Author name: Glenn Tellier

How Costa Ricans actually expect you to behave — usted versus tú, hora tica, quedar bien and the soft no, tipping, dress, and the mistakes foreigners make most.

Rip currents are the biggest killer of visitors to Costa Rica. Why the calm patch is the dangerous one, why “swim parallel” is outdated, and what actually works.

The Sonesta Jacó tower has stood abandoned for 16 years and roughly 155 buyers lost about $16 million. What happened, and what it teaches about buying pre-construction.

Which famous people genuinely have homes in Costa Rica, and which are internet myth. Documented cases separated from the rumours that real-estate blogs recycle.

Costa Rica’s prisons are 46% over capacity and pretrial detention has doubled since 2022. The real numbers, conditions, and what foreign nationals should know.

What Costa Rican law really says about CBD and cannabis — the 1% THC hemp line, medical prescriptions since June 2025, and why the “personal use” gram figures online are fiction.

Costa Rica’s poison frogs, species by species — how toxic each really is, where the toxins come from, and where to find them in the wild.

Visiting Costa Rica with a criminal record and applying for residency are two different questions. What is actually checked, what disqualifies, and what does not.

Costa Rica sets minimum wages by occupation, not one national figure. The 2026 rates, the aguinaldo obligation, and the real cost of employing household staff.

How to recognise the kissing bug in Costa Rica, how Chagas disease is really transmitted (it is not the bite), and the practical steps that reduce the risk.