Prostitution in Paradise caution for Costa Rica travelers, expats, and investors – legal realities, safety risks, ethics, and local context explained.
Do Billboards Hurt Costa Rica’s Eco-Tourism Image?
Sign Pollution!! Commercial billboards have become a growing concern in parts of Costa Rica because they can visually disrupt the natural landscapes that the country is famous for. Although the country markets itself globally as an eco-tourism destination,...
Foreign Influence and Sovereignty: Costa Rica, the U.S. Drug War, and the Peace-State Question
Costa Rica has long presented itself to the world as a country defined by civilian democracy, diplomacy and peace. That identity is not just branding. Article 12 of the Constitution outlawed the permanent army, and the country has spent decades building an...
Leaving Home Doesn’t Mean Bringing the Culture War: Why Expats Should Stop Exporting Political Hatred
Moving abroad is supposed to be a reset button, not a remote-control extension cord for yesterday’s arguments. And yet, plenty of people who’ve chosen a new life keep pumping political contempt back to their home country — or importing the same “us vs them” energy...
The Review Economy in Costa Rica: Why Stars Sell, How AI Helps, and What Happens When You Ignore It
Costa Rica is one of those places where a five-star sunset can feel guaranteed—but a five-star rating absolutely is not. For hotels, tours, restaurants, shuttles, and experiences, online reviews aren’t a “nice extra”. They’re often the deciding factor between a full...
Honk or Help
By Terry Carlile Driving in Costa Rica is an adventure worthy of its own chapter in the "Travel and Adventures" section of Howler. The conditions are as unpredictable as a soap opera plot twist, varying with your location, the time of day, and whether or not a herd...
Torunes: Founded by Fatigue, Fueled by Coffee, Haunted by Excellence
(and Now Buzzing with Bees, Beans, and Global Bragging Rights) Let’s rewind to 1897, when a man named Jacinto Avila Araya decided to climb a hill in Palmares so steep even the local goats looked up and said, “Hard pass.” After dragging himself up from the...
Rohrmoser: from coffee rows to city streets, and the family name that never left
Rohrmoser: from coffee rows to city streets, and the family name that never left Rohrmoser feels like a neighbourhood that decided—quietly, stubbornly—to keep its cool while the rest of San José got louder. You notice it in the shade first. Mature trees make their own...
Pay in Dollars, Colones or Plastic? The Currency Trap Tourists Are Walking Into in Costa Rica
If you’ve lived in or visited Costa Rica for more than a week, you’ve probably heard someone mutter, “El dólar está flojo.” For years, the greenback felt like a super-currency here. Now, with the colón hovering around ₡500 per US$1 and having been much stronger than...
When Enforcement Turns Into Blowback: Why Citizens of the USA Abroad Can Get Hit First
A Citizen of the USA can land in a new country, thinking the hard part is over. Passport stamped. Bag collected. Plans made. Then something changes. The questions get colder. The tone gets sharper. “Why are you here?” stops sounding like a formality and starts...
The Children of Costa Rica
By Terry Carlile Sometimes lost in the midst of the beauty of Costa Rica… overlooked by some due to denial… and brushed over because they do not fit our “paradise” narrative… the children of Costa Rica. The condition of the child population in Costa Rica reveals a mix...
Dear USA: You Don’t Own the Word ‘America
By John Quam, Editor in Chief When I first moved to Costa Rica almost twelve years ago, I was stopped mid-sentence by something small but world-shifting. I’d casually said I was “American.” A Tico friend smiled and, with no hint of sarcasm, replied, “So am I.” It was...