8 Planning Tips For Building A Home In Costa Rica

You’ve bought a beautiful property and now you’re building a home in Costa Rica. Maybe you’re planning to retire in Costa Rica or simply have a Costa Rica vacation home. The beginning stage of construction is the time for planning ahead for all of the features you would like in your new home – music system, alarm system, air-conditioning, appliances, aesthetic details, etc.

Home construction in Costa Rica is mostly solid concrete walls and floors. So, all of your electrical and plumbing planning has to be done in the beginning stages of construction when the conduits are being prepared. Even if you’re not sure you are going to want a certain feature, plan for it in the beginning so you’re prepared when you decide later that you do. Breaking concrete walls to install wiring or piping is not only labor intensive, it can be terribly expensive. In addition, if you’re moving from the United States, there are many features that you may be used to having in a home that are either not done in Costa Rica or not easy to find. You need to know this ahead of time so you can understand your home construction, and also in case you need to bring that hard-to-find element with you from the States.

1.For instance,if you’re from the USA,you are probablyused to having agarbage disposal in your kitchen. However,until just recently, you couldn’t buy a garbage disposal in Costa Rica; they are now sold at EPA hardware stores. To be safe, if you want one in your new home, bring what you need from the U.S. But remember to let your builder know at the initial stage of your house construction so that the proper electrical wiring and plumbing are planned for and installed.

2. If you want a high-tech or surround sound music system in your house, or a security alarm system, make sure your builder knows at the outset to plan for the wiring in the wall conduits. Or, you will end up with wiring on the outside of your walls.

3. Ground fault circuit interrupters(GFCI), or Residual Current Devices (RCD) – a common element in U.S. homes – are not found in Costa Rica. You will need to bring these with you from the U.S. if you want them in your home. A GFCI device is an electrical outlet that shuts off the electric power circuit when it detects that current is flowing along an unintended path, such as through water or a person, or there is a short circuit with an appliance.

4. Water softeners are not common practice either in Costa Rica. You will need to plan ahead for this because the systems are hard to get in Costa Rica.

5. It is not common to have central heating or central air-conditioning systems in homes in Costa Rica. Central heating – it’s the tropics; and if you live in a cold mountain area, plan for a wood-burning fireplace. Central air-conditioning is a specialty item that would have to be ordered by a specialty company. Wall unit air conditioners are the norm.

6. If you live in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, you don’t want air-tight seals on your doors and windows because it will interrupt the flow of breezes during the day and hot air going out at night when it cools down. You definitely don’t want to trap heat or cold in your house, or trap humidity. This is specific to Costa Rica’s Central Valley and mountain regions where people don’t often use air-conditioning since temperatures are cooler; as compared to the beach areas which need air-tight homes for efficient air-conditioning use.

7. Like the idea of a decorative gas fireplace in your Costa Rica mountain home? Think ahead and either specialty order it in Costa Rica or bring it from the States. They are hard to find here. 8. When choosing lighting for your home, choose lamps and lights that use common size light bulbs. Otherwise you’ll be searching for forever for that specialty light bulb to fit that funky imported lamp you bought.

 

HOMES IN ATENAS, COSTA RICA

Atenas, Costa Rica is not only known as a best place for international retirement, but also a fun vacation destination for its ideal location halfway between the capital city of San José and Pacific Coast beaches. Contact Atenas Costa Rica realtors Dennis Easters and Gerardo Porras Gonzalez at Pure Life Development of Atenas for your Atenas Costa Rica real estate needs. For more information about Atenas, check out the Guide to Living in Atenas, Costa Rica and the recent list of restaurants in Atenas. Article by Shannon Farley

Related articles

• Infographic: The Power of Switching One Light Bulb
• Green Living Thinking and Strategy For Bathrooms

How To Find Affordable Vacations In Costa Rica

A colleague of mine and I both traveled out of Costa Rica for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. He to Western Europe and I to the western United States. What we both found when people learned we lived in Costa Rica was surprising. Everyone said they either loved visiting Costa Rica or wanted to go there; but many also commented on how expensive it was to travel to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Festivals Season 2016 Begins!

It’s the New Year, and that means it’s party time in Costa Rica! Kicking off with the Christmas holidays, the Costa Rica festivals season sashays into full swing in January and keeps you two-stepping to April. Costa Ricans are known for their gregarious, fun-loving style; get bit by the bug when the country celebrates its many fiestas, festivals and horse parades in the first months of the year. Besides the main festivals, every town and community has its own “turno” (a country fair) to enjoy during the Costa Rican summer months.

It’s time to plan your travel to Costa Rica. Where to stay in the coolest travel destination for 2016? On an unforgettable Guanacaste beach at Costa Rica beach rentals Villas Estival or Pacifico Condos vacation rentals in Playa del Coco. Contact All Costa Rica Rentals to reserve your Costa Rica vacation rental today.

Costa Rica Festival Schedule 2016 January Fiestas Santa Cruz (Jan. 5-17) — In Santa Cruz, Guanacaste: cowboy traditions with bull riding, rodeo, a horse parade, concerts, food & fireworks.
Fiestas Palmares (Jan. 14-25) — In Palmares near San Ramon: biggest fiesta in the country, huge horse parade, bull riding, rodeo, concerts, dancing, rides & games, arts & crafts, food & fireworks. February Puntarenas Carnival (Feb. 11-13) — In the Pacific port town of Puntarenas: street fair, parades, horse parade, concerts, dancing, food & sporting events.

Liberia Fiestas (Feb. 26 – Mar. 6) – In Liberia, Guanacaste: biggest Guanacaste fiestas, horse parade, bull riding, rodeo, concerts, dancing, food, rides & games, fireworks.

Envision Festival (Feb. 25-28) – In Uvita on the southern Pacific Coast: eco-themed festival of art, spirituality, yoga, music, dance & sustainability.

Monteverde Music Festival (February-March) – In Monteverde: top Costa Rican musicians and artists perform various concerts from the end of February to the end of March. March Oxcart Parade, San Antonio de Escazu (2^nd Sunday of March) — In Escazu, San Jose: traditional parade of beautifully handmade, painted oxcarts with oxen teams & “drivers” in traditional costumes; food and dancing; blessing of the animals.

St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) — St. Joseph is the patron saint of the capital city, San José. Namesake towns celebrate with fiestas.

National Orchid Show (Mid-March) – In San Jose: celebration of the country’s national flower and 1,200 orchid species.

Fruit Festival (Mid-March) – In Orotina, Puntarenas: huge open-air fruit market and festival (on the way to the Pacific Coast from San Jose). April International Arts Festival (first 2 weeks of April or end of March depending on Easter) – Top international artists and national performers give performances in San Jose and other locations throughout the country (concerts, dance, theatre).

Juan Santamaría Day (April 11) — Commemorates Costa Rica’s national hero, Juan Santamaria, who died in the battle of Rivas in 1856. It is a national holiday; the majority of activities are held in Alajuela (parade, street fair, concerts).
Article by Shannon Farley

Costa Rica surfing circuit 2016 opens in Caribbean at end January

While there may not be 70-foot point break waves like in the movies, Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast still sports some of the top surf spots in the country and will bring Costa Rica’s best surfers to the region at the end of January for the first national surf competition of the 2016 season.

Santa Teresa Costa Rica Gets Clean Air With Pave The Road Costa Rica

Come January 2016, schoolchildren in the southern Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica will hopefully breathe easy with cleaner air. Roads in front of seven elementary schools in the region, that are now unpaved dustbowls, will be the first in Costa Rica to be made of recyclable plastic, thanks to the Pave the Road initiative. The southern Nicoya Peninsula is one of those iconic Costa Rica tourism spots, where you can find paradise beaches, world-class surf breaks, forested coastline, and charming towns like Santa Teresa, Malpaís, and Montezuma. Once a surfers’ and backpackers’ secret hideaway, the popular beaches now are filled with eco-lodges, beach bungalows, upscale luxury hotels, yoga retreats, and multi-national restaurants.

The one main road for the region is mostly paved from the Nicoya Gulf port of Paquera to the town of Cóbano, but roads in the beach communities and side roads are chiefly unpaved dirt. Traffic on the roads kicks up unbearable dust clouds in the dry season, coating vehicles, houses, businesses, schools and people with fine white dust; and creates a muddy pot-holed mess in the rainy season. The area’s 5,000 residents suffer from respiratory and health problems such as asthma, allergies, eye irritations and skin infections. Bacterial road dust enters the open-air schools and harms the health of the schoolchildren. A group of private businesses and the National Laboratory of Testing Materials and Structural Modes (LANAMME) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), that deals with road and building construction, plan to pave 1.4 kilometers of streets in front of the region’s seven elementary schools with a mixture using recycled plastic. The material comes from three tons of recycled plastic collected by area residents and businesses. The plastic will be crushed and added to the asphalt for paving. The shredded plastic represents 3% of the mixture and can extend the life of the road about 15 years, according to LANAMME. The system currently is used on roads in Holland, Belgium and India.

The Pave the Road initiative was started by Canadian mom, Kelly Mason, and her children who relocated to Montezuma, Costa Rica a few years ago to pursue a more balanced life in nature. Over the past four years, the initiative has grown into a community of parents, sponsors, and private donors that are helping to reach the goal of paved roads in all of the area communities so that residents can breathe clean air. Students of the school in Santa Teresa will be first to receive the new pavement; 200 meters will be covered in January 2016. Schools in Cabuya, Malpaís, San Isidro, Hermosa, and two in the community of Las Delicias will follow soon thereafter. The entire project will help approximately 1,500 schoolchildren.

Fixing the road in front of the seven schools will cost $750.000, according to the Pave the Road organization. The initiative led to the creation of the Green Pavement Company to provide environmentally safe and certified plastic formulas for each unique road type. The Green Pavement Company employs hundreds of waste pickers to clean out landfills filled with plastic waste which would otherwise release tons of carbon dioxide pollution daily into the atmosphere. The long-term goal is the complete eradication of plastic waste from garbage dumps, rivers, waterways and oceans in Costa Rica.

Where to stay on vacation in Santa Teresa Costa Rica Hotel Tropico Latino, a beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, is an unforgettable place to stay. Very private guest bungalows, suites and rooms are scattered along the beachfront and in beautiful gardens shaded by huge, old trees. You can enjoy beachfront yoga classes, a spa, and delicious meals and superfoods smoothies at the one of the best beachside restaurants in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Hotel Tropico Latino is a business sponsor of the Pave the Road initiative.

Article by Shannon Farley

Related articles

• Go for a yoga retreat in Santa Teresa Costa Rica in 2016
• ATVs: Before You Grab the Keys, Think Safety

10 Top Things To Do In Monteverde Costa Rica

In the coolest travel destination for 2016, you can plan a cool vacation knowing these top things to do in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Monteverde is famous for its cloud forests, nature and wildlife, adrenaline-inducing zip lines and suspension bridges, and its fabulous local coffee, ice cream and cheeses. So, pack your bags and get ready for an amazing adventure in the cloud forest on vacation in Monteverde. 10 Top things to do in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Canopy zip line tours

Monteverde boasts some of the longest, highest and scariest zip lines through the forest tree canopy. If you’re an adrenaline thrill-seeker, this adventure is for you. Try the Tree Top Canopy Tour at El Establo Hotel; or the zip lines at Selvatura Adventure Park or Sky Trek Monteverde by the Santa Elena Reserve.

 

Night Walk tour

It’s exciting, and a little spooky, to walk around in the forest at night with all of its hidden critters. This is the time when nocturnal animals wake up, hunt and do their thing. You’ll encounter (from safe distances) snakes, spiders (like hole-dwelling tarantulas), porcupines, agoutis, opossums, tree frogs and other animals. El Establo Hotel offers a thrilling Night Walk in the Cloud Forest Tour.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is one of Costa Rica’s most famous private reserves. Spanning six distinct ecological zones, the reserve’s 10,500 hectares (25,950 acres) protects abundant wildlife. It is a favorite destination for bird watching in Costa Rica to see the more than 400 bird species found here. The best way to go is on a guided hike with a naturalist who has expert eyes and knowledge.

Suspension and Hanging Bridges

Scientists didn’t know this until they started climbing rainforest trees four decades ago, but about 90% of all rainforest life is found in the upper level of the forest canopy, where the sunlight is more powerful in the treetops and more species can grow. There, plants flourish and animals climb to soaring elevations to hunt for fruits and nuts. Now you can explore the amazing wonders of the forest canopy on suspension and hanging bridges. Best in the area are Sky Walk and Selvatura’s Treetop Walkway.

Monteverde Orchid Garden

Exquisite, delicate orchids are the largest and most diverse family of flowering plants on Earth, and are abundant in tropical Costa Rica. The Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica is said to have the highest diversity of orchids in the world. You can see close to 500 varieties of orchids in the Monteverde Orchid Garden, including the smallest orchid in the world at just over 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) in size.

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

The Santa Elena Reserve is particularly special for its abundance of epiphytes, which make up 29% of the flora with 878 species, and are the richest plant life form in Monteverde. This private reserve of 765 acres (310 hectares) of cloud forest is a prime example of community cooperation for conservation. See if you can catch sight of the elusive green and red Resplendent Quetzal here. Children’s Eternal Rainforest The Children’s Eternal Rainforest straddles the Continental Divide, covering 55,600 acres (22,500 hectares) of primary and secondary forest. The private reserve surrounds the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve for added conservation, and offers great hiking trails.

Coffee tours

Costa Rica is known all over the world for its rich coffee. Now you can get the insider story on how that fantastic coffee is produced, and charm your friends back home with cool facts. Monteverde has a local fair trade cooperative that supplies coffee connoisseurs around the globe with the finest coffee.

Monteverde Cheese Factory

Monteverde’s famous Cheese Factory dates back to 1953, when the group of American Quakers came to the area, founded the town, and began farming dairy cattle. On this tour – full of free samples, of course – you’ll learn about the production of Monteverde’s renowned dairy products: cheeses, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, milk and butter.

Wildlife and nature exhibits Various wildlife parks in Monteverde give you an in-depth experience with some of the region’s interesting animals. If you are into nature and wildlife, you’ll want to visit the Monteverde Frog Pond, Bat Jungle, and the Monteverde Butterfly Garden.

Monteverde, Costa Rica

High up in the clouds of Costa Rica, the Monteverde region is considered one of the best preserved cloud forests in Central America. Cloud forest is rainforest at high elevations (above 5,000 feet), where tropical warm air condenses into persistent fog, mist and constant dripping moisture.

Where to stay in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Make your trip to the world-famous Monteverde cloud forest unforgettable with a stay at El Establo Mountain Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the region. Comfortable and well-appointed rooms feature private balconies and patios with magnificent views across the Monteverde forest to the Nicoya Gulf. Additional amenities include two excellent gourmet restaurants, a spa, two heated indoor pools, and tennis, basketball and mini soccer courts. El Establo Hotel is part of the Enchanting Hotels collection in Costa Rica.

 

Article by Shannon Farley

Related articles

• Costa Rica Coordinates Bird Counts With U.S. National Parks

Guide To Unforgettable Guanacaste Costa Rica Beaches

The North Pacific Coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica is known for its unforgettable beautiful beaches of white, gold, gray, black and even pink sand. Guanacaste Costa Rica beaches are preferred vacation destinations, having the sunniest climate in all of Costa Rica.