US / Costa Rica Visa Spat?

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Joe,

I meant to ask you if you had any special insider insight on what was going on with the US canceling a couple of visas held by two (radical?) Costa Rican diputadas.Folks around here think they must have deserved it, but nobody is sure why.  jajaja.  I need to renew my subscription to La Nación to better keep up with the chismes.

--

Sam

[Don Hickman]

Sam,  according to the article in La Nación the U.S. canceled the visas of 4 persons, 2 diputados and 2 gerentes de ICE.  The stated reason was because they were helping China to establish a 5G network here in Costa Rica.  Here´s the concluding paragraph:

En su visita a Costa Rica, Rubio felicitó la política de la administración de Rodrigo Chaves de “solo permitir que los proveedores de confianza” puedan participar en los procesos de contratación para el despliegue de la red 5G. El 31 de agosto del 2023, el gobierno de Rodrigo Chaves emitió un decreto ejecutivo que excluye a las empresas chinas, como Huawei, de convertirse en proveedoras de servicios de 5G.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Living in Costa Rica" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to costa-rica-liv...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUSSgnWQuVcMhi9uWnBOHWAVPrxEV72-kP5hQyXfCY2bxw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Joe Harrison]

Sam, great to hear from you, but my ex-semi-insider reply is that even the current insiders have no f'kin' clue about anything emanating from the White House these days.  And you may have noted that some decisions made one day get reversed the next.  Congress is at best inutil -- The R's, with a slim majority, are scared shitless to annoy His Majesty; the D's are still disorganized.  Some courts have, in their molasses-like way, have negated certain WH decisions, but these are either being appealed or ignored, or both.  It is literally a 3 ring circus that speaks very poorly about US leadership capability.  I'm just happy to be in CR; and sad for my native land.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/70ce0974-77c1-448b-a38b-06f27dd754d7%40gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

It is a 3 ring circus now but it does raise an interesting question which perhaps the Supremes will answer soon.  The issue is the scope of the reach of a TRO or Injunction issued by a District Court.  It used to be that a judge could only issue orders that affected the parties in front of him.  But recently judges have started issuing orders nationwide.  From a Constitutional perspective, it´s clear that the Supreme Court can do that but District Courts and Appellate Courts aren´t mentioned in the Constitution -- they´re creatures of statutes passed by Congress.  So these orders that the District judges are issuing against Trump´s various Executive Orders raise that question.  While a judge can clearly issue a TRO or injunction against a party to a dispute, can that same order apply to someone not in front of the judge?  Maybe we´ll find out.

Don

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMAkr%3DKu9GqtLyC1U1To4vS8JXDa-60shmzQtPaRixyU58Q2FQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Joe,

Glad to see you're still kicking in the City of Presidents and Poets.  I figured with so many similarities between Reagan and Trump you'd be a fan.  ;-)  I was just a wee lad back then, but as I recall, Ronald Reagan was the first to coin, MAGA!  Both Reagan and Trump were considered populist political outsiders.  They both had a TV presence that few politicians have been able to replicate.  Cutting regulations and taxes and reducing debt were and are a common theme between the two presidents.  Both were Democrats before becoming Republicans and each were the oldest US presidents in history when they took office. Both survived assassination attempts.  They both used their power of personality to shape their respective Republican parties and both presidents won by appealing to blue-collar workers.  Just as Reagan's VP essentially won election with the promise of a 3rd term of Reaganism, JD is the odds-on favorite of continuing a 3rd term of Trumpism.

There is so much to like that I suspect in the end, you too will come to appreciate the Trump effect.  jajaja.  At the very least you've got to be impressed with Trump's cabinet, right?

As so aptly put by your famous compueblano Lisímaco (Beneméritos de la Patria, no less!) more than 100 years ago...

Promesas de la tierra

Hay un olor de vida
en el huerto, en el aire y en las cosas;
es un olor a la tierra humedecida
que va anunciando la precoz venida
de la mies y del fruto y de las rosas.

 

Hay nuncios y promesas en el rayo
que el Sol derrama encima de las eras;
durmió la tierra como en un desmayo,
pero las lluvias del florido mayo
fecundarán las mustias sementeras.

 

Hay regocijos hondos en los prados
y enrojecen sus flores las piñuelas;
van peinando la tierra los arados;
y el labriego labora sus parcelas.

 

El campo reverdece y fatigosas
tornan las yuntas de mover la tierra
tan pródiga en ofrendas hechas rosas
y las espigas... Vida nueva hay en las cosas
y en las verduras que el cercado encierra.

Of course it is one of the most clichéd phrases in politics, but it does seem to ring a bell among many...

It's morning again in America... Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than 4 short years ago?

        ~~ Ronald Reagan, 1984 campaign ad 

Perhaps Trump will retire to Trump Towers in Tamarindo and he can work on fixing Costa Rica in 4 years or so?  Despite Tico Trump's best efforts, Rodrígo cannot make much of a dent in the smothering effect of the pantano without someone like Santamaria to lead the charge.

Good news is that the boat is almost finished!  Soon we will all be able to hop aboard and seek out the King of Tonga's progeny.  Well I still have a bit to do, but it is a work in progress!  😂

I'll keep your MAGA hat in the closet until you're ready for it.  jajaja.

--

Sam

On Sat, Mar 1, 2025 at 1:37 PM Joe Harrison <joeharr...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMAkr%3DKu9GqtLyC1U1To4vS8JXDa-60shmzQtPaRixyU58Q2FQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

Great commentary Sam!  Lol.  Especially the poem.  I hadn't seen that before.

A friend here from Canada, whom I helped with his residency some 11 years ago, posted a diatribe about Ukraine and Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy Friday.  I made the mistake of responding  and pointing out that mendicants have to be respectful or they may get nothing.  And that without U.S. assistance Ukraine is lost.  That even with U.S. assistance Ukraine can't "win" but could reach a settlement.  Normally I have those conversations with him on WhatsApp but I forgot momentarily that we were on Facebook.  Well, . . .  I've been slammed from pillar to post!  Too funny.  But what surprises me is the attitude of the Ukraine supporters -- they seem totally out of touch with reality.   And the media blitz blaming Trump for the Friday presser is just amazing.  Now that the U.K. says it will send troops to Ukraine I hope the U.S. pulls out of NATO immediately.  Otherwise the damn fools will drag us into WW3 very soon.  Trump's plan seemed workable to me.  First get a deal with Ukraine for resources, get Russia to the bargaining table and get the war stopped, then get American companies in there to exploit the resources, then Russia won't attack again because they aren't going to go up against us anymore than we want to go against them.  Seemed reasonable.  Why Zelenskyy met with so many Dems before the White House meeting is just strange.  Does he not realize that there's a new sheriff in town??  Oh, well, back to scanning old photos and working on the family tree.  I'm back a little over 300 years now (no, no photos from then!) and moving on.  Had to have more memory added to my computer!  And a bigger hard drive!  I've been putting off this project for 13 years now so this is the year it gets done.  Probably about the time your boat gets wet!

Don

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUSHP2huqWVqpV88BGvv1vdbCY_H2WXw4nTc%3DXb0qa9XhQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Joe Harrison]

Ah, Sam, 'tis once again Morning in America (incluido America Latina y aqui en el rincón de los poetas!)  Bright and pleasant though this morning is, there is no way I can accept your comparison between los presidentes Reagan y Trump!  For openers, Reagan was fundamentally a gentleman.  That, by itself, is an essential difference of the first order!  His Vice President was an outstanding leader, as well.  These qualities separate the Reagan/Bush administration from the current shit-show by many light years, your superficial similarities notwithstanding.   As to the Trump cabinet, I did have high hopes for Marco Rubio; but he seems to have caved entirely under the pressure of his first few weeks;  would that we could see the return of Jim Baker as SecState -- he really was excellent in that job.   Well, it's still a beautiful morning in San Ramon, and I don't want to ruin what's left of it, so I'll stop here and go out to get some fresh air and exercise.  Go forth, and keep working on that not-yet-seaworthy-tub!   joe

On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM Sam Wilson <sliw...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUSHP2huqWVqpV88BGvv1vdbCY_H2WXw4nTc%3DXb0qa9XhQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Don,

It is amazing how many zealots seem to be willing (for others) to die on that hill.  Yeah, I get it: "Russia bad, Ukraine good."  Without a doubt, it is not good to be neighbors with an aggressive bully.  That is Europe's big problem.  Too bad they waited until after the fact to try to build up sufficient deterrence.  The thing with deterrence is that it must be done ahead of time.  Everyone's got their priorities -- both the grasshopper and the ant.  Both have 24 hours a day, but one prepares while the other lounges with lofty hobo dreams.  While Europe is clutching their pearls in their left hand, their right hand spent more money buying Russian oil and gas the past 3 years than they have helping Ukraine. That sounds like a seriously naive lack of planning to me - they traded cheap energy at the expense of security.. While Europe fiddles in Brussels, Putin is cackling and rubbing his evil villain hands together in Moscow.  It is refreshing to see the USA not fall into that complacency trap..

Wow!  300+ years?!  That is quite an accomplishment.  I'd expect it to be difficult to go back further than that without DNA testing of entire villages.

Massive external hard drives are cheap and easy to use.  You can find 4 TB drives for less than $100, 8 TB drives for around $150, and 12 TB drives for around $200 now.  I see Seagate's got a 20 TB USB 3.0 drive for $279 on Amazon -- that's like 20,000 GB.  Big enough to store 10 million fotos or more than 10,000 hours of HD video.  PriceSmart has 5 TB USB 3.0 drives for less than ¢80 mil, although hard-drives are pretty easy to buy cheaply in the US and ship down to Costa Rica.  They don't weigh much and import tax is only 13%.  That ¢80 mil drive from PriceSmart can be found on Amazon for $120, however tack on the extra $35 to ship and import to Costa Rica and you get your drive for about ¢78 mil.  For me the bigger difference is that I can buy that drive on Amazon and pay the $35 to get it delivered to my front gate with Box Correos, versus driving 3 hours round-trip to go to PriceSmart in Liberia.

Yee-haw!  We got us a boney-fide horse race!  I expect to wet my boat before we celebrate the 201st anniversary of Costa Rica pulling a Russia move and claiming Guanacaste as its own -- because more Russians, uh, I mean Tico-wannabes, lived there than Nicas.  Note that I may not have a mast by then, but with a couple of remos I ought to be able to get around okay by Día de Anexión de Guanacaste 2025.

Note one can buy the Complete Works of Lisímaco Chavarría from La Librería UCR Virtual for ¢28 mil (when it is in stock) or get your fill of Lisímaco for free on Poeticous:

Poeticouse - Lisímaco Chavarría

https://www.poeticous.com/lisimaco-chavarria

2025 is shaping up to be quite the Year of the Wood Snake -- 60 years since the last one.  For the mathematical Cajuns amongst us, that would be 2025 -- the perfect square of 45 AND the sum of the first 45 odd numbers AND the sum of the cubes of 1-9.  I could go on, but there is obviously no need!  jajaja.

--

Sam, observing world affairs from my volcano perch as I ponder the words of Lisímaco: ¡Bendita paz campestre!

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ009_gc8wd4Rh_epGS6enmq6gkutLHqVfeK6kzBdqhhNkJ4Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Joe,

I do appreciate your essential difference.  Although, as an engineering type, I am much more interested in function than form.  Sure I'd like everything in one package, but results matter more to me than pleasantries. While I was reading about history, you were making it, so I don't want to downplay your 1st hand account of things, but Reagan too was a bit over the top with rhetoric -- remember all the "Evil Empire!" talk?  Reagan also launched the greatest arms race in history although he did preside over 8 years of peace.  Quite possibly that will be one of Trump's legacies as well after these little Biden-era skirmishes are wrapped up. Seriously changing the makeup of the Judiciary with conservative appointments is another thing Reagan and Trump have in common.  Ronald Reagan was the 1st president I voted for and I am a big fan, but he had some issues as well.  Right here in my own backyard there are folks who still talk about the secret air strip in Costa Rica that the Iran-Contra operation flew out of.  I can show you the cow pasture where it was if you ever come up this way to visit!  Domestically I think we can call Reagan's War on Drugs pretty much a failure. But of course it is not easy being president of the US of A. Regardless of ilk, I have respect for those taking on that daunting helm. Some obviously are better at it than others.  Some just have bad luck of the draw (e.g. Covid.)  Some just kind of coast through with no lasting harm.

Exercise is so good for the soul.  I enjoy early morning walks after sunrise of 3 km or so (about 35 mins) and find it a good time to meditate and mentally focus on upcoming tasks. Since I started my routine at the beginning of last month, I have walked every single street in town and many of the roads on the outskirts. That has been interesting as well since I have seen some nice places I normally don't pass and I am always collecting good ideas.

This is indeed fine weather we are having.  Nice blue skies with not too strong breezes leading us up to the Spring Equinox.

As another sign of being a serious boat builder, I am now trying to think of a good name for my sailing dinghy and also I must soon decide upon a color scheme.  Seaworthy tub at the moment?  No.  But soon this stout future hole in the water will be more than worthy.  😍⛵

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMAkr%3D%2B4gU1jc5NLSaeM58tsD1g%3DSXtbwatSS34YOkRPWWyLGg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

Good morning Sam.  I thought I should check on the progress of our horse race.  I think I'm behind.  I got a new hard drive installed in my laptop and doubled the memory.  It's working great!  Better than the guy at the keyboard, that's for sure.  So I attached an external hard drive as well, hooked up my printer/scanner and also attached my scanner that turns 35mm negatives into positives.  All set to begin the work!

Except that the flatbed scanner just flashes lots of lights at me when I turned it on.  I hadn't used it in about a year and apparently it's toast.  Oh, well, I tossed it in the trash and decided that instead of buying a new one, I would just use the one at my wife's desk since it's on the network.  It means I have to get up and walk some 30 yards to another part of the house every time I scan something but hey!, walking is good for you, right?

Being lazy I decided to start with the reams of 35mm negatives that I have stored in albums.  So I fired up that scanner only to discover that Windows 11 has no support for it.  And the original drivers don't run in 11.  The device is so old (some 15 years or so) that the company that made it is out of business.   After a painstaking search I found a company that has a driver for it that runs in Windows 11 so I downloaded and installed it.  It works!  Yay!  So I started scanning old negatives and then adding them with commentary to the family tree.  Takes quite a while per photo because the scanner takes almost a minute per frame.  Still, this is great!  Except after a couple dozen photos, it stopped and an announcement filled the computer screen saying that my free trial was over and to continue I had to pony up $100.  Maybe I'll start that 30 yard walk in a few days to the flatbed scanner.  Otherwise the project is on hold until I decide if those old negatives are worth $100.

My gardener is showing up in a few minutes to take my car to a body shop and get an estimate on repainting it.  He said I absolutely can't go along because the price will shoot up if the guy sees my gringo face.  And now he's come and gone with my car so I'm stuck here.  I guess I could start walking.

Don

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUShuGk0Ciuogt90-gozxXEdBjHQvJ70OWAbiLbY_ZVRvA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Don,

Bummer about the scanner!  Our power is so bad out this way that I don't dare plug anything into a wall outlet in my office besides a UPS or two.  From there I branch out into wild networks of regletas into regletas.  Some day I'll rework everything electrical I've control over and hook up my whole house surge protector, but mañana, mañana.  This Spanish proverb illustrates well my problem:

Mañana es el día más ocupado de la semana.

Great news on the new drive and memory!  There is almost nothing better you can do to an existing computer to make it snappier than to add more memory.  The 2 main computers I've got on my desk each have 32 GB of RAM and I expect my next one will have 64 GB of RAM.

Do you need a special feature on a scanner to deal with your negatives?  Or will any flatbed scanner work?  I see some high-dollar ones on Amazon that tout superb negative scanning.  Here's a link to Amazon flatbed scanners sorted by "best sellers":

Amazon - Flatbed Scanners (sorted by Best Sellers)

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Flatbed+Scanners&i=office-electronics&rh=n%3A5728048011&s=exact-aware-popularity-rank

I didn't find scanners in my aduanas calculator list (I'm sure there is a category for them) but if we can call it a multi-function printer for shipping purposes, I reckon a $120 scanner that weighs 3 lbs or so would run less than $50 extra to get from Amazon to your front door.  Maybe $15 shipping from a freight-forwarder in Miami to Costa Rica and another $25-30 for adjuanas and manejo de aduana.

There may be some generic compatibility mode that you can use in Windows 11 to run those older drivers.  Kind of a long shot, but something this hard-headed person has fought with in the past.

You might be able to scan your negatives using a backlight and a smartphone app like

FilmBox by Photomyne

https://photomyne.com/filmbox

I am convinced that walking is good for you and so is communicating with other people you may find in your house while on a jaunt about.  jajaja.  So I hate to discourage those efforts.  But if you do get you one of those fancy scanners that can scan multiple negatives at a time with some sort of slide template, you might be able to tell your computer to scan 20+ negatives while you go for a jaunt about the house.  2 birds!  

Regarding gringo price gouging...  I quit worrying about it and instead I haggle over prices all the time. It obviously makes Ticos uncomfortable and more than once I've embarrassed my Tica wife by not just calmly accepting some outrageous price.  ;-)   If someone quotes me what I think is an extra high price, I just don't ever use them for anything in the future.  Those that give me a fair price get my business.  That being said, there are times when I'll let my Tica wife go in to buy something if I think they might try to gouge me on prices.  I even started taking my own cars in for RTV being prepared for perhaps having a tougher inspection than someone else might get.  Sort of like wearing a badge of honor...  Give me your best shot buck-o, cause I can take it and give it back!  jajaja.

Lot's of injustices in this world.  

This is a great time of year for early morning walks!  ;-)

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ0099MM%2BPPPXjiB8tQOFqU2nQM2O-q3PFEbG_WfVVHvbUHHQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

LiCR,

I'm getting the sense that La Nación is not a big Rodrigo fan...  jajaja  🤣

Última Hora

Rodrigo Chaves actúa como portavoz del gobierno de Donald Trump y justifica retiro de visas a políticos “El gobierno de Estados Unidos no oculta información ni actúa de manera arbitraria”, escribió el presidente Rodrigo Chaves en un comunicado de prensa la noche de este miércoles. La Embajada de Estados Unidos en Costa Rica omitió referirse al tema.

Portavoz...  A new word for me!  I like it...  

--

Sam

[Joe Harrison]

Ya think?  Gee, Sam, if you're just now getting the "sense" about La Nacion's opinion, the guy will be long gone before you formulate your conclusion!!!!  And we wish him Godspeed, of course.   It's interesting to note that his predecessor, Oscar Arias, had his  US visa revoked this week.  Not that I care much, but I imagine the idea might have been transmitted by Rodrigo to Marco during their recent meeting here.  All you gotta do is badmouth Trump a little bit and "oopsie" there goes your visa.....and maybe your citizenship.  I gotta be careful, I guess.  Good President, Trump;  can I be your portavoz here, please, pretty please???    Even though I completely agree with Sen. Rand Paul:  Tariffs are nothing more or less than a tax.  The only difference is in nomenclature -- if you call it a tax, then it has to start in Congress, specifically the House.  That's why it isn't a tax, right?  A tariff (by any other name) is verboten at this time.   Strange which countries were not even mentioned in the long list of nations sanctioned:  Russia; Belarus; North Korea.   And which ones were, like the Heard and McDonald Islands -- no humans exist there, just penguins and seals.  If your new boat is seaworthy, Sam, let's go explore it.  They're subject to a measly 10 percent tariff.  Want some guano???

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUSVuvMkGsmh07xdVB4kKnBFVDNXPHd%2Br551LT%3DJukJ%3Daw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Joe,

Jejeje... I should have looked harder for a sarcasm emoji.  Yes, the general consensus in my tiny Tico world is that both the early politician visas that got revoked as well as the most recent were done at the behest... or rumored suggestion... of our dear Presidente, don Rodrígo.  Outside of occasional asset sales, and fines, etc. isn't all the money the government gets from some sort of tax?  I guess it does get some donations at times...  I've seen the checkbox!  jajaja.

Tariff wars are almost always for the same reasons, aren't they?

• help domestic business
• punish unfair trade practices

Obviously there may be other benefits and other harms from such blufferoonery, but have we seen anything but good come from Trump's beautiful tariff production so far?  Care must be given to properly classify some outcomes like Trudeau getting his panties in a wad (Good?  Bad?)  Forgive me for not following the news as closely as I should, I've been trying to have a bit more life away from the keyboard lately, but from what I've heard the tariff threats have brought in commitments for quite sizable investments in the US of A.  And it has gotten a few nations to scramble a bit to help with things like border security and accepting deportees and I'm sure other things deemed in the US's national interest.

The no Russia, Belarus, and North Korea on the tariff list is easy...  They are sanctioned countries that the US doesn't do business with so there is nothing to tariff.  jajaja.

Sailboat-wise... I don't think I'll be ready to head to HIMI this weekend, but I'd love to go another time!  Wouldn't it be the case that HIMI is an Australian territory and therefore they are part of the tariff structure applied to all of Australia?  Hmmm...🤔

I am making progress on the boat project.  Proof in point are the pair of quite capable saw horses I made a couple of weeks ago.  Sin embargo, I had a horrible mishap with an Amazon order for fiberglass.  I needed about 85 meters of 50mm wide fiberglass 6 oz cloth (non-sticky fiberglass "tape".)  Being a relatively neophyte when it comes to fiberglass stuff (since I've never done it before,) I had to study about 7 or 8 offers on Amazon before I figured out the differences and why some were priced more than others and also which ones had fiberglass characteristics that I thought would be important.  Whenever I found one that I thought would be a potential purchase I tossed it in my cart, and then I started weeding out the ones I had in my cart to pick the package I wanted to buy.  Finally after careful consideration and confident that I was buying the right stuff at a good price, I pulled the trigger on 120 meters of 5mm narrow fiberglass cloth and added some other items to my order.  2 weeks later when my package arrived at my gate, I found these strange little rolls of something like masking tape about 1/2" wide.  It didn't even dawn on me initially that those little rolls were my fiberglass order.  Looking at the tiny print with a lupa and I saw where it said "15mm" on my fiberglass roll rather than 50mm.  So I go back to my Amazon orders page and get ready to hassle them for sending me the wrong stuff and... <¿HUH?>  my Amazon order actually did show it was for 15mm fiberglass tape.  I am just flabbergasted that some lowlife Amazon AI thing figured out that they shipped me the wrong size fiberglass and then went back into my order and tried to cover it up!   Shocked, I am!!!

Anyway, long story short, I had to re-order fiberglass and my new 396 ft of 2 in wide fiberglass has been despachado!

I expect the motomailman to beep at my gate next week sometime with 4 beautiful 50mm wide rolls of fiberglass...

We are very, very close to me making progress on some form that could possibly be recognized as a sailing ship. Very. Close.

I would love some guano!  In fact many early explorer types made fortunes collecting guano.  That fits my ethos perfectly.  jajaja.

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMAkr%3DJJOxxgmxDam69qVWqp1K1wPCAxK44rnGqZdaPg6buLcg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Joe Harrison]

Sam, you are a bit behind  the times in one respect:  Trudeau is gone; a new guy (Carney I think is his name) is in.  And the tariffs just became effective today, so there's not much to measure, except the annoyance of almost all US trade partners.  We do in fact trade some, not much, with Russia.  In 2024, US purchased 3.5 bn in fertilizer, nuclear fuel and metals.  I think we had a trade surplus, but the reason they and their friends aren't on the list is that Trump is trying to play nice with Putin, hoping to encourage him to stay-come back to the table on Ukraine.  However, Ukraine did not escape tariffs:  10 percent, I think.      Yes, those small islands are part of Australia;  some others in similar situation are also on the list, separate from their principal country.  Have no earthly idea why.  But they all produce damn good guano!

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUTVSP94MKvSVf6ryTb66QGFCCVdajx6J%2BA5S9bA3mHEiA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Joe,

Great news!  Status of my fiberglass shipment:

That means we are one step closer to taking our tour of the outer islands!  

Plus, extra good news!  You'll be able to pitch in extra for the boat kitty because your horn of plenty is starting to bubble over!  jajaja

Soon DJT will turn your frown upside down.  jajaja

We do live in interesting times.  Who could ask for more?  

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMAkr%3D%2BUTkSLUqw3Bc93d0Q-5svTS78e2i1NsG2%2BRYzMLDtFQw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

I can't keep up with you guys!

Don

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUR21XD4kZNWch1PFr1BrGGoFo8%2ByTbiJzROyPQAC-W-fg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Don,

I was just wondering...

Do you guys know a good restaurant in Puntarenas where you'd be up for joining Gene and I for a late lunch some day?

Or maybe there's a better centralish place where we could have a get together?

Gene and I are about 2 hours from Puntarenas.  Joe?  You're probably about an hour from Puntarenas, right?

Don?  I figure you're about an hour-and-a-half from Puntarenas if you take the Aguacate.

What do y'all think?  Wanna try to work something out between all of our busy schedules?  jajaja

Now that I've got a few extra colones jingling in my pockets thanks to, as my family calls him, "Papa Trump" 🤣,

I'm itchin' to spend 'em on the finest Mexican food Puntarenas has to offer!

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ00986GeE9P7K3Qm_954-ZaZE8kH%3DRDpZaO6bStFD5TmBNQw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

You buying with those extra colones?  Lol

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHURi6AjCrM3f8cWk4cWRwKCT60beXEZYo7-cArdEQvETvA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sam Wilson]

Hi Don,

Jajajaja!  I knew that was comin' but I figured it was coming from Gene.

I haven't broken my beer fast yet this year, but I would make an exception for you guys.

Life has been very good to me in many ways, and I share those blessings when I can!  jajaja.

--

Sam

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ009_H1kvuW17uRYOXR1K1PWD0ccrT6dYC_Yv%2BpX2bzO%3DQjA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

Gene is old and slow.  

I can make it to Puntarenas but I haven't been there for several years now so I'm not familiar with any restaurants there.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAMrVHUTk_%3D3k2UZrmStyzTJDq_mrQHHV6chbrNkpWxDF1etLXg%40mail.gmail.com.

[gene]

getting older and sloeer each day!!!

lololol

pura vida...

gene

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ009-%2BdchJpKVvkUT4k3R_m%2BearWbZOzQH6T7pr9Gc3cQ49w%40mail.gmail.com.

[Don Hickman]

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm older and slower than you, Gene.  (But faster on the keyboard!  lol)

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/4ZV5XT2HcczFwgKj%40fr-int-smtpout10.hostinger.io.

[gene]

lolololol...

however,  much better than the alternative...

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/costa-rica-living/CAKJ009-5MoFr0KPvnNuuS5t%2BBamk-7UDgkxj%2B6_W%2BUCwjeZtRQ%40mail.gmail.com.