Costa Rica cultural festival held at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge

Guests lucky enough be staying at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge at the end of July were treated to a fun event celebrating the art and culture of Costa Rica.



In honor of the national holiday, Annexation of Guanacaste Day on July 25, Nicuesa Lodge invited local artisans and a folkloric dance group to entertain hotel guests. The Costa Rica eco-lodge holds cultural and art festivals at least twice a year to celebrate different events.

On this occasion, craft artisans and the Folkloric Dance Group Yuré from the town of Puerto Jimenez came across the Golfo Dulce by boat to the lodge. Joining them was Ana Iris, a woman from the regional indigenous Boruca community, who brought traditional masks to show and sell. Made from lightweight balsa wood, the colorful, hand-carved masks beautifully depict Boruca legends and rainforest wildlife of the Osa Peninsula.



Young dancers performed various Costa Rican folkloric dances, relating stories of coffee growers, fishermen, love, etc. “The dancers then invited our guests to dance the ‘Pavo’, or turkey dance. Everyone was very enthusiastic,” said Natalia Solis, Sustainability Coordinator at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge.



Lunch served by Nicuesa Lodge’s gourmet cooks was a typical Costa Rican meal of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), salad and black beans. To drink, guests tried a traditional Caribbean beverage called Agua de Sapo, or “water of the frog.” Having nothing to do with its name, the beverage basically is a sweet ginger lemonade, made with water, lemon, ginger and raw cane sugar, called tapa dulce. For dessert, guests enjoyed Costa Rica’s famous “coconut caramel”, made fresh at the lodge with coconut grown on the property.

Meals are served in Nicuesa Lodge’s magnificent two-story tree house-style main building. The open-air dining area gives unobstructed views of the tree canopy (great for wildlife spotting), the forest, beach and ocean.



Visit Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica

Located in the pristine rainforest on a remote beach of the warm water gulf of Golfo Dulce, the award-winning sustainable tourism hotel in Costa Rica offers an extraordinary experience of the Costa Rica rainforest. Ideal for adventure sports, nature exploration and relaxing completely “unplugged,” Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is an oasis of comfortable, rustic luxury in the jungle.



Whale watching in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

Don’t miss the 2015 season for whale watching in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. Starting in August, the tranquil blue waters of this Pacific gulf, between the Piedras Blancas National Park and the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, welcome migrating southern Pacific humpback whales who come to breed and give birth. Enjoy daily whale watching tours at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge.

Article by Shannon Farley

 

Nosara, Costa Rica is an artsy, eclectic community

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 top surfing beaches. Others came seeking a healthier lifestyle of yoga, sunshine, clean air and organic markets.

Art groups in Nosara are now promoting the Costa Rica beach community as a cultural center. The Nosara Artisans group, which was founded by resident ceramic artists Kristen Brousseau and Emma Kinsey, hold Saturday afternoon art fairs once a month. Upcoming 2014 art fairs will be held on Jan. 25, Feb. 22 and Mar. 29 at the Gilded Iguana Hotel and Restaurant in Guiones. The group recently held their second annual Holiday Art Fair that benefited the Nosara Animal Care shelter.

A new art group, called Arte Nosara, is currently being organized by Nosara resident Paul Da Costa, to host art and photography exhibitions, musical concerts and dances. The first expo is planned for January 2014.

Visit Nosara, Costa Rica

One of the finest Nosara hotels is L’acqua Viva Resort & Spa, a luxury boutique hotel by Playa Guiones. The hotel’s name means “live water,” which is a key element in the hotel’s exotic Bali-style architecture. Art is a central theme at L’acqua Viva Resort & Spa; all around the hotel are art masterpieces from around the world that belong to a private collection. The best way to reach Nosara and Playa Guiones is to take a domestic flight from San Jose or Liberia to the Nosara domestic airport.

Article by Shannon Farley