There is so much stuff that happens here, albeit on “pura vida time’, that I wanted to keep a little diary to share everything. I hope at best, it adds to you wanting to come and spend some time down here yourself and at worst, puts a smile on your face from wherever you are reading this.
Living in the jungle by the sea in the tropics means you get to see all manner of little friends at different times of the year and day. Here is one who came to watch me in the kitchen this morning.
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The coastline of the Nicoya Peninsula has world class beaches and amazing surf. During the rainy or green season, the surf gets pretty ‘fun’ according to the seriously good surfers and ‘slightly scary’ to the novices. I’ve written before as to why this is my favourite time of year but there is another reason why you should come here during July – September – the surf at Cabuya.
Costa Rica has always attracted adventurous travelers who love the outdoors, high energy activities and of course, its wildlife. It is also attracting a new kind of vacationer. Those in search of wellness vacations. These are people who want to achieve something from their vacation in terms of body and soul. By this I mean yoga retreats, surf retreats, or both of the above including nutritional food diets or raw food diets and perhaps meditation.
These vacations are different from the normal package vacation as they work around increasing ones health and wellbeing as well as getting a tan and seeing what the local area has to offer in terms of the more traditional holiday tours.
These 3, 5 or 7 day packages include daily yoga practise and surf lessons, a well balanced diet introducing guests to raw food and a whole host of other activities including massages. It is a holistic experience that sends you back to New York, London or Toronto feeling rejuvenated and ready for anything. More that that, it puts you on a road to better physical and mental health and can give people a new hobby / passion for future wellness, surf retreats or yoga retreats in years to come.
There are several places that offer great wellness packages including Anamaya, Montezuma or Puravida based out of Tropical Latino in Santa Teresa and we are also now offering 3, 5 and 7 day wellness surf / yoga packages at Batik Villas too. Please email me for more information.
Our local international school merged with the Montessori Del Sol school from Cabuya earlier this year. This was a fabulous idea and I am pleased to say that my two children are having an amazing learning experience under the guide of Rossio. I didn’t know that much about Montessori but I have learnt so much since Leon and Delilah have been attending. My five year old can identify the continents of the world and tell me about the people and animals from each. I don’t know much about educational policy but don’t think he would have that sort of knowledge by now if we were in the UK. The other great thing about the school is that they are willing to accept children from families visiting on holiday – so if you are thinking of coming down to our beaches for two weeks, get in touch and ask.
A family favourite adrenalin-fuelled activity in Costa Rica is the zipline canopy tour. You have probably seen the photos of smiling people wearing very attractive hard hats and safety apparatus.
There are several throughout the country and two on the Nicoya Peninsula. One near Montezuma, taking you by the famous waterfall and the other in Mal Pais showcasing the incredible coastline. The adventure itself takes between 1 and 2 hours, started with a safety lesson and test zip line (on the ground). You are then taken up to the beginning of around eight different ziplines. Here are a couple of things to remember if you are thinking of doing it:
1) The first one is scary and the rest are exciting.
2) Don’t wear flipflops
3) Ladies – don’t wear skirts!
4) Go as early in the morning as possible, for the clearest & coolest weather.
5) Children over five can do it too.
6) Don’t forget your camera or video camera as the guides take brilliant photos / films of you traveling down the wire.
Costa Rica covers barely three-hundreths of a percentage of the earth’s surface, yet it contains an amazing six percent of the world’d planet and animal species. Amazing!
There are several reasons why Costa Rica is a great choice for family friendly vacations.
The Costa Ricans love children. The family unit is very important and the extended family all help each other. We felt this as soon as we landed. It was late, we had been traveling for nearly 20 hours, the kids were exhausted and I was nearly on my knees when we saw the enormous queue in front of us at immigration. If we had been back home in London, we would have had to stay in that long line but one of the guards immediately took us to the front because we were with the children. Another example is when you go to the bank. You can never exactly know who is next in line but there are lots of people standing around. When language is a barrier, this problem is exacerbated but if are carrying a small child, you will get taken straight to the front. Maybe this is normal custom where you are from, but not the UK.
If you missed Shelly’s review of Casa Vista, click here. She and her family also came and enjoyed staying at Batik Blue, Playa Hermosa, in the Batik Villas Retreat. Please enjoy reading the Batik Blue & costaricanvacation.com review too.
When you turn on the tap to wash some dishes or have a lovely long morning shower, you should think twice about the volume of unnecessary water you are consuming.
If you live on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, or indeed some other coastal areas in the country, you think about how much water you are using every day.
A key determinant of whether you enjoy your vacation anywhere in the world (or not) is the variety and tastes of the local foods you experience.
Costa Rica, like a lot of other central and south American countries, has some well known specialities that you must try when visiting this fantastic country.
