With Costa Rica’s most famous active volcano – Arenal – behaving quietly for the past three years, tourists to this Central American hotspot are looking elsewhere for exciting fireworks. There are actually six active volcanoes in Costa Rica, and another 61 that are dormant or extinct. For the past 50 years, Arenal was the country’s...Read More
Central America forms a bridge literally between North and South America, which throughout its three million year history has served as a natural biological passageway between the two continents. In the last century, however, much of that corridor has been destroyed by farming and urbanization. Biologists have determined that biological corridors are one of the...Read More
One of the most brilliantly beautiful tropical birds is definitely the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). Its loud, raucous squawks carry for miles, so usually you hear them before you see them. When you do sight a Scarlet Macaw in the wild, they are breathtaking – fire engine red bodies with sunshine yellow and royal blue...Read More
What if I told you there was an animal without lungs that lives on land and can grow back any limb of its body? Crazy, you say? Well, in the Costa Rican Caribbean rainforest, there is a species of salamander that can. Salamanders are amphibians that are typically characterized by a lizard-like appearance, with slender...Read More
Fifty-three tourism companies in Costa Rica have agreed to uphold the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). At the 55th meeting of the Commission of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the Americas, held for the first time in Costa Rica from May 13-15, 2013, the national...Read More
Little was known about life up in the canopy of tropical forests until biologists started using ropes and pulleys to climb their way up. Treetops in the tropics reach so high that it was nearly impossible to explore. Scientists now know that about 90% of all of the organisms in a rainforest are found in...Read More
Costa Rica’s southern Nicoya Peninsula is full of natural beauty and rich in biodiversity. Jagged and mountainous from its volcanic origins, with pockets of shimmering beaches, the landscape is a diverse transition zone between tropical dry forest and wet tropical forest. The Gulf of Nicoya’s placid waters stretch between the Peninsula and mainland. The tops...Read More
About 50 million years or so ago, Costa Rica was a series of underwater volcanoes. Over thousands and thousands of years, layers built up until eventually they surfaced and continued to grow, just as the Hawaiian Islands do today. The Cocos Plate shoving its way underneath the Caribbean Plate also helped things along, pushing Central...Read More
My front door is starting to stick. The kitchen cupboards under the sink now won’t close, and my bedroom door is suddenly dragging across the floor tile. Is my house in need of repair? No, it’s just rainy season in Costa Rica. In the tropics, water and humidity play a major role in daily life....Read More
Tropical forests cover 15% of the globe’s surface and capture 25% of the carbon present in the atmosphere. These healthy forests play a critical role in curbing climate change. They “breathe” CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in trees and soil; in fact, roughly half of the world’s terrestrial carbon is stored in forests,...Read More
The world’s environmental grades have been posted by Yale University. So, which countries are really “walking the talk” with their national environmental policies and actions? European nations are at the top of the world class, with a lone contender from the Americas – Costa Rica, placing 5th best in the world for its environmental performance,...Read More
It was a bit like playing bumper cars in the middle of Roaring Rapids. There I was, perched very alert in my high-tech individual rafting tube, bouncing off a rock to my left only to spin off a rock on my right and now speeding backwards down the chute to smack the huge wave in...Read More
Are you happy? That seems to be the question being asked in recent times, from boardrooms to bars, international conference centers to offices of government leaders, business schools to book stores. Are we happy? Following our bliss? Living our passion? Are we “me-focused” or “others-focused”? The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan even measures its country’s...Read More
Would you be happier living in a greener area? A UK study says you would. New research from the University of Exeter Medical School and the European Centre for Environment & Human Health in England has found that “people living in urban areas with more green space tend to report greater well-being than city dwellers...Read More
When I used to guide nature tours in Costa Rica, people would always ask me, “Are we going to see monkeys (or a sloth, toucan, etc.)?” I would always respond, “Well, it’s possible, but not guaranteed; it’s not like we put the animals out in their positions in the morning!” When we talk about the...Read More
One thing about Costa Rica is the country loves a good party! Costa Ricans are known for being gregarious and fun-loving and their enthusiasm is contagious when the country celebrates its numerous fiestas, festivals and horse parades. Plan your travel to Costa Rica during these cultural events and experience first-hand the country’s rich local traditions,...Read More
The onset of Costa Rica’s “green season” means it is whitewater rafting time! Rainwater flows into Costa Rica’s tropical rivers this time of year, making the rapids bigger and more exciting. What could be more fun than splashing down a warm-water tropical river on a hydro-powered rollercoaster? Costa Rica is one of the world’s top...Read More
Melodious bubbling of the river below combines with the metallic “clink” of Common Tink Frogs and the hum of crickets to lull me to sleep. My soft, cushy bed in my modern, comfortable bungalow is just steps from the wild Costa Rican rainforest. I make out the dark outline of large vine-covered trees out the...Read More
Trending in recent years among brides and grooms is leaving behind the traditional, large, 250-person, fancy church, banquet hall wedding in favor of a fun, exotic destination wedding that adds the adventure of a sunny honeymoon vacation. Couples choose to go out-of-town for many reasons, including basic economics. You would think that staging a wedding...Read More
Costa Rica’s greatly varied terrain, from beaches to jungle to rugged mountains, makes for a fun playground for ATV tours. Officially known as All-Terrain Vehicles, or “Quads” in North America and “Quad Bikes” in England and Australia, ATVs can be an exciting way to access Costa Rica’s beautiful landscapes where other vehicles can’t travel. You...Read More
Besides amazing looks, tropical architecture is all about working with the elements of nature to achieve thermal comfort in hot and humid climates. Tropical architecture, whether traditional, ultramodern or high-tech, uses passive design elements like sunshades, cavity walls, light shelves, overhangs, roof and wall insulation, and shading from large trees to block the intense tropical...Read More
They bring life to rainforests, both with their brilliant colors and with the magnificent flowers they help to pollinate. Everyone loves butterflies – these delicate creatures flit and fly gracefully, brightening our gardens and wild spaces. Their beauty and allure has given butterflies a special place in both ancient and modern cultures. Many societies, including...Read More
Travelers to Costa Rica’s northern province of Guanacaste – home to outstanding tropical beaches, world-class all-inclusive resorts, volcanoes and beautiful tropical forest – can rest easy knowing that Guanacaste is also home to premium medical care services. Costa Rica is an exceptionally healthy place to live, according to official information about the country. In fact,...Read More
Paradise and social responsibility – in recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a buzzword in mainstream tourism all over the world. Travelers are seeking destinations that uphold sustainable environmental and community values, and hotels, resorts, tour companies and the like are doing their best to create programs and keep up with societies’ demands....Read More
