For its sheer beauty and phenomenal whitewater rapids, the Pacuare River of Costa Rica is one of the world’s top whitewater river rafting adventures. The Pacuare thunders down a long gorge and canyon through primary and secondary rainforest of the Talamanca Mountains on Costa Rica’s Caribbean slope. You have the feeling of being completely isolated...Read More
As we drove up into the clouds, it began to look not like Costa Rica anymore. Mist swirled around us. Large-leafed Prehistoric-looking vegetation lurked in the gloom. All windows were up; I was wearing a big fleece jacket, and I was contemplating turning on my car’s heater for the first time ever. When I told...Read More
The end of the year in southern Costa Rica is time for one of the country’s biggest indigenous cultural events. This is when the native Boruca community celebrates their traditional “Fiesta de los Diablitos”, or the Festival of Little Devils. The four-day annual event happens from Dec. 30 to Jan. 2 in the village of...Read More
Nosara, Costa Rica, is a fascinating, eclectic beach community. Remotely located on the Pacific Coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, Nosara has become a haven for local and international residents who sought to “get away from it all.” Many came to surf the wild side-by-side beaches of Playa Pelada and Playa Guiones, two of Costa Rica’s...Read More
For more than 100 years, every year at Christmastime, rather than searching for the perfect present, tens of thousands of active passionate folks explore the great outdoors looking for the most splendid birds. Outfitted with binoculars, bird guides and checklists, birding devotees throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, rain, or maybe even tropical sun, to...Read More
Costa Rica’s summer season is beginning, just in time to beat the winter blues with affordable winter vacation destinations. Find your winter sun in Costa Rica, an easy and fun tropical getaway. Miles of beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts make for great beach vacations. Rainforests, cloud forests and active volcanoes provide exciting...Read More
Have you heard the one about the visiting tourist enjoying Costa Rican tamales? He says, “They’re really delicious, but the lettuce is little tough!” (Costa Rican tamales are wrapped in green banana tree leaves.) Ho, ho, ho! Tamales are one of the most time-honored Christmas traditions in Costa Rica. Like the rest of Latin America,...Read More
Guanacaste is known as the “sunny side” of Costa Rica. The northwestern province is named after Costa Rica’s national tree, the Guanacaste. The nearly-always sunny climate is dry and hot, which creates its unique dry tropical forest habitat. Vast rolling plains, foothills, low coastal mountains and the towering Cordillera de Guanacaste mountain range create an...Read More
I’ve been reading about ocean pollution, and the facts are really quite shocking. Apparently, it was once a common practice to “get rid of trash” by dumping it into the ocean, and there was even a positive catchphrase: “The solution to pollution is dilution.” People assumed that the oceans were so vast and deep that...Read More
Spending your Christmas holidays in Costa Rica and wondering what to do? The capital city of San José has a lot going on. So get your Santa hat and festive cheer ready, and let the rhythm of Christmas in Latin America dash you away! Christmas in San José, Costa Rica, is a lively, fun time....Read More
I drove through the city of San Jose last weekend. Everywhere the streets were clogged with traffic and shoppers, rushing around to cash in on Christmas deals and sales. Besides making a mental note to avoid the traffic until after Christmas, the scene made me adamantly think how much I do not want that chaos...Read More
The southern Pacific Ocean off the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica is an amazing natural wonder of marine biodiversity, home to more than 25 species of dolphins and whales, four of the world’s eight different sea turtles, along with manta rays, sailfish, marlin, tuna and sharks. The southern Pacific, and especially Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf)...Read More
