Who are the 3 Amigos?

I get this all the time, but actually we have about 18 Amigos and Amigas now and we are one big family, as corny as that sounds and we are expecting number 19 soon. It just keeps growing and growing, as agents from other competitors close their doors and join our team. As they say, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” But we have to go back about more than 20 years to tell the whole story. 

The original Tres Amigos were a husband and wife, Les and Cheryl and their partner Gary. They came from Canada to Playa Hermosa with their sons, to do a small project on the top of the hill. It was one of the original residential developments in the area, along with Vistas del Pacifico built by Corbin and Tatiana Vandruff.  There is a great story about how they bought the mountain. It seems there was this woman, who owned a hill that was so steep the cows couldn’t even stand on it. From a farmer’s standpoint, the property wasn’t very good. After selling it to Les and Cheryl, the story goes, she ran into Coco laughing hysterically that she sold this useless property to a couple of stupid Gringos  and proceeded to buy everyone drinks in the bar. What she failed to realize, is that this useless property had some of the best ocean views anyone has ever seen in their life and Views Sell!The 3 Amigos and their sons built a little sales office of about 150 square feet, and proceeded with a back hoe to cut into the mountain. They worked so hard, that even the local workers shook their head at the crazy gringos. Even they couldn’t keep up with the pace of Les and his sons, as they pushed wheel barrels themselves, up and down the mountain. Many of the local workers couldn’t hack it and quit, but the family never lost their determination. After a couple years of torturous work, the development Monte Paraiso (Paradise Mountain) was complete. With underground utilities, brick paved roads, a beautiful gate and a huge water tank at the top, they started selling lots to the gringos that rolled through town. 

Each of these lots sold for more than they had bought the mountain for, so I am sure the woman was singing a different tune then. Life is all about Vision, and that is something that they definitely had. Most of these early buyers had it too, as there was nothing going on in Playa Hermosa back then. There wasn’t an airport or any luxury hotels but something told these people, THIS IS IT! And the view from the top of this mountain sure made the decision easier. I know. I bought two lots myself in 1999 and had to take draws off my credit cards to do it. But I had a little of that Vision too and there was no way I was leaving Costa Rica without a little piece or two of paradise. How did I come to Costa Rica and wander up to Hermosa? You already know – that’s for another story.

Here is the Playa Hermosa News May 2012…

The Playa Hermosa Association is planning a fundraiser dance toward the end of July with “50-60s music”.  Details to follow…. 

The Municipality of Carrillo has offered a full time employee for Maritime Zone maintenance!(beach) He is currently working full time (Monday through Saturday) de 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Asociacion de Playa Hermosa recently met with representatives from the Policia Turistica of Costa Rica (Ministerio de Seguridad Publica). Señores Jorge Rodriguez (Subdirector of the Turistic Police) and Luis Chavarria were invited by our Streets Committee chairperson, J. P. Miller, to attend our April Board meeting to answer questions certain members had with respect to trying to get a 24/7 police presence here on Playa Hermosa. What follows is a summary of that meeting.

Policia Turistica:

• The Policia Turistica currently has 19 practicing student police officers.
• They have a total of 90 police officers in the province of Guanacaste dispatched to Nosara, Samara, Flamingo, Portrero, Grande, Conchal, Tamarindo, etc.
• Of those 90, there are 35 policeman on duty at any given time during their rotation.
• The Policia Turistica has 22 motorcycles, 2 vehicles (cars), and 1 Mini-bus.
• ICT has given a directive to the Policia Turistica to find a location for a police station that will serve an area from the airport (LIR) to the northern beaches of Carrillo. The Las Trancas road is the favored site for a police station because it’s about half-way between the airport and the beaches, which is more favorable for distribution of police coverage. The ICT has agreed to both purchase the land and pay for building the police station once a sale has been executed.
• Many people ask, “Why aren’t there police stations in every town along the coast?” Señor Jorge Rodriguez stated that the answer to the question is quite simple. “A policeman on the street is far more effective than one manning a police station.” In other words, a central command station would allow for more police to be present on the street than if multiple stations needed to be manned/staffed. That’s why the Policia Turistica are looking for a centrally located site to build a station where they can optimize their police coverage of northern Guanacaste.
• Authority: The Policia Turistica has the same authority as the Fuerza Publica. They can detain and arrest people, they carry firearms and may use them. The only difference is that the Policia Turistica are trained especially for situations involving tourists, such as theft of identification documents (passports, driver’s licenses, I. D. cards, credit cards) and for dealing with personal injuries where foreign insurance coverage and notification of next of kin are involved. Some people falsely believe that the Policia Turistica have limited powers of jurisdiction. The truth is that they may enforce the law same as any other policeman in Costa Rica.
• Dialing the Policia Turistica direct is NOT the best way to receive assistance in the case of an emergency. Dialing 911 is the best way to get help. Guanacaste is the only province in the country that has 24/7 help! When you dial 911, the 911 center notifies the Ministerio de Salud; then the appropriate authority(ies) are notified (OIJ, MOPT, Fuerza Publica, Ambulance, etc.) and dispatched based on the situation.