A person in Maryland was recently infected by the flesh-eating New World screwworm after traveling to El Salvador, US health officials confirmed this week. The blowflies primarily affect livestock — human cases are rare. In a screwworm infestation, also known as a myiasis, female flies lay eggs in a fresh wound that quickly hatch into … Read more
Pearched on a cliff overlooking the glistening Gulf of Papagayo on Costa Rica’s north Pacific coast sits the new Nekajui (pronounced NEK-ah-wee), a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property. When it debuted two months ago, this “rare estate set apart from the world” became the eighth Ritz-Carlton Reserve on the globe, as well as the hotel group’s first … Read more
Archaeologists recently made a startling discovery: They found that two 18th-century shipwrecks off the coast of Central America were actually two Danish slave ships. The ships, named Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus, are located in shallow waters off Costa Rica’s Cahuita National Park. The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, according to the National Museum of Denmark. “Fridericus Quartus was … Read more
The examination of an ancient “portal to the underworld” that has perplexed archaeologists has finally ended, officials say. The Mexican artifact, called the Olmec Cave Mask, was stolen from the Chalcatzingo archaeological site in Mexico’s Central Highlands in the 1960s. Smugglers broke the millennia-old mask into several pieces and circulated them around several museums and private collections … Read more
Take a deep breath before trekking here. Deep in the volcanic mountains of Costa Rica hides a deadly, yet small opening of the Earth that engulfs and kills just about all that enters. Locals in the Alajuela Province call this six-foot-deep and ten-foot-long hell hole — accompanied by warning signs of skulls and crossbones — … Read more
Sarah Lancestar was traveling throughout Central America when she was forced to abandon her holiday plans after a seemingly innocent act led to $60,000 worth of medical bills. The Tasmanian local was staying at a hostel in Nicaragua when she decided to play with the household cat. “It was pawing at me when it suddenly … Read more