Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I live in Vancouver Canada and have found no inexpensive way to ship a few, or one, box to Costa Rica. Via airlines it would be about the same price as buying a ticket and taking the box of things there myself.
Hi KiKi:
When visiting Kelowna, I do hope it’s in the summer. They get that funny-looking cold white stuff coming out of the clouds in winter, don’t they? Saw it on TV.
As I understand it, and I’m sure other people here have a lot more knowledge about this than I do, your daughter isn’t allowed to work there. Mine is married to a Costa Rican and I don’t think she’s allowed to work either. But why would she want to? The pay scales I’ve heard about in C.R. make it not worth putting in the time for a person from North America who’s used to making and spending a C.R. month’s wages in a few days or a week. My daughter and son-in-law wanted to get her citizenship and both work in San Jose but I talked them out of it because long term, it doesn’t seem to make sense to me given that they are not highly skilled.
But they can do business here and he can work in it. So that’s what we’ve done with an eye to the long term. For now they simply aim to become self-supporting within another year or two.
There has been a very long delay in getting their marriage documents processed and so as far as we know, she can’t work in their business until she gets the documents and applies for citizenship. It doesn’t stop him from working and earning money while they are waiting. She can help out in small ways, but he has to hire Costa Ricans for some things that she could otherwise be doing when the need arises.
I don’t know that your daughter can legally make any money there unless she owns (but does not work in) a business in C.R. That is the legal advise we recieved from our so called “lawyer” in C.R. Does anyone know if this is right?
So, Kiki Canadian, maybe you could help her get a business going. But whatever happens, keep your credit card on alert at all times, or, as I did, just give her one with her name on it and pray that she takes it easy!
Rick
Just want to mention that my family has been using the Tico Talk card for a few months now and it’s great. No problems at all and a good rate too. They both memorized the numbers and can call Canada/US from anywhere in C.R.
Hi Kiki:
Knee deep in snow! Well we could always use a few more Ontarians out here if you ever get sick of the snow and cold. (smile) Just pack your umbrella’s an d hope a WestJet.
I always get that warm and fuzzy feeling when I’m in C.R. too! I think it’s something they put in the water. Whatever it is, it gets me feeling good and spending money.
With respect to Mr. D. I wouldn’t trust the car rental insurance a credit card company provides. I heard a story (I think it was in this forum) about a guy who had an accident and had to pay out and then try to claim it back from the CC company.
On the other hand, my daughter, who lives there, before they got their own rig, rented often from one of the more well known companies. And, of course, put it in one of those deep cement ditches you see on some of the streets in smaller towns. Ripped the underside pretty good getting it towed out of the ditch. She called me, upset and wondering what to do. I called the rental guys and they came rushing over with another car, and even sat with her while waiting for the transit police!
It was fully covered. No extra charges, no fees, no surprises, no B.S. So hats off to that company (I think it was Thrifty). I very much appreciate the way they do business because I pay her CC bill, so I was sweating a little wondering if they were on the up and up.
Hello Ontario:
Vancouver BC here. It’s 75 dergrees here and the palm trees are swaying back and forth by our office’s rooftop pool. The bartender is mixing tropical drinks up there and summer music is drifting up from English Bay beach. If I turn the air conditioner off I can just barely hear an ice cream truck’s jingle-jangle noise. The faint smell of coconut suntan oil fills the air downtown this glorious warm morning…… What’s the weather like there?
You may already have been to C.R. and know all of this, but I thought I’d mention it in case others who haven’t been there yet are looking on. If I recall, rentals FROM the airport include a rather nasty surcharge, or some extra fees, or something. If you want to save some dough you can rent outside of the airport for less. Check it out if that makes a difference to you. I think they’ll come pick you up.
As far as insurance goes, I would pay for all of it if I were you. Get the full load. Too much can go wrong in C.R. with a rental car. And stick to the well known larger rental firms. In my opinion there are a fare number of car rental slippery dudes in C.R. and it’s also been my experience the police don’t have high tolerance levels for foolish tourists like myself.
On recommendation from people here, I ‘ve used Dollar and found them to be okay.
I once tried one of those rent-a- 4 by 4 in Costa Rica companies and it was the worst car rental experience I’ve ever had, anywhere. I (feel I was suckered into) payed in advance through PayPal, I imagine, so that it would be harder to ask for a credit card charge-back, and a refund is impossible when they showed up with a junker.
Some of the issues: I asked for, and booked, an automatic and got a standard, air conditioner not working, cd player not working, rear view mirror flopping around, window’s not working properly, when it rained car leaked around door seal and there were puddles of water on the floor, car smelled of vomit in the back, locks didn’t work on back hatch, battery died and wouldn’t stay recharged, after a few days a noise started coming from transmission, car leaked water. I was on the Coast near Limon and there was no answer on their emergency line so I ended up taking it to a mechanic a couple of times. We had to push start it most days, and often needed a jump start rescue.
Owner offered me a few free days “next time” when I complained. Not likely I’d ever fall for that one. Probably get the same 4 by 4 again, don’t you think?
The owner, who is not a Costa Rican, even had the balls to ask me not to mention this in the forums! I guess this has happened before.
Stick to the well known larger companies.
Hi Jo:
I’m not sure if they’ll have the permits and the “Tourismo” sticker for the back of their van by Jan., but they’re hoping to be good-to-go by then. My email is ssure38@hotmail.com I’d be glad to pass along your request. They’ll be able to tell you if they think they’ll be ready to go in time. The system for getting legal takes forever in C.R., it seems. So I wouldn’t count on them unless they already have it approved.
Thank you
Internet cafe. CBC website. Webcast. I was out of the country too but didn’t miss the game even though my beloved BC Lions kinda missed the boat this playoff year. Maybe next time, hum?
I’ve spent time in Limon and in San Jose. I feel safer in San Jose as long as I’m not down in that high drug use area. Seems to me like there’s a lot of drugs all over downtown Limon.
A cab driver tried to hijack me and deliver me to his buddies waiting in an alley in San Jose one night a few years ago. He refused my requests to change direction and he was obviously coordinating with someone on the cab’s radio. He headed for the skid row area and turned into an alley. I realized what was happening and after no success telling him to back out of the alley, it got physical and he backed the cab out on to the street. It was really scary, and then later on I thought maybe he’d get the police to come to my hotel and try to charge me with squeezing his neck.
Now when I’m in San Jose I NEVER step into those old beat up red cabs and always get the hotel to hook me up. On one trip I hooked myself up with one of those guys who drives the Orange official airport cabs, and right now he’s my guy. I have his cell phone number and let him know when I’m in town. He makes sure he’s available and whenever possible he’ll come get me. Sometimes I book him for the whole day if I have a lot to do, and he’ll either show up in his cab (off the meter for a better price) or in his father’s car if it’s his day off. I pay him fairly well and everyone’s happy, and I feel safe. He helps me get things done, his English is really good and he’s a very safe driver too.
That scary cab ride gave me an idea. My daughter married a young Costa Rican man. I got them interested in doing a private tour guide business out of San Jose. So by Jan. they’ll be ready to go and I’ll just use them when I’m in town. With the big question mark around cab safety in C.R., sneaky car rental places and lack of road signs in Costa Rica, some North Americans sometimes feel stress about how they’re going to get around the city or the country.
I think there might be a good market for a more personal type of service. They’re going to offer a service where they pick up their clients at the airport, take them to their house in San Jose (if the client wants to save over the cost of a hotel), or take them to their hotel, and then do the driving for the duration of their trip for an agreed upon price in advance. Either on call, or dedicated. Or maybe a daily fee in some cases. So the clients will deal with the same person the whole time you’re there. If you travel, they take you there, translate for you if you need that, recommend places to eat, stay, good tours etc. Help you get the Costa Rican price (instead of the Gringo price!) whenever possible. If they are willing to really deliver on the service, I think they could make a go of it. Any suggestions or idea’s welcomed.
Hum. I’m no expert but I thought the turtle nesting season was over on the coast at this time of year. Maybe the turtles are late!
There is something called The Coast Guard around there that, I think, looks after that sort of thing. It say’s “Guardia de Costa” (or something like that) on their boats and equipment. I’ve seen them on patrol on the beaches etc. just up the coast from you. They wear army uniforms and carry machine guns. I’m told they police anything to do with the coastlines. You may have to look up their office number – probably in Limon. It’s my understanding (keep in mind that I’m not a resident) that those turtles are endangered and protected. A report may bring some patrols to that beach.
On the other hand, I know that some families have been eating the eggs AND the turtles for generations, and I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to them. Sometimes that’s all there is to eat. There are conservation efforts in several places that I know of along the coast. There may be a group on P.V. you could notify also.
My daughter and I have been back and forth to Costa Rica 3 or 4 times a year for the last few years. Since she’s living there and they have a business we always pack a lot of things that would/should be taxed but are not. Once we packed 20 lifejackets in a big hockey goalie bag and they didn’t tax it or even make her use her exemption. The airlines charge us about $100 extra for an additional bag but it’s worth it when you look at the cost of shipping a box or two over there from Canada.
“…..and it is best to stay with main line companies with new vehicles.” I second that. There are, in my opinion, some pretty sleezy car rental places in Costa Rica. I have access to a vehicle there now but in the past I rented and found it cheaper in the long run to pay a few dollars more and use a well known larger company.
My daughter and son-in-law live on the Caribbean coast and can only get dial-up. The speed is so slow they can’t download Windows updates and security updates. She has to bring her laptop to Canada 3 or 4 times a year, when she comes to visit, to update. When I’m there I try to use it but it’s too frustrating. We’ve tried everything including buying a new laptop with up to today’s standards for memory and processor etc. Very little improvement.
GPS Costa Rica link
http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=31008&Category_Code=SAWNI have not tried this product and don’t know anyone who has
Good advice, thanks folks. Charlie, thanks. I’m going to send them your comments. Maybe they can straighten this out.
A few months ago I asked people on this list to recommend a lawyer and some of you did and I thank you for that. I sent the names to my daugher and her partner but they decided to use the guy in Limon because he was less expensive and they wanted to save me a few bucks (which I greatly appreciate, of course). You know how kids are – you can tell em but often they learn better/more/faster making the mistakes you try to help them avoid making. They’ll probably tighten things up a bit and carry on.
