Rainforest and Cloud Forest It's not surprising that the majority of Costa Rica's international luxury resorts are in the Papagayo region since it has more dry, hot sunny beach weather than anywhere else in the country but some people are surprised that the lack of rainfall also means there's … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2015
Not in the Caribbean
It shouldn't be surprising that the Caribbean is different. It's clear across the continent from the resorts of the Pacific side. The Same Weather as the Rest of Costa Rica Just as the southern Caribbean follows the beat of a different, Reggae drummer it has different weather patterns than … [Read more...]
Not at Arenal
What is Not in the Arenal Volcano Region It's helpful when planning to know what doesn't work well from the Arenal region and what you won't find there that you might elsewhere. Lately the thing that's been most conspicuously absent from Arenal are the views of lava and red hot boulders … [Read more...]
Volunteering
It seems like there should be lots of volunteer opportunities in Costa Rica If you're willing to work hard all day setting fence posts to keep cows out of a wildlife refuge or teaching English to indigenous children it seems reasonable to expect a clean dry place to sleep and three square meals in … [Read more...]
Walk on the Wild Side
Walk WAY off to the side or it may be hazardous to your health Costa Rica's highway safety department (Dirección General de Tránsito) statistics show that about a third of the people who die on the roads are pedestrians or bicyclists. Compare that to around one percent in the U.S. or Europe and … [Read more...]
Airport Dehydration Alert
update January 2016 - The international airports have reversed the system described below and now operate like the rest of the world. Currently liquids are not allowed through security but if you buy them or fill your bottle after passing through security you are allowed to take it on the … [Read more...]
Curi Cancha Wildlife Refuge
Undiscovered & Less Crowded Cloud Forest Experience A new private reserve is as much a refuge for human visitors as the resident birds and animals. Thousands fewer people arrive at the gates each week than at its famous neighbor, Monteverde. For visitors willing to give up the cache of going … [Read more...]
Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
Probably about a dozen years ago Sue and I were walking the coast trail to punta Mona in Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge and we started talking about all the animals we'd seen, not just that day but in all our visits to Costa Rica. I was trying to come up with some that we hadn't seen but really … [Read more...]
Don’t Drink the Natilla
Go ahead and drink the water... The mountainsides below the continental divide north of Varablanca Costa Rica are reminiscent of Switzerland. Black and white Holstein cattle feed on the rich pastures that have replaced the rain and cloud forests over much of the area. After a sweaty climb on … [Read more...]
Guanacaste National Park
Guanacaste National Park was created in 1989 to connect Santa Rosa National Park with the high elevation cloud forest of Orosi and Cacao volcanoes and across the continental divide to the Caribbean rainforest of Northern Costa Rica. The hope is that together these two parks protect enough land to … [Read more...]
Isla Bolaños Wildlife Refuge
Isla Bolaños National Wildlife Refuge in the Bahía Salinas was established to protect nesting sites for Brown Pelicans and Magnificent Frigatebirds. The windy ridges on the southwestern side of the island are isolated from predators and provide perfect launch pads for the adult’s fishing sorties … [Read more...]
Tips for Travel on Domestic Airlines
Domestic flights can be a great way to see some of the more remote areas of Costa Rica. Distances are short, flights from San José are under an hour to anywhere, and prices can be as low as $40-70 one way which is very competitive with renting an SUV or riding in a tourist transport bus for a … [Read more...]
LIR Live Flight Updates
Daniel Oduber Liberia International Airport Costa Rica (LIR) Check the status of your flight. All times are local (Central American Standard Time). Most airlines require you to be at the airport at least three hours prior to your scheduled departure time and Costa Rican law requires you to pay … [Read more...]
SJO Live Flight Updates
Juan Santamaría International Airport Costa Rica (SJO) Live Flight Updates Check the status of your flight. All times are local (Central American Standard Time). Most airlines require you to be at the airport at least three hours prior to your scheduled departure time and Costa Rican law requires … [Read more...]
Imperial Beer in the U.S.
Cheap Imperial Beer Coming to a Liquor Store Near You Cerveceria Costa Rica never had significant market penetration in the U.S. prior to their recent acquisition of North American Breweries. Imperial was sporadically available in a few specialty stores, but now the liquor store down the street … [Read more...]
Isla del Cocos National Park
Hundreds of years ago Cocos Island was a hideout for pirates (and some say the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's, Treasure Island). Stories tell of buccaneers burying treasures here… Edward Davis in 1685, Benito Bonito in 1820, and William Thompson in 1821, but if they did leave treasure … [Read more...]
Disastrous Border Road
A few people have asked us when we're going to add the new multimillion dollar road from Los Chiles to the Caribbean to the the map of Costa Rica. We tell them the same thing "when the road actually exists." Although the official completion of route 1856 (aka "the border road") was announced a … [Read more...]
Trip Advisor-Fake Reviews
TripAdvisor Fake Reviews Investigated - BBC News Over three years after it was first widely reported (see below) that the postings on the popular travel review site were suspect there are still considerable concerns as reported in this May 2014 article from the BBC. "The fake review problem is … [Read more...]
Juan Castro Blanco/Parque de Aguas National Park
Juan Castro Blanco National Park is also known as Parque de Aguas (the park of the waters) and protects mid-elevation wet forest and high altitude cloud forest on the slopes of three extinct volcano peaks, Porvenir (2,267 meters), Platanar (2,183 meters), and Viejo (2,060 meters). Currently the … [Read more...]