Rincon de la Vieja National Park waterfalls show off in Costa Rica green season

Green season in Guanacaste, Costa Rica is when the waterfalls at Rincon de la Vieja Volcano really show off.

Near Rincon de la Vieja hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, four waterfalls flow, and all of them have pools where you can swim. Getting to the waterfalls is an adventure on its own – either by hiking or horseback riding. The Hacienda Guachipelin Adventure Center organizes waterfall tours, which last usually two to three hours and are available between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Victoria Waterfall

The 115-foot (35-meter) Victoria Waterfall on the Rio Negro (Black River) is where the river tubing trips start their adventure downriver. The surrounding canyon has unique vegetation and topography, and you can swim in the pool at the waterfall’s base.

How to get there: A 45-minute each-way horseback ride on a scenic trail, and a short, steep descent to the waterfall; or a one hour each-way scenic hike on the same trail.

Chorreras Waterfall

Two waterfalls cascade into a beautiful sky blue mineral water pool in this amphitheater canyon at Chorreras Waterfall – the closest to Hacienda Guachipelin. It is an excellent place for a cooling swim, or just to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

How to get there: A 25-minute each-way horseback ride on a scenic trail, and short walk to the waterfall; or a 45-minute each-way scenic hike on the same trail.

Oropéndola Waterfall

Located near the Las Pailas entrance to the Rincon de la Vieja National Park, the Oropéndola Waterfall plunges an impressive 82 feet (25 meters) in a beautiful canyon of the Rio Blanco (White River). The sparkling turquoise pool below makes for a refreshing swim.

How to get there: A 45-minute each-way horseback ride on a scenic trail, and short walk to the waterfall; or a 1.5 hour each-way scenic hike; or a 15-minute drive and short walk.

Cangreja (Crab) Waterfall

The Cangreja Waterfall is located inside the Rincon de la Vieja National Park forest. Spilling 130 feet (40 meters) in a white ribbon of water out of the green forest, the waterfall forms a celestial blue pool at its base; its color comes from dissolved copper minerals from the volcano. The only way to get to this waterfall is by hiking 3 miles (5 km) into the national park.

How to get there: 15-minute drive to the national park entrance and then hiking.

Rincon de la Vieja Hotels

Green season is the best time to visit Rincon de la Vieja (May to November), when the volcano’s fumaroles and boiling mud pots are most active. In green season, you can enjoy great Costa Rica travel deals at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2014 winner. Hacienda Guachipelin has the best Guanacaste Costa Rica adventure tours, and afterward, you can enjoy a warm volcanic mud bath and soak in the hotel’s natural hot springs.

Article by Shannon Farley

Have fun fishing in Quepos Costa Rica

 

Calm seas and abundant marine life in the spectacular Pacific Ocean at Quepos and Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica create an ideal environment for fun activities.

For instance, now through the end of December is humpback whale-watching season in Costa Rica; and you can nearly always see large pods of dolphins while out sailing, boating or kayaking.

Quepos also is a top place for world-class sportfishing in Costa Rica. The World Offshore Fishing Championship 2014 in April brought in hundreds of international sportfishing fans to Quepos to compete.

The water temperature here provides the perfect environment for fish species like Pacific sailfish and swordfish, Dorado (Mahi Mahi), Yellowfin Tuna, giant Snook, Wahoo, Amberjack, Mackerel, Snapper, Roosterfish, and blue, black and striped Marlin. Fishing enthusiasts have luck just about any month of the year to fish both “catch-and-release” and fish for dinner.

Sport Fishing in Quepos Costa Rica:

Dorado – Late May through October, but they are caught often throughout the year. Marlin – Best from September through November. Sailfish – November to April they are most abundant, although the rest of the year is still very good. Yellowfin Tuna – Available during Marlin and Sailfish season. Small tuna is found year-round. Snook – Fishing is good from March through May and September through November. Wahoo – Available year-round. Snapper – Available year-round. Roosterfish – Excellent availability year-round.

All fishing tours in Quepos operate out of the new Pez Vela Marina, which offers fishing enthusiasts and visitors top-of-the-line facilities, waterfront restaurants, shops and galleries.

Benefits of going out on a half-day or full day fishing tour are that you can enjoy the fresh sea air, and will more than likely see sea birds, dolphins, and even whales during migration season. If you catch a Dorado, Wahoo, Snapper, Tuna, etc., the restaurant at Shana Hotel in Manuel Antonio will even cook it for you for dinner!

Shana Hotel & Residence is a lifestyle boutique hotel located minutes from the Manuel Antonio National Park, and the town of Quepos and Pez Vela Marina. Featuring 27 fabulous rooms and suites, spa services, and an ocean-view restaurant, this new Manuel Antonio Costa Rica hotel is a TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice 2014 Winner. A walking trail by the hotel leads you 10 minutes to the protected, white-sand Biesanz Beach. One of Shana Hotel’s best features is the sunset views. Best sunset spots: the large swimming pool, hot tub and lounge deck, the ocean-view restaurant, and your ocean-view room balcony.

Article by Shannon Farley

Rafting in the Costa Rica rainforest at Arenal Volcano

 

When the Costa Rica green season rain gets going, river rafting trips in the top adventure travel destination get really exciting. As the rivers swell with rainwater, it’s your cue to go for a fun, wild ride down a beautiful rainforest river.

Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is a top travel destination not only for its great rivers, but also its lush rainforest, deep canyons, and largest fresh water lake in the country – Lake Arenal.

“There are more paddling options in the Arenal area than anywhere else in Central America,” declares Desafio Adventure Company, which operates whitewater rafting trips in Arenal.

Desafio operates river rafting trips in Arenal on the Balsa River (class 2-3), a Safari Float on the Penas Blancas River (class 1), combo rafting tours with rappelling or canopy zip-lining, and private tours.

If you want fun and excitement without being too crazy, the Balsa River is a perfect Arenal Costa Rica whitewater rafting adventure.

The half-day tour down class 2 and 3 rapids is right for persons with little to no rafting experience and also for families. The river flows down a long, rainforest canyon, 30 minutes outside of the town of La Fortuna by the Arenal Volcano. You will paddle down 10 kilometers of rolling rapids like “Morning Coffee” and “Rock around the Croc”, with tranquil pools along the way to catch your breath and see the scenery and wildlife.

The tour includes: Rafting equipment, snacks, drinks, lunch, towel, bilingual certified guides, private river entrance and exit with changing rooms and bathroom, and transportation to/from your Arenal area hotel in a Wi-Fi equipped van.

What to Bring: quick-dry clothes, swimsuit, sunscreen, strap-on sandals or athletic shoes, and a change of clothes.

Desafio Adventure Company is a family business run by adventure enthusiasts Suresh and Christine Krishnan. Suresh founded the company in 1992. Desafio provides outstanding Costa Rica adventure tours in whitewater rafting, canyoneering, kayaking, mountain biking, hikes to waterfalls and active volcanoes, and activities in other popular Costa Rica destinations.

Article by Shannon Farley

Organic cuisine scene in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

In Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, organic healthy living is alive and well – especially at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat.

Budda Eyes Restaurant at the beachfront Santa Teresa Costa Rica hotel is dedicated to serving healthy, nourishing and innovative cuisine.

“At Pranamar we try to satisfy not only your stomach, but also your soul with cuisine that is varied, distinctive, delicious and healthy,” explains Pranamar Villas Head Chef Rodrigo Soriano of Argentina.

Overlooking the lagoon-style pool at the Costa Rica beach resort, the open-air restaurant features organic fruits and vegetables, creative vegetarian cooking, local farm-fresh meats, and fresh just-out-of-the-ocean fish and shellfish. The Nicoya Peninsula hotel even grows some of its own fruit and vegetables.

“We buy our fish fresh each day from local fishermen in Santa Teresa and Malpais. It can’t get fresher than what we have!” commented Soriano, who has been working with Pranamar Villas for nine years, and leads the restaurant team with chefs Claudio “Cicco” Mazzone from Italy and Jesus Zabala from Venezuela.

Organic farm Hacienda Okhra

Pranamar Villas buys much of its produce from local organic farm Hacienda Okhra. The 43-acre Hacienda Okhra is a sustainable community of luxury homes, preserved tropical forest green spaces and the organic farm, located above the town of Malpais on the southern tip of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. Located between the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve and Santa Teresa, Hacienda Okhra is the visionary concept of owner Georges Lefebvre from France. It is named after the Okra plant that produces edible green seed pods famous in Southern USA cooking, and which grows on the farm.

All of the farm’s fruits and vegetables are grown using hydroponics and chemical-free organic practices, according to Hacienda Okhra information. The farmers utilize indoor vertical growing systems, outdoor raised beds, and also plant directly in the ground. Soil is enriched naturally with coconut fibers, natural compost from the farm, dirt from the ground, and garden compost and vermiposting (think: worms).

Water for the farm is all gravity fed once it gets pumped up to a water tower that draws directly from a well on the property. The system is designed as a natural reclamation system where the run-off flows directly into the outdoor gardens with any leftover ending up in the pond that feeds the well.

Buddha Eyes Restaurant at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat

The Buddha Eyes Restaurant is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Pranamar Villas Costa Rica specializes in yoga and yoga retreats, and Costa Rica surf holidays on the spectacular Santa Teresa Beach. Pranamar holds daily yoga classes open to hotel guests and the public.

Article by Shannon Farley

Nicoya Peninsula Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve protects forest, wildlife

It is amazing how many national parks, conservation areas, wildlife refuges and private reserves there are in the tiny country of Costa Rica. In the mountains of the Pacific Nicoya Peninsula, one little-known private reserve is the Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve.

A wildlife refuge and reforestation project, the Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve serves as an important biological corridor between the Cabo Blanco Reserve and Barra Honda National Park on the Costa Rica Nicoya Peninsula. The reserve is named after Danish environmentalist, Karen Mogensen, who with her Swedish husband, Olaf Nicolas Wessberg, founded Costa Rica's first national park, Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula.

The Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve protects 2,250 acres of primary and secondary forest with giant trees, lushly adorned with mosses, vines and orchids. Native habitat regeneration and environmental education are some of the principal goals of the non-profit Ecological Association of Paquera, Lepanto, Cóbano (ASEPALECO) that founded the reserve in 1996. In less than 20 years, the land has transformed from open farmland to thriving jungle with the help of local farmers planting trees and removing property fences.

You can hike trails through the preserve to Bridal Veil Waterfall, a stunning 60-foot cascade that empties into a pristine swimming hole; the hike takes approximately 40 minutes one way. You can also hike one hour up a small mountain to the rustic Cerro Escondido Lodge, featuring an orchid garden and a restaurant that serves vegetarian and traditional Costa Rican meals. You need to make arrangements in advance with park officials for lunch.

Wildlife watching is excellent in the reserve: howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, otters, deer, pumas, ocelots, countless butterflies, and at least 240 bird species, including three-wattled bellbirds, motmots, spectacled owls, and long-tailed manikins.

Stay in the area at L'acqua Viva Resort & Spa at Playa Guiones in Nosara, Costa Rica. Nosara is recommended as one of the best places to go in 2014 by CNN and National Geographic, and also is renowned for some of the best surfing in Costa Rica. L'acqua Viva Resort can arrange tours to the Karen Mogensen Reserve, and also the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, famous for the multitudes of Olive Ridley sea turtles that come to lay their eggs from July to December.

 The Costa Rica luxury hotel is offering special low season rates from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15, 2014.

Article by Shannon Farley

Girls Rule: Women-only surf retreats in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

There are women-only professional clubs, women-only gyms, women’s athletic events, and girls also rule at Pura Vida Adventures surf retreats in Costa Rica.

Founded 10 years ago by surfer Tierza Eichner, Pura Vida Adventures brings women from the U.S. and other countries to the pristine beaches and rocking waves of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for surfing and yoga vacations.

Santa Teresa Beach on the southern Nicoya Peninsula is a hot destination for surf and yoga retreats in Costa Rica. Santa Teresa is frequently named one of the most beautiful beaches in the world for its warm Pacific Ocean, great waves, sparkling white sand beach, tropical palm trees and balmy weather.

The Costa Rica surf camps are based at Hotel Tropico Latino in Santa Teresa. Women of all ages and walks of life – corporate executives, retirees, students, professional athletes – come to learn and improve the art of wave riding, be revitalized in yoga classes and relax under the tropical sun. The Santa Teresa beachfront hotel holds the very popular retreats all year long with Pura Vida Adventures.

Week-long surf retreats (7 days and 6 nights) are taught by professional, highly-trained surf instructors. Yoga adds the important elements of stretching and relaxation. Costa Rica surf and yoga retreats are available at Hotel Tropico Latino in November and December 2014, and January to May 2015. There are both co-ed and women-only retreats offered.

Big news is that Carve Design, makers of apparel for water girls, has teamed up with Pura Vida Adventures to make sure you look your best with your new Costa Rica beach tan. Sign up for a 2014 Pura Vida Adventures surf camp in Costa Rica, and you’ll get 20% off all Carve Designs products, designed for women by women to fit womanly curves.

Hotel Tropico Latino

At beautiful Playa Carmen in Santa Teresa, Hotel Tropico Latino is a relaxed and charming 4-star resort fronting the beach on four acres of lush, tropical gardens. Accommodations are comfortable and luxurious. Hotel facilities include a full-service beachfront spa and an award-winning restaurant. Sunsets are breathtaking.

Article by Shannon Farley

Don’t miss the Whale & Dolphin Festival 2014 in Costa Rica!

The Festival of Whales & Dolphins is once again making a splash at Uvita Beach in Southern Costa Rica at the beginning of September.

You definitely don’t want to miss the 6^th annual festival marking the peak of the annual migration of Pacific Humpback Whales to the Ballena National Marine Park in Costa Rica. This year’s 2014 Festival of Whales & Dolphins will be held over the two weekends of Sept. 5-7 and Sept. 12-14.

Festival activities will include whale-watching tours, a beach run, mountain biking race, sand-sculpture contests, photography exhibits, concerts, environmental workshops, crafts and food sales. A 6k and 10k beach run will be held in the national park on Sept. 6, and the mountain biking race takes place on Sept. 7.

The Ballena (“whale”) National Marine Park covers 110 hectares of land and 5,375 marine hectares, and was created in 1989 as the first marine park in Latin America. It is an important sanctuary for migrating humpback whales, pilot whales and false orca whales; resident Pacific Spotted, Common and Bottlenose dolphins; along with stingrays, hammerhead sharks, and several kinds of sea turtles. The whale refuge is famous for its sandbar isthmus formed perfectly into the shape of a large whale’s tail.

Whale watching in Costa Rica lasts from August to October for southern Pacific Humpback Whales from Antartica (the largest population), and from December to April for northern humpbacks from Alaska. The endangered whales swim thousands of miles to the shallow, warm coastal waters of the Ballena National Marine Park to reproduce and give birth.

Biologists consider the protected area a perfect setting between the northern and southern hemispheres for the birth of new marine life. 

The park is located in what is known as the Costa Rica Thermal Convection Dome, a large “bubble” of shallow, oxygen-rich warm water layered over the top of colder water with less oxygen. The conditions create an ideal habitat for marine life.

The Costa Rica sustainable community of Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living, in the coastal mountains between Manuel Antonio National Park and Dominical, is offering a special promotion in their vacation bungalows during whale-watching season. Stay two nights, with full breakfast included, and receive a whale-watching tour for two persons.

Portasol offers Costa Rica property for sale and tourism hospitality with unique vacation rentals. Stay in one of Portasol’s vacation bungalows or Costa Rica homes for rent while you explore the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica.

Article by Shannon Farley