Don Mateo

Eavesdropping – the very word in English suggests a rude and invasive action. It conjures up images of a wiretap, or an ear against the door. To listen in on conversations of people unknown to you may be frowned upon by society at large, but I highly recommend it when […]

File this one under Clueless Gringos. I read an article recently about a young couple living in the far northern US who adopted a young child of “Costa Rican heritage,” as they put it. The child’s birth mother was born in Costa Rica but was adopted as an infant and […]

An old friend was about to leave Costa Rica for good. He sold his house, his other property, all of his possessions except his car. He called me on his way out of the country and asked if I could help him sell it. I’ll give you ten percent, he […]

In 2024, almost 3 million tourists came to Costa Rica. Many who arrived participated in tours, both of the action/adrenaline variety (rafting, ziplining, etc) and those that showcase the country’s abundant nature and wildlife. Few tourists know that besides these well-publicized excursions, Costa Rica also offers a chance to see […]

Newcomers to Costa Rica have it much easier today. When my then wife and I made the decision to come here in 1989, there was no internet, no Facebook or message boards where all of the questions we had could be thrown out to be answered by those who had […]

My Tica wife was one of 14 kids. Twelve of the fourteen, all between the ages of early 50s to mid 70s are still alive. They communicate regularly, and by regularly, I mean daily. Every day I listen to my wife doing a video call with one or more of […]

Competition is good, right? It is arguably what most drives the capitalist system. An open marketplace of goods and services, for the buyer to choose from. With competition, if you don’t like Product A, you’ve got Products B,C,D available, and may the best product win. When I lived near the […]

There are nearly a million Costa Ricans who work in what is known as the “informal” sector of the economy. These jobs are characterized by instability, poor pay, lack of social security benefits, and often, poor working conditions. Yet many of these workers are also some of the most visible, […]

Rio Virilla is not one of the major rivers of Costa Rica. At about 55 kilometers in length, it meanders through the Central Valley, passing through mostly urban stretches, spanned by small bridges and overpasses. Throughout much of its course, it would run largely unnoticed below the highways, were it […]

The GAM– La Gran Area Metropolitana– is the acronym for the greater metro area of San Jose. It extends as far west as Atenas and north to the volcanic mountain ranges of Cartago and Heredia provinces. Nearly two thirds of Costa Rica’s population resides within its unofficial boundaries, which make […]