Caribbean Coast Costa Rica big in the news in 2015

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica has been in the news a lot in 2015. The beautiful southern Caribbean Costa Rica region has received its share of media love this year as Costa Rica surges in the international news with new flights to the country, better travel opportunities, and newsworthy events happening.

IKEA films Caribbean Coast Costa Rica jungle wildlife

 

Costa Rican howler, white-faced capuchin and spider monkeys became famous starring in a new IKEA commercial filmed at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo. The ad campaign launched on July 11, 2015, and promptly caused an international media furor. In the video, the tranquil Costa Rica jungle turns to mayhem when the monkeys (and other animals) come across a fully stocked IKEA kitchen in the middle of the forest. An upbeat song plays as the monkeys pull open drawers, test the sink and the coffee machine, throw cups and utensils, and discover the refrigerator full of bananas. The only strange anomaly was the out-of-place appearance of an elephant, which you cannot find in the Americas.

The Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo is a non-profit organization that works to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals with the aim of releasing them back into protected areas. Guided tours, where you can meet wild animals from Costa Rica while supporting a good cause, are offered Monday to Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Real-life Kermit the Frog discovered in Costa Rica

Another major uproar in social media networks and international news media happened with the news in April 2015 that a real-life Kermit the Frog had been discovered in Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean Talamanca mountains. The new species of glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium dianaeI, was found by Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center founder Brian Kubicki. People everywhere were quick to notice the unerring likeness of the new frog to the Muppet Kermit the Frog, and the news went viral.

Cahuita National Park honored in Costa Rica stamp

 

The Costa Rica Post Office focused on the protection of the coral reefs at Cahuita National Park by featuring a photo of the reefs in new stamps issued in early 2015. The coral reefs at Cahuita National Park are the largest in Costa Rica, and can be seen on snorkelingand scuba diving tours.

Visit the Costa Rica Caribbean Coast

Costa Rica Caribbean Summer, now in September and October, is a perfect time to visit the beautiful Southern Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. This time of year when seas are calm it is ideal to go snorkeling or scuba diving in the clear waters of the Cahuita National Park, or sea kayaking in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Reserve.

The southern Caribbean Coast has everything you're looking for in a Costa Rica beach vacation – and at Hotel Le Caméléon by Puerto Viejo, you can enjoy the utmost in luxury.  Now is the time to visit the Costa Rica boutique hotel for special vacation offers in Caribbean summer.

During October, Hotel Le Caméléon is offering Caribbean vacation packages, with 20% discounts off rates for Superior and Deluxe rooms. A Romance Package includes one night in a Superior Room for two persons, breakfast, and one Caribbean lunch or dinner per person. And the Family Package includes one night in a Deluxe Room, breakfast, and one Caribbean lunch or dinner per person.

Hotel Le Caméléon is located on Playa Cocles just past Puerto Viejo on one of the prettiest Costa Rica Caribbean beaches. The upscale Puerto Viejo hotel features the Caribbean beach club La Sula Sea Lounge. An Enchanting Hotel of Costa Rica, Le Caméléon received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2015.

Article by Shannon Farley

Limon Carnival Celebrates Costa Rica’s Afro-Caribbean Culture

Starting this weekend the port city of Limón kicks off its annual Carnival festivities, a 12-day Caribbean street party celebrating the kaleidoscope of cultures on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.


The famous party commemorates Christopher Columbus’ historic arrival to Costa Rica’s coconut-fringed Caribbean coast in 1502. Visitors will come from all over for the 2012 “Carnaval del Caribe” (Caribbean Carnival) that starts off this year on Oct. 11 and lasts through Oct. 22. Colorful parades, Caribbean cuisine, open-air concerts, calypso music and dancing in the streets and parks are the main draws. This year’s coronation and election of the 2012 Carnival Queen in Limón will be Oct. 11 and leads off the fiesta. The children’s parade will be Oct. 12, while the event’s highlight the Grand Parade brings the celebration to a fever pitch on Oct. 20. All parades begin at 1:00 pm, traveling from Barrio Jamaica Town to Parque Vargas at the end of Avenida 2. Intense exploding fireworks, called “bombetas,” at noon every day let you know the party is starting, and fireworks at 8:00 pm nightly will signal the end of the planned activities.

 
Limón and the southern Caribbean towns of Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo are home to a thriving Afro-Caribbean community. Costa Rica’s Caribbean culture is so unique that it’s almost like going to another country to visit the area. You can hear both Spanish and Creole English, called patois, spoken everywhere. Part of the community traces its roots to former African-slave Jamaican laborers who were brought over in the late nineteenth century to build the railroad connecting San José to the Port of Limón. Workers from China and other Caribbean islands also were contracted for the railroad, which was destroyed in the 1991 Limon earthquake. Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast include Bri Bri and Cabecar. The colorful mix is like a spicy gumbo in Costa Rica’s otherwise more traditional Spanish heritage. Speaking of food, when you’re in Limón and the southern Caribbean, you have to try some of the local delicacies like Rice-and-Beans with red beans and coconut rice, jerk chicken, rondon (fish and vegetables cooked in coconut and curry), coconut shrimp, pati (meat pastry), and pan bon (a local cake made with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and candied fruit). A big lemon tree that once grew where city hall is now located gave the city and province of Limón their name; “limón” is the Spanish word for lemon. The Port of Limón is one of the most important harbors in Costa Rica. It is the Atlantic point of exit for containers loaded with Costa Rica’s main exports of coffee, pineapples and bananas, and the point of entry for imported goods from all over the world. Limón is also a principle cruise ship port. When visiting Limón, be sure to take time to visit Veragua Rainforest Park. The one-stop total rainforest adventure is not-to-be-missed on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Only an hour inland from Limón, you’ll be in an astonishing other-world of tropical rainforest. The adventure park and biology research center give you a great taste of this magnificent ecosystem with walking trails through the rainforest, a river and waterfall, an aerial tram, a canopy zip line tour, a research station and many wildlife exhibits, including the world’s largest nocturnal frog habitat. They take care of you well at their restaurant, café and souvenir shop. Veragua Rainforest Park is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is $55 for adults and $45 for children/students; children under age 4 get in free. The admission price includes all park activities and attractions, with the exception of the canopy tour – which is an additional $34 for adults and $20 for students/children. Lunch in their restaurant is $10 per person. The Park is located in Brisas de Veragua, 12 km south from the Liverpool entrance on the highway to Limón.

It's Wild and Steamy in Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park

http://enchanting-costarica.com/destinations/its-wild-and-steamy-in-costa-ricas-tortuguero-national-park/

Ecotourism in Costa Rica Defines Veragua Rainforest Park

http://enchanting-costarica.com/tours/ecotourism-in-costa-rica-defines-veragua-rainforest-park/

Veragua Rainforest Park is a top one-day tour on Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast

http://enchanting-costarica.com/tours/veragua-rainforest-park-is-a-top-one-day-tour-on-costa-ricas-caribbean-coast/