You may have noticed a new spring in your step and feel happy to be alive when you visit Costa Rica, where everyone smiles a lot, the food is good and life is pure and simple. If so, you’re not imagining it because it’s official! Costa Rica is indeed one of the happiest places on the planet. In fact, it was ranked as the number one happiest place on earth by an independent research group.

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Owning a beautiful Costa Developers home or home site will soon bring you another valuable opportunity. On top of enjoying the view, the home or earning income with it in our vacation rental program, you can now use it to help gain your Costa Rican residency!

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Costa Developers is honored to present a new feature in our monthly newsletter: a cooking show created just for you! Welcome to Coastal Cuisine with Mega Yacht Chef Mary Beth. Mary Beth Lawton Johnson has sailed the waters off Costa Rica for more than 12 years.

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Scientific teams from National Geographic have been visiting Isla del Coco (Cocos Island) in submarines since September 9th, 2009, documenting one of the most alive places on planet earth! While scientists gather data, film crews are shooting scenes for an hour-long documentary to be aired on the National Geographic Channel. You can follow the adventure of these scientists and see the daily photos, videos and reports from their visit to this unspoiled, uninhabited island, located approximately 340 miles off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica at the links posted below:

www.ocean.nationalgeographic.com

Due to its breathtaking marine life, Cocos Island was short-listed as a candidate to be one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation. It was also named one of the best 10 scuba diving spots in the world by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and a "must do" according to diving experts.

If you would like to visit Cocos Island or find out more information on this spectacularly alive national park in Costa Rica visit: www.isladelcoco.com

Falcon International School is the first bilingual private school in the middle Central Pacific zone of Costa Rica to earn AdvanceED/SACS CASI accreditation. Located directly in front of Los Sueños Marriott Resort’s front gate, Falcon International School already has a few of Costa Developers customer’s children enrolled.

Falcon International earned its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). SACS CASI provides nationally and internationally-recognized accreditation, the purpose of which is continuous school improvement, focused on increasing student performance. To earn accreditation, schools must meet SACS, CASI’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and implement a continuous process of school improvement.

“Accreditation demonstrates to our students, parents, and community that we are focused on raising student achievement, providing a safe and enriching learning environment and maintaining an efficient and effective operation, staffed by highly qualified educators,” stated school CIEO, Martha Felhofer.

For more information on the school call 011-506-2637-7400 or visit www.falconicr.com
And for information on the accreditation and what it means visit:
www.advanc-ed.org

New traffic laws (Ley de Transito) that were supposed to take effect on September 23, 2009, have been postponed until March 1, 2010. The new law requires a First Aid kit in every vehicle, and also requires hands-free cell phone devices, fire extinguishers and GPS transponders. When enacted, the new traffic laws should make driving in paradise here in Costa Rica much smoother and safer, especially in popular and well-traveled areas like San José or Jacó, Costa Rica.

For more information about the new traffic law go to:
http://www.newleydetransito.com or this page on http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/september/18/cr01.htm