Cuba & Costa Rica blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- New Air Service Helps Costa Rica Tourism Rebound
- Senator Byron Dorgan to address U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit
- Costa Rica's Tourist Board fights disinformation about turtles
- Cuba to require mandatory travel insurance for visitors
- New traffic rules in effect for Costa Rica
- Early 2010 Cuba tourist arrivals fall, prices fall
- Coco Loco Gallery Spotlights Costa Rica's Indigenous Art
- Excellent New Guidebook Serves Cuba Climbers
- Medical Tourism Shows Healthy Growth in Costa Rica
- Cuba's Infotur opens tourist information bureaus across Cuba
- Costa Rica Elects its First Female President
- Costa Ricans Assist Haiti Earthquake Rescue & Relief
- Second U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit Scheduled in Cancun
- National Geographic Expeditions cruise to traverse Panama Canal
- Castro's Guerrilla Headquarters in Cuba open to visitors
Costa Ricans Assist Haiti Earthquake Rescue & Relief
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Haiti's tragic earthquake reminded me that one year has passed since a 6.1 Richter quake shattered the lives of Costa Rica's living near the epicenter, at Cinchona de Sarapiqui. The village was competely destroyed and about 30 people were killed during the January 9, 2009 tremblor.
"In my opinion, no one can return to this place," commented Ignacio Chaves, geologist for the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) after reviewing the area, where high rainfall, steep slopes, and deforestation exacerbated the damage and future danger. Daniel Gallardo, head of the CNE, said the entire area should be declared uninhabitable.
Nonetheless, the area's main attraction, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, reopened in June 2009, and its Peace Lodge hotel was back in business the following month following extensive repairs.
Meanwhile, CNE sent a rescue and relief team of 55 experts and the Costa Rican Cruz Roja (Red Cross) also sent send rescue personnel and equipment to Haiti following the 7.0 Richter earthquake that ripped Port-au-Prince apart on January 12, 2010. Costa Rica's National Police also sent 20 officers trained in search and rescue missions. By January 20, Costa Rica's Cruz Roja had collected 244 million colons (about $436,000) plus 10 tons of donations for Haiti's earthquake victims.
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Photo © Cruz Roja/Red Cross
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