Teens have fun learning Spanish and surfing in Costa Rica

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 steps, you know the world is smaller. International travel is relatively commonplace for families, and it’s not unusual for kids and teens to already have several stamps in their passports. Still, sending your teen off to another country on their own is a big deal for most parents.

“It’s important to expand a teen’s world view with travel,” remarks Nancy Black, writer and mother of two teen boys from Santa Barbara, California. “This broader perspective provides a huge amount of empathy, and the understanding that not all people live the same way, and that there are many ways. Experiencing cultural differences opens new possibilities. It also fosters a kind of gratitude for things taken for granted in the U.S., where hot showers are standard, if you travel somewhere without them for example.”

Costa Rica’s Del Mar Surfing Academy offers teens (ages 13-19) the life-changing opportunity to travel to another country, be immersed in Spanish language and Central American culture, and learn the fun sport of surfing on one and two-week camps. Run by two mothers, Bettina del Rio and Maria del Mar, they both well know the big decisions involved for parents and teens to choose an international learning program.“Surrounded by culture, traditions and language in an experiential camp with others will be sure to change their lives forever,” explains Del Mar Surfing Academy Director Bettina del Rio. “We are aware of the big responsibility and have the passion to share all of the activities that our kids are able to experience in Costa Rica with your kids. We are really lucky to live in a place like Costa Rica, and think that it is very important that teens have these types of experiences at a young age. This trip will mark their lives in a positive way. We can’t wait to have the chance to show you how wonderful the experience is.”

Del Mar Surfing Academy offers 7-night and 14-night surf camps perfect for beginners up to advanced surfers. On Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, Del Mar Surfing Academy holds programs based at the small and lovely beachfront Monterey del Mar Hotel in Playa Esterillos Este. The quiet, mostly residential beach is perfect for surf programs with its moderate waves, yet only 10 minutes away from more challenging surf at Playa Hermosa.  Not to be excluded at all, del Rio said parents are more than welcome to join their teens and enjoy the tropical beauty and delightful warm seas of Costa Rica. Parallel surf vacation programs for adults are offered via Del Mar Surf Camp, or parents can just take down time on a beach holiday and see their teens in the evenings.


For more information, contact Del Mar Surfing Academy and Del Mar Surf Camp.

Paradise Calling - Real Estate Market Heats Up in Costa Rica

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 about this Central American paradise. Maybe you’ve already visited and promised yourself you’d return. Maybe you’re still looking at websites and brochures, plotting your escape to a tranquil tropical beach. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, to have your own little slice of paradise and be able to come back again and again?
Tens of thousands of people from all over the world have made the jump to live in Costa Rica, whether permanently or part-time. The country has become a bit of a “melting pot” of colorful cultures over recent decades.
“Costa Rica is a great place to buy real estate at the moment because property values are going to maintain and steadily increase; the government is stable; the climate is great; there is an attraction here with the biodiversity for people from all over the world; and there are a lot of multinational investments,” commented Dennis Easters, co-owner and broker with Pure Life Development, full-service real estate agency specializing in sales and rentals in Costa Rica. Easters moved to Costa Rica from Florida nearly a decade ago for an international lifestyle, and wholeheartedly encourages others to do the same if that dream calls to them.
Easters reports that Costa Rica has become one of the hottest destinations for retirees from the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. Hugely popular websites such as WeLoveCostaRica.com, LiveInCostaRica.com and InternationalLiving.com attest to that. Many permanent foreign residents move to the capital city area of San Jose and the greater Central Valley, where infrastructure is very developed, high quality medical care and other services are close by, and elevation keeps the climate cooler. Coastal areas tend to be more popular with younger immigrants or those who actively seek the beach lifestyle, or as a vacation home investment.
“Costa Rica is a great investment for vacation rentals, because Costa Rica is a major tourist destination,” said Easters. “People realize they can rent a nice house all to themselves, with their own kitchen and private pool, for the same price as staying in a hotel. If you buy a house for a vacation rental, you can plan on having an 80% occupancy rate during high season from December to April.”
Jacó, Central Pacific Coast, Costa Rica


The popular beach town, with its consistent surf, fun beach-party atmosphere, well-developed infrastructure and new luxury condos, is one of the top beach destinations for foreigners moving to Costa Rica. The nearby world-class golf course, marina and resort community at Los Sueños Resort & Marina adds a posh level of luxury.
“Jacó is a great investment because it is so close to San Jose, only an hour on the Caldera Highway. Services and the community are well integrated between foreigners and Costa Ricans. It has a great variety of restaurants, new condo developments, and good social life,” commented Easters.
Famous with surfers from all over the globe, one of Jacó’s more attractive elements for new residents are its newly-built beachfront high-rise condominium developments. Most beachfront land in Costa Rica is concession property, whereas in Jacó the properties are fully titled, which is very attractive to buyers, explains David Karr, Daystar Properties sales representative in Jacó. The area is perfect for surfing and outdoors’ lifestyles, Karr said.
“Jacó and the Central Pacific remain one of the most desired areas for full-time living because of its central location and its amenities and services,” notes Karr. “With our warm temperatures and countless outdoor activities, the Jacó area is perfect for those looking for an active lifestyle. Here in Jacó you can walk downstairs, grab your surfboard, and go right into the water.”
Both Karr and Easters affirm that potential real estate buyers enjoy great opportunities now in Jacó. “Over the last 18 months, we are seeing buyers get good deals where people, due to economic conditions, needed to sell. There are definitely still opportunities, but if you’re thinking to buy, now is the time,” said Karr. Average prices for a two-bedroom, two-bath, fully furnished, beachfront condo is in the mid to high $200,000 range, according to Karr.
Nosara, Nicoya Peninsula, Guanacaste Coast, Costa Rica
Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Pacific Guanacaste coast, is a hidden paradise with no highways or even paved roads to bring in the masses. The cosmopolitan community there is known for its active and healthy lifestyles, natural diets, and its dedication to a slower, low stress, friends and family quality of life. Driving slowly on the dusty (or muddy) road into the area, you quickly notice that the community is composed of little hamlets of homes, small businesses and the occasional restaurant or hotel all hidden away in the jungle before the beach. More than half of the area is set aside for wildlife and preservation, including the Ostional Wildlife Refuge to protect breeding Olive Ridley and Leatherback sea turtles. The result is an abundance of monkeys and other wildlife.
Nosara’s pristine beaches – Playa Guiones, Playa Pelada, Playa Ostional and Playa Nosara – are perfect for those who want to get away from it all. Nosara is a praised surfing destination and home to a world-renowned yoga school. “Nosara has a big international community with residents from all over the world. It is off the beaten path, but it is unique in its isolation,” commented Easters. “There is the famous Nosara Yoga Institute, great surfing beaches and a relaxed atmosphere.”
Buying possibilities in the Nosara area include beach properties, coastal homes, hillside ocean-view homes and properties, and farm sales. Prices range from $65,000 for a hilltop lot to $1.89 million for a “spectacular ocean view villa,” according to Reef Realty, one of the main realtors in Nosara. You can easily find two-bedroom homes for under $200,000.
Santa Teresa, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
On the tip of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa Beach exudes an enchanting energy that will entrance you from the second you arrive. Renowned for being one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Santa Teresa’s natural beauty flaunts jungle that hugs the coastline, pouring down from coastal mountains to light sand beaches and crystal clear aquamarine sea.
You have to take a ferry from the mainland across the Nicoya Gulf to get to this area of the Nicoya Peninsula (or drive a really, really long way down from Guanacaste). “People like that because it keeps away the big crowds,” explains Bas Pecher, sales representative with Century 21 Beach Area Properties in nearby Playa Tambor. “A lot of people come to this area for its nature.” Close to Santa Teresa are the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve and the Curú Wildlife Reserve.



The southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula lies in a nice middle zone between Costa Rica’s rainy southern Pacific Coast and the dry northern Guanacaste Coast. Epic surf and picture-perfect sunsets are its hallmark. “A lot of people have bought in this area for the surfing – the surfing is awesome. Also the laid-back feeling in this area is nice. It’s still not developed,” said Pecher. “And our sunsets are amazing!”
Pecher said that real estate sales in the area are picking up. “We have really high-end homes in the $600,000 up to $2.75 million range, down to quaint surfer’s cottages starting at $180,000 up to $260,000 with ocean views,” he said. “You can buy land and then build, or you can buy existing homes and vacation cottages. There are also gated residential communities.”

Once a sleepy fishing village, Santa Teresa is a fast-emerging tourism destination with a surprisingly diverse international community of native Costa Ricans, Israelis, Italians, North Americans, and everyone in between. “It’s a great place to buy an investment property for vacation rentals,” notes Pecher. “We have clients who come back every year to rent vacation homes.”
Check out Costa Rica on a Surfing Vacation


A great way to come check out Costa Rica’s real estate possibilities is on one of Del Mar Surf Camp’s Costa Rica surf vacation packages or yoga-surf retreats. Based on Hermosa Beach on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, just south of the bustling beach town of Jacó, Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in surf vacations, yoga-surf retreats, and day surf lessons for adults, women only and families. They offer locations on Nosara Beach, Santa Teresa Beach and Hermosa/Jaco beaches, for beginners, intermediate or advanced surfers.
Del Mar Surf Camp offers new Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Domestic flights and transfers to all of Del Mar’s locations are included in all surf vacation packages.
By Shannon Farley

Innovative cuisine delights the senses in Playa Santa Teresa

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

Experience” is the operative word with this cuisine style. World-renowned chef Ferrán Adrià perfected Author’s Cuisine (“Alta Cocina” in Spanish) at his restaurant, El Bulli in Costa Brava, Spain. Adrià developed the concept of Author’s Cuisine by taking elements of traditional dishes and transforming those using techniques nobody else had used before. El Bulli was awarded three Michelin stars and was touted as one of the best restaurants in the world, before it closed on July 30, 2011. Its plan is to reopen as a culinary creativity center in 2014.
Madrid Fusión, the annual international gastronomy summit where the best chefs from around the world gather to cook and demonstrate their techniques and talents, spotlights Author’s Cuisine. On internet restaurant guides in Spain, Author’s Cuisine is its own category, like Italian or Chinese. In England, British chef Heston Blumenthal, owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire and voted Best Restaurant in the UK, is the pioneer of Author’s Cuisine.
On Costa Rica’s Playa Santa Teresa, Shambala Restaurant serves up the tantalizingly unique Author’s Cuisine. Surprises … mouthwatering, delectable, curiously unfamiliar and exceptional … emerge from the beachfront restaurant kitchen at Hotel Tropico Latino. The culinary magician behind this fresh, innovative, astonishing cuisine is Chef Randy Siles.
The 30-year-old star chef from San Jose, Costa Rica, and Hotel Tropico Latino’s Shambala Restaurant were featured in a key article in the March 2012 edition of Costa Rica’s important cuisine magazine “Sabores.”

In Siles’ kitchen, he creates original recipes using his imagination and his expertise in his favorite cuisines – Japanese, Indian, Hawaiian, Costa Rican, and classic French cooking. He’ll take a Japanese favorite of seared fresh sushi-grade tuna strips and circle them around creamy Indian babaganoush (eggplant puree), then top it off with a few crispy tempura jumbo shrimp and a soy, ginger, mint, lemongrass, honey and oyster sauce. Called “Tuna Tataki” on Shambala Restaurant’s dinner menu, the dish is an explosion in flavor. You’d never think that babaganoush would meld so well with tuna, soy and ginger, but it does. It leads you on, bite after bite, until you’re very nearly licking the plate clean … or in my case, unabashedly using my finger to scoop up the last of the ambrosial sauce.
Pique your palate with appetizers like Calamari Paella Rolls – tempura squid rolled around a bit of that famous Spanish paella rice with a dash of homemade aioli (creamy, aromatic garlic mayonnaise). Or Tuna Tartare – fresh local sushi-grade tuna served rare with avocado, papaya and applesauce. Or how about homemade black ravioli, tinted with tangy squid ink, and filled with goat cheese and duxelles of minced mushrooms, shallots and herbs sautéed in butter, topped with ginger mousse. A new dish Siles is concocting combines Mahi Mahi with macadamia, curry and lobster.
Like an artist with a blank canvas, Siles skillfully creates gourmet art fusing flavors from different cultures into new avant-garde, delicious, fresh dishes. Or, he makes a twist on traditional recipes, like his classic Crème Brûlée made with fresh blackberries – tart and sweet and wonderfully creamy.
Educated at ACAM University in Costa Rica, Siles learned the complexities of Author’s Cuisine while working with Michelin two-star chef Richard Neat at his Park Café in the San Jose neighborhood of Sabana Norte. The British chef is owner of the exquisite fine dining restaurant and antique store, a not-to-be-missed experience when visiting San Jose. Siles says he also reads a lot of books by chefs, like Roy Yamaguchi, the Japanese-American celebrity chef in Hawaii who specializes in Hawaiian fusion cuisine. Overall, though, Siles is loyal to his former mentor. “My favorite of all is Richard!” he avows.

So how does such an extraordinary chef with his remarkable culinary style end up in a quiet, dusty, provincial beach town like Santa Teresa on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula? Siles said he fell in love with the gorgeous beach and its cosmopolitan community 10 years ago on a visit. “I love it here. I am happy here. I surf and have my friends,” Siles says. “I love to cook and be happy, that’s the most important thing.”
Finishing his first year at Hotel Tropico Latino, Siles’ specialized menu at Shambala Restaurant is geared toward the hotel’s international guests and the active, healthy lifestyle that the hotel promotes with its Spa, and yoga and surf retreats and classes. Fronting Santa Teresa Beach amid four acres of abundant and peaceful gardens, Hotel Tropico Latino is a relaxed and charming oasis. The hotel features a full-service Spa, a yoga studio with daily classes and activities, surfing and surf instruction in front of the hotel, regular yoga and surf retreats. Their exquisitely-designed tropical bungalows and suites deliver relaxed, well-appointed luxury.

Christmas Bird Count Record Soars in Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure for 2012

A  number of 417 different bird species, and 12,665 individual birds, were identified in a 24-hour period – the highest number registered in Central America for the annual bird count. Beginning at 12:00 a.m. on December 5 and finishing at midnight the same day, 67 ornithologists, naturalist guides, university students and bird enthusiasts covered 19 routes in the Central Caribbean rainforest sighting as many birds as they could find.

Añadir leyenda

Veragua Rainforest is a 1,300 hectare (3,212 acre) biology research center and adventure center, located about an hour inland from the historic Caribbean port town of Limón in Costa Rica. It is an area of breathtaking tropical rainforest in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountain Range bordering the La Amistad (“Friendship”) International Park, the country’s largest and most remote national park that is shared by both Costa Rica and Panama.
Every year at Christmastime, birding devotees throughout the Americas – both professional and amateur – outfit themselves with binoculars, bird guides and checklists, and brave snow, wind, rain or tropical sun (as in the case of Costa Rica) to count birds. The National Audubon Society of the USA leads the bird count; they and other organizations use the data collected to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation action. The 113^th annual Christmas Bird Count in the United States is on from December 14, 2012 through January 5, 2013. Tens of thousands of volunteers participate in this longest-running wildlife census, making an “enormous contribution to conservation,” according to the National Audubon Society.

Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure is a must-see attraction when visiting Costa Rica’s Caribbean area. There are walking trails through the rainforest, a river and waterfall, an aerial tram, a canopy zip line tour, a biology research station and fascinating wildlife habitats, plus a restaurant, café and souvenir shop. Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is $66 for adults and $55 for children/students; children under age 4 get in free. The admission price includes all activities and attractions, with the exception of the canopy tour – which is an additional fee. Veragua is located 40 minutes from Limon and 2 ½ hours from San José, in Brisas de Veragua, 12 km south from the Liverpool entrance on the highway to Limón.

La Fortuna , San Carlos Adventure Slideshow

La Fortuna , San Carlos Adventure Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to La Fortuna was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Yoga Retreat at Pranamar Villas Slideshow by EnchantingHotels Costa Rica

Yoga Retreat at Pranamar Villas Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Santa Teresa was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Surf + Pilates Slideshow, Del Mar Surf Camp

Surf + Pilates Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Santa Teresa was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Costa Rica Adrenaline & Nature Adventure Slideshow by EnchantingHotels Costa Rica

Costa Rica Adrenaline & Nature Adventure Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Costa Rica’s fabulous year-round sunshine, balmy weather and remarkable championship golf courses are fast earning the country the reputation as an “ace” place for world-class golf.

Costa Rica’s golf courses, spread across the country mostly along the Pacific Coast and in the Central Valley, all have their unique distinguishing features. Blue ocean, sandy beach, lush vegetation, rolling hills, woods, lakes, mountains … and where else might you spot monkeys, toucans, parrots and other tropical wildlife while teeing up? A friend of mine playing on a well-known Central Pacific course once had his ball stolen off the green by an iguana thinking it was an egg!
Costa Rica travel experts Team CRT propose four fetching golf vacation packages playing Costa Rica’s top golf courses. With more than 20 years of experience on the ground in Costa Rica travel, Team CRT knows the best of the country, what to do and see, and they personalize it for you. You’re a golfer and you’re traveling with folks who aren’t? Team CRT kindly recommends tours for non-golfers in each itinerary.
North Pacific Golf Package – 4 days and 3 nights, arriving at the Guanacaste province’s Liberia International Airport. You’ll enjoy 3 nights at the Westin All-Inclusive Beach & Golf Resort, right on the stunning white sands of Playa Conchal. Challenge yourself with a day of golf on the Resort’s par 71 Robert Trent Jones designed 18-hole course. With panoramic views of the blue Pacific, the course meanders through rolling hills with sun-drenched fairways bordered by native forests. There are enough lakes and ravines to put a premium on accurate approach shots to large Bermuda greens, manicured just like those at U.S. country clubs. Your next day’s adventure is the nearby Hacienda Pinilla Golf Club. Relish playing on the 7,300-yard, par 72 masterpiece golf course created by famous international golf architect Mike Young. Picturesque scenery, immaculate conditions, and frequent glimpses of exotic wildlife shape the natural landscape of this certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary. Non-golfers can choose tours to Miravalles Volcano with natural hot springs, waterfalls, horseback riding, and the gorgeous beaches and amenities at the resorts.
North Pacific Golf Package II – 6 days and 5 nights, arriving at the San Jose International Airport. Spend your first and last night’s of your golf vacation at Wyndham’s Ramada Plaza Herradura hotel, near the airport and next door to the Cariari Country Club Golf Course. You’ll head north to the Guanacaste Pacific Coast for days 2-5, staying at the Westin All-Inclusive Beach & Golf Resort at Playa Conchal. As with the shorter North Pacific itinerary, you’ll play on both the Westin’s Robert Trent Jones golf course and Hacienda Pinilla Golf Club’s Mike Young golf course.
Central Pacific Golf Package – 4 days and 3 nights, arriving at the San Jose International Airport. Stay at the magnificent colonial-themed Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort, recognized by Travel & Leisure Magazine readers as one of the “World’s Best.” Located on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast at Playa Herradura, just one hour from the San Jose airport, Los Sueños is a spectacular resort with a luxury marina, water sports, spa, tennis courts, private beach, and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Ted Robinson. The par 72 course, nestled between rainforest and beach, makes you think and play shots carefully. The course plays long and it makes you drive the ball; if you don’t position the ball well you can be in trouble. Mesmerizing scenery includes friendly monkeys and brilliant Scarlet Macaws. Make sure to also visit the nearby famous Manuel Antonio National Park, with its jewel-like beaches and plentiful wildlife.
San Jose Golf Package – 4 days and 3 nights, arriving at the San Jose International Airport. Home for your golf vacation is the Wyndham Ramada Plaza Herradura hotel, next door to the Cariari Country Club Golf Course. Once a coffee plantation, the Cariari Golf Course was designed by golf architect George Fazio and built by his now famous nephew, Tom Fazio. This par 71 course measures 6,590 yards from the championship tees, is heavily wooded, with narrow fairways and a few fairway bunkers; the greens tend to be on the large side with sand traps around them. Day 3 brings you to the Valle del Sol Golf Course, designed by famous golf architect Tracy May. Just 15 minutes from San Jose in a valley called Pozos de Santa Ana, the par 72 championship 18-hole golf course has spacious undulating fairways surrounded by lakes and trees that attract diverse wildlife. The greens are smooth and fast, and each hole offers an average of 4 to 5 tee positions for various levels of play.
Costa Rica’s amazing natural attractions, of course, make it an incomparable vacation destination. Team CRT gives you expert guidance and personalized service while they help craft your tailor-made Costa Rica vacation. Vacation packages, beach destinations, nature tours, adventure tours, relaxation vacations, family vacations, honeymoons, Fly & Drive packages, sport fishing trips, golf vacations – they handle it all. Whether you just want a travel agent to help you choose where to stay, where to go, and things to do, or if you want a full tour operator to take care of complete details, Team CRT is your Costa Rica vacation expert.

Christmas Celebration in Santa Teresa Beach with Hotel Tropico Latino

Known for its romantic tropical beaches, spectacular sunsets, epic surf breaks, and bohemian international town, Santa Teresa is your quintessential tropical paradise. Lying on the remote southwestern tip of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula along the rugged Pacific Coast, Playa Santa Teresa was voted the #1 beach in Central America for 2012 by Trip Advisor.
This holiday season get your “sparkle” on at these festive Santa Teresa celebrations.

Hotel Tropico Latino

Hotel Tropico Latino fires up the merrymaking in Santa Teresa with an opening party and music fundraiser on Dec. 14^th. The intimate boutique hotel is inaugurating their new beachside open-air deck and gazebo extension of their Shambala Restaurant, and raising funds for the area’s Cobano Kids’ Orchestra. The revelry starts at 4:30 pm with a free sunset cocktail, followed by a Children’s Sunset Concert performed by the Cobano Orchestra. An exquisite special gourmet dinner by award-winning Chef Randy Siles begins at 6:30 pm. The kids go on again performing a dinner concert at 7:00 pm, and there will be dancing after 8:30 pm to DJ Mr. Black. Make reservations by calling Hotel Tropico Latino at 2640-0062, ext. 3.
For Christmas Eve, Dec. 24^th, Hotel Tropico Latino will host a special dinner with music in their Shambala Restaurant. And you can bring in the New Year in style celebrating at Tropico Latino with a special dinner and music on Dec. 31^st. Contact the hotel at 2640-0062 for details.
Sitting right on gorgeous Santa Teresa Beach amid four acres of abundant and peaceful gardens, Hotel Tropico Latino is a relaxed and charming oasis. The hotel features a full-service Spa, a yoga studio with daily classes and activities, surfing and surf instruction in front of the hotel, regular yoga and surf retreats, and award-winning beachfront Shambala Restaurant nationally-recognized for its organic international cuisine by Chef Randy Siles that “excites your senses”. Winner of Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence award for 2012, Tropico Latino’s exquisitely-designed private bungalows and suites deliver relaxed barefoot luxury on the beach.

By Shannon Farley

Tortuguero is one of Costa Rica's most popular ecotourism destinations – a microcosm of rainforest, freshwater and marine biology. This untamed stretch of Caribbean Coast is connected to Limon, the region’s only port city 50 miles (80 km) to the south, by a series of rivers and canals that parallel the sea. It is a special and widely varied ecosystem web of marshy islands, beaches, canals, lagoons and dense rainforest that is habitat for a multitude of animal and plant life. A trip through the serpentine maze of canals is likened to cruising on the Amazon, albeit on a much smaller scale.
In this steamy labyrinth of coastal rainforest, swamps and waterways, live howler, spider and white-faced monkeys, three-toed sloths, caimans, crocodiles, about 405 species of birds, myriad amphibians, reptiles and insects, and animals threatened with extinction like jaguars, tapirs, Great Green Macaws, and West Indian Manatees. Tortuguero National Park’s beach is recognized as the Western Hemisphere’s most important nesting site for the endangered Green Sea Turtle, and a major nesting site for the critically endangered Hawksbill and Leatherback sea turtles.

West Indian Manatees
Swimming slowly and gracefully underwater, resembling more a pale cousin to the walrus (minus the tusks) than a mermaid from old sailors’ lore, the West Indian Manatee lives a near-secret life in secluded canals of Costa Rica’s Tortuguero National Park.
The world’s fragile West Indian Manatee population is endangered and was thought to be extinct in Costa Rica until a small group was located in remote lagoons within the Tortuguero National Park. The gentle marine mammals live in warm tropical waters that once ranged from the Southern United States down the Caribbean to Brazil. Today, only a few small populations remain in isolated pockets around Florida and Central America’s Caribbean waterways. The re-emergence (or rediscovery) of a manatee population is very significant, states the Save the Manatee Foundation.
“Tortuguero's manatees, which were considered locally extinct less than two decades ago, have made a remarkable recovery, but we still do not know whether or not there is a viable population,” reports the Save the Manatee Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting Costa Rica's remaining population of manatees around Tortuguero. Estimates show perhaps 100 manatees inhabiting the lagoons of Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado.


The large, pale grey or brown marine mammals measure about 3.65m (12 ft.), weighing up to 800 kg (2,000 lbs) and are herbivores, eating only sea grasses. Their large snouts and sensitive mouth whiskers give them a walrus-like resemblance, though scientists say they are more closely related to elephants. They have flexible front limbs which they use to steer while swimming and to push food into their mouths, or to hold them up on sandy bottoms, and a large paddle-shaped tail that pushes them through the water at 1-3 km (3-5 mi) per hour.
Manatees have a voracious appetite, which helps to keep them warm; they eat up to 10 times their body weight each day – about 40kg (100 lbs) of plants. Being mammals, they breathe air and must rise to the surface every 15 minutes or so to breathe, more often when active. The animals are solitary, coming together only during mating season and for the first two years of a calf’s life when it stays with its mother.


In the past, manatees were hunted for their flesh to eat and for their very tough hides. But in more recent decades, the greatest threat has been chemicals and sediments washing into Tortuguero’s waterways from banana plantations. Although manatees have returned to the area, they are being squeezed between steadily expanding agriculture and increased human traffic. Ironically, the boom in ecotourism is taking a toll with escalating boat traffic. Fast motor launches full of tourists heading to the beaches and eco-lodges of Tortuguero race through the lagoons and rivers, and collide with slow-moving manatees or scare them away. Manatees have moved west in Tortuguero toward more remote lagoons, seeking quiet places to mate and are rarely seen, making it difficult to study and research the unusual creatures. Taking a tour of the canals by kayak is your best bet for trying to spot the elusive manatees.
Sea Turtles
The Tortuguero coast of Costa Rica’s northern Caribbean region is a 22-mile-long, 
desolate, volcanic black sand beach littered with driftwood and tree logs tossed up on shore from wild ocean storms. There is nothing but beach and low, swampy jungle for miles and miles. You can’t swim here because of rough surf, strong currents and sharks that will eat you – adding to the isolation.
That’s just perfect for the Green Sea Turtles and Leatherback, Hawksbill and Loggerhead sea turtles that have been coming here since at least 1592, according to scientific records, to nest and hatch their young in Tortuguero’s extreme solitude.


The name “Tortuguero” means “turtle catcher” in Spanish, and the turtle population came perilously close to extinction in the 1960s when nearly every female turtle arriving to lay its eggs was killed for turtle soup. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation, now known as the Sea Turtle Conservancy, put a stop to that after renowned sea turtle expert and ecologist Dr. Archie Carr founded it in 1959 to study and protect the Caribbean sea turtles. The Tortuguero National Park was created in 1970 and preserves more than 46,900 acres (19,000 hectares), along with the 22 miles of nesting beach, making it one of the largest remaining lowland wet tropical forests in the country.
It is one of the most visited sites during turtle nesting and hatching season. Some 50,000 tourists show up annually. From July to October, the Green Sea Turtles arrive en masse to nest. March to July brings the giant Leatherback Sea Turtles and Hawksbill turtles nest from May to November. Only female turtles come ashore to nest, usually under the protection of night when it is cooler, mysteriously returning to the exact beach where they were born



During these months, thousands of huge female turtles crawl their way up the beach to dig their nests, lay their soft, golf ball-size eggs, and return to the ocean. In 2010, there were 180,310 Green Sea Turtle nests, the highest year on record, equating to a nesting population of 30,000 to 60,000 female turtles, according to the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Incubation takes about 60 days, and then hundreds of tiny four-inch-long sea turtle babies hatch all together and race to the sea. Some nights, the beaches are swarming with sea turtles. It’s an exciting time. They're like little windup toys with their little flippers paddling away to cross the sand out into the surf. Visitors are able to respectfully witness the “circle of life” on guided tours; no one is allowed on the beaches unaccompanied after 6:00 pm to prevent poaching.
Sea turtles grow slowly, taking about 15-50 years to reach maturity, depending on the species. It is theorized that some species can live over 100 years, though there is no way to determine the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. What scientists do know is that turtles have been swimming Earth’s waters for a long time – the earliest known sea turtle fossils are about 150 million years old. However, the Sea Turtle Conservancy reports that only in the past 100 or so years, the world’s sea turtle population has dwindled dramatically as humans have killed them for their meat, eggs, skin and colorful shells. Destruction of areas where the turtles feed and nest, and pollution of the world's oceans, are all taking a serious toll on remaining sea turtle populations, notes the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Tortuguero
Ecotourism has helped Tortuguero preserve its natural resources and culture by providing employment to former turtle hunters who now guide tourists to the turtle nesting beaches. Costa Rica’s West Indian Manatees are another potential ecotourism draw that can elevate their protected status like the sea turtles, along with creating additional jobs and needed revenue for the community. Protecting the manatees’ waterways from encroachment by banana plantations and road construction will not only protect the environment but also will help keep Tortuguero's unique features – its isolation and distinctive ecosystem – intact.


Stay in Tortuguero’s world-famous natural sanctuary at Manatus Hotel, a small, enchanting boutique hotel with comfortable luxurious rooms and facilities, and delicious Caribbean-fusion gourmet cuisine. The Manatus Hotel has received international awards for its support of manatee protection programs. Take advantage of special discounts at Manatus Hotel provided by Enchanting Hotels.

By Shannon Farley

Enchanting Hotels Win Acclaim in Costa Rica

More people prefer staying in small enchanting hotels. Big hotels have their function, though people rather like when the receptionist remembers their names and their personable enough to care how they are and how they stay is going. Boutique hotels are all about an unforgettable travel experience.

Boutique hotels are all about an unforgettable travel experience. They enrich your journey with something different – history, culture, remarkable architecture, outstanding surroundings, new friends or unusual charm.

Enchanting Hotels in Costa Rica is a collection of small, charming, romantic boutique hotels and lodges, each featuring an exclusive original character and style. Meeting all of the boutique hotel standards, they are special and unique with first-class service. Additionally, all Enchanting Hotels are dedicated to Eco-tourism and committed to Costa Rica’s Sustainable Tourism program.

Whether you are seeking adventure, relaxation, culture, or pure unadulterated indulgence, the Enchanting Hotels collection offers the most sought-out travel destinations.

• El Establo Mountain Hotel provides elegant luxury in Monteverde’s emerald-green cloud forest.
• Cristal Ballena Resort & Spa is a glittering oasis on the sunny southern Pacific “Costa Ballena.”
• Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin exudes adventure, from its working cattle and horse ranch to natural thermal springs and bubbling mud pools at the base of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano.
• L’Acqua Viva Resort & Spa lives up to its water-inspired theme with unique architecture at the Nicoya Peninsula’s Nosara beaches.
• Manatus Hotel is your gateway to world-renowned biodiversity and sea turtle nesting sites in Tortuguero National Park on the Caribbean Coast.
• Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge offers warm intimacy and comfort in pristine rainforest wilderness on the remote Golfo Dulce coast.
• Hotel El Rodeo Estancia is your grand country estate on the outskirts of the capital city of San Jose.
• Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge brings you eco-friendly “barefoot luxury” on the jungle-covered hills above the world-famous Manuel Antonio National Park and beaches.
• Vista Bahia Resort presents a romantic beach paradise on Guanacaste’s expansive Papagayo Gulf in the northern Pacific.
• Hotel Tropico Latino gives you intimate beachfront luxury on the Nicoya Peninsula’s breathtaking white sand beach of Santa Teresa.
• Stay in Costa Rica provides an exclusive portfolio of luxury vacation homes and villas in the world-class Los Sueños Resort & Marina on the Central Pacific Coast.

Also in the Enchanting Collection are tourist attractions with the same concept of personalized and first class service.

• Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure immerses you in a total rainforest adventure full of wildlife and thrills in Costa Rica’s Caribbean mountains.

By Shannon Farley

Pranamar Villas Experience Slideshow

Pranamar Villas Experience Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Santa Teresa was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Del Mar Since 2003 - Celebrating 10 Anniversary Slideshow

Del Mar Since 2003 - Celebrating 10 Anniversary Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to 2 cities including Jaco was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

The Best Teen Surf Vacations With Del Mar Surfing Academy

The Best Teen Surf Vacations With Del Mar Surfing Academy Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Jaco was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Flora and Fauana of Costa Rica By CRT Team

Flora & Fauna of Costa Rica # 2 - by Crt Team Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Costa Rica Special Deals travel agency helps you visit San Jose, Costa Rica for its Christmas & New Year’s festivities, and summer “fiesta” season 2013.

Christmas carols, traditional ballet, concerts, art tours and exhibits, and the magnificent annual Parade of Lights are all coming to town this holiday season in San José, Costa Rica. The vibrant capital city is looking very festive these days in preparation for Christmas, New Year’s, and the kick-off to the summer “fiesta” season for 2013. Stores have already put up holiday decorations and Christmas gift displays since October. The holiday season moves into full gala mode on December 1, when Costa Rica’s National Theatre (Teatro Nacional) inaugurates the traditional Nativity Scene in the Cultural Plaza (Plaza de Cultura) on Second Avenue (Avenida Segunda). A national choir will sing Christmas carols starting at 5:00 p.m. with the festivities, which are free to attend. The choir will again present their Christmas carol program at 5:00 p.m. on December 2 and also December 3. Earlier on Dec. 2, at 10:30 a.m., the National Symphony will perform the works of Brahms and Prokofiev on the main theatre stage. The traditional Christmas ballet of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” goes on stage December 6-16 by the national youth ballet troupe. 

Call 2221-5341 for more information, or go to http://www.teatronacional.go.cr/index.htm. San José’s National Museum will have its own Nativity Scene dedication on December 5. Holiday-themed activities, music, theater and dance performances, food and an artists’ show will highlight the day. Events begin at 9:00 a.m. and go to 3:00 p.m. For more information, call 2256 8643, email mmasis@museocostarica.go.cr, or go to http://www.museocostarica.go.cr/index.php?lang=en_en. Holiday events in San José, Costa Rica, reach a crescendo with the annual Parade of Lights on December 15. Kicking off at 6:00 p.m. at the La Sabana Park, hundreds of marching bands from all over the country, horse-mounted groups, entertainers and magnificent brightly-lit floats will perform their way down the Paseo Colon boulevard to Second Avenue, finishing at the Cultural Plaza. This year is the 16th for the annual televised event. About one million or so folks attend the parade, showing up early in the day to claim their place on the sidewalk; the energy is electric with so many spectators, but if you’re not up for multitudes, watch the parade on any of the national TV stations. Apart from the holidays, cultural events have been on the rise in San José this year.

For art lovers, the popular Art City Tour is a big hit. Sponsored by GAM Cultural, the free program regularly takes participants on a walking tour (or you can go by minibus with reservations) to a number of museums, art galleries, design stores and cultural venues in Downtown San José, Barrio Amon and Barrio Escalante in the San José area. The next Art City Tour, and last one for the year, is November 23. Beginning at 5:00 p.m., the tour and shuttles will depart from four access points: the Contemporary Museum of Art & Design (Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo), the National Museum (Museo Nacional), The Central Bank Museum (Museos del Banco Central) and the Jade Museum (Museo del Jade). The last shuttle leaves at 8:30 p.m. More information can be found at http://www.gamcultural.com/art-city-tour/recorrido-a-pie. Costa Rican artist Marco Chia will hold a gallery opening party on November 29 at Alliance Francaise in San Jose's Barrio Amón for his painting exhibition “Nocturnos.” The party begins at 7:00 p.m. Chia’s exhibition, which is free and will run through Dec. 19, is a compilation of years of his work that uses abstract thinking to create balance and textures through a wide variety of raw materials and techniques. Ongoing temporary exhibitions at the National Museum in San José include a photography collection by photojournalist Luis Alcalá del Olmo entitled “Haití – The Spirits of the Earth.” The exhibit shows 80 photographs of “prayers, laments, songs and dances of Haiti’s voodoo rituals” and unforgettable moments from the country’s 2010 earthquake catastrophe. The show runs through January 6, 2013.

 Also at the National Museum is an exposition called “The New World: Oceans, Unexplored Lands and an Adventurous Spirit” featuring maps, ships and navigation instruments of historical Northern European sea voyages to the Americas. For the first time in Costa Rica, this exhibition brings together 22 historical maps used to sail the seas to reach the “New World,” historical objects and images related to the discovery of the New World, displays on Italian explorers such as Amerigo Vespucci, as well as a reproduction of the sketch used to build Columbus’ caravel “Santa Maria.” The project is an initiative of the Italian Embassy in Costa Rica with the support of the University of Costa Rica and the National Museum, and is open through March 2013. At the Central Bank Museum (also called the Gold Museum), below the Cultural Plaza in Downtown San José, a new art exhibition features 63 works including paintings, drawings, prints, textiles and reliefs, by Costa Rican artist Lola Fernández Caballero.

  

Come experience the rich cultural events and offerings of San José, Costa Rica for yourself! Costa Rica Special Deals arranges your Costa Rica travel needs with ease. The Costa Rica-based travel service professionally guides you through the process of choosing hotels, tours, transportation, local flights, car rentals and other services for your vacation to Costa Rica. Costa Rica Special Deals always offers special deals, and the most competitive rates online. By Shannon Farley

Are you ready to make these vacations transformational and empowering?

Any Olympic athlete or professional athlete, or high school or university athlete, or even a child on a sports team for that matter, has a coach. Actors have coaches. Singers and dancers have coaches or trainers. Over the past decades, executives and businesspersons have joined the ranks of seeking coaching for success. In today’s modern world, there is Business Coaching, Financial Coaching, Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Expat & Global Coaching for those living and working in another culture, Personal Coaching, Health Coaching, and even Dating Coaching. Now, here’s a new twist – Adventure Coaching. On Costa Rica’s surf-fringed Central Pacific Coast, at Hermosa Beach, surf school Del Mar Surf Camp is adding “Personal Coaching Sessions” to all of its surf vacations and surf programs. “Adventures like surfing, or canopy tours, or even bungee jumping for instance, can create mental and emotional breakthroughs from the physical adventure,” said Life and Business Coach Paola Castro. “The environment of Playa Hermosa invites you to contemplate the abundance of life. It’s the perfect environment for these sessions. And if you’re faced with activities like surfing, you are physically challenging yourself.” Castro, Costa Rica born and also a surfer, uses the activity of surfing as a metaphorical window into the person’s life. If they had a good day or a frustrating day … how does that show up in their life and work, she explains. She calls the concept “Adventure Coaching”. “Coaching comes from high-performance athletes,” explains Castro. “Thirty years ago in the USA, executives said if high-performance athletes have coaches, why don’t executives in companies and people in their personal lives have coaches?”
 
Coaching is a teaching or training process in which an individual gets support while learning to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal, according to Wikipedia. “Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do. Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do. Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it. Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability,” Wikipedia defines. A Life Coach is an “advisor who helps people make decisions, set and reach goals, or deal with problems,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is a practice that uses techniques from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, career counseling and positive development, to help people identify and achieve personal goals. The development of Personal Coaching, or Life Coaching, can be traced back to the early 1970s Human Potential Movement in the USA, and credited to the teachings of Werner Erhard’s “Est Training.” One of the most successful and well-known personal coaches in the United States is Tony Robbins, who has been coaching executives to celebrities for success for more than 30 years. In celebration of Del Mar Surf Camp’s 10^th Anniversary in 2013, owner Maria del Mar said they want to give more to people and create vacations that are “transformational and empowering.” “Coaching is a transformational process that will help you find the clarity and courage you need to start living the life you dream and deserve,” asserts Del Mar Surf Camp’s website. “It’s for anyone to achieve their goals, and also to help in any way they need,” Maria del Mar says. Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in Costa Rica surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf lessons for adults, women only and families. They cater to beginners, intermediate or advanced surfers, with locations on Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast. The Personal Coaching Sessions, led by Paola Castro, are an extra activity that participants can add on to “go beyond having just a traditional vacation,” says Maria del Mar. Personal Coaching will only be available at Del Mar’s Hermosa Beach location. Hermosa Beach, just south of the bustling beach town of Jacó, is Del Mar Surf Camp’s headquarters. The popular beach, with its consistent surf, variety of breaks and great exposure to swells, is famous with advanced surfers from all over the globe. And, just a 5-minute drive away is the south end of Playa Jacó where beginners learn to surf in gentle and easy waves. A big plus is it’s only an hour’s drive away on paved roads from the capital city of San Jose and the international airport. Castro will coach in 60-minute sessions, and can continue with follow-up sessions after a person returns home using Skype video calls. Coaching can focus on realizing dreams and goals, breaking free from fears, taking leaps of faith, reducing stress, improving health, etc. Castro gives practical steps for shaping behaviors to get results. “The thing with coaching is you need to be responsible for creating the changes in your life,” said Castro. “A coach doesn’t tell you what to do. We use a Socratic method based on questions that stimulate the answers within you, because who else knows how better to live your life but yourself.”

Del Mar Surf Camp has created new Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Maria del Mar’s message from her website: “Thank you for 10 years of laughter and wipeouts, glassy rides and perfect waves, tears of frustration and tears of joy, new-found friendship and promises to see each other again. By teaching you, we have learned, and thanks to you, we have grown! With all of our gratitude and so much love, we’ve created new special packages for you, hoping to make surfing with us more accessible and therefore continue to share our passion. Simple, beachy, self-guided and affordable, introducing Pacifico, Swell, and Estrella de Mar surf packages. They all include beachfront accommodations, breakfast and surf lessons – all of the essentials to surf with us in Costa Rica, so you can pick your best fit.”

“Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of a Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave.” – Paul Walker   By Shannon Farley