Laura Chinchilla
Yesterday, February 7th, 2010, was Election Day here in Costa Rica and it was certainly a much different experience that anything I had ever seen before. All day people were dressed in the colors of their candidate (Green for Laura, Red for Otto and Yellow for Otton) and many were set up along the road with signs and flags declaring their preference. Add to that the constant honking of all of the cars and the fervor of even young children and it was a very exciting day for everyone.
As of this morning, Laura Chinchilla, who was a protégé of current president and Nobel peace laureate Oscar Arias, had a significant lead with nearly 48% of the vote. She follows in the footsteps of two other Latin America countries – Chile’s Michelle Bachelet and Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez- by winning elections in primarily male dominant governments.
Ms. Chinchilla was the vice president under the current regime before stepping down to run her own campaign. She needs to have 40% of the vote or will face a run off which might be dangerous for her as her opponents might combine resources and make for a significant challenge.
Ms. Chinchilla’s campaign was greatly helped by the fact that Costa Rica has been relatively untouched by the world economic crisis and for maintaining the low crime rates and relative prosperity that makes it a Mecca in Central America for travelers, eco tourists and many US and Canadian retirees. With no standing army and over six decades of peaceful democratic elections- Costa Rica sets the bar high for Central America – and the rest of the world!
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Hi Lynn,
Good to hear from you, and I’m happy to provide feedback. First of all many
thanks to you, Jason, and Augusto, the team is totally professional and
topnotch. Finding my swimming trunks on the bus was just one example of how
much you guys did to make our trip great. I could not have been happier
with the trip and the planning. Unfortunately Pam was sick a good portion
of the week, which prevented both of us from doing everything we wanted to,
but that’s life.
The hotel was wonderful and as advertised. The service was great; I would
rate the hotel a solid 3.5 to 4 star. The staff was excellent.
The transportation was very well done. Instructions were done well, and I
felt well cared for and the drivers were safe.
My overall experience was wonderful, and I would come back if time and money
permits. I will recommend this experience to my friends and family. I
“cc’d” Pam as I cannot speak for her, and it was really her trip. Again she
was ill, but I hope she had some fun on the better day.
Regards, and thank you!
Mike and Pam Samac - RainBird Incentive Group January 24th-31st, 2010
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Hi Lynn,
Thank you for organizing a really enjoyable trip for us. We loved everything including our room. Thank you for assigning us to it. Our list of likes greatly outweighs our list of dislikes:
Likes:
· Jason & Augusto did a great job. They were always available and attentive.
· The hotel was awesome. We really enjoyed the accommodations, food and staff.
· We enjoyed the ATV & zip line tour the best.
· The evening sailing and snorkeling was also enjoyable.
Not so much likes:
· The Buena Vista was a little long and the order of the activities seemed a little disorganized. Exa. The first activity was horseback riding to the spa and mud bath after which we did more horseback riding, water slide and zip lining. It would have been nice to have the relaxing part last.
That’s pretty much all I can think of. I hope it is helpful.
Thanks Again,
Ebstein (RainBird Group Jan. 24-31st, 2010)
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Neil & I absolutely loved La Mansion. The staff was extremely friendly, the place was very clean, and it was so relaxing. What was really surprising is that they
offered free internet and free international calling. The restaurant
prepared us some outstanding meals - items which were not even on the menu.
the daily breakfast was very good and held us over until dinner. There were
times when we felt like we were the only ones there. The drivers for our
transfers were very friendly and everything went so smoothly. It was
everything we had hoped for and more.
Hufford/Winston (January 22nd-25th, 2010)
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