ICE - Costa Rica Telephone and Electric Service

In Costa Rica, the government has a monopoly for providing telephone and electric service. It has pros and cons and there is much debate on this changing in the future.

On the pro end, it is very affordable for everyone to have the basic services. My monthly bills are about $6 a month each for telephone and electric in my home. In the USA, my minimum can be 10 times this amount. This is a great thing to have inexpensive access for all. Universal access can also be seen in health care and higher education which is clearly not the case in the USA

The other side of government monopoly is it might take a month or even years to get phone service in some areas. The ongoing experience at an ICE office are long lines and not always the best customer service. High speed internet is rolling out very slowly in much of Costa Rica. Also, international calls are much more expensive from Costa Rica than from the USA. Thank God for Skype as a free or very cheap alternative for global communication.

On March 20 of this year, there was an overhaul of the phone system. The standard seven-digit phone number was changed to eight. A 2 is now added at the beginning of seven-digit landlines and an 8 before seven-digit cell phone numbers. The area code for all of Costa Rica is still 506 and the country code is 011. This has caused much confusion and frustration over the past month. I wondered if this was a plot by printing companies since business cards, stationary and signs all needed the phone numbers corrected.

For me the inexpensive basic services are a great thing and allow me to live in Costa Rica very affordably. In addition, there is a lesson somewhere in the need for patience and not being able to get instant anything here. Living a simple basic life is the way to go in Costa Rica.

Reverse Blog ... Ithaca, NY ... Winter Wonderland!

I will be heading back to summertime in San Ramon, Costa Rica in a few days. My tradition for the last 8 years has been to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family in Ithaca and NYC and then leave as winter begins. Each place has much to offer, but the cold, darkness and snow are better to be enjoyed from a distance.

My house in Ithaca is ready for winter. My tenants, Cristian and Josh, allow me to feel mostly burden free when I am gone. I live in the City of Ithaca in the Fall Creek neighborhood, just 2 blocks from Ithaca Falls, a monstrous natural wonder. Winter is funny as ice formations shine while the water flows loudly.

Downtown Ithaca had a festival this week with huge ice sculptures on display. Activities like this get people to come out of their houses and forget how cold it really is. I love my friends and neighbors here but from my perspective, it seems crazy to spend 4 months isolated, freezing etc. when summer is beginning in San Ramon.

I am returning to summer in San Ramon with kids on vacation until mid-February. Families are taking vacations at the beach. Most importantly, the rains have stopped and endless sunny days in the mid 70's await me.

I'm looking forward to buying loads of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market and eating healthy, local and light. We will swim daily in the outdoor pool downtown and top off the day at a bar/restaurant for some drinks and dinner. Reverse sticker shock is a treat as everything seems so inexpensive compared to the USA, Canada or Europe.

Somehow I smile and laugh more and life has a simplicity that gives me a healthy perspective. I'm ready to return to my Costa Rica home and hear the birds and sounds of the cool Costa Rican street life.

If the snow doesn't limit our travel plans, I should be home in San Ramon very shortly.

My Personal Funny Globalization Anecdote

I don’t consider myself a funny person but in San Ramon, making people smile and laugh is held in higher regard than showing how smart or knowledgeable you are.

The other day my Chinese friend Kenneth asked us to take a look at a property he owns and try to help him sell it. Kenneth speaks no English (although he plays excellent English music at his bar Sol Naciente) and I speak no Chinese. Our mini global group got in the car and Kenneth and I did the talking … him speaking Spanish with a Chinese accent while I spoke Spanish with my North American one.

My San Ramon friend who was with us couldn’t stop laughing at the 2 of us. He said listening to the 2 of us speaking our non – native Spanish, was hilarious and surreal. He said he had never heard a Spanish conversation quite like the one between Kenneth and I.


In this Globalizing world, you have to just dive in and connect with different people with whatever tools you have in common. I’m sure there would be less conflict in this crazy world if people just tried to communicate in their imperfect ways. As the world gets smaller, laughter between people from diverse cultures is a step in the right direction.


On a recent trip to Ithaca, NY I had the good fortune to see and hear the Dalai Lama. One of his main messages was that national borders have become obsolete and that “we are all brothers and sisters.”