South Pacific Costa Rica

Posted on Jan 07, 2009

The South Pacific region of Costa Rica is known for its biodiversity, its natural beauty and its complex eco-system perfect for nature lovers. The National Geographic magazine has called this area “the most biologically intense on the earth”, and that is for a good reason. The southern region offers dramatic scenery, unforgettable adventure and a special season to remember. You cannot loose the opportunity to visit this zone if you are in Costa Rica. The Osa Peninsula will not disappoint you because it has a collection of exotic birds in bright colors, blue waters and emerald green forests that extend for many miles. This and more is offered to you by this incredible region that stretches from the river Baru, to the border with Panama and from the Talamanca Range to the Pacific coast.

The best time to visit this region of Costa Rica is during January to April, when there is little rain. If you do not bother a downpour, the flower and the juicy green of the forest will be more than compensate for this small inconvenience.  After an hour’s flight from San Jose you will feel transported to another world. You will find places of accommodation outside the parks and reserves areas, but they specialize in custom adventure tours.  In this place you can enjoy different activities like dive, dive surface (snorkeling), hiking and bird watching that are activities for true exploration of the field. The isla del Caño in Costa Rica waters has been ranked by the magazine Skin Diver, among the best places for diving adventures. Located at the southern tip of Costa Rica, this virgin area offers a variety of attractions for scuba diving, reefs, 15 ‘- 16′ to “walls”  of 80. “The fall of the devil” for example, is a pilot begins at 40 ‘and drops to a depth of 250′. The visibility is rarely below 50′.

Expert guides in Costa Rica can take you to travels of one or more days where you can learn about the different facets of the natural actors in the forest. The guide will teach you the most unique and incredible places that the forest can offer. Among your provisions, you must pack insect repellent and if you are camping, bring mosquito nets or networks, because the mosquitoes or flies are very abundant and can be annoying. The travelers will find a wide variety of lodgings in the area that offers a friendly and efficient service. The boats are required to transfer to the coastal areas of the peninsula. The beaches of Pan Dulce, Carate and Carbonara in Costa Rica are very beautiful and special for a day trip. Most hotels are here to offer multi-day packages that include local flights to and from San Jose, transfers, accommodation, all meals and excursions.

This area of Costa Rica is not an area with the most tourism development as others parts of the country, for that reason you are not going that  many bars and restaurants, althouhgh there are and you’ll pretty good service and fun, and hthe area has many forms of natural-outdoors entertainment for which the tourists can enjoy a truly unforgettable holiday.

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Liberia City in Costa Rica

Posted on Dec 19, 2008

Liberia is the head of the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century under the name of Pueblo de Guanacaste, as a result of the establishment of a parish in aid of its location, albeit without legal foundation.  Liberia is approximately 4 hours from the capital of Costa Rica and the access is very easy by car. He was often called “The White City” because in the past, its streets were made of “gravel”, a dusty material of white color. Its climate is hot and dry from November to May and wet from late May to early November, with heavy rains in September and October. It has an average annual temperature of 27 degrees C and extremes are of historical 12.8 º C and 40.1 º C.

The town of Guanacaste, Liberia City in Costa Rica, arose from 1769 around a hermitage, but without formal legal act of foundation. In 1787, it became part of the municipality of Leon in Nicaragua. In July 1824 their neighbors declined the invitation of the government of Costa Rica to join that country, but became part of it in 1826, due to an Act of Congress of Central America, which added to Costa Rica throughout the territory of the former Party of Nicoya. Gradually shifted to Nicoya as the main population of the territory and was erected in the header of the Department of Guanacaste.  In 1836 received the title of town and in 1854 changed its name to Liberia. In 1856, the city was renamed “Moracia,” in honor of Juan Rafael Mora Porras, president of the republic at that time. After the coup that gave the latter, the city finally came to be known as “Liberia”.

Actualy, tourism is given a lot to this zone, which has an airport that receives daily international flights: Daniel Oduber Airport, so it is common to see foreigners walking along the outskirts of the city. It is a city known for some by their folklore and customs. The climate is typical summer weather. One of the main attractions of this area of in Costa Rica are the proximity of the beaches and the many hotels that are on them. Places like the Gulf of Papagayo have been greatly developed in recent years and the growth continues. With the arrival of more international flights to the area tourism has emerged as the largest partner for the development of the city of Liberia. It is currently installed in the area several high technology companies. The first is Ad Astra Rocket Company and is located on the campus of the University EARTH (La Flor). Undoubtedly, the zoo Africa Mia became one of the top attractions in Liberia, Costa Rica. Giraffes, wild boar, ostrich, oryx, zebras and bongos try to captivate the national and foreign tourists.

Parts of the developments are the offspring that took some of the exotic animals as “Tico”, the dromedary of six months. Hippos and rhinos could complete the exotic menu of interesting animals of this place. Some of the airlines that fly daily to Liberia are: American Airlines, Continental, Delta. The group Taca has already had permits from the respective ICT so it will soon be added to this list. There are also charter flights from Canada to companies Sunwing and Sky Service. Daniel Oduber Airport in Costa Rica receives an average of 38 weekly flights, with an average of 1,118 passengers per day. Only in January 2005 over 32 thousand tourists entered the city of Liberia for this airport. In 2005 the number of passengers from this airport in Costa Rica was almost 400,000 passengers. Only during the 2007 season (December-April) is expecting more than 200,000 passengers. The British airline First Choice Airlines is flying from London, England, at the airport in Liberia since May 2007.

Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica

Posted on Dec 12, 2008

The Santa Rosa National Park is located in the province of Guanacaste, in the North Pacific of Costa Rica, just 36 Km north of the city of Liberia. It was created by Executive Order on March 20, 1972. It has an area of 37,117 hectares of ground and has 78,000 hectares in the sea. It is one of the most important historic areas of the country, the mansion of stone and pens were the scene of the largest national heroic epic: The Battle of Santa Rosa, on March 20, 1856.

The park is important for the protection and restoration of habitats of the climatic region known as the Pacific Dry. The beaches of Nancite and Naranjo are of great scenic beauty and important areas for spawning of sea turtles as Lora and the leatherback. There are about ten habitats in Santa Rosa of Costa Rica, including deciduous forests, forests of oak, evergreen forests, mangrove swamps, coastal forests, forests of little trees, beach vegetation and grassland or savannah.

Savannas in Costa Rica consist mainly of the Jaragua grass and scattered trees such as the oak, the nance, the chumico or raspaguacal, the cornizuelo and jicara. Deciduous forests contain some 240 species of trees and shrubs: the Guanacaste that is the national tree, the Indian naked, oak savanna, the chaperno, El Jobo, the pochote, the madroño and Guácimo.

In the evergreen forest of this part of Costa Rica the dominant species with the nispero, the oak, and the Tempisque and the Aceituno. Wildlife is abundant and diverse. It has been observed 155 species of mammals; over half are bats, 253 birds, 100 amphibians and reptiles, and more than 10,000 insects, including some 3140 species of butterflies by day and night.  Among the mammals is easy to find the congo monkey, the white face monkey, the armadillo, the cheap, the tapir, the pizote, the zain, the puma, the jaguar and raccoons. The semi thorny mouse is the most abundant mammal of all. Some of the most outstanding birds are the magpie, the parakeet orange front, the red widow, the soterrey matraquero, the cargahuesos, the Pavón, the crab hawk and Jumping tailed.

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Horseback riding in the northern-highland area near Arenal - Costa Rica

Posted on Dec 04, 2008

Near the area of Arenal in Costa Rica the horseback riding tours are really interesting, due the natural beauty of the area and the imposing presence of the Arenal volcano, one of the main attractions of the country. For this reason there are several types of tours that you can take and in most cases are a good combination of hiking and horseback riding with a beautiful landscape. The horses are trained and they will take you to the entrance of the waterfall through grass areas, forests and high hills. The views of the San Carlos Valley of Costa Rica and the tropical forest that surround it are spectacular. At the end of the road, you will stop and descend from the horses to walk along a nature trail to the base of the waterfall.

This fantastic area in Costa Rica is very quiet and a special place to relax and swim for a while. Generally the tours leave La Fortuna in the early morning until the Arenal dam. After that you will take a motorboat for 20 minutes that will take you to El Castillo on the other side of Lake Arenal, the horses in this town will be ready for you. Then you will ride for three and a half hours to cross rivers, meadows and forests and climb to about 3300 feet from the rain forest to reach the cloud forest. Probably this is the most spectacular trip you will find in Costa Rica, traveling on horseback by the old route that the villagers used for decades to trade. One of the tours leaves La Fortuna at 7:00 a.m. and travel to La Tigra where we changed the transportation to 4×4 car to climb 10 kilometers until The Biological Station in Pocosol which is a city in Costa Rica. In this place you will receive a little chat about location and information on the research work being carried out in the place.

Later we started a walk on the trail of Catarata Velo de Novia of about two hours to come into contact with the dense forest. When you return to the station you will eat a lunch to get energy. In the afternoon you will travel on a horse the path of Zamia, for two and a half hours, where you can contemplate the secondary volcanic activity. After going out of the path you will take a swim in the natural lake of volcanic origin. The dinner will be at 6:00 pm. At 7:30 pm you will hike at night to identify amphibians, reptiles and insects. The lodge is located inside the installations of the Biological Station.

Another interesting horseback riding tour in Costa Rica in this specific area is near Rio Celeste, located near the Tenorio Volcano National Park. In this place you will begin a tour on horseback of 7 km (4 hours) across the rainforest. You will arrive at Lake River Celeste, in this place there are two nascent crystal clear water of light blue color a really beautiful spectacle. When the tour is returning it travel along a trail where is possible to find “Pots”, these are like smoke-filled mud, produced by the volcanic activity. This place has a unique beauty which you can appreciate and care at the same time. During the journey you can see the high temperature gases and also you will find a beautiful waterfall with its crystal clear. The tour ends with a delicious lunch.

In another horseback riding tour in Costa Rica is Monteverde, where you will travel by horse to travel on muddy and rocky roads, through a lot of beautiful natural surruondings. In addition, you have the chance to see some of the wonderful scenery in the world when you arrive close to the “Forest of Eternal Child”, the Monteverde reserve and through the reservation of Santa Elena. This is an adventure that you will enjoy to the maximum.

Diving in the South Pacific of Costa Rica

Posted on Nov 28, 2008

Less than 10 years, Costa Rica was a little-known as a specialized diving destination. Suddenly has been applauded for its great variety of marine life and has become famous around the world.Along the coast of the South Pacific you will find first-class vessels dive, dive shops and well equipped. In addition, the lovers of this sport will have the opportunity to be immersed in the wilderness waters that were perhaps never before explored.

The tours depart early in the morning from cities such as Dominical in comfortable buses heading south along the Pacific coast along the Costanera Sur. After 90 minutes of journey, the bus will arrive to Sierpe where shortly you can make a strategic pause for breakfast

After eating the breakfast, you will undertake a boat trip through the magnificent Terraba mangroves of the Sierpe River, one of the largest in Central America. These mangroves are inhabited by abundant bird species, especially aquatic practices, as well as reptiles, within which are the American crocodile (Crocodiles acutus), four species of monkeys including the very rare Mono Titi and snakes, among which highlights the Green Arborous Boa.

After leaving the mouth of the Rio Sierpe, in the path, we can admire one of the most beautiful scenery in the country, Violines Island, Drake Bay and the coast of the Osa Peninsula. One of the most popular destinations in the South Pacific is the Caño Island, one of the best dive sites in Costa Rica that is famous for its crystalline waters and high visibility in addition to an abundance of marine life. Perhaps the most important species that you can find there are the devil rays, turtles and schools of sharks white fin of reef which are visible through all the day. The visibility can be up to 90 feet on a good day and may be you can be lucky to be able to see a whale shark.

The diving instructors and guides will lead you to several sites on the island. After concluding the first session of diving, it is necessary to return to the island where you can replenish with energy thanks a lunch at the rangers station. After a brief rest, you can start the second session of diving, hoping to be even better than first. After concluding this, generally the tours returned to the shore and then back along the coast to the hotel.
Usually there are also good surface dive on the edge and near the points and islands between Dominical and the Whale National Marine Park. Another point where you can find great places to practice diving is Drake Bay that will provide you the opportunity to enjoy one of the terrestrial and marine environments most exuberant of Costa Rica.

Grande Beach in Costa Rica, Guanacaste - North Pacific Coast

Posted on Nov 25, 2008

Playa Grande is located in the northern region of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica on the province of Guanacaste; more specifically is among the National Park Las Baulas and the city of Tamarindo, with its white sand beach and blue water. Playa Grande is known for a very special visitor, the leatherback turtle, which reaches to spawn by hundreds each year between the months of October and January. Playa Grande is one of the most important places for the spawning of this specie of turtle. The leatherback turtle is one of the largest turtles and make one of largest trips at sea, spawning from the beaches of Suriname to Malaysia, including some individuals that have been reported along the coast of Scandinavia. The Leatherback arrives at the beginning of October and the season runs through March, with activity in a top during November and December.
The warm blue water and golden sand from the coast of Playa Grande offer more open space and more privacy than any other beach in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica has been awarded by the coveted Blue Flag Green (Blue Flag) annually since its creation. The Blue Flag is an environmental award, given for the quality of the water and for the maintenance of coastal areas, in a few words is a price just for the beaches that are friendly with the environment.

Another popular reason to visit Playa Grande in Costa Rica is its excellent conditions for surfing, which are on the main beach. Playa Grande is much calmer than for example Playa Tamarindo, but surfing is just as good. In fact, according to many experimented surfers normally the surf breaks are sufficiently robust to qualify among the best points of surfing in the country. More to the north of the beach is great for swimming if you are not a fan of surfing. There are others activities that you can enjoy at Playa Grande, for example it is also possible to enjoy the wonderful beauty of nature, also is possible to rent equipment for kayaking, snorkeling and horseback riding making it an interesting place to spend your vacation.

Possibly the only inconvenient of Playa Grande of Costa Rica is that it do not have an easy access to the place. Tamarindo is the nearest beach and it is located just a couple of miles from Playa Grande. Because there is no direct way to get to Playa Grande you need to cross the estuary between the beach and Playa Tamarindo. The shortest way to get there is by flying to Liberia International Airport and from there to the beach. Because this beach has a protective fence, no hotel has rooms overlooking the place; however, near Playa Grande there are a number of hotels that are quite economic.