Items for sale in Playas Del Coco

This page is for you to list any items for sale in Playas Del Coco or the surrounding area. To have your item listed here, or to express interest in a listed item, please send an email to

Behringer 450W PA speaker for sale, 3 years old but barely used, as new condition, $450

iPhone 4 for sale, 2 years old, as new condition in box, with charger $325

Ibanez GSR200 4-String Bass Guitar for sale, with hard case, leather strap and cord $350

Mac Book, white, 4 years old but as new $800

100 year old house, on 432 sq meters with original tile roof, all rustic wood, one bedroom, bathroom and rustic kitchenette. Located on the road to Playa Matapalo and Riu Guanacaste Resort. 25 minutes drive on a paved road to Liberia International Airport (LIR) and close to Playas Del Coco, Playa Hermosa, Playa Panama, and one hour to Tamarindo, Potrero, Flamingo and Conchal. Plenty of room to build or add a pool and garden area. $30000.

2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee for sale in Playas Del Coco, Guanacaste. Fully loaded with leather, RTV & marchamo up to date, no liens or fines due, 230K kms, $7900.

To have your item listed here, or to express interest in a listed item, please send an email to

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Renew A Canadian Passport In Costa Rica

If you are staying in Costa Rica long term and you need to replace your Canadian passport before it expires, you can do this without returning to Canada but it’s a bit tricky. I recently did this through the Canadian Embassy in San Jose, so I’ll try to explain things to help you.

Canadian passports only last five years (US & UK passports last ten years) and it’s important not to let it expire if you want to travel. Remember that you can’t travel within the last six months before the expiry date so really a Canadian passport is only good for 4-1/2 years.

I’ve been living in Costa Rica for the last 3 years (although I leave the country every 90 days, by law) and my passport was due to expire next April. So in May of this year I started the process. My options were to return to Calgary in Canada and renew there, or try to get it done at the Embassy in San Jose. Flights at the time were going to be in the $700 range, so I decided to do it here.

First of all, you can’t renew a Canadian passport until it is within one year of the expiry date. Here is what you will need:

1. Application form filled in.
2. Photos
3. Guarantor Declaration (doctor, lawyer)
4. Original Birth Certificate
5. Your expiring passport
6. Fee of $100

The application form is available online at The Canadian Embassy in San Jose.

Photos are very particular. They have to be taken at a professional studio (I used one in Liberia), they have to be the exact size of the specifications, you can’t smile, tilt your head, have your mouth open, wear dark glasses etc. Although the photos are small, you must write “I certify this to be a true likeness of ________” and your guarantor must sign it, and the photo studio must stamp their name and address or phone number on one of the photos.

The Guarantor Declaration is also available online at The Embassy. I asked my doctor to sign it. Your guarantor must say how long he has known you personally, and it must be at least three years.

Who carries around a birth certificate? It seems crazy to me that in this day and age the authorities rely on a withered old piece of paper that was given to me forty years ago, but that’s the rule. I had mine in storage back in Canada but luckily I got a friend to find it and mail it to me. A photocopy doesn’t work, nor does a drivers license.

You have a six month window of opportunity to renew your passport. After four years of the issue date but not later than six months before the expiry date (in case you need to travel, which I have to every 90 days to go outside of Costa Rica). When you send in your old passport, make sure you have a photocopy of the main information page and also the stamp showing when you most recently entered Costa Rica. While I was waiting for my passport, I was stopped by Transit Police and they demanded to see the stamp.

The fee is $100 Canadian. I live in Guanacaste so I preferred to mail in my application to save the 3-1/2 hour drive each way. The embassy said they preferred a cheque gerencia (pronounced che que herencia). So I tried three banks but I couldn’t get one. The cost is $25 but they will only do it if you have an account with them. So I sent $100 cash in an envelope instead, at a cost of $3. I sent US dollars and The Embassy accepted that.

The processing on my new passport was quite quick. I think it took under three weeks.

The Embassy is not allowed to mail your new passport to you for security reasons so I had to go to San Jose to pick it up. I was in and out of the building in five minutes. There’s free parking in the lot right beside the building. The location is quite easy to find. Coming from Puntarenas on the new highway, you stay on that road all the way past Escazu until you get to the MacDonalds at the traffic lights downtown San Jose (where the old highway to San Ramon meets the new highway). Turn in at the MacDonalds and turn immediately right again so you are going back towards Escazu on the side road parallel to the highway. Take a left at the first lights and first right into the parking lot. The attendant will give you a voucher which gives you free parking if the Embassy stamps it. If you take the new highway it’s about an hour quicker than taking the old highway that goes past San Ramon, although there are four tolls, averaging $1 each.

I dealt with Lorena at The Embassy in San Jose. She is an excellent help and I recommend calling her to confirm details before you apply to renew your Canadian passport in Costa Rica. She speaks English, French & Spanish, and her number is 2242-4442.

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Chiropractic Acupuncture & Massage Therapy in Playas Del Coco

AMERICAN CHIROPRACTOR LICENSED IN USA AND COSTA RICA

If you are interested in massage therapy on your visit to Costa Rica, then I can put you in touch with my friend, Dr. Nick Sheffer. He lives here in Playas Del Coco and provides chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapy services throughout the Guanacaste region.

PRICE LIST:

Chiropractic: $35

Massage Therapy: $39

Acupuncture: $35

Combine all three for $68. Group discounts available.

My email address is . If you are interested then send me an email and I will get Dr. Nick to contact you directly. He is available to visit you on site at the hotels and resorts in Guanacaste, including The Four Seasons, Marriott, Riu Guanacaste, Ocotal Resort, Hilton Papagayo, Allegro Papagayo and Westin Conchal.

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Mac Book For Sale

MAC BOOK:WHITE COLOR/MAC BOOK: COLOR BLANCO
CONDITION:USED BUT IN PERFECT CONDITION AS NEW/CONDICION:USADA PERO EN PERFECTA CONDICION.COMO NUEVA!

PRICE:$870 PRECIO:$870

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS/ESPECIFICACIONES TECNICAS
Size and weight

Height:
1.08 inches (2.74 cm)
Width:
13.00 inches (33.03 cm)
Depth:
9.12 inches (23.17 cm)
Weight:
4.7 pounds (2.13 kg)1
Processor and memory/Procesador y Memoria
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache

1066MHz frontside bus

2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB
Graphics and video support

NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3

Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors

Communications
AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking;2 IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology
10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
Installed software

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife (includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD)
Storage
250GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 320GB or 500GB 5400-rpm drive4

8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/
CD-RW

aximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW

Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, and DVD+RW; 24x CD

My email address is

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Choosing a Wedding Planner in Costa Rica

Photography by: Sylvia Guardia M.

Planning a wedding takes enormous amount of time, usually the average couple spends well over 200 hours planning their big day. An experienced wedding planner in Costa Rica will save you time and energy by negotiating with qualified vendors, taking care of so many details, and helping you to come up with creative ideas to make your wedding wonderful!

Why Hire A Wedding Planner?

1. Reduce stress and maximize fun. When you hire a wedding planner you will be able to relax on your big day so can enjoy every moment with your guests!
2. Let someone else organize and arrange all the details from the rehearsal right through to the end of the reception. You shouldn’t have to worry about looking after your guests and making sure the vendors fulfill their obligations.
3. Have someone handle any unforeseen crisis moments. Every wedding has the potential for something to go wrong, from a vendor not showing up, to problems with props or dresses. An experienced planner will be ready to handle any unfortunate circumstances.
4. Scheduling all the events before and during the celebration is a big job and someone needs to keep everything on track.
5. There are so many people/vendors involved in a wedding and it’s so much easier to just one person to contact who will handle all the different vendors on your behalf.
6. Get advice and recommendations from someone who has been involved in many weddings in Costa Rica. A planner will know the correct etiquette for weddings in Costa Rica and will also be able to recommend the best, most appropriate vendors.
7. A planner will ensure that your dreams will become reality. Planners work with couples to make sure your vision and desires are met and often exceeded.
8. Don’t risk ruining relationships over the stress of a wedding. Let the planner coordinate between the families so everyone is happy and satisfied with the day.
9. Save money by spending money! Wedding planners come with a fee, but they will probably save you money by negotiating with the vendors and avoiding unexpected costs. They are also experienced in setting budgets and sticking to them.
10. Don’t expect your family and friends to handle all the planning and execution. They may have a different idea for your wedding, or might not want to take the responsibility. It’s impossible to please everyone but at least a planner can give an unbiased opinion to help navigate problems.

I have performed musically for around a hundred weddings in Costa Rica over the last three years and I’ve worked with many wedding planners and coordinators. Some are self-employed, others work for a wedding planning company, and others work as a planner for a specific hotel or resort.

Ask for my list of Top Wedding Planners in Costa Rica!

I like to recommend vendors that do a great job, so I’ve compiled a list of my favorite wedding planners and coordinators in Costa Rica. I don’t list that online for competitive reasons, but I will email it to you at no charge. I don’t ask for commissions, but rather I like having a mutual referral program.
Send me an email to

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Driving In San Jose

Beware if you intend driving to downtown San Jose during the work week because the Costa Rica Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) have restrictions for private vehicles driving into San Jose between Mondays and Fridays depending on the last number of your license plate. These private vehicles will be restricted from driving in the urban center from 6am to 7pm.

The restrictions apply according to the day of the week and the last number of the vehicle’s license plates, as follows:

Monday: 1,2
Tuesday: 3,4
Wednesday: 5,6
Thursday: 7,8
Friday: 9,0

Motorcycles, buses, taxis, cars owned by handicapped persons, as well as emergency vehicles are not be held to any restrictions.

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Los Mojitos Latin Jazz Demo MP3 Samples

Los Mojitos is a group of musicians offering romantic dinner music, jazzy cocktail music or lively dance music for wedding receptions. They play a mix of pop, latin, reggae, soft rock, jazz and bossa nova music featuring piano, bass and trumpet, with optional drums, saxophone, guitar or a female vocalist.

This band specializes in wedding ceremony music and cocktail receptions but is also a good option for small dance receptions (typically up to 100 guests). They offer a perfect blend of smooth jazzy cocktail music and a lively latin dance party to get your guests on the dance floor!

CLICK HERE FOR MP3 SOUND SAMPLES:

BRUSSELS IN THE RAIN – Trio of piano, bass & drums


MOLIENDO CAFÉ – Trio of piano, bass & saxophone

TRISTEZA – Trio of piano, bass & drums



GUANTANAMERA – Quartet of piano, bass, drums & vocals

CONTIGO EN LA DISTANCIA – Trio of piano, trumpet & drums



FLY ME TO THE MOON – Quartet of trumpet, guitar, bass & drums



HISTORIA DE UN AMOR – Quartet of piano, bass, drums & saxophone

AUTUMN LEAVES – Quartet with piano, bass, saxophone and drums

PRELUDE IN C – JS BACH – Duo of piano and bass

Los Mojitos are based in Costa Rica but also perform in Panama, and are available to travel throughout the world for short or long term contracts.

If you are interested in having Los Mojitos perform for your wedding in Costa Rica or Panama, please send me an email. My email address is
Remember to include your planned date so I can check availability.

We are also available to travel all over the world for short or long term contracts.

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Long Term Rental Apartments In Playas Del Coco

I have a friend who is a realtor in Playas Del Coco and she has some great deals on long term rentals:

Central place large 2 bed 1 bath $550 plus utilities… maybe $500… Immediately

Flamenco 2 bed 2 bath two story: $500 plus utilities. Available after March 27

Big Daddy 2 bed 1.5 bath with roof top terrace $675

Loft Palmas in Playas Del Coco Available Immediately $450 plus utilities.

Cocomarindo 2 bed 1 bath: after April 4… $425 plus utilities

3 bed 2.5 bath $675 plus utilities, available with one week notice or after April 5

Coco Joya 2 bed 2 bath $860. Available immediately

You can contact me at

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Best Destination Wedding Venues In Costa Rica

Costa Rica has hundreds of great locations for destination weddings! Three of the most popular areas are Guanacaste’s North Pacific Coast, Jaco and Manuel Antonio, and the Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna area.

I am a wedding ceremony musician and I play as a duo of piano and bass guitar with my group Los Mojitos. But we also play jazzy cocktail music and if required, we offer a full five-piece band to play for the dance reception, featuring saxophone, jazz & latin guitar, and our female vocalist.

We have performed in many venues throughout Costa Rica. I often get asked for recommendations for wedding venues so here is my Top 10 Favourite Destination Wedding Venues In Costa Rica: (click on each photo to visit the hotel’s website)

Tamarindo Diria



Hotel Playa Hermosa Bosque Del Mar

Hotel Capitan Suizo

Bahia Pez Vela Resort



Marriott Guanacaste



Westin Conchal & Reserva Conchal

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica

Marriott Los Sueňos Jaco

Villa Caletas Jaco

There are other hotels and resorts in Guanacaste including Riu Guanacaste, Pacifico Beach Club, Barcelo Langosta, Hotel La Finisterra, Hilton Papagayo, Gran Papagayo or Allegro Papagayo.

I also have a Top 10 List Of Wedding Planners In Costa Rica. For competitive reasons, I ask that you contact me for this list and I will send it to you. My email address is

Click here for my list of wedding venues in Arenal & La Fortuna: Wedding Venues Arenal

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Melinda Whitaker Jazz Vocalist Visits Costa Rica

In January of 2012 renowned Canadian jazz vocalist Melinda Whitaker visited Guanacaste in Costa Rica.

She performed three dinner concerts with local latin jazz group Los Mojitos, featuring Warren Alani on piano, Brad Moodie on bass and Don Bruch on jazz guitar.

There were three performances, two at La Finisterra Hotel in Playa Hermosa and one at Bahia Pez Vela Resort in the Picante Restaurant in Playa Ocotal.

If you are interested in live music for your event in Costa Rica, please send me an email at and I will try to help you. Los Mojitos is a group based in Guanacaste and we play as a duo of piano and bass, or we can add saxophone, jazz guitar, drums or vocals.

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