About 50 million years or so ago, Costa Rica was a series of underwater volcanoes. Over thousands and thousands of years, layers built up until eventually they surfaced and continued to grow, just as the Hawaiian Islands do today. The Cocos Plate shoving its way underneath the Caribbean Plate also helped things along, pushing Central...Read More
What are you doing for your summer holiday? What about a beach holiday in the tropics? Sun, sand, surf … Costa Rica is at the top of all popular travel sites this year. Warm water, abundant sunshine, palm trees, balmy temperatures, friendly people, and lots of great places to stay and things to do. This...Read More
Are you happy? That seems to be the question being asked in recent times, from boardrooms to bars, international conference centers to offices of government leaders, business schools to book stores. Are we happy? Following our bliss? Living our passion? Are we “me-focused” or “others-focused”? The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan even measures its country’s...Read More
When I used to guide nature tours in Costa Rica, people would always ask me, “Are we going to see monkeys (or a sloth, toucan, etc.)?” I would always respond, “Well, it’s possible, but not guaranteed; it’s not like we put the animals out in their positions in the morning!” When we talk about the...Read More
One thing about Costa Rica is the country loves a good party! Costa Ricans are known for being gregarious and fun-loving and their enthusiasm is contagious when the country celebrates its numerous fiestas, festivals and horse parades. Plan your travel to Costa Rica during these cultural events and experience first-hand the country’s rich local traditions,...Read More
Trending in recent years among brides and grooms is leaving behind the traditional, large, 250-person, fancy church, banquet hall wedding in favor of a fun, exotic destination wedding that adds the adventure of a sunny honeymoon vacation. Couples choose to go out-of-town for many reasons, including basic economics. You would think that staging a wedding...Read More
Summer break, for all of those in the north, is nearly here. This year, do something really unique and different for your family vacation! Go on a family surfing vacation in warm, tropical Costa Rica. Really get away from your daily routine of life, have fun on an adventure, experience new places, make new friends,...Read More
Besides amazing looks, tropical architecture is all about working with the elements of nature to achieve thermal comfort in hot and humid climates. Tropical architecture, whether traditional, ultramodern or high-tech, uses passive design elements like sunshades, cavity walls, light shelves, overhangs, roof and wall insulation, and shading from large trees to block the intense tropical...Read More
Visitors to Costa Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region probably don’t realize the area was once a thriving community for the indigenous Chorotega tribe. Indigenous history and traditions maintain a low profile in the Central American country, yet if you look closely they are all around you. Spreading across Costa Rica’s entire northern Pacific zone, Guanacaste, for...Read More
Costa Rica surfer Carlos Muñoz has made it to the top 10 in the Junior Men’s World Ranking of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The 20-year-old rising star surfer is currently tied at ninth place in the world in the Junior Men’s Division with eight other surfers from Australia, Hawaii, Brazil, USA and Japan....Read More
Jaco surfers dominated Costa Rica’s Third Olympus National Surfing Competition for 2013, the MAUI Cup, last week at Jaco Beach. Top Jaco surfers Jair Pérez and Lisbeth Vindas respectively won the Men’s and Women’s Open Titles in the third Costa Rica Surf Federation national circuit competition, sponsored by energy drink company Adrenaline Rush. The surf...Read More
One of the joys of traveling is picking up that little something special to bring back home. A unique gift from a unique place that will remind you months and years later of the fun trip you enjoyed. In the case of world traveler Susan Money, owner of Costa Rica’s Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga...Read More
Headlines this week reported most of North America, Europe and even China locked in winter’s icy grip. A mix of sleet and snow, accompanied by lightning, made travel a mess in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area. A swath of snowfall from portions of Mississippi and northern Alabama/Georgia spreads through the Central Appalachians. Trees snap in...Read More
There’s nothing better than a day at the beach. The sun, the surf … what could be more fun? Especially in Costa Rica, where the sun, sand and sea are warm all the time! Long beaches of gold, rich black, pearly white, beige and even pink sand, fringed with palm trees and other greenery –...Read More
Once, Santa Teresa was a small fishing village, home to a handful of families who lived off the sea, along with small-scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Like many of Costa Rica’s top beach destinations along the Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa’s isolation from poor or non-existing roads kept this tropical paradise off the beaten track for...Read More
The world as we know it has certainly shrunk a great deal due to the interconnectivity of the internet, and especially social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. When the number one music video rocketing around the world is from South Korea (“Gangnam Style”), and kids in places like Costa Rica have memorized the dance...Read More
More than 700 miles of beach on Pacific and Caribbean coasts, warm water, tropical climate, lush rainforest and cloud forest, jungle wildlife, stable country, and friendly people – Costa Rica entices millions to visit every year. If you live anywhere in the Americas, and most likely even in Europe, then you have heard the buzz...Read More
The new wildly popular “Author’s Cuisine” culinary movement that originated in Spain over a decade ago is not simply cuisine by the “author” or chef who cooked it. “Author’s Cuisine” is a vanguard of culinary arts favored by Spanish and other European chefs who are praised for their creativity. Dishes incorporate unusual textures, aromas, and...Read More
Walking in a winter wonderland is just a tad different on Costa Rica’s Santa Teresa Beach. Rather than the traditional “white Christmas” and “snow glistening in the lane” scene, it is closer to Frosty the Snowman’s situation … “The sun was hot that day. So he said, let’s run and we’ll have some fun now...Read More
Personally, I prefer staying in small boutique hotels. Large chain hotels have their function, though I rather like when the receptionist remembers my name and is personable enough to care how I am and how my stay is going. I like waiters who remember I favor water without ice and that my mid-afternoon coffee is...Read More
Do you like to work out in your hotel’s gym when you’re away? If you happen to be staying in Denmark’s Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, keeping fit while traveling will help generate the hotel’s electricity and earn you meal vouchers in their restaurant. The flagship eco-hotel is the first hotel in Denmark to generate all...Read More
One of the most amazing things I’ve learned how to do is scuba dive. It’s the closest thing to flying I’ve ever felt, and given my fear of heights (or, rather, falling from them), it feels a whole lot safer. When you get your buoyancy worked out right, being weightless under water, drifting here and...Read More
While the rest of the northern surfing world is gearing up for snowboarding for the winter, Costa Rica is heating up for the 2012-2013 summer season. Sunny days, blue skies and dry trade winds are soon headed our way … ideal for surf vacations! Look your best and get the most stoke with the latest...Read More
I want to be part of a Blue Zone. What is a “Blue Zone,” you ask? It is a place where people live happily and healthily for a very long time. The term was popularized by author-educator-explorer Dan Buettner in his 2008 book, “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from People Who’ve Lived the...Read More
