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Costa Rica Pelicans Test Negative for Avian Flu as Mystery Continues

Pelicans found weak, disoriented or behaving unusually along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast have tested negative for avian influenza, but authorities still do not know what is affecting the birds. The results provide an important update to warnings issued last week after reports of sick pelicans increased in Guanacaste, Jacó, Puntarenas and other coastal areas. Tests conducted on pelican samples have not detected the virus. The National Animal Health Service ( SENASA ), is continuing its investigation with the National System of Conservation Areas to determine whether another illness or an environmental factor is responsible. One possibility under consideration involves algae or marine toxins, which can move through the food chain when seabirds eat contaminated fish. Similar incidents involving pelicans have occurred in Costa Rica without being connected to avian flu. No cause has been confirmed in the current cases. The negative results do not change the warning for people visit...
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Costa Rica Papagayo Dispute Freezes $700 Million in Investment

A court fight over the planned removal of 748 trees at Playa Panamá has grown into a broader dispute over tourism investment, jobs and the protection of state-owned forestland in Guanacaste. Hotel developers say precautionary measures imposed by Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber have placed about $700 million in construction and expansion plans on hold inside the Golfo de Papagayo tourism zone. They warn that a lengthy legal delay could damage the country’s reputation among international investors and affect employment across the province. The figures come from tourism industry representatives and have not been independently audited. They estimate that the wider pipeline of planned development in Papagayo is worth close to $3 billion. The immediate dispute centers on the Bahía Papagayo tourism and real estate project at Playa Panamá, near the communities of Playa Hermosa and Playas del Coco. The planned development includes hotels, residences, sports facilities and other t...
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Volcanic Sediment Turns Two Costa Rica Rivers Milky Gray

The Azul and Pénjamo rivers on the northern side of Rincón de la Vieja Volcano turned a milky gray over the weekend after days of small eruptions and heavy rainfall washed volcanic material into the waterways. The color change was reported Saturday evening following intense rain around the volcano. Another moderate eruption occurred at 3:37 a.m. Sunday, releasing steam and volcanic gases for about one minute. No ashfall was reported in nearby communities. The latest activity followed 23 small phreatic eruptions recorded between Monday and Friday. The strongest occurred on July 6 and produced a steam-and-gas plume that rose approximately 200 meters above the crater. Several additional small emissions were detected during the weekend. Phreatic eruptions are steam-driven explosions that occur when water beneath or inside a volcano is rapidly heated. They do not necessarily involve fresh magma, but they can throw crater-lake sediment, ash and other volcanic material onto the upper...
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Jannik Sinner Beats Alexander Zverev to Win Wimbledon 2026

Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon men’s singles title Sunday, recovering from a tense opening-set loss to defeat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court. The victory gave the 24-year-old Italian his second consecutive Wimbledon championship and the fifth Grand Slam singles title of his career. Sinner has now won the Australian Open twice, the U.S. Open once and Wimbledon twice. Zverev matched the defending champion throughout a tightly contested opening two sets, with neither player able to create a break point. The German relied on his powerful first serve and aggressive baseline play to take the opening tiebreak 9-7. Sinner responded by raising the accuracy of his returns and reducing his errors. The second set followed a similar pattern, with both players protecting their serves before Sinner took control of the tiebreak and won it 7-2 to level the match. The first break opportunity of the final did not arrive until the third set, when Z...
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Comparing Atenas and Puriscal for Costa Rica Homebuilders

For buyers looking to build a home in Costa Rica’s western Central Valley, Atenas and Puriscal often land on the same shortlist. Both offer mountain living west of San José, a cooler climate than the coast, walkable town centers, local markets and enough access to the capital to make daily life practical. But the two towns are not interchangeable. Atenas is the more established and more expensive choice, with a long-standing foreign resident community and a deeper support network for international buyers. Puriscal remains more rural, more Costa Rican in feel and often more affordable for buyers who want land, views and space without paying Atenas prices. The comparison starts with geography. Atenas sits in Alajuela province, on the western edge of the Central Valley, with relatively quick access to Route 27, Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose and the Pacific corridor. Puriscal, in San José province, sits farther southwest in the mountains, with Santiago de Pu...
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Could Costa Rican Farmer Be the Oldest Person Alive?

José Flores Flores, a Guanacaste farmer whose reported birth date is supported by Costa Rican civil and church records, celebrated his 119th birthday Saturday as his family works to have him recognized as the oldest living person in the world. Flores was born on July 11, 1907, in Las Lajas de Cañas, Guanacaste. He is recognized nationally as Costa Rica’s oldest living citizen, but his age has not been independently validated by Guinness World Records or an international organization specializing in extreme longevity. His family is gathering the historical documents needed to submit his case for international review. Although Costa Rican records list his 1907 birth date and a baptismal record reportedly places his baptism five months later, record organizations require enough documentation to establish that records from different stages of a person’s life belong to the same individual. Guinness World Records currently recognizes British woman Ethel Caterham as the world’s ...
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Costa Rica Faces New Court Push to Ban Thresher Shark Exports

An environmental lawyer has asked a Costa Rican court to immediately suspend exports of three thresher shark species, arguing that stronger international protections became legally binding late last month. Walter Brenes Soto filed the request with the Administrative and Civil Finance Court as part of an ongoing lawsuit over the export of silky sharks and thresher sharks . He wants the court to modify an earlier precautionary ruling because of what he describes as a major change in the species’ international legal status. The request covers the pelagic thresher shark, Alopias pelagicus; the common thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus; and the bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus. All three species were added to Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, known as CMS, during the treaty’s 15th Conference of the Parties in Campo Grande, Brazil, in March. The sharks were already included in Appendix II but were moved into the convent...
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