A dolphin tale: See wild dolphins in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

The last time I was at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, I was down at the beach cooling off from the hot sun in waist-deep tranquil waters of the Golfo Dulce, when suddenly there was a splash very close behind me. I turned quickly to look out toward the Gulf and was greeted by three Bottlenose Dolphins calmly gliding about 15 feet past me parallel to the beach.

This is how it is on Golfo Dulce in southern Costa Rica. During whale-watching season, you might see a Humpback Whale mother and her calf just offshore. Almost always will you see dolphins when you go on a boat tour of the Golfo Dulce or kayaking in the mangroves of the Esquinas River.

This area of pristine tropical wilderness by the Osa Peninsula is home to resident and migratory communities of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Spotted Dolphins (Stenella attenuata), Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris), and occasionally-seen False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens). Every August when whale-watching season begins in Golfo Dulce, endangered Pacific Humpback Whales migrate to Costa Rica’s warm waters to breed and give birth. Golfo Dulce is a critical habitat for marine life, states the Center for Cetacean Research of Costa Rica (CEIC).

The Gulf’s calm and very clear jade green-blue water makes it easy to see abundant marine life. Spotted Dolphins are some of the most common dolphins to see, whether in small pods in shallow inshore waters or huge groups of up to 500 dolphins offshore in deep ocean.

Bottlenose Dolphins stay close to river mouths, using the tidal cycles to catch fish. Golfo Dulce Bottlenose Dolphins are very social and are frequently seen in pods of two to 15 dolphins. Spinner Dolphins, as is obvious from the name, are known for spinning vertically out of the water on their tails.



When you stay at Costa Rica eco-lodge Playa Nicuesa you can see dolphins, whales and other marine life in Golfo Dulce. The luxury Costa Rica rainforest lodge has its own 165-acre private rainforest preserve bordering the Piedras Blancas National Park. It is a unique Costa Rica adventure travel destination for its remote, pristine wilderness location.

Article by Shannon Farley

Raft Central America’s cleanest river – the Savegre in Costa Rica

Costa Rica offers some of the world's best whitewater rafting on beautiful, wild rivers that flow through spectacular tropical wilderness.

Considered the “cleanest river in Central America”, the pristine Savegre River on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast flows down a picturesque valley from its origin high in the mountains of Cerro de la Muerte near San Gerardo de Dota, all the way to the Pacific Ocean by the Manuel Antonio National Park. The Savegre River is a favorite for whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, and is one of the best day trips in the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area.



Commercial outfitters operate whitewater rafting trips in rapids rated from Class 2 to 4; with most operating in the Class 2-3 section. Class 2 rapids are considered very easy and suitable for beginners. Class 3 rapids are intermediate level and also considered acceptable for beginners; they require moderate physical exertion paddling. Class 4 rapids are advanced and require participants to be in good physical condition with previous rafting experience.

Quepos-based outfitter H2O Adventures even offers a Costa Rica river tubing adventure on a class 1-2 section of the Savegre River. This trip is incredible fun bouncing and splashing through easy waves and calm pools in high-tech individual round rafts. River tubing is a perfect adventure for families and people looking for a fun, easy day playing in a pure tropical river.



“I love going whitewater rafting. It is so much fun. I especially like the Savegre River, known as the cleanest in all of Central America. It is so beautiful with nature,” said Guillermo Piedra, CEO of Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living eco-community, located very near the Savegre River.

Whitewater rafting the Savegre River is a fun day trip to do from Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living. The residential eco-community has comfortable and luxurious Costa Rica vacation rentals available for rent, and Costa Rica property for sale. The popular beaches of Manuel Antonio, Dominical and Matapalo are a short drive away. Portasol staff can help arrange whitewater rafting trips on the Savegre River for guests.

Article by Shannon Farley

Bird lovers will delight in new Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge

Panama is well-known for its famous Panama Canal, the modern Panama City, and its idyllic islands. Now, thanks to a newly created wildlife refuge, Panama is one of the best destinations for bird lovers in the Americas.


This month on World Wetlands Day – February 2 – Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela officially created the Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge. The huge five-million-acre expanse of estuaries, mangroves, swamp forests, freshwater pools and intertidal mudflats of the Panama Bay is a stopover site for two million migrating shorebirds in the Americas every year.

The Upper Bay of Panama is one of the most important migratory wetlands. In 2005, the area was designated a part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Many birds travel from as far as Alaska to winter in the Bay of Panama, or stop to rest there before heading farther south.

This critical bird habitat on the western coast of Panama shelters 30 percent of the global population of Western Sandpiper, approximately 20 percent of the world population of Semipalmated Plover, and 34 other North American migratory bird species, according to the Audubon Society.



The new Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge also safeguards the vast mangrove forest, which protects Panama City and the coast against storms and hurricanes. In 2003, it was declared a site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands.

Panama should definitely be on your list of places to visit for phenomenal bird-watching, nature and adventure activities. In this most southern country in Central America, you have the impressive Panama Canal, modern Panama City, postcard-perfect beaches, pure rainforest, and cultural diversity with seven indigenous populations.

Central America Experience travel agency presents three exciting vacation packages to Panama – a historic and cultural tour of Panama City and the Azuero Peninsula, a cultural and nature tour of the Azuero Peninsula, and an island adventure in the Bocas del Toro archipelago off the Caribbean Coast. The Costa Rica-based travel agency offers family trips, honeymoons, luxury adventures and custom travel packages in Central America.

Article by Shannon Farley

The flavors of Costa Rica Caribbean cuisine

The southern Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica is a big melting pot of traditions and cultures. It is the heart and soul of the country’s Afro-Caribbean community, as well as home to indigenous populations of Bribrí, Carib, Miskito and Cabécar. There are descendants of Spanish conquistadors, North Americans who worked for United Fruit Company during the banana boom, and Chinese laborers who were brought to Costa Rica in the 1870s to work on the railroad along with the Jamaicans.

They mixed languages, customs and cuisine. In addition to Spanish, the main language spoken in Caribbean Costa Rica is Patois, a Creole blend of Jamaican English, West African dialects, French, Spanish and lots of local slang. Musical preferences are reggae and calypso. And the cuisine is very uniquely Costa Rican Caribbean. Coconut milk features in many dishes, along with ginger, curry, allspice, cinnamon, chili pepper and other strong spices brought to the Caribbean by spice traders.

When you visit Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean Coast, be sure to try these Caribbean cuisine favorites:

Rice and Beans: Not to be confused with gallo pinto, or the traditional white rice and black beans that are served everywhere else in Costa Rica; Caribbean Rice and Beans is a mixture of white rice, red beans and coconut. It is usually served with fresh fish, chicken, pork or beef.

Rondón: This seafood stew is named from the English word “run-down” – as in whatever the cook could “run down” or find that day to mix into the soup. Rondón is made with whatever seafood is available, tubers like sweet potato, cassava, taro and potatoes, plantains and coconut milk with spices

.Patí: A spicy meat pie in the shape of a turnover; usually made with ground beef, onion and chili pepper.

Agua de sapo: Literally meaning “toad water” (however, no toads are involved), it is a refreshing lemonade made with brown sugar, lime and ginger.

Pan Bon: Dark bread made with flour, dried fruit, walnuts, butter, egg whites, vanilla, hibiscus seeds, honey and sugar.

Johnnycake: Coconut bread

Plantintah: A pastry made with ripe plantains

Coconut-encrusted shrimp: Covered in crunchy coconut and fried, this is the best way to eat big, fresh Jumbo shrimp or fresh lobster.

You can enjoy Costa Rica Caribbean cuisine and creative international dishes at the elegant Le Numu Restaurant & Bar at Hotel Le Caméléon in Playa Cocles.
Just past Puerto Viejo, Playa Cocles is one of the prettiest beaches on the southern Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. The upscale Costa Rica boutique hotel features ultra-chic rooms, beautiful tropical architecture, lush jungle gardens and the fantastic beach club, La Sula Sea Lounge.
The Costa Rican airline Nature Air now operates daily flights to Limon from San Jose. From Limon, it is an easy drive under an hour to Puerto Viejo and Playa Cocles.

Article by Shannon Farley

Santa Teresa Costa Rica is chosen top beach in Central America

Famous for its year-round surf, spectacular sunsets and friendly beach town, Santa Teresa Beach in Costa Rica was once again named a top beach in Central America in the newest TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Awards.

The global travel site announced its 2015 Travelers' Choice Awards on Feb. 18, awarding Costa Rica the honor of having some of the best beaches and hotels in the world.

 
Santa Teresa Beach and Hermosa Beach by Santa Teresa were both listed as Top 10 Beaches in Central America and Top 10 Beaches in Costa Rica for 2015.

These beautiful beaches are found on the western Pacific Coast of the southern Nicoya Peninsula. Most people come to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for the surfing and yoga. Named by Forbes Magazine as “one of the most beautiful beaches in the world,” Santa Teresa is a long series of light gold and white sand beaches with warm and brilliant blue water, world-class surf conditions and magnificent sunsets. Walking down the pristine beaches, you see no high rises or crowds, only trees, jungle, sand and surf.



Pranamar  Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat is a premier Costa Rica beach resort on the award-winning beach of Santa Teresa. The beautiful Bali-style beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa specializes in yoga and Costa Rica surfing vacations. There are daily yoga classes for hotel guests and the public, international yoga retreats and yoga vacations. See the weekly yoga class schedule on Facebook.

The beach in Santa Teresa is the best place to be for sunset, and the place on the beach to be is the Sunset Tiki Bar at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas. Especially at low tide, the setting sun reflects its fiery colors in millions of little tide pools in the beach’s exposed reef and turns the sand rosy pink.

Isn’t it time to plan your escape to one of TripAdvisor's best beaches in Costa Rica?

Article by Shannon Farley

Costa Rica wins big in TripAdvisor 2015 travel awards

Continuing to be a favorite with world travelers, beaches and hotels in Costa Rica were named among the best in the world according to the latest TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Awards.

The popular global travel site announced on Feb. 18 its 2015 Travelers' Choice Awards for the best beaches and hotels in the world. The annual awards are based on traveler reviews gathered by TripAdvisor over the past 12 months. In addition to an over-all top 25 world winners list, top winners are listed by regions and countries, including lists for Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, and the South Pacific.



Named the No. 2 Top Hotel in the World for 2015 is Costa Rica’s Nayara Hotel, Spa & Gardens in La Fortuna by the Arenal Volcano. Nayara Hotel also was named fifth best luxury hotel in the world, No. 2 best hotel for romance in Central America and 13^th best hotel for romance in the world. Out of 25 top hotels in Central America, Costa Rica holds 16.

Families chose Tulemar Bungalows & Villas in Manuel Antonio as the No. 2 Top Hotel for Families in the World. Costa Rica has 18 out of 25 top family hotels in Central America.


Costa Rica beaches were favored highly, especially Manuel Antonio Beach in Manuel Antonio National Park on the Central Pacific Coast. Manuel Antonio Beach was chosen No. 2 of the Top 10 Beaches in Central America, and No. 17 of the 25 Top Beaches in the World. Costa Rica holds the majority of the 10 Top Beaches in Central America:

• #3 Santa Teresa Beach
• #4 Tamarindo Beach
• #5 Avellanes Beach by Tamarindo
• #6 Conchal Beach
• #7 Hermosa Beach by Santa Teresa
• #8 Guiones Beach at Nosara
• #9 Samara Beach

Costa Rica is the only country in Central America with its own Top 10 List for Best Beaches by TripAdvisor. The Top 10 Beaches in Costa Rica for 2015 are:

1. Manuel Antonio Beach in Manuel Antonio National Park
2. Santa Teresa Beach
3. Tamarindo Beach
4. Avellanes Beach by Tamarindo
5. Conchal Beach
6. Hermosa Beach by Santa Teresa
7. Guiones Beach at Nosara
8. Samara Beach
9. Hermosa Beach in Guanacaste
10. Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast

With freezing temperatures in most of the northern hemisphere, now is the time to escape to one of TripAdvisor's world's best beaches and world’s best hotels in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica travel experts Horizontes travel agency offers custom-designed Costa Rica beach vacations, Costa Rica family trips, Costa Rica nature holidays and Costa Rica adventure travel vacations. Horizontes is a leader in tourism in Costa Rica with 30 years of experience to take care of you and your travel plans.
Article by Shannon Farley

 

Stay in a beachfront vacation home in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

The newest place to stay at beautiful Hotel Tropico Latino at Santa Teresa, Costa Rica is the beachfront vacation home, Martha’s House.

 The funky octagon-shaped, two-story house is just off the beach and surrounded by lush tropical gardens.
Managed by Hotel Tropico Latino, guests can enjoy all of the hotel’s amenities like the refreshing pool, beachfront spa and fabulous restaurant.

The house sleeps up to 10 persons with four air-conditioned bedrooms and three baths. Other luxury features include a fully-equipped kitchen, large swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, cable TV, broadband internet and Wi-Fi, and maid service.

The house is still available during Spring Break – Easter holidays, from March 27 to April 12. Contact Hotel Tropico Latino for reservations.

Best place to stay in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Hotel Tropico Latino is a barefoot-luxury beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa/Mal Pais, Costa Rica – perfect for travelers who enjoy nature and personalized, high-level service. Located on the light sand beach of Playa Carmen at Santa Teresa, Hotel Tropico Latino is a place to wander barefoot, relax in a hammock under coconut palms, learn to surf and practice yoga.

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is a top place for Costa Rica surf holidays, spectacular sunsets, yoga retreats, and fun adventure tours.

Hotel Tropico Latino offers a wide range of accommodations:

Beachfront Suite: the private beachfront luxury “apartment” has two spacious bedrooms, a large full kitchen, living room/lounge, gorgeous outdoor patio and huge private pool and Jacuzzi.

Superior Beachfront Room: located above the Beachfront Suite, these two modern rooms have comfortable furnishings and bathrooms with bathtubs. Private balconies look out at the beach and ocean, just steps away.

Beachfront Bungalows: each stand-alone bungalow, steps from the beach and near the hotel’s pool area, has one king-sized bed, one single bed, private bathrooms and a private porch with a hammock.

Beachfront Rooms: step right into the sand as you walk out from our tropical-themed Beachfront Room building. Some Beachfront Rooms have two bedrooms, while others have one; all have comfortable furnishings and an open-air private bathroom, some with a bathtub. There is a large outside wooden deck for relaxing.

Beachfront Studio: this small apartment next to the ocean has a main bedroom with one queen-sized bed and one single bed, a fully-equipped kitchen, dining area, and a spacious outdoor wooden deck.

Two Bedroom House: ideal for families who want to enjoy the feeling of being at home on the beach. Located in lush tropical gardens, the house has two bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen, living room area and front porch.

Garden View Bungalows: surrounded by abundant tropical gardens, each comfortable stand-alone bungalow has a private bathroom and a private porch with a hammock and layback chairs.


Garden View Room: located on the back side of the Beachfront Suite, the room has a private porch with a day bed and patio furniture, one queen bed, and a private bathroom.

Standard Room: set amid tropical gardens on the north end of the property, each room has a private porch with hammocks and layback chairs.


Article by Shannon Farley

The sweet smell of Nosara Costa Rica in the summer

Article by Shannon Farley

In the easy-going surf and yoga town of Playa Guiones, Costa Rica, there is a very strange smell in the air this time of year.

Besides the fresh scent of the ocean, from January to April, it smells like a giant stack of maple syrup covered pancakes. What is that gingerbread cookie smell pervading everywhere?

It's molasses – all over the streets

. No, the residents of this little tourist town in the Nosara region of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula don’t have such a sweet tooth that they need to coat their streets in syrup. Every year in these first four months, the Nosara area community raises funds to solve the problem – at least temporarily – of the summer dust.

There is a reason why this tropical paradise on the Guanacaste Gold Coast has remained off the tourism super highway, despite being named a world’s best travel destination in 2014. The dirt roads, in the past, made Nosara and Playa Guiones hard to reach. It is easy to travel here these days, but the dirt roads remain. So, during the dry summer months at the beginning of each year, the dust billows from passing vehicles and the wind.

The Nosara Civic Association, businesses and private residents give money to help their community with this eco-friendly solution – since molasses is a by-product of sugar cane production in the region. After a liquid mixture of water and molasses is splashed onto the roads, the coating dries and hardens in a matter of days into rust-colored “asphalt” that glues the dirt and rocks together. Molasses is water-soluble, so when the strong rains return, it washes away.

L'acqua Viva Resort & Spa in Playa Guiones proudly helps sponsor the community’s molasses solution for its roads. The main road passing directly behind L’acqua Viva Resort is already coated with molasses for the year, drastically reducing the dust in the air.

L'acqua Viva Resort & Spa is a top hotel in Nosara and the best place to stay at Playa Guiones. The Costa Rica luxury hotel is a delightful and relaxing tropical oasis.
Playa Guiones is renowned for some of the best surfing in Costa Rica.

The nearby Ostional National Wildlife Refuge is a top place to see nesting sea turtles on the Nicoya Peninsula. How to get to Nosara: You can fly domestically from either the San Jose International Airport or the Liberia International Airport; from the Nosara airport it is a 10-minute drive to Playa Guiones. You can drive 4.5 hours from San Jose or 2.5 hours from Liberia.

Don't miss the marimba music in Guanacaste Costa Rica

 

Article by Shannon Farley

You can’t visit Guanacaste, Costa Rica without listening at least once to the distinct resonant sounds of a traditional marimba.
Considered a symbol of culture and tradition, especially in the province of Guanacaste, the marimba was declared the national musical instrument of Costa Rica by President José María Figueres in 1996.

At award-winning eco-hotel Hacienda Guachipelin in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, you can listen to colorful marimba music every night. The living legend of Justo Pastor Sanchez Castillo – known affectionately to all at Hacienda Guachipelin as “Don Justo” – makes magic with his music on the marimba in the hotel’s La Hacienda Restaurant and bar every night during dinner.

The marimba is a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars, arranged like those of a piano, which when struck with mallets produce musical tones. Resonators (tubes, usually of aluminum) that hang below the bars amplify their sound with vibration. In Central America and Mexico, a hole is often carved into the bottom of each resonator and then covered with a delicate membrane made with pig intestine to add a characteristic “buzzing” or “rattling” sound known as charleo. Marimba players often simultaneously use between two and four mallets in each hand, and often play with one or two other persons for more complicated songs.
The marimba was developed in Guatemala centuries ago, based on a type of xylophone from African slaves; the marimba is also the official national instrument of Guatemala. The historical musical instrument was brought to Costa Rica from Guatemala in colonial times by Franciscan priests, and became the traditional music of Guanacaste.

You can experience the traditions of Guanacaste at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, located at the base of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. Considered one of the best places to stay in Guanacaste Costa Rica , the eco-tourism hotel is a working horse and cattle ranch and offers top adventure tours in Costa Rica. Hacienda Guachipelin received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2014.

Chorro River Race 2015 comes to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

The exciting, adrenaline-charged whitewater rafting and kayaking competition of the Chorro River Race 2015 comes again to Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast on Feb. 21 to 22.

The second annual event is organized by the Quepos Whitewater and Adventure Association and sponsored by TEVA. The competition in the Chorro Canyon of the Naranjo River, by the Manuel Antonio National Park, will have both whitewater kayaking and four-person team whitewater rafting races and slalom events.

On Feb. 21 there will be training sessions on the river and an evening concert at the race campgrounds. The competition runs all day on Feb. 22. The registration fee is $20 per person, which includes overnight camping near the river, transport to/from the river on race day with teams’ equipment, an evening concert on Feb. 21, and an event shirt.

The 2014 championship rafting team “Savegre,” led by David Orozco, will defend their champion title in the four-person rafting competition. Team Savegre is sponsored by Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living eco-community, which is located close by, near Matapalo Beach. Orozco, who formerly worked as a commercial rafting guide on the Naranjo and Savegre rivers, recently joined the team at Portasol.

“We like supporting our community, especially in events for young people that involve sports,” said Portasol CEO Guillermo Piedra, who enjoys rafting. “I love going whitewater rafting. It is so much fun and the best way for me to disconnect from my work, and to relax. I especially like the Savegre River, known as the cleanest in all of Central America. It is so beautiful with nature.”

Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living community is one of the best places to stay near Manuel Antonio for spectators attending the Chorro Race 2015. The residential community has comfortable and luxurious Costa Rica vacation rentals, and is a short drive from the Naranjo River. Portasol staff can help arrange rafting trips on the Naranjo and Savegre rivers for guests.

A favorite for whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, the Naranjo River flows from the Talamanca Mountains above Quepos and Manuel Antonio, passing through several narrow gorges – like the Chorro – on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Exciting and challenging class III to V rapids make for a fun day of rafting. The nearby Savegre River is another popular whitewater rafting destination, offering easier rafting and fun river tubing trips in class II and III rapids.


Article by Shannon Farley

 

People need nature. See why in the Costa Rica rainforest.

 

“Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature,” is the message from Conservation International. The environmental organization’s widely popular video campaigns use famous actors’ and actresses’ voices with beautiful video footage of nature in two-minute messages to promote their important manifesto:

“Human beings are part of nature. Nature is not dependent on human beings to exist. Human beings, on the other hand, are totally dependent on nature to exist.”

In Conservation International’s “Nature is speaking” videos, the pervading missive is “the only way to save ourselves is to listen to nature.” “If they don’t figure out that they are a part of nature, instead of just using nature, they won’t be around,” cautions actor Robert Redford, speaking as a redwood tree about humans.



“One way or another, every living thing here needs me,” advises actor Harrison Ford in Conservation International’s video about the ocean. “It’s not their planet anyway. Never was. Never will be … if nature isn’t kept healthy, humans won’t survive.

Simple as that.” There is a video about the crucial importance of coral reef on the planet, and a dramatic chilling message about not ever eating again if humans keep destroying the soil. There is a lighthearted video on beautiful flowers and their key role in nature, and a harbinger of doom about water and the power of the oceans. The rainforest is our source for wood, medicinal plants, escape, and most importantly, air. Julia Roberts as Mother Nature tells us that she does not need us, but rather we need her. Roberts’ narrative sums up the significance: “Some call me nature.

Others call me ‘Mother Nature.’ I’ve been here for over 4.5 billion years – 22,500 times longer than you. I don’t really need people, but people need me … when I thrive, you thrive. When I falter, you falter, or worse.”



You can take action to join nature and see the ocean, the Costa Rica rainforest , soil, flowers, rivers and coral reef in Mother Nature’s entire splendor at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica. The extraordinary Costa Rica eco-lodge is located on a 165-acre private preserve on the Golfo Dulce (“Sweet Gulf”) in southern Costa Rica. The sustainably-designed property borders the Piedras Blancas National Park and the Osa Peninsula.

Article by Shannon Farley

St. Valentine’s Day history, traditions and romantic getaways

 

Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love.-- Leo Tolstoy

Every February 14, around the world, people exchange cards, flowers, candy and gifts with their loved ones on this day of romance we call Valentine’s Day. But who is this mysterious St. Valentine, and where did these traditions come from?

February has been celebrated as a month of romance dating all the way back to ancient Rome. The Roman fertility festival, Lupercalia, was celebrated in the middle of February from Feb. 13 to 15. In the 5^th century, two martyred saints named Valentine became the origin for the Christian celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.

One St. Valentine performed marriages for young lovers in secret before he was killed; another St. Valentine, sentenced to death, wrote his love a last letter from prison signed “From your Valentine” – an expression still used today. So when Christian and ancient Roman traditions merged, they created the February 14 celebration known now as St. Valentine’s Day.

No record exists of romantic celebrations on Valentine’s Day prior to a poem by medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, written around 1375. The popular poem, written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, refers to February 14 as the day birds come together to find a mate. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in Europe that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which sparked the idea that Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

The first mass-produced valentines, with lace, ribbons and colorful pictures, began in the 1840s, created by Esther A. Howland in Massachusetts, USA. Today an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, according to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, after Christmas. Valentine's Day traditional gifts include cards, red roses and other flowers, chocolate and other sweets, jewelry, cute stuffed animals, and going out for a romantic dinner and evening.

How about a romantic vacation? In Central America, St. Valentine’s Day is known as “Día del Amor y la Amistad”, or Day of Love and Friendship. You can plan your romantic getaway to Central America and Central America Vacations with Central America Experience, a Costa Rica-based travel agency specializing in honeymoons, luxury vacations, family trips and adventure travel in Central America. Central America Experience offers vacation packages in Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.  

Article by Shannon Farley