Near the central valley of Costa Rica is the Irazu Volcano . The capital city of San Jose sits in it’s shadow.  It had a major eruption in 1963 when it covered the central valley, esp San Jose in a blanket of ash.  At this moment it is quiet.  It is also a big tourist attraction and an easy day trip  from San Jose .

East of San Jose is the Turrialba Volcano which lately has been spraying ash for miles around its base.  It is off the beaten path and not many tourist go there because it is not easy to get to.

The there is the Poas Volcano, the volcano which draws the most tourist as well as Costa Rica visitors.  It is only one hour from San Jose by car and the drive up to is is just gorgeous.  Coffee plantations dot the sides of the mountains and dairy cows are seen grazing the deep green grass in the higher altitudes.  Lately it has been quite active spraying hot water and gasses high into the sky, almost one kilometer.

Costa Rica is a country filled with natural phenomenons.  Volcano eruptions, earthquakes, floods, but luckily Costa Rica does not get hurricanes.  If you would like to see the big eruption of 1958 of the Poas Volcano on video you can do just that.  Go to the top of our home page and click on “buy our video”  Also you will see on the video the mighty Arenal Volcano is action, as well as the Poas Volcano.

Ken and Ann at the Poas Volcano

Areanl Volcano in the late afternoon with it's perfect cone

Canals of Tortuguero, Costa Rica's Caribbean

Lush tropical plants, Costa Rica's Caribbean

Come and tour Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean Coastline,  off the beaten path but truly a  an exotic tropical paradise.   Most tourist travel to this region by car.  Or take one of the private bus services  such as Greyline or purchase a transfer through the hotel where they are staying.  It’s  around four hours by car  from San Jose, just take the main highway to Limon and just before you get to Limon you will take a right turn which leads you along the southern Caribbean Coast.  The road system here leaves a lot to be desired, quite a few dirt and gravel areas.

Immediately you will sense that this is a much more laid back part of Costa Rica than you have previously experienced.  But  lush and tropical with a jungle feeling.   The beaches are lined with palm trees and the warm ocean breeze blows almost constantly.  Rains a lot here-all year round.  A large portion of the population are the people whose descendants from  the island of Jamaica.  You will see their very colorful cultural influence everywhere here, from the  coconut infused food flavors  to the reggae music to  the bright huesof blue and yellow of the houses.

Which area should I visit?  First there is the Sloth Rescue Center, very unique plqce  where you can see baby sloths being cared for to be released into the wild as well as Buttercup, an eight year old sloth how resides at the rescue center.  She was picked up from the side of the riad after being hit by a car and taken to the refuge where she is living  happily.  This tour takes about 2 hours.  Learn more at www.slothrescue.org

Life style and beaches are the draw here.  Weather is rainy all year so one has to love rain to stay here very long.  The life style is very laid back and easy going.  Never see anyone in a hurry. The beaches are beautiful but not many of them are swimmable.  You see many rocky areas along the beach where the water washes up.  Lots of wild life and gorgeous  tropical plants and flowers.

The road system is in poor repair, lots dirt gravel areas and potholes.

Most tourist come here to experience this easy life style, visit the beaches, listen to the reggae music at night in the clubs, and watch the monkeys, sloths, iguanas, green parrots, and yes snakes.

Many small hotels sprinkle the beaches (no big resorts here).  Lots of local small restaurants serving Caribbean cuisine such as rice with coconut water, pineapple shrimp, fried plantains, and of course black beans with white rice.

www.greencoast.com  is  a great web site to great excellent information on tourism on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.

First the coffee beans are green then they turn a bright red color

Coffee prompts social activity,  stimulates friendships and conversation, and should never be enjoyed alone.  You should always share it with someone.

So if you are traveling to Costa Rica take every opportunity to have a great cup of Costa Rican coffee.

Coffee is the “gold” of Costa Rica.  It made many Costa Rican families wealthy and created an elite class whose children are educated in North America and in Europe.

If you visit the central valley around San Jose, Alajuela, Grecia, and the surroundings you will see the green coffee trees with their red berries of coffee which are picked by hand  from November through January.   The picking is done mostly by Nicaraguans who live on the plantations.

Learn more about interesting  coffee tours at www.coffeetour.com

Also at www.dokaestates.com

Banana tree shades coffee plants to improve sweetness of the coffee

Several very interesting coffee tours are offered in the central valley.  Such as the Britt Coffee Tour  in Heredia and Three Generations Coffee Tour  near Alajuela.  You can learn how coffee is grown and how it is processed.  I highly recommend one of these tours.

Sailfishing in Quepos, Costa Rica-catch and release

Yes, Quepos, Costa Rica has a marina now.  Being one of the most popular  sport fishing destinations in Costa Rica, this is very good news!  The marina comprises  forty acres and 97 docking slips and is  located just north of the old United Fruit Company pier in downtown Quepos.  It is privately owned and built by Harold Lovelady who came to Quepos eleven years ago to retire after a career in telecommunications in Texas.   Boats from Russia, Brazil, USA,  South Africa, and other countries in Europe have have floated into Pez Vela, the name given to the dock.  They come to fill their tanks with fuel and also to spend a few days in the beautiful tropical paradise with is sandy white beaches and Pacific blue waters.  Lovelady states that some of the boats hold thousands of gallons of fuel.   For example a yacht could hold 10,000 to 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel.   Jobs have been created for the locals to work on the  docks as well as hope for increased tourism to Manuel Antonio National Park and the surrounding area.

Quepos is famous worldwide for it’s great sport fishing.   Many different kinds of fish can be caught,  from  sailfish, which are catch and release, to  large tuna, ,marlin,  dorado, snapper, and snook.   And the fishing is good year round.

These categories are listed on the right hand side of the home page of costaricalearn.com.

Go the the top of the home page  (across the top)  and click on the block “Buy our video”  That will take you to the 2 minute trailer of the video and also if you scroll on down you will see “buy now” where you can purchase the video by credit card or pay pal.

Regards, costaricalearn.com

Blue River in Northern Costa rica

Giant Fern Tree Costa Rica Rainforest

Are you planning to travel to Costa Rica on vacation or some other reason such as business or seeking a place to retire?  We have the perfect travel video of Costa Rica.  Filmed by Ken Creed, a veteran travel adventure videographer whose film credits include “Alaska”  “Ireland”   and  Along the Blue Ridge Mountains”  Ken was  chosen by the National Geographic Society to present his films at their  travel adventure film series at Constitutional Hall in Washington  DC.

You can view a short trailer of “Costa Rica a Travel Adventure Spectacular”  on the home page of costaricalearn.com   Go  to top of the home page and click on “buy our video.”  There you can view the short trailer of this Costa Rica travel video and also it can be purchased here

by using a credit card or pay pal.

Best time of the year to witness this is August through December when the rainy season is heaviest in that region.   The Arribada occurs at the start of the last quarter moon during the months of August through December.  One could notice hundreds of turtles gathering close to shore several days before they begin to rush upon the sandy shores to lay their eggs.  They come out of the water all at once,  onto the sandy beach,  sometimes running over one another.  They begin in the very late afternoon and  continue coming  all night, until day light.  “Quite a sight to see”!  There they dig into the sand and lay their eggs.

road map for Ostional wildlife refuge located on Pacific side Costa Rica

Where is Ostional Wildlife Refuge located and how do I get there?   It is located on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. See map.  It can be reached by 4×4 vehicle from Nosara or from San Juanillo.   This is the province of Guanacaste, in the northwestern pacific coast of Costa Rica.   Drive from Liberia International airport in northern Costa Rica  around 1 hour and a half.  Drive from San Jose around four hours.

However in a very very heavy rainfall, the beach area may not be accessible.

If you are planning a vacation to Costa Rica and want to see first hand many of the most beautiful beaches,  rain forests, and wildlife refuges to help better plan your vacation then go to the home page of costaricalearn.com   At top of page click on buy our  costa rica travel video. You can view  the 2 min trailer of the full length  58 minute video  “Costa Rica A Travel Adventure Spectacular” filmed by my husband Ken Creed whose travel adventure film credits include “Alaska” which was chosen by the National Geographic Society to be shown at  its travel adventure film series at Constitutional Hall in Washington DC.

To order this video just go to the home page of costaricalearn.com. Look to the top of the page and click on buy our video.

To read about Ken and Ann Creed who produced and filmed the video go to the home page of costaricalearn.com you will find “About Us, Ken and Ann”

Waterfall along Blue River in Costa Rica

One half of the earth’s forests have been lost in the last 300 years.  Tree’s have been cut to built houses.  Whole forest have been cut to clear for pasture lands.  And Costa Rica is no exception.

Although Costa Rica has placed 20% of its land surface under the protection of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, still trees are being cut to clear the way for large tourism developments.  Big hotels with hundreds of room.  Especially in the NW Pacific  Guanacaste province.   This area has a lot of sunshine all year, more than any other area of Costa Rica.  Therefore, sun worshipers  flock here by the thousands especially December through March when the cold weather in North America is quiet unpleasant.

Tourists come to Costa Rica mostly to be with nature.  The mountains, oceans, rivers,  and abundant  rain forest  draw people here where they experience this tropical paradise.

What is it exactly that makes Costa Rica for appealing?  First is the climate.  Sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine.  If you want to be in a cool place go to the mountains and if you want a warm place then go to the beach.  Everything is only a few hours by car and even faster by air.  Costa Rica has two domestic air carriers which fly to all the popular tourist destinations.

Costa Rica has an abundance of water due to the heavy rainfall from May to December.  Everywhere you see waterfalls.  And so many shades of green.

Not all the world has an abundance of water and with 6 billion people on the earth with so many not conserving water, not using it wisely  could lead to a water shortage in some parts of the world.

Do you believe that the human race’s place is in nature?   We would like to hear you comments here at costaricalearn.com