Posts Tagged ‘costa rica’

Day Trip In Volcano National Park – Costa Rica

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

My family and I were in Alajuela, Costa Rica, and decided to go on a day trip to Poas Volcano National Park. After we got picked up we drove through coffee plantations, strawberry fields and lush green slopes filled with cattle and enjoyed the beautiful scenery that this area has to offer. After we got there but before the actual tour started we saw a beautiful, scale model of the Poas Volcano and took some time to enjoy a hot cup of authentic Costa Rican coffee at the visitor’s center.

Right after that we started our walk up to the crater of the volcano which took around ten minutes. And again the walk was very scenic. I was so glad we got there early because the clouds were starting to obstruct the view of the crater s we started our way back. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the crater was when I saw it. It has turquoise blue gurgling steam and occasionally it burped sulfurous mud and sprayed hot steamy water high into the sky.

Back at the visitor’s center we were so excited that we wanted to get a little more hiking so we started walking up another trail which leads to the old, beautiful and extinct crater. Nowadays it’s filled with jade colored water. The way up is a trail between a high altitude rainforest where I had a great time looking for some wildlife.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at Freda Fresas for lunch. This Costa Rican restaurant serves dishes with all kinds of fresh produce from the region. We decided to order the Casado. It is the most typical lunch there is in Costa Rica by the way. I was quite surprised when I first saw it, it consisted of rice and black bean, picadillo, fried plantains, farmers cheese with corn tortillas and chicken in a tomato sauce. And for desert I asked for a cake called “tres leches” or three milk cake and a cup of hot Costa Rican cappuccino. It was all great.

This is a great day trip for anyone, so if you are in San Jose or Alajuela you can’t miss this adventure.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Vacations | No Comments »

Jaguars, Costa Rica’s Magnificent Wildcat

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

It would strange if someone hasn’t heard the name of the speedy and fierce Jaguar. And I’m not talking about the famous car brand! The jaguar is considered one of the fastest animals on earth and it is actually a kind of cat. Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica has the honor to publish the fact that they, along with parts of Guatemala, are the only places where Jaguars live. The jaguar is the 3rd largest feline after the Tiger and Lion. Jaguars have also featured prominently in Mayan and Aztec mythologies.

You may get confused distinguishing a Jaguar from a leopard as it is also spotted and has almost the same characteristics, but the jaguar is longer and studier than any leopard or tiger. Jaguars are commonly found in dense forest, however, they may also be found in different types of forests and even in open land. Whatever the place is, it is mandatory that the place has water around because Jaguars, just like other felines, love swimming.

The way Jaguars hunt is very adventurous and thrilling. If you have ever seen Tigers hunting in National Geographic or channels like this, you will find the similarities. Jaguars are basically stalk predators, meaning that they will stalk there food first, ambush with integrity and then will look for the opportunity to attack with fierce speed.

Jaguar’s teeth have developed an exceptionally powerful bite with their strong teeth that can even pierce the shell of armored reptiles! Their hunting style consists in biting the scull of their prey delivering a fatal blow to their brain.

Don’t get the feeling that Jaguar is harming other animals and is bad because they certainly aren’t. On the contrary, they are playing an important role in stabilizing the ecosystem and regulating the population of prey species.

The number of wildlife is declining day by day around the world and Jaguars are one of them. Even the beauty of such creatures didn’t stop them from getting extinct. International trade of jaguars or their parts is prohibited the cat is still regularly killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. Traveling with her family to all parts of Costa Rica and Guatemala, she now loves organizing vacations for people and offers first hand experience. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Vacations | No Comments »

Feeling Down and Out, Bucko? Time To Begin Planning Your Costa Rica Vacation

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Everybody seems to be hunkered down in a funk. The leaves have fallen, the days are getting colder. The Boys of Summer are freezing their bats off and nearly ready to put them away until Spring. A Costa Rica vacation may be just what the doctor ordered. Here are some great reasons to take that Costa Rica vacation now.

1. Airfares are unbelievable right now. They have not been this cheap for years. And, with Costa Rica tourism down by about 15% this year, an informed and frugal traveler can really take advantage of the plight of hotels and resorts. Luxury resorts like the Hilton Papagayo are offering rates around $160.00 a night, seniors pay even less, and more budget-conscious folks who travel Costa Rica can stay at very nice Costa Rica hostels (some with private rooms) for about $12.00. For the best bargains, visit between May and mid-November. Tip: look for a cash discount because many places offer substantial price reductions for cash. Do not be shy: ask and ye shall receive!

2. Visit one or more of hundreds of pristine Costa Rica beaches. Uncrowded, tropical beaches on two coasts. Black sand beaches, brown sand beaches, sea shell beaches, rugged rock-strewn beaches. Explore the same Caribbean beach where Columbus named Costa Rica 600 years ago. Fish off of Drake Bay, named after Sir Francis Drake, who visited the Costa Rica Pacific coast a decade before sinking the Spanish Armada and saving England.

3. Frolic on the same Costa Rica beaches as Britney Spears or Mel Gibson (you need to bring your own Russian model). Do not forget to bring your surfboard because some of the best surfing on the planet is found here. Most beaches are completely free but if you prefer to visit a very popular national beach park called Manuel Antonio, there will be a small entry fee.

4. Consider becoming an ecotourist. Check out Ostional National Preserve on the fabulous Gold Coast, where thousands of olive ridley sea turtles come ashore in massive nestings, called “arribadas”, perhaps the largest spectacle of its kind in the world. Arribadas occur year-round but the biggest (sometimes involving hundreds of thousands of turtles) typically are when the moon is in its last quarter during the months of July to November. Or, head over to the Caribbean coast and tour Tortuguero National Park, the biggest green sea turtle nesting preserve on earth.

5. Costa Rica has been called the “Switzerland of Latin America.” This mountainous little country has nearly as many species of birds as in the entire continental U.S., nearly 1000 in all. You can hike every inch of Africa without seeing as many species of butterflies as Costa Rica has. One of every five animal and plant species on the world are found in this country.

6. If you are adventurous and fit, visit magnificent Corcovado National Park on the southern Pacific Coast, a place National Geographic calls “the most biologically intense place on earth.” Though small, it is true wilderness that hosts the largest remaining population of scarlet macaws in Latin America, including crocodiles, monkeys, and six kinds of wild cat, including the spectacular jaguar, all living in some of the tallest primary forest remaining in this region of the world. Bring your camera, bandaids for blisters, and mosquito repellant.

Writer Victor Krumm lives in Costa Rica. Visit his acclaimed website about Costa Rica Vacations and be sure to check out the magnificent Seven Wonders of Costa Rica

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Vacations | No Comments »

Costa Rica Sea Turtle Satellite Tagging Expedition

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Recently, a Costa Rica based scientific fin and satellite tagging expedition got underway at Cocos Island to study the migration patterns of marine turtles.

Marine researchers, scientists, and conservation volunteers spent some 30 hours boating to the island in their quest for more knowledge about these ancient marine animals.

They are engaged in a kind of scientific working Costa Rica vacation that they hope will contribute to preserving these incredible animals now endangered in much of their range.

Cocos Island was described by the famous oceanographer, Jacque Cousteau, as the most beautiful island he had ever encountered. The small island, only about nine square miles in size, lies some 340 miles off the Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica, almost halfway to the Galapagos Islands.

It was not the lovely palms or beaches that enthralled Captain Cousteau. Its beauty is just off its shores, under water, in a place that Costa Ricans have voted as one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica. It is there that one finds priceless treasure: vast numbers of fish, whales, porpoises, and turtles.

Since the days of dinosaurs sea turtles have roamed the world’s seas.

The mighty Tyrannosaurus preyed on them more than 200 million years ago as they came ashore to nest.

These ancient beings are found in all the seas on the globe except the frozen Arctic and Antarctic.

Sadly , no more. Today, our unrestrained beach development and robbing of their nests have put them at risk. Millions have been in South America to make expensive Italian shoes.

The prescient Captain Cousteau remarked that: “If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.” A being visiting from another planet might conclude that such a result would be just.

However, more and more governments and conservation organizations are trying to restore at least some turtle populations. International treaties relating to sea turtles are now in place, though many countries have yet to implement them. Conservation organizations, scientists, and researchers have begun tagging ocean roaming turtles in far away places like Cocos Island, the Galapagos, Columbia, and other areas. Some animals are fitted with numbered flipper tags while others bear satellite transmitters that are tracked around the clock. It is all part of an effort to monitor their migration patterns.

These taggingvolunteers, scientists, and researchers know that marine turtles can be around another 200 million years but only if men pay more attention to protecting them than exploiting them.

The writer, Victor Krumm posts from tropical Costa Rica. Follow his lovely site Costa Rica Vacations and for info about marine turtles check out Sea Turtles

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Vacations | No Comments »