to socialize with? [BTW – most of the Gringas I meet here are far too busy living their own lives to waste their precious time trying to “brainwash” the natives.]

[sstarkey]

I have to go with Sue on this one.

I’m also not quite ‘getting’ why the subject of women attaining the basic human rights that they should be born with – no matter what particular culture in which they burst forth into the world – should invoke such rabid responses from people. It seems to me as if some people believe they should be allowed to dictate what rights and roles men and women should be awarded in this world.

Well…all I can say is…who the heck made YOU all God? If you didn’t give birth to the boys and girls in question, then who are YOU to say ANYTHING about how their lives and activities fit into your own little idealized concepts of gender appropriateness?

Homo Sapiens women are human beings. So are Homo Sapiens men. The only thing that REALLY separates them is plumbing – with the possible exception of map reading ability. The same could be said for houses. Some have copper plumbing, some have PVC. But they are still houses. As long as the toilets flush, I’m happy. Otherwise, I don’t give a whit.

BTW – isn’t this thread supposed to be about socializing with the Gringos? Whatever happened to that little chat?

[sstarkey]

[quote=”cancertomnpdx”]Does anyone know if you can buy a Sim card at the San Jose airport for the Huawei E173 data stick in the same way you can buy a Sim card for an unlocked cell phone? I am sort of new to this so I am looking for advice since I am torn between buying/bring a netbook with me or just buying a international unlocked cell as backup to my trying to use the WiFi iGoogle features on my T-Mobile with my SKYPE account for this trip.

Any thoughts or comments?

Thanks,
Tom
Portland, Oregon[/quote]

I recently tried to buy the Huwaei Data Stick at the airport – they don’t have them. ICE often doesn’t even have them either – although some Internet Cafes may have them in stock. I finally managed to get one, after several weeks of searching, through my property manager who had an extra on hand returned from a departing customer.

The good news is, you can now, finally, get 3G Data using your prepaid ICE SIM phone card – it’s very easy to buy a data plan by sending a text message from your phone. You can buy by the hour, the day, the week or the month and the cost will be debited from your prepaid balance. Just ask for details when you buy the SIM card.

Be careful trying to use T-Mobile down here for non-Wifi use. My sister and I had ZERO success connecting to the ICE network using a T-Mobile phone (my sister’s) or prepaid T-Mobile SIM (mine). T-Mobile customer service in the US said it “was” possible to make calls in Costa Rica, but the reality for us was that it did not work so I question whether they actually DO have a peering agreement with ICE or not. Of course if you’re in range of an open WIFI network to use Skype or whatever else, that’s different, and many restaurants & bars have WIFI for their customers.

[sstarkey]

Hi Randy,

Have you thought about looking for hard-money loans in the US by approaching financial institutions that offer services to investors to manage Self-Directed IRAs?

Self-Directed IRAs allow individuals to invest in, among other things, overseas properties, to make construction loans, etc.

NuWire Investor, for example, has a lot of information on the subject & links to institutions that provide these services.

I am not sure how the process of ‘shopping’ investment / loan opportunities to Self-Directed IRA holders works, (I’m just starting to get interested in the subject myself), but I imagine there must be credible communication channels to match up opportunities to potential investors. Perhaps someone on this site who knows more could comment.

[sstarkey]

[quote=”rfalves”][quote=”sstarkey”][quote=”artfulgal”]I think there may be some confusion with regard to the word CARGO. Being a retired American Airlines ticket agent, maybe I can offer some clarification. A pet can travel 1 of 3 ways:
1- as “cabin baggage” – where the pet travel in the cabin with you, and must fit in a kennel, under the seat in front of you. Because the number of cabin pets are limited, you must make a reservation for the same flight you are traveling on.
2 – as “checked baggage” – where the pet travels on THE SAME FLIGHT AS YOU, but in the “cargo hold” with the other checked baggage (it is pressurized and temp controlled)
3 – as CARGO – where the pet travels ALONE and not on the same scheduled flight as you are traveling. Pet also travels just like #2 in the “cargo hold” with the baggage.

Many airlines have “embargoes” when the temperature gets too hot or too cold outside. If you are planning on traveling with your pet,I would reccomend traveling on non-embargoed time so that the pet can travel on the same flight as you. Otherwise, if you travel on one flight and then send for your pet later, he will travel as CARGO and on international fights, that entail additional fees and often a broker to “clear” the “carg”.

Hope this helps :D[/quote]

This is true for most airlines…EXCEPT Continental. They do not fly pets internationally from the USA as checked baggage, only as Cargo. Whether or not you fly on the same flight makes no difference, and the dog must be cleared as Cargo.[/quote]
BS I brought my German Sherpard here on Continetal from newark to San Jose on a non stop flight and the dog was with the checked baggage, and he came up with the checked baggage. Ron USCG Ret[/quote]

Ron – I don’t know when you flew, but according to Continental’s own web site (link graciously provided by the attendant above), what I wrote about Continental’s current policy is not “BS” as you call it:

“Continental is committed to providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for all of our customers, including pets. Because we share our customers’ concern that their pets’ flights are stress-free, we have enhanced our animal acceptance policy to transport pets as cargo. Our program is called PetSafe®. Under this program, Continental does not accept pets as checked baggage.”

When I was doing my research I heard that in the past, pets traveling as ‘Cargo’ on Continental were being delivered to owners through the Baggage area at SJO, but that this practice has stopped. Obviously, *someone* figured out they were missing out on the opportunity to gouge the passenger out of a ridiculous Customs fee.

[sstarkey]

Thanks all. Lots of good info here.

As a former Auditor, I agree, opening an account with *my* Credit Union (under my personal account) is not going to pass the smell test and may put off some owners. A US ‘DBA’ could be established, but seems a bit of trouble.

Anyhoo…

The HOA does have a USD account in CR (with BCR) which will accept US checks. After further questioning of the Administrator (who is also our Treasurer), it seems a big part of the collection problem is that some owners simply don’t want to assume the risk of mailing checks to CR.

So…we’ve decided that the HOA is going to open a PO Box in Miami with a forwarding service using Jet Box. (The same could be done with Mail Boxes Etc.) With any luck, this will at least reel-in the people who ‘would like’ to pay but have used wire fees or fear of mailing checks as their excuse not to pay, leaving just the true *deadbeats* exposed 🙂

[sstarkey]

David – thanks, that’s precisely what we want to do. What we need to find is a BANK in the US that will let us set up the account on behalf of the CR HOA. My own bank’s Risk Management department wouldn’t allow it (I belong to a Credit Union).

If anyone knows of a US Bank that WILL do this, that’s our key I think!

Maravilla – do you know what CR Bank is being used and is the bank account actually denominated in US Dollars?

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