What is a Flagship Species?

Image by Digital Story via FlickrA flagship species is a term used by conservationist in the industry of tourism to bring awareness to an eco-system as a whole of the importance of protecting it. It is an interesting concept. The conservationist pair up with the tourism of an area, pick a popular endangered species, and then promote that species. The idea is to help the species but the real goal behind it is to protect the larger picture which would be the whole eco-system in which the specie lives which would involve many more plants and animals.

The term flagship species is given to animals that "Tourist" find interesting. In most cases "cute" or just large and impressive. Some of the flagship species you might be familiar with around the world are the Koala Bear, Bengal Tiger, and the Panda. We have all heard of these species and the importance of protecting them and that they might be endangered. I think its a great idea to take from the eco-system it's most prized (in the eyes of a tourist) most endangered species and promote it to raise awareness for the problem.

Costa Rica's Flagship Species

Costa Rica has it's own flagship species which is the Bairds Tapir. This is a beautiful animal that has been called the Rhino of Central America. There have been great efforts made to protect this species and along with protected it has come many many acres of protected land in Costa Rica. The Hacienda Baru and the Rafiki Lodge are two areas that have used the Tapir as a Flagship species and have made a difference in not only protecting the Tapir but also protecting the eco-system in which it lives.

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Filmfest: Amazing Video Relates to Costa Rican Fresh Fruit Market

A huge thanks to Jheudy for the idea to write about Costa Rica's fresh food market. These days you can drive down the streets of Costa Rica and see more and more supermarkets and fast food chains. I want to push the fact that we need not forget the farmers worker there tails off that still put on quite the show on weekends to sell some of the best fruits and vegtables you can find in most town squares from Friday to Sunday. Watch the video Jheudy sent me from a filmfest this weekend and tell me it doesnt make you feel bad if you dont get up and go get your fruits and veggies from your local farmer this weekend. It is Friday so now would be the time (if your in Costa Rica).

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Frog Reproduction in the Tropics

Image via WikipediaI did mention last week that I was going to make this blog about Costa Rican history this week but I guess we will save that for next week. Today I have an interesting topic for you. When you think of rainforest and Costa Rica one of the things that comes to your mind is Toucans, Volcanoes, Jaguars, Waterfalls, & FROGS!!!

Todays topic I wanted to talk a little bit about the frogs of Costa Rica and most importantly about the difference in the reproduction habits of the Leaf frog and the poisonous dart frog.

In Costa Rica we think of the Leaf Frogs which are the frogs that come out at night and are not poisonous. When it is time for these frogs to reproduce they go through a process that is called amplexus which is actually done through the armpits (look at the picture above that is two leaf frogs in in the process of amplexus which is fertilizing the eggs through the armpits) which is quite interesting.

The poisonous dart frog is completely absent of the amplexus process meaning that there is no physical contact during the fertilization of the eggs. For the poisonous dart frog it can be considered quite the boring process of reproduction. He has to go find the eggs that are floating around in water somewhere and then fertilize them without any physical contact while he then gets to here his Leaf Frog buddy talk about how fun his night was.

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World Tourism Day 2010

World Tourism Day is celebrated everyday on Sept 27th by the United Nations and is to bring awareness of the importance and positive affect tourism can have on countries around the world. This year the theme is "Tourism and Biodiversity".

You cant pick a much better theme for Costa Rica to celebrate since the Tourism part seems to be picking up next year after a slow season and Biodiversity is Costa Rica's claim to fame. China will be hosting this years World Tourism Day.

Although for tourism in Costa Rica this is our slow season I do feel it is something that should be brought to the atttention and celebrated. It is an important day in the industry and many important things can be learned in advances in the industry in moving towards a more green economy and setting better Standards for Green Travel. Enjoy your Tourism & BioDiversity Day!!!

 

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Why No Hurricanes in Costa Rica?

Image via Wikipedia I remember Alma in May of 2008 I was in San Isidro with some clients and there were some 70 landslides on Cerro de la Muerte. Almost all tourist ask about natural disasters such as Earthquakes, Tsunami's, and Hurricanes. With the climate change of today I will answer the question for today but it might be completely different to what the future might hold.

It turns out that 88% of hurricanes develope between 30 degrees and 10 degrees of the Equator and from the point they develop it is mostly of to tradewinds to where they end up which almost always is north of Central America.  Costa Rica is located at 9.55 degrees above the equator which happens to be the perfect spot to escape the path of hurricanes. Why?

Hurricanes need warm water around 80 degrees and humid air to develope so around the equator during fall months makes for the perfect time. Also a hurricane is made up of monstor winds. Well it turns out between 10 and 30 degrees of the equator is where you find the strongest Coriolis Forces. These Coriolis Forces do exist below 10 degrees of the equator but they are very weak. This means that at 9.55 degrees from the equator where Costa Rica is located it has very weak Coriolis Force (winds) to maintain a hurricane. Along with the tradewinds that move hurricanes north it looks as of now Costa Rica still has very low chances of getting slammed by a hurricane and as you can see it is right on the border because Nicaragua and Hondurous have both had their share of big hurricanes.

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Stratovolcano: Arenal Volcano Costa Rica

Image via WikipediaArenal Volcano is the youngest volcano in all of Costa Rica. It also happens to be one of the top 10 most active volcanos on the planet. This is also a place of extreme natural beauties that tourist from all over the world come and want to see and do some of the adventures in the area. For those of them who decide not to get a guide and if they get the chance to read this tweet from their Spa while looking at the volcano then I hope you find it useful and if not I hope there are some Science classes out there that will:

ARENAL VOLCANO COSTA RICA STRATOVOLCANO

• Stratovolcanos are common in subduction zones - a subduction zone is part of plate tectonics where oceanic crust is drawn under continental crust
• Arenal is considered an Andesitic Stratovolcano which is given the name after the Ande mountains and describes the composition of minerals that are released from the Arenal Volcano
• The tourist come to see the Pyroclastic flows which is solid to semi-solid fragments and hot, expanding gases that flows down the flank of the volcano make for a spectacular show. 
• Arenal is a result of the Subduction of the Coco & Carib Tectonic plates.
• The Pacific Ring of Fire is the most common place for Stratovolcano.
• Stratovolcano make for some of the best booms on the planet and not just tourist booms...

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Excellent Education Books for All ages from one of the Most Bio-Diverse Places on the Planet

Image via WikipediaThere is so much information we can find on line. But if your in the jungle and it happens to be in the rainforest there just might be a good reason to still have your book of tree species or bird species handy (until apple comes out with the waterproof touch). But until then there are some great sources to look into. The Institute National of Bio-Diversity where I did some of my studies in Costa Rica has quite the collection of books that all go to a great cause. If your interested in these books they all come in English and Spanish and you can click here to take a look at the many different books they have.

Again these are amazing books from studies done in the field and proceeds going back into the field of study. I feel these would be great class room books and they have different books for all ages. If you are ever visiting Costa Rica Inbio Park is also a park worth visiting with a class. It is a small park in the town of Heredia and nothing like getting out into the jungles of Costa Rica but again if you have the time its money going to a good cause.

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Costa Rica on List of Top 20 Countries for Drug Trafficking

Image by Defence Images via FlickrWhen you first read this headline you get alarmed. Dont let it scare you from taking a Costa Rica Vacation. For most of you that are reading this you probably are living in  one of top consuming drug countries on the Planet and that is the USA. What would you rather have a few boats and trucks entering and leaving or drugs, staying in your country, people consuming, and every problem that follows with addictions. This is just to not scare the tourist off and let you know that you are still welcome into a beautiful eco-adventure but to also let you know that our blog is all about the truth of Costa Rica and we try to inform from all angles.

Costa Rica is becoming a victim of some more than usually passing by of these drugs because they are a country with no army. What better place to try and pass by your load of cocaine knowing there is no army to stop you. Also the position Costa Rica is in surrounded by countries like Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. The time to take measures is now.

This info came up at an interest time because these last couple of months many Costa Rican's have been upset at the fact with the idea of the US sending their Navy ships down to the Coast of Costa Rica. I will be the first to admitt I was against the idea of all these ships in the start of these talks.  Ive heard so many stories to why they are being sent down. It turns out one boat showed up with some medical supplies for the port of Limon which was probably a good idea to calm some of the nerves of the local people.

The Costa Rican's are proud to not have an army and they should be (I am proud to live in a country that does not have an army). When it comes to small home invasions in Costa Rica I feel my 2 rotweillers will do me just fine. But when you start looking at the past history of Colombia and present history of Guatemala and Mexica you begin to ask yourself I will have to invest in a whole lot of rotweilers if I want to take on these cartels.

I know the US military has gone through some rough times lately but if just a presence might make a difference on where cartels make their next set up we all know Costa Rica for the last 50 years is underfunded in security to take on these guys and just having 50 US ships sitting out in your oceans might not be what you had in mind while sitting in third grade sitting your national anthem. But I have to ask you do you really think Don Pepe would risk giving up everything this beautiful country has to be taken over by a bunch of animal like cartels and go through the same tragedy as Columbia and Mexico. So my opinion would be to work with the US. There are still good people in the US military many that are not so good (thats why you always see people getting fired) and others that are trying to get things working correctly. Try and figure out a plan so that Costa Rica pays practicially nothing. This is very beneficial for the US to have Costa Rica not be affected by the Cartels.

Lets hope it works together and that there are people complaining for a system that works and not complaing for a system to not even try. The idea that US could not help Mexico or Colombia is ridiculous because they were two countries well advance in the drug trade. They were also two countries much larger in size (they also did help quite a bit in Colombia).

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Costa Rica: Two Independence Days?

Every since Ive moved to Central America my first years being in Belize and Guatemala and the rest of my years being in Costa Rica I have found it very interesting the stories on independence. I happen to like the one on Costa Rica because I feel it relates best to Latin  Time. Yesterday Costa Rica celebrated its 189th Independence day from Spain. Take a look at what happened and see if I have maybe proven an extra day off for the Ticos to enjoy your beautiful country. If not we will just stay with Sept. 15th.

Image by Costa Rican Resource via FlickrWell as most of us know a bunch of leaders in Guantemala got together and said "Lets give Cental America their Independence from Spain" (This happened on Sept. 15, 1821). The leaders signed the documents and sent them out to each Central American Country. Well it turns out that Costa Rica must have got the slow donkey mailing service because the document did not arrive until October 13th 1821. Now we all know how documents are in Costa Rica they usually just sit under other documents for awhile.

Take a look at the picture you can see the document was not opened and stamped in this building which we found in the old Capital City of Cartago until October 29 1821 (The picture says: "In this place was signed and stamped the act of our Independence").  This building can be found directly on the corner infront of a building of the ruins of Cartago. I always found this interesting because I have shown this to a number of National & foreign tourist and many of them had never seen it. It was a Costa Rican of course who showed it to me but if you have the time and you are in the area it is worth taking a look at.

Who knows maybe October 29th can be a second Independece day in Costa Rica. We spent our day with the some of the staff members of Hospital Catolica in the Pacuare River and I know they would love a second day on the river. Hope everyone enjoyed their Independence day!

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VSP Eye Care

Image by airthru.takashi via FlickrI could easily spend this blog telling you how important it is to get your kids eyes checked because when they come to Costa Rica I want them to be able to enjoy all the beautiful colors of nature, erupting volcanos, and monkeys & sloths in the jungle. But I'm not. I'm actually going to take a break today from Costa Rica and write about the importance of why kids should be getting their eyes check regularly.

First of all from a personal opinion with the services that are available with VSP VisionCare how could you not take advantage of these benefits. We have traveled into some of the most remote Indigenous places in the mountains of Costa Rica and many of these kids will never see an eye doctor nor ever know they ever had an eye problem. To have a service like VSP VisionCare is a true blessing and one that should not be overlooked. Im doing this blog a little different. I was on the VSP Vision Care site and I saw there history dating from 1955 - 2009.  After looking at the dates they have you should have seen 17 different years from 1955 when VSP started until 2009. Now look at the list I made of the same 17 different years that VSP uses on their site to describe their history. Now, instead of VSP VisionCare facts I will use facts that make it worth for all kids to get their eyes checked because these were some dates you did not want to miss. Check it out and enjoy:

1955 ---- Mickey Mouse Club began, The 1st McDonalds opened, and Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.
1960 ---- The Flinstones began (come on can you imagine not seeing the Flinstones?!)
1968 ---- 60 Minutes went on the air & the First Big Mac was sold
1970 ---- Ghandi was President of India
1980 ---- Pac Man was released (THIS WAS BIG!!!)
1990 ---- First webpage is written and Homealone was the best movie. Look at how much we use our eyes now on the web.
1992 ---- Microsoft Works was released by Microsoft
1993 ---- www. was born at CERN and Jurassic Park
1997 ---- Mars Pathfinder Lands on Mars and "Spicegirls" were big
2000 ---- Planets in solar system align
2003 ---- Bruce Almighty, Finding Nemo, & Lord of the Rings
2004 ---- Tallest Skyscraper in the world opens "Taipei" at 1,676ft
2005 ---- XBOX and Madagascar
2006 ---- Wii
2007 ---- IPhone & Final Harry Potter
2010 ---- Call VSP and get the families eyes checked


In closing I would like to metion that to take a look at this page of their site it happened to be my favorite click here. 

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Costa Rica Bailouts: Arenal Hotels in La Fortuna...

Don't even get me started on bailouts. I did not think my Costa Rican Travel blog would take me here but apparently it has. Just last week hotel owners in La Fortuna area (I will not mention Hotel names I would rather not get in a fist fight next time Im in the Arenal area) went to the government asking for bailout money to payback their loans. I thought this was hilarious and if the Costa Rican government thinks for a second to bail these hotels out I think its ridiculous. Not only because I've seen a few of these owners hanging out in the Disco and scooting around in their Jetskis on weekends (I can say this about some of the hotel owners not all)  but we are talking about hotels people. These are big business's but my gosh they are not that big where the government and tax payers money needs to step in. There are also some simple living hotel owners I'm sure that just decided to take a gamble and they lost and thats life. But others just dont want to let go of the lifestyle of luxury they have started living.

It turns out that a number of hotels in Arenal got GREEDY. There is no other way to put it. Things were going good and they wanted more. What happened is they over extended themselves, started living lifestyles they shouldnt, and got dealt a bad card (which the whole world gets everyonce in awhile).  Do I feel bad for them? Honestly? Yes,  I do. It sucks to lose money. I dont want to throw my sob story out there but I lost all my money in my first business which I did very well for myself and what had to happen as a result of losing it all: A LIFESTYLE CHANGE!

I feel like the Dali Llama's next book should be the secret to the recovery of a world recession which apparently nobody is getting it: A LIFESTYEL CHANGE! The USA didnt get it because they went ahead and bailed most of those companies out that showed up in their private jets to ask for their bailout money. Its funny from what I heard the hotel owners in La Fortuna are still driving around in their fancy SUV's which is no private jet but you get the picture.

Even after President Obama fired the CEO Wagoner of GM he still made out with millions. Thats what bailouts are. Put government money where it should be and not in the haImage by Jean-Sien Kin via Flickrnds of risk takers that have lost. Put the money into education, healthcare (we are going to need the money in healthcare with all the new fast food chains in Costa Rica in about 15 years, 29 new fast food chains in 2010), and whatever else you want but paying a hotel so a tourist can enjoy their hot-tub and massage and not paying a school so kids can not be crowded in a classroom and learn under adequate conditions is just craziness (keep inmind the tourist in hot tubs is what pays my bills so  I want the best for them but lets think level headed on this).  

Somebody asked me if the banks take the hotels what are they going to do with it. Our reservations office just spent 3 days last week trying to find space in Fortuna for two different groups next March and April. This is a good indication that things will be improving next year an estimated 2 million or more tourist will be arriving in Costa Rica. My advice for the bank would be to flip it or even better work something out with INA where they operate the hotel (the government educates locals in tourism) and they pay back the loan. Just a thought.

As for the hotel owners, shit happens and sometimes you have to walk right through it before you smell it. Maybe its time for a little lifestyle change in La Fortuna. There is a freakin Burger King in La Fortuna you cant tell me you didnt see this coming. If you have thoughts on this we would love to hear?

The gap between rich and poor in Costa Rica is spreading FAST. I dont want to talk negative but I do feel there needs to be some voices. Just drive through San Jose: Its RICH or POOR for now where in years to come it could be SUPER RICH or SUPER POOR. Again, I feel bad for these hotel owners but I dont think bailouts for society as a whole is going to fix the big picture which is learning a lesson and living a little bit more simply. Let me be clear. If you have the money and you want to live it up a little its fine. But understand if you dont have the money it is also fine to not have to live it up. I just feel if people gamble and they lose they lose. Thats why you shouldnt gamble with money that isnt yours.

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Costa Rica: Sit in Luxury and get Dwarfed by Nature

Image by Getty Images via @daylife I've got three hotels that TripAdvisor doesnt even have that much to say about. Yes, they have their comments because they are the almighty TripAdvisor and I better keep my mouth shut because their social network is doing a bit better than my blog. But if you want to visit some luxury hotels in Costa Rica that are completely dwarfed by nature then check these three places out. Two of the three places are brand new. These are three hotels spread out all over the country so it could make for a great vacation package, just an idea?

The first hotel I have in mind happens to be in Corcovado which is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. It use to be that if you wanted to visit Corcovado you had to wear rubber boots and get ready to rumble in the jungle. Well now it is a little different. If you are looking for luxury surrounded by 2.5% of our planets bio-diversity then check out Villas Corcovado. It is small which is what you want in this area. You want more monkeys than people. Yes, it is hard to get to. You dont get all this biodiversity in one area because there are 8 lane highways leading to the hotel entrance.  If you stay for a week the menu will start to repeat itself. Well, if you live in the jungle for a 24 hours you will probably find yourself eating the samething twice. Sort of look at it as super "luxury survival" and enjoy the adventure.

The second place is located in the center of the country which I have to say Im pushing a bit because I want to see tourism pick up in this area and start to pass through these small towns. The hotel is Costa Rican owned and is located in Bajos del Toro. This place is called El Silencio Lodge which means the Lodge of Silence. You can tell by the name this probably is not a good place for your college school kids to book their spring break trips this year. But it is an amazing place for a honeymoon or even a family vacation for just a night or two giving the chance for your kids to get a real feel for nature and its true essence.

The third hotel takes you almost to the Nicaraguan border. It is called the Rio Celeste HideAway Hotel. If you have heard me talk about Nayara in Arenal (voted by tripadvisor as the top hotel in the Arenal Volcano area) then you will like the Rio Celeste Hideway. First of all Rio Celeste is an absolutely beautiful hike which deserves a whole blog in itself. But this hotel is really something special. With no other hotel of its kind around it was a real pioneer to just decide to go out in the middle of this area surrounded by nature and go with the luxury. A place worth visiting if you love being surrounded by nature.

Well there you have it. Three places throughout Costa Rica that are completely surrounded by nature, away from it all, and in the comfort of sitting in luxury. I went ahead and linked the websites to the hotels but if your interested in us putting together a package with adventures and tours go ahead and contact us. Well as of now we have the best guides sitting here waiting to go on their next trip but if you wait to plan they you might get stuck with me. If anyone else has some hotels where you get dwarfed in nature and you want to share we would love to hear?

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Hotel Grano de Oro San Jose Costa Rica

Image by Costa Rican Resource via FlickrAfter visitng many hotels and dropping groups off almost on average 40 weeks out of the year at hotels in Costa Rica. The Grano de Oro has given our guest a 100% satisfaction rate. I think it is because they have kept it nice and small, kept the staff full, and excellent service. Hope you enjoy the blog and if you have comments on the Grano de Oro would love to hear them?

The Pozuelo cookie is one of the best cookies Costa Rica has to offer. The family Pozuelo in Costa Rica is a well-known family for generations having started the very successful Pozuelo cookie factory which still sits in the center of San Jose. The Pozuelo family wanted to be close to their cookie factory as most people do, the smell is amazing. The family lived in the center of San Jose in a beautiful home that has now been turned into what we consider the best hotel in San Jose, Grano de Oro. Here we will tell you why?

San Jose is filled with some nice hotels just like any capital city. You can find the big Marriots, Real Intercontinentals, and the list goes on which are all great places but if you stay in them chances are you have stayed in something similar before. The Grano de Oro offers something just a little bit different and almost reminds you of a unique place in Europe where so many times you find a great place to stay that is not one of the chains.

Grano de Oro is in the center of San Jose five blocks from the Central Park La Sabana. It is completely refurbished but the history behind the whole city is left on the walls through pictures, antiques, and even the people who come and eat in the restaurant. San Jose is not one of those capital cities that is a must-see for tourists. However, when you stay at Grano de Oro you really feel the history as you hear about the coffee boom and the different buildings and places of San Jose. You leave this hotel not only saying to yourself what wonderful rooms, food, and service but you also gain an interest for this capital city which if you look deep enough does have some interesting history. For tourists, San Jose is sort of over shadowed by the volcanoes, rivers, and rainforests of Costa Rica but hotel Grano de Oro lives up to its name as being just a little “Grain of Gold” tucked away in the capital city of San Jose.

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$$$$ Secrets of Costa Rican Tourism $$$$

Image by Jake Wasdin via FlickrI love how the system works and if you are a big company or a taxi driver working the airport exit you pretty much run on the same system. The right way to run is to charge the tourist for the service you offer and what it is worth, NOTHING MORE & NOTHING LESS. I'm writing this post for the travelers that come to Costa Rica on a budget and end up traveling on there own. If you decided to travel with us it might not be the cheapest trip you can find but we can promise you that you get what you pay for as far as guiding knowledge and service which you can tell by their testimonials.

Everything is run off commisions here. This is good and bad. It is good because it gives a chance that everyone gets a piece of the pie. It is bad because in some cases you see a tourist buying a cake when all they should be spending is for a piece of a pie.  (Although I have seen tourist take this a little too far. Ive seen taxi drivers charge a correct fee and tourist think it was too much just because they figured they were getting charged too much because they were a taxi. Yes, there are tourist who get ripped off but there are also honest people also and lets not forget that. Actually there is a lot more honest people than dishonest ALOT!) If you rent a car and go to a zipline dont be afraid to talk the price down a little bit the chances are you can save yourself a few bucks. Im not telling you to not book your tour from tour desk or hotel reception, these people need to make a living after all also.

There are a million places to do tours in Costa Rica from rafting to ziplining and it never hurts to ask to bargain down the price. If you feel you are paying too much it never hurts to ask someplace else either. This also goes for hotels also. You can always ask for a discount at hotels. Most places deal with a net rate and a rack rate.

There are many types of tour companies that just make their living off commisions which is fine its just like some of the more common sites you probably will buy your airplane ticket sites from. There are other companies like ours that charge for the complete package from reservation services, guide services, and a tone of extras, and just a whole pakcage from start to finish. Hope this blog helped give you a little understanding of how some of economics of Costa Rican tourism runs here.

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Costa Rica: Literacy Day Could Become More

Image by Raymond Yee via FlickrI have been working in developing countries for years now and always making education a major part of what we do. We deal with bringing US students down to Central America and getting them involved with the culture in rural areas. One of the first questions asked is what is the literacy rate of the country they are visiting? Well Costa Rica is right up there with some of the top countries at 96%.

It turns out that on celebrating literacy day we have to ask ourselves how long will reading and writing be enough to celebrate. Just to read and write in a few years might not be worth celebrating. It seems weird to say and of course we will always need to be able to read and write as part of basic education but it seems that learning basic technology is going to be a part of the literacy question for countries in the years to come. We brought our first student group to visit a rural school where we finally got computers and students on Facebook. It was quite amazing to see US students teach the rural kids how to open their accounts.

I would not doubt in the near future that a stat is given to countries such as Costa Rica to rate their literacy on technology for kids. Its a far way from being where it needs to be but just talking about it is a good start for now. Happy Literacy Day!

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Osa Peninsula Costa Rica

Image via WikipediaIt looks as if my last blog post sparked a little bit of controversy which is fine. If it was the language barrier or just opinion of my thoughts on Costa Rica some people did not like how I felt on the beaches of Costa Rica. Just to quickly make clear what I wanted to say in the last post. There is plenty to do in Costa Rica that does not involve beaches. Dont feel that you have to go to the beach when visiting Costa Rica.

Now in yesterdays blog the topic of some of the best beaches on the planet came up and that Costa Rica was home to many of them. I happen to agree that Costa Rica has some world class beaches such as Manuel Antonio and the beaches of Corcovado. I think the beaches of Corcovado are some of the most amazing places on the planet that a small percentage of tourist entering the country will visit. Well under the 2 million described in last weeks blog. Guanacaste has beautiful beaches and dont get me wrong if you pick Guanacaste for R&R you are going to love your stay but what you can get at Corcovado you can't get anywhere else on Earth.

Corcovado is the most biodiverse place on the planet. Just think about that for a second. Now read this article by CNN and understand that being able to see biodiversity you might want to take advantage of it. Costa Rica is doing a better job than most countries protecting these areas and we should thank them for it by visiting it. Its worth it, believe me. I understand Corcovado is not the easiest place on the planet to get too and that is probably one reason its bio-diversity has held on so well. So if you decide to go to other beaches in the different parts of the country there are plenty I'm sure you will enjoy and if you can take a morning or afternoon and visit a nearby National Park or Private Reserve and by gosh dont try and talk the price down acting like your a Tico if your just a good Spanish speaking Gringo.

Its always about the "BEST": What are the 3 worst beaches of Costa Rica?

If your interested in visiting the Osa with some of the top naturalist guides in Costa Rica give us a call or contact us at info@crrtravel.com or visit our site http://www.crrtravel.com/.

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The RIU Resort Guanacaste Costa Rica

Image by colros via FlickrI happen to be not a huge fan of all-inclusive resorts. After moving down to Costa Rica and becoming a bit more involved with the environment and the simplicity of how many of the families live in the rural areas I have a little different view on all-inclusive resorts. Although I can't say the same for everyone.

There is a new large all-inclusive resort in Guanacaste and the one good thing about it is that it is about 6 hours from San Jose. It is called RIU Resort which means I dont have to drive by it on my daily commute. I happen to feel Costa Rica is not a country that really needs all inclusive resorts. It just doesnt make sense for the vibe of the country.

I was reading this one honeymooners blog on his visit to the RIU resort which you can read here and I love the part where he says it is a cruise ship that never leaves port. Well that is good to know considering cruise ships are the single most largest polluting peices of junk to our oceans we have (except for BP I guess). So I guess if you absolutely have to stuff your face for 24 hours then an all-inclusive is better than a cruise. 

My point is if you are coming to Costa Rica there is so much to do and you are missing so much. I always here the excuse its our first time, we dont know Spanish,  drinks and food is whats really important to us. Well if that is whats important they save yourself a few hundred bucks and drive down the street to the  Waffle House with a bottle of Whiskey in your coat because they run 24 hours. But if you want to experience Costa Rica for what it really is get out and meat the people and the places. Pump your smiles and dollars into the part of the country it should be going!

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No to Condos at Lake Arenal Costa Rica

Image via Wikipedia North American investors were planning to put some condos up at Lake Arenal, the home of the planets most active volcano. It is a beautiful spot; however, they were stopped short by the Supreme Court who ruled in favor of a non-profit environmental watchdog. It seemed that water and waste resources were inadequate. A new Environmental Impact Study will be done. Don’t mess with Mother Nature, in Costa Rica.

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