Archive for November, 2008

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.

Costa Rica AdventuresNo Comments »

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.

North Pacific Costa RicaNo Comments »

Cabo Blanco Reserve in Costa Rica

Posted on Nov 16, 2008

The beautiful Reserve of Cabo Blanco in Costa Rica is located in the province of Puntarenas, on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. It was created through Executive Order of the Costa Rica Goverment in Oct. 21, 1963. Its length is of 1,172 hectares in the terrestrial and 1790 hectares at the marine area. Cabo Blanco is a haven for species of flora and fauna of the Pacific area and for large numbers of marine species. It is of great importance for its scenic beauty. Cabo Blanco is located within the zone of moist tropical forest life. It is dominated by evergreen species mixed with deciduous species. Some of the most common species are the Jobo, the Indian naked, the arbutus, the Guácimo, the Guarumo, the chaperno and the pochotea species of great commercial value in Costa Rica.

In the areas of primary forest, highlights the medlar, the pochote and the espavel. In this wild area have been reported 119 species of trees. The fauna in the reserve is not very diverse. However, there are species of mammals such as deer, monkeys like the congo and the red faced, the porcupine, the guatusa, the tepezcuinte, the martilla, the coyote, armadillo or cusuco and the ocelot or Caucel. Seabirds are very numerous, particularly brown pelicans, the Frigate bird, the gulls, the terns and brown boobies all found in Costa Rica.

For its part, the most characteristic land birds are the toledo, the magpie, the Cattle egret, the bearded vulture, the red widow, the green heron, the chachalaca, the kingfisher, the parakeet yellow wing and the buzzard red head. Within the marine environments the explorer can see large numbers of fishes, crabs, quitones, burgos, lobsters, cambutes, shrimp, clams and many other species. There are four programs in the reservation. The research program aims to develop research, as well as establishing and implementing the necessary measures for its control and supervision in Costa Rica. The maintenance program was established for the improvement and construction of facilities inside the reserve. Is basically the program which function is to keep the Reserve working properly

The Agenda for Protection in Costa Rica prevents illegal actions inside the reserve as hunting, fishing, fire and any extraction of forest products. The Environmental Education Program supports community relations to create a favorable atmosphere between the inhabitants of the area surrounding the reserve. It also ensures the attention of national and foreign tourists who visit this reservation and others like it in Costa Rica.