I just flew back home on the 18'th. Crazy stuff going on in Nic and not wanting to be sick out of the Country made the decision easy.

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Need more water time. Plenty of time left to make $$

JetBlue has $91 r/t airfare to San Jose April 20 .Pray the Virus ends soon

Southwest cancelled my (rebooked) end of June CR trip, no explanation. I didn't call. Today, two days later, they send an email with a rebooking for exactly a week later. Fortunately I had moved another trip out of that time slot... I'm still pretty sure one Southwest excursion will have to be cancelled and there's enough travel funds left for another trip somewhere before the end of July. It's a mess.

Edited: 04/16/2020 at 05:53 PM by ww

yeah, I had to cancel my post easter tix where I normally pay my taxes. haven't even thought about when I am going. sigh. sucks.

From the place I stay in Santa Teresa:

>>Many of our guests and friends have been asking about Casa Cecilia and Santa Teresa during the Covid crisis. Hopefully, this summary will answer many of the questions you have been asking, and we are standing by to help answer any more questions you have.

As a country, Costa Rica closed its borders in mid-March, so international travel to and from our little country is no longer possible, except for the occasional rescue flight. Foreigners and non-residents are not allowed to visit Costa Rica at this time. The government has put in place many different "stay at home" restrictions and public spaces have been closed; meaning that all schools, non-essential businesses, parks, beaches and much of the public transportation system are closed. Costa Rica's overwhelming focus is on the preservation of human life, and on making sure people primarily stay home, and have their basic needs met. The government has enacted numerous programs of debt assistance, food relief, and rent reduction alongside a shoring up of our universal health care system. The government has promised to treat all Covid patients in its borders regardless of nationality or medical coverage, but their resources are limited. The incidence of Covid infection and related deaths is very low and officials are trying their best to keep it that way.

In Santa Teresa, most businesses are closed except for supermarkets, the pharmacy and a few restaurants are doing take out. Construction is ongoing on some projects. Restaurants are allowed to open at 50% capacity and some may be doing that soon. The town is very quiet with a mix of long term residents, some seasonal visitors that have stayed on, and tourists that were stranded and now must remain. The beaches are closed, and surfing is not allowed. Many employees have lost their jobs, due to the very abrupt halt of tourism and the closing of businesses. The Santa Teresa community has come together with several initiatives to help those in our town that are impacted the hardest. Long term residents have focused their efforts on food drives and other programs to help families weather the crisis. If you want to help out in any way with these initiates you can reach out to Pia Plant at surfingplant@gmail.com . You can also read here about some of the amazing community efforts that have been taking place in town since the crisis began - https://www.langstonrealty.com/posts/santa-teresa-and-mal-pais-community-comes-together-in-a-time-of-crisis < https://www.langstonrealty.com/posts/santa-teresa-and-mal-pais-community-comes-together-in-a-time-of-crisis>
There are no confirmed Covid cases on the Peninsula yet, and the focus of the community is to keep it that way as long as possible.

We closed Casa Cecilia mid-March as the country closed its borders, with just a couple of long term guests remaining. For guest and staff security, Casa Cecilia now is gated and fully fenced in on all sides, and no longer open to new guests, neighbors or visitors. We do hope to get back to surfing and going to the beach soon, but for now those spaces are closed and patrolled by authorities. Instead of furloughing or laying off our employees, we have offered all a 50% salary reduction, and will keep all staff on through this crisis. Our focus right now is on the well being of our long term guests, our staff and their families. We will be working as a team during this crisis in 4 key areas. 1) We will be refreshing and remodeling the Hotel so that when we reopen, we are better than before. 2). We will be creating a new online presence, web site, and social media presence. 3). We will be overhauling and streamlining our hotel administration. 4) Last, and most importantly, we will be focusing on our customer service, and exploring how to best help our guests now and when they return.

What comes next? Casa Cecilia will remain closed until November 1, 2020, at which time we hope to re-open to the public. We anticipate that there will be restrictions on who can visit Costa Rica, so will we abide by those restrictions, and go above and beyond the minimum to ensure the health and safety our our guests and staff.

What about my upcoming reservation? We have already reached out to most guests with reservations from now until October 2020, and have re-programmed reservations or refunded deposits. With our focus on keeping staff employed and families taken care of, this means that any further refunds would cause hardship for Casa Cecilia, and would likely result in staff lay offs of staff. For our regular guests with reservations and deposits from November 2020 onwards into next high season, we can work with you to reprogram visits and provide future hotel credits. If you absolutely need a refund for future reservations, please reach out to me directly so we can coordinate this in a reasonable time frame.

Casa Cecilia is a second home and a special place for many of you, and our intention is that it will continue to be a refuge for you when it is safe to return. Please reach out to Natalia, Macarena or myself with any questions your might have.

Stay safe, stay inside and keep in touch!<<

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Currently, the borders are closed until May 15th. Let me know if anyone wants help planning a trip afterward.

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http://www.crsurf.com ~ CR Surf Travel Company

http://www.vacationsbygreg.com
Instagram - @crsurf

Closed until November? Damn..

The beaches are closed, and surfing is not allowed Double Damn..

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When America was "great"

Southwest seems not to be booking until Aug. 11. Odd.

November ...



... and at that time there will be the start of the flu and/or virus again in Nov/Dec





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Puerto Rico 11 - 24 - 2013

But they can't surf. Like a eunuch in a harem. Just cruel.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Southwest canceled my CR trip. The Travel Funds from that trip are usable through November of next year. I got a cash refund for an American Airlines trip that had been scheduled for right now. Waves about 4', water temp 53. Weather 55 and sunny.

I checked the August trip, somewhere else. It had been rescheduled, leaving 20 minutes to get through US immigration & customs and onto another plane. EEK. On the plus side, flights are much more available than when I made the original reservation. So if you have a booking, keep an eye on it!

Coronavirus And Flights: Which Airlines Are Coming And Going From Costa Rica?
http://qcostarica.com/coronavi...going-from-costa-rica/

Aeroméxico: Suspended operations until further notice.
Air Canada: To resume operations in July. Waiting for information from the airline.
Air France: Suspended operations until further notice.
Air Panama: Suspended operations until further notice.
Air Transat: Suspended operation until further notice.
Alaska Airlines: Waiting for information from the airline.
Albatros Airlines: Suspended operations until further notice.
American Airlines: Resumes operations on July 7 towards Miami and Dallas.
Avianca: Waiting for information from the airline.
British Airways: To resume operations on June 27 to London.
Condor: To resume operations on June 29.
Costa Rica Green Airways: (Domestic) Available for charter flights.
Copa Airlines: Flight arrives from Brazil on May 18. Waiting for information from the airline.
Delta Airlines: To resume on June 19 towards Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Edelweiss: Waiting for information from the airline.
Iberia: Waiting for information from the airline.
Interjet: Waiting for information from the airline.
JetBlue: Waiting for information from the airline.
KLM: Suspended operations until further notice.
Latam: Waiting for information from the airline.
Lufthansa: Waiting for information from the airline.
Skyway: (Domestic) Suspended operation until further notice.
Sansa: (Domestic) Suspended operation until further notice.
Southwest: To resume on August 30 towards Fort Lauderdale and Houston.
Spirit: To resume on July 5 towards Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
United: Rescue flight May 18 and 20 to Houston. Waiting for information from the airline.
Volaris: Suspended operations until further notice.
West Jet: Take up options until further notice.
Wingo: Suspended operations until further notice.

Edited: 05/18/2020 at 08:35 AM by Central Floridave

I do recommend making reservations early for any time between mid November and Easter Week 2021. The borders will open at some point and the popular lodging options will sell out. I wrote this article this week - Why Costa Rica is a Great Place for a Family Vacation

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http://www.crsurf.com ~ CR Surf Travel Company

http://www.vacationsbygreg.com
Instagram - @crsurf

(QCOSTARICA) Costa Rica Health Minister, Daniel Salas, on Friday, announced the extension of the border restrictions for an additional fifteen days, that is, until June 30.
During the restrictions, Costa Rica will continue to deny the entry of tourists; only Costa Ricans and residents (who left the country prior to March 24) will be permitted entry, be tested for covid-19, and subject to a mandatory 14-day isolation order.

Cancelled (postponed) our trip for next week Too bad the forecast look good.

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Replace turf grass with native plants that don't need irrigation and synthetic fertilizers or chemicals that can go into our waterways and ocean

Restrictions all over the place. It's understandable for CR to be postponing tourists. South America is having terrible covid outbreaks and Nicaragua still looks like a mess. The US Embassy is arranging more flights to evacuate US citizens. The border with Costa Rica remains closed.

There's not enough room in the hospitals there for a pandemic. They are impressive with their measures to make sure it's prevented.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

I think procedures for sick gringos in Puntarenas area is to drop them off El Puente de Tarcoles.

Those things look like dinosaurs.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.