October 15th "World Rural Women Day"



Smiles from Sitio de Mata Project

 Although this is a day late I wanted to inform everyone that yesterday was the World Rural Women's Day. Most have probably never heard of this including myself until this year. I was doing some research and after dealing with Rural Costa Rica for the last couple of years, having my brother make yearly trips to Africa, and having lived in other rural areas of Central America it crossed our minds that women in rural areas more often than not are the ones putting up the struggle for the food on the table and education of the children.

It turns out after one quick google the Day of Rural Women already exist and it is October 15th. It has been around for over a decade. Halloween will be taking second place now as my favorite holiday in October. This is a special day as we celebrate Rural Women across the globe. Just here in Costa Rica our company has a special relationship with the Rural Women in the village of Sitio de Mata where we have our Sitio de Mata Project going strong and just gets stronger as more of you put groups together to form more visits.

To all the rural women across the globe we hope you enjoyed your day. We will be doing everything we can next year to make October 15th a celebrated day in rural parts of Costa Rica. I called some of the ladies in our Sitio de Mata Project and none of them knew this day even existed which made me think probably most of the rural women on the planet don't even know this day exist. They were quite flattered to here a day was just for them and all their hard work.

Plan a Rural Costa Rica Vacation Today
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Morphine?! I'll Just Eat a Poisonous Dart Frog...

Dude, I'm slipping (Good thing Im coated in mucous to hold on)

If you have been on a Costa Rica Vacation and have had the chance to see the poisonous dart frogs it i one of the smallest events of any family vacation yet one of the most memorables. (Just a tip if you are heading to the Pacuare River it happens to be one of the best spots to see them in Costa Rica).

It is amazing how this little amphibian the size of a penny can compete with large erupting volcanoes and loud howling monkeys as being one of the sites of your Costa Rica Adventure.

Now if you were interested in seeing them before maybe with the new study out you will see just how important these guys might be. The Family is called Dendrobatidae and more commonly know as the Poisonous Dart Frog which we have all heard the Indians rubbed their arrows on the skin and then the poison could stay on the arrow tip for up to two years used for hunting or wars.

What we might not have known is that there have been studies done recently that have found that this same poison works 200 times better than Morphine and has no side affects. When I say no side affects we are talking that the frog poison is not addictive, no breathing problems, and no digestive problems all at a 200 times better performance than Morphine. I know pain and suffering is a part life but geez this sounds too good to be true.

The new medicine has been taken from the species in Ecuador called "Epipedrobates Tricolor" and all this chatter in the medical industry is still very young. This medicine still has all the hoops to jump through and I'm sure some pharmaceutical company has to get their billions off of it before lives start getting saved.

The medicice is called "Epibatidine" in honor of the frog. So if you happen to hear the name in a few years you can know that this medicine is poison off a frogs back that roamed in the tropics.

The   poisonous dart frogs have no predators except for one species of snake whihc is immune to it's poison. Does anyone know it's name?

Costa Rica Family Adventures

Costa Rican Resource

wwwcrrtravel.com  info@crrtravel.com

US: 352 694 3462  CR: +506 2266 1559

 

 

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Braulio Carrillo National Park Costa Rica

For almost 3 years I worked the Pacuare River Rafting one day trip leaving from San Jose at 6am and arriving back to San Jose at 6pm. It was a very long day but still I have to say everyday you got up looking forward to the tour. It's just one of Costa Rica's best adventures that never gets old.

 One of my favorite parts about this trip was after the long 3 hours of paddling was getting out of the raft and the peaceful drive back to San Jose. Most of the client were sleeping because they were tired from rafting also. They had to rest up for the rest of their Costa Rica Family Vacation and we had to rest up for the next day of rafting. The best part about the drive back was the 45 minutes we spend in the Braulio Carrillo National Park. I still remember hearing a man who had traveled all over the world visiting some of the worlds diverse and jungle filled places.

He made the comment that that the Braulio Carrillo always seemed to amaze him like none other. He said it was so unique in that it was so close to a major populated area as the San Jose Central Valley area. I did not think much at the time and then he went on to tell me how much of the park he would guess has never been set foot on by humans. Not thinking much of it at the time I began to do some research and realized that the Braulio Carrillo National Park is not friendly terrain. It is wet (4,500mm per year), very mountainous & rugged, and extremely tough to get around with many canyons, waterfalls, & rivers. There are a few hiking trails but the more you think about it the more that man probably was right in saying that there are many parts of it that man has never seen and it sits right next too a worlds major Capital City, San Jose (Sort of a major Capital City).

The park measures 47,583hectares and was created in 1978. It was named after the president who went through great lengths to join the Central Valley to the Atlantic Coast Braullio Carrillo.  Probably the most recognized area of the park are the volcanic peaks Barva, Cacho Negro, & Zurqui which can be seen from the now paved highway or the Rio Sucio which is two different color rivers (which was actually a scene from Jurassic Park & the movie Congo). Just a drive through the park on a clear day you will be promised a view of some of the most lush tropical forest you will see anywhere on Earth. The forest here is estimated to have around 6,000 different species of plants.

If you have the chance during your Costa Rica Family Vacation to visit the Braulio Carrillo National Park or atleast make the drive through our suggestion would be to try and do it early in the morning when the mist is rising. If you contact us and you really want to get a taste for the park we can take you hiking but it will not be your average touristy destination.

If you are headed from the Atlatic Coast or Pacuare River to the Arenal Volcano you will not pass the Braulio Carrillo Park although it might be worth to take a short detour if it is a clear day.

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Costa Rica Family Vacation Specialist
Costa Rican Resource
www.crrtravel.com   info@crrtravel.com
CR:   +506 2266 1559    US:  352 694 3462

Costa Rica Family Vacation

Hotel Capitan Suizo Costa Rica

After reading many different comments about this hotel I wanted to get some things straight. Its not a bad place. I know all travelers want to go to tripadvisor for comments on where to travel. But a bad comment on tripadvisor does not mean a place is bad.

For example and this goes for my opinion and I understand that all of you might not think the same way which is fine which means Hotel Capitan Suizo may not be the place for you. Costa Rica is located in the TROPICS which is what has made it popular and one of hte most bio-diverse places on the planets. The cute looking monkeys, beautiful toucans, and colorful looking frogs would not be around if it was not for little noisy insects (can you believe that, isnt that weird?). This is my first complaint of the complaints I see about hotels on tripadvisor.

I do agree Capitan Suizo was probably trying to save energy cost as many hotels do it is the "Green-Energy Saving Vibe" going on (its a good thing unfortunately the majority of paying tourist are not on the same vibe yet which hotel owners need to be aware of) by not using dehumidifyers in the rooms and things got a little damp. The sheets the beds. From what Ive heard they made the investment and this problem has been fixed. Some other complaints were the towels were a little out dated which in my opinion working as a guide for years sorry to say Capitan Suizo NO EXCUSE!!!! We get clients out of the river after 2 days of rafting and the most important thing is a nice fluffy towel even though we are in the town of Siquirres which is one of Costa Rica's least pleasant towns it is amazing the magic of the fluff in a towel so I understand those complaints for the vacationer as operatering tours it is the little things that count.

I love the idea of Capitan Suizo how they use no chemicals so if the insects come into the room deal with them. I think visitors need more contact with nature literally. It seems nuts but in the US there is so much isolation from nature it's amazing what we have exposed ourselves to in thinking we are protecting ourselves by getting away from all these little bugs. They actually dont hurt you as much as you think they do.

The staff is amazing, the rooms are big, the hotel grounds are super secluded and kept at perfection and one thing that cant be beat is that you are ON the beach. When it comes to Costa Rica there are many places you will stay AT the beach but ON the beach not as many.

Interesting Facts About Hotel:

• No TV's I love this
• 11 rooms with fans
• 11 rooms with A/C
• 95% of employees are from Costa Rica
• No pesticides are used in the gardens
• 10 minute walk from the town of Tamarindo (good part is you still feel secluded)

Family Vacation Planning Specialist

The Costa Rican Resource
http://www.crrtravel.com/
info@crrtravel.com


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Casa Turire Hotel Turrialba Costa Rica

This 16 room hotel has been one of my favorites for years now. Although I will say it has no A/C in 15 of the rooms I have never heard any of my clients mention this as a problem.

The hotel is on a lake, it is very small but spread out perfectly almost with the feel that you are in a large plantation home arriving in on a driveway of a long row of palm trees. The pool area is small but very well kept along with all the hotel grounds. You are located in a valley and have very good views of the mountains and nearby Turrialba Volcano. The area is also very close to some of Costa Rica's best rafting rivers and Costa Rica's most famous and world renown the Pacuare River.

The food is amazing and if I had to give this hotel one bad comment it would be the coffee is not my favorite but just go with the tea for a night or two.

Who will Enjoy this Hotel?

I will let my past clients do the talking on this one as we have been working with this hote Casa Turire for around 5 years now and we have a 100% satisfaction rate with this hotel. The prices are also very low I feel for the value and service. This hotel works perfect for family vacations and also an amazing spot if you are on a Costa Rican Honeymoon.

Next Vacation: A Cruise or Costa Rica Eco-Tourism?

Image via WikipediaBefore my days of working in eco-tourism I went on cruises and I have to say I enjoyed them when I was a kid but now from what Ive learned Im going to lay this one out there nice and simple. A cruise ship is a large floating piece of junk. One cruise ship generates EACH DAY:

• 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets each day
• 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers
• 7 tons of garbage and solid waste
• 15 gallons of toxic chemicals
• 7,000 gallons of oily bildgewater

Not to mention the amount of over-eating, glutnous fest, artery clogging, health-care bill rising cost, (should I go on...?).

 Just go with Eco-Tourism its a No-Brainer

 Design Your Own Eco-Tourism Adventure

Source: NatGeo: GreenGuide

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OIL IN COSTA RICA

Hold up cowboys. Before every direct flight from the state of Texas to Costa Rica is filled (well atleast the first class seats I dont know if big oil Texan boys will sit in coach) let me explain what Oil in Costa Rica means? Yes, It means energy but ufortunately for all you money sucking capatlist idiots this is a little something we call White Oil. By now I probably lost 90% of my readers that I attracted by the title of this blog. Costa Rica does not have oil and no random blogger like myself would be the first to blurt to the world that a country of 5 million with no army just struck oil.

If you didnt already know Costa Rica lends itself to a number of different sources of generating energy. Costa Rica is a narrow country with two coast,  high mountains, and a lot of rain. If you use your imagination with what I just said you should be able to see that rivers go racing down from these high mountains at a very high speed because the country is narrow and full of water because of the rains. Costa Rica also has some areas where they have generated energy through wind. Well this blog is not about either of those. This blog is about $White-Oil$.

I had never heard the term white oil until an official from ICE (Costa Rican Institute for Electricity) used it when interviewed about Costa Rica's Geo-Thermal Energy. He was being interviewed because ICE can only tap into 23% of Costa Rica's Geo-Thermal energy and the rest of it is located in protected areas and national parks. The reported asked this ICE official what he thought of this restriction: "It is a shame we cant tap into the national parks for geothermal energy it is the white oil of this country". Now tapping into Natoinal Parks just sounds wrong but their is a nice little ring to white oil, so I will say he had me for about 3 seconds.

There are many benefits to Geo-Thermal Energy for Costa Rica which now runs 15% of its lights of this type of energy and can only tap into 23% of its resources. The "White Oil" is also a lot cheaper. It cost about 4 cents for each KW as compared to gas which is 46 cents for each KW.  So the cost is a no brainer. The second benefit which Im sure ICE plans to use on their side is that GeoThermal is much nicer to the environment. With gas each megavolt burns 1,000kilos of CO2 and with Geothermal it reduces to 59 kilos of CO2.

Image via WikipediaNow the question starts should the energy company be able to tap into the national parks. They had a deal in 2008 that said if they did the National Parks would get land that was 5% larger that the area used by the energy company to compensate for the area lost. So the final result would be that the National Park would be the same size even a bit larger. I know there are two sides to this story and I look forward to following it. This is just the basic info now that the energy company has used all 23% of the resources outside of the National Park we should start to see true colors fly with environmentalist and ICE officials as the debates begin. If you comments or thoughts on this we would love to hear. Also I dont know why but Jorge W. Bush the ExPresidenta of the USA uses GeoThermal energy to run his house in Texas according to this site click here.  We feel this is a very interesting subject area for tourist that will be visiting and we would love to inform them the best we possibly can?

Source: http://www.nacion.com/2010-09-12/ElPais/NotasSecundarias/ElPais2516365.aspx

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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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Costa Rica's Best Kept Secret

When you plan your Costa Rica Family Vacation if your up for a 2 hour hike and a night in the jungle this would be one of the places we would suggest. If you like the video just click the link below:

Costa Rica Adventures

   
          
      I WANT TO SLEEP BEHIND A WATERFALL IN COSTA RICA!!!!!!

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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Don't Visit Beaches on a Costa Rica Vacation?

Image via WikipediaWhy on Earth would this be the title of my blog. When you say a  Costa Rica Vacation you think of tropical paradise and when you say tropical paradise you think of white sandy beaches. I will start by saying Costa Rica does have some excellent beaches and if you absolutely have to go to a beach on every single vacation of your life then have at it Im sure you wont be bummed by the beaches here in Costa Rica.

If you have been to a few beaches which I'm sure most of you have because beaches are all over the planet then you might want to do a little bit more research in to what else Costa Rica has to offer. Most tourist come to Costa Rica with just a one week and they opt to have the beach at the last 3 days of there trip. I support this idea because there are many beaches that have many fun activities to do in the area besides just laying in the sun or just surfing.

The point of this post is if you have only a week or 10 days on your Costa Rican family vacation in the country dont feel like you have to go to the beaches of Costa Rica. Costa Rica does not have the most beautiful beaches in the world. There are many more beaches in the America's alone that top the Costa Rican beaches. Yes, Manuel Antonio is up there but its just too touristy. With the time you have do some research or even contact us and find out about some of the most amazing places in the middle of the rainforest or cloudforest. These places are some of the most unique places on the planet and you dont want to pass it up.

Our advice to you is to think about it do your research and don't be afraid to ask. If you have questions about places that we feel are better than being at the beach please contact us.

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Technical Rope Rescue Course

Rescue 3 International is one of the most well known Rescue Course companies out of California. This company is used to certify firefighters and Rescue teams all over the globe. Here in Costa Rica we are fortunate enough to have a representative from the company that does his part in getting guides ready to guide in any situation. Pacific Journeys is a Company that offers these courses which we feel if you have the time everyone should take part in but most important all who want to be adventure guides. We just finished with the 70 hour vertical rescue course which is how to do rescue and tourist activities such as rappeling and canyoning.

It is a very intense course where each member has to climb up a rope 200ft. If you are not wearing gloves you can say hello to some new blisters. There is also a lot of attention given to systems with ropes that would lighten the load in certain rescue situations. For example if you are a team of only two people and you have to lift a car out of the river how can you set the rope system up to where it is possible for two people to lift a car out of a river. First of all you always need the right equipment but there are even some tricks to know that if you are caught with little to no equipment then you can make the best out of what you have.

It was a great week which all guides in the country should be certified. Courses like this can be a great addition to any student travel trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica has the terrain where ropes are often the most practical way to get from one place to the next. With a little training you can play a major roll in a rescue situation which can happen anywhere at anytime.

How to Rappel

Taking student groups all over Costa Rica and rappeling different waterfalls in the country it is must to do the rappel to perfection. All groups have to be operated at a level of perfection when it comes to rappel but extra special attention when dealing with student travel. The sport of rappel is an adventure sport that should always be extremely safe. It is a sport that has become popular in Costa Rica and walking off the side of a waterfall is not something you can say you do everyday. The training to become a rappel guide has to take you through some courses but the ability to do the rappel as part of a tour is a short class going through the basics. This next blog is going to take you through the steps you need to make your first rappel a perfect one.


First of all you want to have the right gear. This should include adventure sandals, or shoes that will not fall off. You want to wear clothing that will protect you from the harnass and also without a hat because you will be wearing a helmet. When it comes to jewelery and things you dont need anything and the less things that have a chance of getting caught the better. Finally if you have long hair you want to have the hair tied up. This prevents your hair from getting caught in the equipment.

On our student travel to Costa Rica we deal with two types of rappel. The first being just simply walking down the side of the mountain or wall. The second type of rappel is the free rappel. You can see in the pictures the different between the two. The next list is the basic things you need to do when rappeling:

1. Keep feet shoulder width apart.
2. Extend your legs
3. Don not lean forward. Allow equipment to hold your body weight.
4. Feed rope from the back.
5. The hand above the equipment is only used as a guider and do not try and hold your body weight with this hand.
6. Take it slow.

These are the basic steps to getting you down the side of the mountain. The way it works is that your equipment works as friction and your body weight ultimately gets you down the side of the mountain. Our studnet travel trips always have two lines one as a safetey line just incase you decide to not follow one of these steps we are always there to make the ride a little smoother. When visiting Costa Rica the zipline usually gets the most credit but I have to say the rappel is becoming more and more popular and with some simple steps it can be an amazing adventure.