The Detective is Back!

Detective Shadow here, checking in for my second article. That’s right: I’m not going away, so get used to me. OK, let’s take a look around town…
It is now a LOT more expensive to mail a postcard in Costa Rica. All postal rates increased fifty to more than one hundred percent last month. In all fairness, the new rates are still lower than in Europe or the U.S…
In an effort to join the 21st Century, ICE has announced plans to migrate their old TDMA system to the updated GSM system. They will provide new chips to current customers at no cost, while continuing the old system for the next few months. But be forewarned: the old system is being fazed out, so to keep your cellphone functioning and actually functioning better, now is the time to go down to the ICE office and change it over…
Have you done any banking at Banco de Costa Rica lately? There is an entirely new format that reminds me of a bad futuristic sci-fi movie, complete with talking electrical boxes and enough newfangled steps to make it even more of an adventure to bank in this country. Not as silly as the musical chairs at Banco Nacional, though…
A true FANatic: Ben Ziegler, Sharky’s Sports Bar owner, recently lost a bet when his beloved Minnesota Vikings were defeated in the NFL playoffs. So, he shaved off his beard of six months. Now he looks like The Old Ben, which is good, because he no longer resembles a 19th Century Quaker…
The third annual Skate for Oneida took place last month with an incredible turnout. Jesse Chaddy is to be congratulated for his hard work promoting and setting up this event and for reaching out to a bigger participating audience this year. All 27 participants were rewarded with skate gear from local businesses, as well as Quicksilver, a hearty “name” supporter of the event. The idea of being community oriented and using the park in that vein is growing, thanks to people like Jesse. Well done!
Bar 1 turns two: last month, local night spot Bar 1 celebrated its second anniversary in style. Lots of “regulars” turned out to partake in the festivities with owner Matt Krasnovsky. Happy Anniversary!...
Christian Porras, the talent behind the Ticolandia CD, was in town recently, promoting his new venture, Dartempo, which provides production assistance, including lighting and sound, for cultural and artistic events. Sr. Porras is also writing and recording material for his sophomore album, which he says will have more jazz influence than his first…
You may be asking yourself, “What in the world is a rescued cupboard?” The answer is an easy one: longtime resident-artist Susan Adams has never veered toward mainstream with her work and her husband, musician Jesse Bishop, has always been her beacon of support, of both moral and physical varieties. More than three years ago, Susan salvaged the remains of some local cupboards with the intent of doing something with them. Jesse recently sanded and prepped them for her, transforming them into wooden canvasses, which is where Susan took over, translating with brush and paints onto the cupboards her interpretation of hundreds of photos she’s taken of Guanacaste landscapes. Mere words cannot do justice to the results: it must be seen to be appreciated, and can be, at her Langosta studio, Villas Guapinol…
While paddling out near Catalina Island, Detective Shadow spotted Captain Tom Haydu and his crew from Las Brisas rescuing a baby whale that had gotten tangled in fishing line. Three cheers!...
Detective Shadow has always admired Nature Air for their excellent on-time record and because all their planes are twin-engine. Now he has a new reason: National Geographic recently awarded them top honors among 611 nominees from 81 different countries for excellence in eco-tourism. The airline is one hundred percent “carbon neutral” in that it reforests the Osa Peninsula to a point that it more than compensates for its carbon emissions with new forest growth.

 

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