Doin' Costa Rica

Our Apartment in La Fortuna Costa Rica

2012-02-27T04:44:00.001-08:00

Living and working in Costa Rica is not EASY if making money is a MUST. I can't tell you how many people we've seen come and go because dreams were CRUSHED or promises of paradise were not as advertised.

So, if you're coming down to Costa Rica in hopes of turning around your life and making money in order to support yourself, DON'T come, your chances of success are just about nil and you'll be wasting your time or at the least, spinning your wheels, barely scrapping by with NO future. That said, you can live fairly cheap here if you want to but you would have to be dedicated to the cause and hopefully have a light at the end of the tunnel.

We've been very reluctant up until now to let you into our Costa Rica world, mostly because we're a little embarrassed,,, obviously we're over that now. This is our life. Hope it helps.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Jenna Marbles Landshark Video Uses OUR Sloth Pic

2012-02-22T15:49:00.008-08:00

Jenna Marbles of YouTube Fame Uses THIS PIC for her Landshark Video.
Jenna Marble's YouTube Channel gets literally millions of HITS and I'm quite sure she makes a tidy sum in advertisement dollars... but you'd think she'd be a little bit more on her game when using pics off the Internet for her videos. Should we SUE... or be flattered. Suing is NOT our style so she's SAFE,,, hehe.

The pic is GREAT and I can see why she, or whoever edits her video used it. Don't particularly care for her videos but I can see why other, younger people might- Kelly Rippa meets Chelsea Handler in a very 'Saturday Night Live-ish' kind of way. Hey, she's obviously doing something right.

I just wish she'd show some appreciation, maybe tell her subscribers, "Hey, my good friends at Travel Costa Rica Now could use your support- please subscribe to their YouTube Channel." Yeah, like that's going to happen. *So, whoever drew this needs to learn how to spell.

Anyway, just thought it was interesting, especially how we saw it- One of D'Angelo's friends on Facebook posted the video,,,he watched it and was about to click it off because he thought it was a little stupid',,,when all of a sudden, he said, "Oh no she didn't". Yeah I know, a little gay.

Anyway, here's the VIDEO, called Landshark, it's become very popular, very FAST. *the pic in question comes at 1:44. You might notice a 'blurry' girl in her pic w/ the sloth which doesn't exist on our pic above- it's called photoshop.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Rio Celeste is NOT Always BLUE

2012-02-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

Rio Celeste, Tenorio National Park, in Costa Rica is NOT always the BLUE color it is known for.
To be clear, the Rio Celeste (Tenorio National Park) area is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, but never more so than when the BLUE of the river and waterfall are poppin' and the sun is out acting as a natural contrast button on PhotoShop, intensifying the beauty 10 fold. It's stunning.

But the beauty of Rio Celeste is not what I'm talking about today. I'd like to tell you about the 'downside' that most travel books, travel agents and pushers of 'tours', don't like to tell you. Rio Marron could often be an appropriate name for Rio Celeste. *if you haven't figured it out, 'celeste' in Spanish means, 'sky blue' or 'light blue', 'marron' is brown.

In a nutshell- Depending on the amount of rain in the area, Rio Celeste is NOT always blue. Also, Rio Celeste is NOT a walk in the park, you should be somewhat in shape. Still intent on hiking Rio Celeste, when it rains a lot, it can be a nightmare to get around due to the mud- this is Costa Rica after all, trails are not normally as user friendly as you might be used to. We recommend a 4x4 to get there if you're going yourself, especially during periods of heavy rain.

Anyway, here's a video we did about the 'downside' of Rio Celeste.

And now here's some of the BEAUTY of Rio Celeste. ENjoY!

I have more INFO on Rio Celeste in this blog, such as how to get there, which should be easy to find.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Will Smith MOVIE in La Fortuna- kinda COOL

2012-02-13T07:32:00.001-08:00

Will Smith, son Jaden Smith along with director M. Night Shyamalan are shooting a movie in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
The movie is called, 'After Earth' and it stars Will Smith, son Jaden Smith and is directed by M. Night Shyamalan. But the BIGGER, BETTER news is, much of the film is being shot in La Fortuna, as well as the Sarapaqui areas of Costa Rica.... So that's kinda COOL.

Will and Jaden Smith with the Arenal Volcano in the background. *I didn't take this pic, I think it came from Will Smith's FaceBook.
No, I haven't seen Will or Jaden... and no disrespect, but don't really care about shit like that although I do respect their acting abilities. But the production crew have been all over Fortuna, especially on Sundays... so I've gotten a chance to talk to many of them and they've all been super nice. Yes, they work with big stars but to them it's just another job and they're happy as clams just to be shooting in Costa Rica, as opposed to lets say, desert-like conditions in Mexico, which they told me are a nightmare. I enjoyed talking to the 2 women who work in 'costumes' and also had been involved in M. Night's previous movie, "The Last Avatar", explaining to me why they were worried about an upcoming scene in Sarapaqui- all's I know is they said, 'female lead', 'wedding dress', 'raging river', 'keeping it white' and 'we only have 2', all in the same sentence. To me, it's interesting.

Anyway, I gotta say, whoever SCOUTED locations for this movie got extremely L-U-C-K-Y, because if they hadn't been lucky (so far that is) they definitely would have been FIRED by now. Why lucky you ask??? Choosing to shoot a HIGH budget movie, where lost shooting days lose big BUCKS, in La Fortuna, in perhaps the RAINIEST months of the year was either just plain stupid or 'someone' did NOT do their homework I'm sure it's the latter. Typically, when it's the dry season most other places in Costa Rica, it's the rainy season here in Fortuna. But guess what? Lucky for dude, this January and first two weeks of February have been uncharacteristically, freakin' BEAUTIFUL and rain has been at a minimum. I know they had some serious issues caused by the rain 1 day/night last week, but normally, they could have multiplied that one problem times 100 if it were a normal January... when it rains here, we're talking landslides. *see pic above left Like I said, dude got lucky. Not sure they'll be so lucky in Sarapaqui, where the production is headed this Thursday, but for dudes' sake, I wish him continued LUCK because he's still going to need it. I do have my doubts, after all, this is Costa Rica and weather changes as much as I assume the costumes do in the movie. My advice to 'dude' if it starts raining with no signs of stopping- and some bigwig from the movie asks him WTF was he thinking booking these locations.... best 'dude' says what we all do when there's nothing else to say, "Pura Vida".... and just keep moving.

*Need a couple consultants when shooting a BIG ASS movie in Costa Rica--- We're available.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

FCUKING up my RIBS Rappelling the VIDEO

2012-02-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here it is, me getting hurt rappelling.
*Canyoning is a SAFE activity. I'm the exception. The RISK is minimal to everyone else, even for 1st timers.

I don't mind getting older, really I don't, but I am sick and tired of getting hurt while performing 'mundane-like' tasks. Back in the day, I got hurt because what I was doing came with built in risk factors- riding motorcycles, playing football or just out and out fighting and roughhousing on a day-to-day basis. So to me, breaking a rib or having a black eye just came with being me. But now, OMG! I can tear a ligament reaching across the table for the friggin' butter. My Fight Club days are O-V-E-R. Now, I'd be more apt to carry a whistle...

Ahhh, the memories-

At some point in the 1990's (I'll be damned if I can remember when) I had major surgery on my cheek and eye-socket area because I got in a fight at a club in Las Vegas. Now let me tell you, it's a good yarn even though I received the fat end of a Budweiser beer bottle and $25,000 dollars worth of surgery, but at least it's entertaining for the listener... much better than this:

"Hey Mike, what's with the cast on your arm?"

"Oh this, well, it was last Sunday at dinner when I was reaching for the butter...."

See the difference? And it's been going on like that for the last 8 years or so...every injury 'butter' related. How fuckin' LAME is that?

And that's how I feel about this one. So what, a little 'jar', a minor 'jerk' from stopping a little too fast... and now I can't even yawn without regretting it. I'd rather have fallen or collided with a boulder or something, anything a little more dramatic than a slight, 'jerk' on a rope. **My outside looks pretty good right? Who knew as of late my innards were being held together by twisty ties and Silly Putty?

And get this, on that tour, their were like 10 people who had approximately 10-15 years on me... AND it was their first time rappelling (on a personal note, this group was GREAT, so COOL to see older folks out trying new things and livin' life). Then there's me, who has experience, who is supposedly 'in shape', bruising my ribs- oh the humility. Obviously, I don't wish ill will on anyone but besides my rib issue, I bet you can't guess what the next worst thing was- that's right, out of 17 folks, 10 being older than myself, the next worst thing, which only happened to one person, was slight chafing on their left thigh from wet, harness rub.

My birthday is tomorrow and I've requested a cake without candles, you know, because it will pain me to much to BLOW... maybe I could get one of the old ladies from the canyoning tour to blow them out for me. geeeeeeez.

Happy Birthday to me.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Shrimp Tacos & Coconut Shrimp How to VIDEOS

2012-02-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

D'Angelo and myself ENjoYing jumbo shrimp cooked up by Scott who hosts a Costa Rica Cooking Class here in La Fortuna.
We're at Villa Hermosa Guest House just outside La Fortuna Costa Rica, videotaping Scott, who today is making TWO tasty shrimp dishes. *If you're not sure who the HELL Scott is, he hosts 'Tropical Costa Rica Cooking Classes' here in La Fortuna. Anyway, it's difficult to beat this combination- Costa Rica, Villa Hermosa, beautiful weather, birds, a pool and 2 GREAT shrimp dishes. Lets get to it.

Coconut Jumbo Shrimp:

Next up- Shrimp Tacos w/grilled Papaya:

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Pure Trek Canyoning in La Fortuna a MUST DO!

2012-02-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

Pure Trek Canyoning in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Pure Trek Canyoning in La Fortuna Costa Rica is bar none, ONE of the BEST adventure tours around. Our Video Review below.

There's plenty of adventures in La Fortuna Costa Rica that probably shouldn't be missed, from Zip lines to Costa Rica Cooking Classes and Canyoning aka canyoneering, is yet another 'must do'.

Me and D'Angelo racing to the bottom of the canyon...I've got a little catching up to do.
We've done the Pure Trek tour a few times and there's a couple reasons we really ENjoY it. One, the owner is a 'gringa' from the United States, her name is Cynthia Crummer. Being from the U.S., Cynthia understands what us Americans want and need- to feel SAFE while participating in Xtreme adventure tours and especially while in a foreign country. With Cynthia and Pure Trek, it's definitely SAFETY FIRST.... and SECOND for that matter. From the get go it's apparent the Pure Trek guides are professional, knowledgeable and extremely safety conscious when working with inexperienced or first time rappellers. And we should know, the first time we ever rappelled was about 7 years ago with Pure Trek.

Felt safe then - felt safe now.

Pure Trek is SAFE enough for ALL ages, so it makes for GREAT FAMILY FUN.
The fact Pure Trek is so safety conscious is probably one of the reasons they accept and encourage kids and families to participate in this tour. Most Xtreme tour companies are not comfortable working with kids under 14 and won't usually touch them with a 10-ft pole, not so for Pure Trek. Anyway....

...lets just cut to the VIDEO, it's good, I promise you won't be bored.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Gay but Str8 Friendly Coyaba Tropical in Manuel Antonio

2012-02-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

Coyaba Tropical is a small, GAY but very straight-friendly, B&B located in Manuel Antonio Costa Rica.
Gay owned and operated, Coyaba Tropical is a GREAT gay option if you want a little more privacy combined with a family type of atmosphere. And I'm not necessarily saying, 'family' in a gay way (although that's true as well) but family because the owners, Mike and Paul treat everyone LIKE family. Really, they're one of the MAJOR draws for staying at Coyaba Tropical. Warm and friendly, always ready to lend an ear or share a story OR just assist with your travel plans, one can't help but FEEL the warm VIBE at Coyaba.

One of the bedrooms at Coyaba Tropical in Manuel Antonio.
But that's not to say the Coyaba Tropical is average, far from it. Decorated with attention to detail, cool art and comfy beds that's reason enough to give the place a look see.

Anyway, CHECK OUT our video of Coyaba Tropical in Manuel Antonio Costa Rica and see for yourself.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Villa Hermosa Guest House in La Fortuna

2012-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

The Villa Hermosa is a guest house/bed & breakfast just outside La Fortuna Costa Rica and D'Angelo and myself made a video, here's us eating lunch between video shoots.
Porch area at Villa Hermosa is a GREAT place to hang out and RELAX.
When someone says, "...a little slice of PARADISE." they just might be talking about Villa Hermosa. Here's what Villa Hermosa says about itself:

Villa Hermosa is a private guesthouse located in the beautiful countryside 7km off the road that runs from downtown La Fortuna to the Arenal Volcano National Park & Arenal Lake. The property is on a one acre lot with your own private pool, view of the volcano, tropical gardens and a place to call your own! We are basically a B&B (bed & breakfast) or Inn but instead of staying in our house...you stay in your own!

The bedroom at Villa Hermosa couldn't be more comfortable.
Villa Hermosa is located about 20-25 minutes outside of La Fortuna and about 5 minutes away from arguably the BEST hotel in the entire area, 'The Springs Resort.'

You can't help being impressed with the lengths the owners, Wendy and Dave, went in regards to attention to detail. From the furnishings, to the WELCOME basket, to the landscaping, to the WAY comfortable bed, weird, I was half expecting Sir John Gielgud from 'Arthur' to hand me a towel stepping out of the shower.

Villa Hermosa is PERFECT for any combination of 2,3 or 4 people- couples, honeymooners, 3somes, families, 2 couples who like LIKE each other and of course since Villa Hermosa is inclusive- gay or straight is WELCOME.

The pool at Villa Hermosa. I love my LIFE in Costa Rica.
At Villa Hermosa, it's all about Chillaxin', which is not to say you can't enjoy ALL La Fortuna has to offer but you do want to make time to spend time enjoying the small slice of paradise that is Villa Hermosa.

I can spend hours, and did, watching the birds at Villa Hermosa.
Check out our video about The Villa Hermosa, I think it represents the place accurately. ENjoY!

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

KILLER Pico de Gallo with VIDEO

2012-01-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

We LOVE Pico de Gallo and we LOVE videotaping these Costa Rica Cooking Classes...Whoo HOO!
'Pico de Gallo' is Spanish for "rooster's beak". From Wikipedia:

"According to food writer Sharon Tyler Herbst,it is so called because originally it was eaten with the thumb and forefinger, and retrieving and eating the condiment resembled the actions of a pecking rooster."

At the base of Pico de Gallo is tomatoes, white onions, jalapenos and lime juice and cilantro.

Whatever. I just know I like it. So simple, yet so TASTY and Scott adds an ingredient not usually found in Costa Rican pico de gallo.

Costa Rica LOVES its Pico de Gallo... and don't forget the yucca chips.
Check out Scott as he explains how to make a KILLER Pico de Gallo:

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Patacones Costa Rica Recipe VIDEO

2012-01-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Patacones aka tostones, fritos or plantain crisps are a VERY popular snack in Costa Rica and all over Latin America for that matter. Would you like ONE?
We LOVE these Costa Rica Cooking Classes our friend Scott is conducting here in La Fortuna. So informative, cultural and besides some GREAT easy recipes that even I can do... and that's saying something.

Patacones with a Mango Pico de Gallo sauce..... YUM-MY!
So without further ado, here's our friend Scott explaining one of the many uses of the plantain, which for those of you who don't know, is a steroided, bigGER banana. Oh, and not just patacones, but patacones with a mango pico de gallo sauce.... WHOO HOO!

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Ceviche Recipe with VIDEO

2012-01-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

It was worth moving to Costa Rica for the Ceviche. Yummy!
Admittedly, I didn't know what Ceviche was until I visited Costa Rica for the first time back in 2004. Gene Conti, owner of Palo Verde Resort in La Fortuna, and who subsequently totally dicked us over, introduced us to the tasty fish dish. *Don't know our 'Gene' story of making the move to Costa Rica, it's HERE. But anyway Gene, thanx for the introduction.

Ceviche- personally, I can make a meal out of it.
To me, Ceviche is Costa Rica's sushi. Made with various types of raw fish (tilapia, sea bass, marlin etc.) marinated, or should I say cooked, in lime juice (Costa Rica doesn't really DO lemons), it's really, REALLY good. Funny, when Gene Conti first said we should give ceviche a try, I think we were like a lot of stupid Americans when we asked, "Is this safe to eat...?" We've come a long way thank god.

Let's get to it, here's our friend Scott, explaining how to make ceviche. ENjoY!

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Mojito Costa Rican Style VIDEO

2011-12-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

Costa Rica didn't originate the Mojito but they may as well have...VIDEO below.
'ALL' cooking and 'NO' drinking would make the Costa Rica Cooking Class in La Fortuna still a fun thing...but a little less so. I mean, really, what is Garlic Fried Yucca without a tasty beverage to accompany it? Scott, owner of Lava Lounge, a hugely popular bar/grill in La Fortuna, also has a Tropical Cooking Class here and shows us how to make a Mojito, Costa Rica style below.

Care to take a guess on what makes this Mojito strictly a Costa Rica thing...hehehee?
READY? SET? Get out your blenders.....and ENjoY!

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Costa Rica - Gallo Pinto Recipe VIDEO

2011-12-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

A Costa Rica staple- Gallo Pinto.
Truth is, in Costa Rica, Gallo Pinto can be eaten morning, noon and night... and often is. It's a staple here and with good reason, if made correctly it's a tasty, TASTY treat- YUMMY! if you ask me.

Our friend Scott, who's lived in La Fortuna the last 5 years and owns a really popular bar and grill here, Lava Lounge, decided to start a Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class and if you keep up with this blog, you may have seen the video (if not, no matter). But anyway, he's asked us to videotape some of his recipes and since we like Scott and LOVE food we said yes.

Here they are, the ingredients for Gallo Pinto.
So of course, Gallo Pinto being a Costa Rican favorite, it was one of our first videos. Check it out and see what 'secret' ingredient makes Gallo Pinto, Gallo Pinto. ENjoY!

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Pura Vida is BULLSH*T- whoops!

2011-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Costa Rica is Pura Vida and Pura Vida is Costa Rica.
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake...

I was probably murdered and drowned in Arenal Lake."

I can't even count how many death threats I've received for this video:

Nice t-shirt dumbass.

And truthfully, I understand. Saying ANYTHING negative, in public, about Costa Rica borders on sacrilege. I may as well wear a t-shirt that says, 'Mohammed SUCKS!' in Afghanistan. Same difference.

Most detractors are offended by the title, which again, I understand, as it is a tad offensive. I chose the title purely for 'key words' and obviously I chose correctly based on the number of hits it gets, but I was hoping when the video was watched the title would be seen for what it IS- total hyperbole. Obviously, I guessed wrong on that one.

I guessed wrong because many Ticos don't really understand what I'm saying in the video, being that in many cases, their English is about as good as my Spanish. So, they see the title and just assume I'm talking shit....

In case I wasn't CLEAR, I love Costa Rica and I love the phrase, 'Pura Vida'... BUT, I stand by what I said in the video, the phrase is often misused and in my mind has been somewhat bastardized in recent years....but the 'true' meaning of 'Pura Vida' is a beautiful thing. Oh, but I do apologize for not saying it correctly, learning Spanish has been my Achilles heel since I got here 7 years ago. (Making a video about that as we speak).

I also apologize for the t-shirt I'm wearing in that video... even the guys from 'Queer Eye....' were thinking, WTF? sorry.

If you're ONE of the MANY people who want to see I never make another video about Costa Rica again, I have 2 favors to ask.... before you 'off' me, watch our other 200+ videos FIRST to get some perspective and second, leave D'Angelo alone, he didn't approve of the title either.

Other than that, "Pura 'fuckin' Vida"

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Puerto Viejo Costa Rica- BEST Restaurant Name Change

2011-12-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Puerto Viejo Costa Rica is one of our favorite places to CHILL. *Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica close to the Panamanian border.

We love Puerto Viejo for a few reasons, but one is the FOOD.. and especially the food at a place called, 'STASHUS con FUSION', formally known as 'Loco Natural'. 'Stash' the owner and chef let us know about the name change so we're passing it on to you. When we were there a little over a year ago it was 'Loco Natural' but don't worry, nothing has changed but the name- Stash assures us it's still GREAT food and in our opinion, probably some of the BEST you'll find in ALL Costa Rica let alone Puerto Viejo.

And of course a year back we did a video, so CHECK it out and if you're ever in the Puerto Viejo area, you'll definitely want to stop in at 'Stashus con Fusion' and PLEASE, tell Stash we said, "Hey". pura vida.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

DICK dude SCREWS US!

2011-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

We sell adventure tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica on the CHEAP and we do this so YOU, the traveler, can have a GREAT time in La Fortuna without paying an arm and leg to do so... but because of what happened yesterday we might have to reassess if it's worth it for us to sell tours in La Fortuna. Here's what happened.

'DICK dude' wanted to do 3 tours over a 2-day period. Money was sent via PayPal, vouchers were sent, the tour company was expecting 'DICK dude' and his party on such and such dates...etc. About 8 emails were exchanged and 'DICK dude' seemed excited and was pretty personable to us in his emails. So we were concerned when the tour company notified us that he didn't show up for his rafting tour. We tried to track him down but he had given us the wrong hotel. He told us he was staying at Arenal Lodge but in reality was staying at Arenal Observatory Lodge. Understandable mistake and didn't really change anything. D'Angelo finally tracked him down and also went out of his way to help him out after he missed his first tour. Here's part of 'dude's' last email to us:

"We are supper bummed about missing the raft trip, I didn't call you because of the no refund statements on you site. If we can get some type of credit or alternate activity that would be cool - minus any cancellation fee or whatever. This place is beautiful so we will be coming back. Looking forward to the other two activities. Thanks for checking up on us...and let me know if anything can be worked out."

Here's part of D'Angelo's email back to 'DICK dude'.

Hello 'DICK dude'... glad to hear everything is okay. I will call the tour company and see if there is anything they can do about the missed rafting tour. If you go 5 or 10 minutes early to your ATV tour you can ask them as well and see what they say.

*It should be noted the reason we do not refund money is because we pay a LARGE chunck of it to the tour company usually a week or two in advance of the tour(s).

Well guess what, he missed his next 2 tours as well but we didn't know since the above was the last email we received from him.

BUT, he obviously returned to the United States and disputed the ENTIRE charge of the tours to his credit card ($492.), telling the Credit Card people he never received the 'services' he had purchased. So our PayPal account goes negative while we work this shit out. I can tell you, neither us nor the tour company dropped the ball on this one. I couldn't begin to speculate why he missed his tours, hell, maybe he was hungover or his wife had a bad case of diarrhea, who knows, but I know until this thing gets worked out, we're kinda F**Ked. Since we've been working on our videos, websites and blogs, we've been living on a shoestring and a short one at that... Whatever. Just kinda sucks that we tried to help out 'DICK dude' and he doesn't even have the courtesy to contact us and tell us what happened or at least what he perceived to have happened. I can tell you, usually if a tour company screws up, clients are on the phone within minutes... also funny 'DICK dude' wants his entire refund since he pretty much admits to missing the first one on his own accord, if it was ours or the tour company's fault, he would have been more than 'bummed' trust me.

We'll try to hang on while this gets worked out because we're pretty sure we'll win the dispute. We figured this was going to happen from time to time after all it's pretty much the nature of the beast. But for us it's just bad timing since we're just getting started and don't have any 'buffer' money in our PayPal account yet.

I guess this would be a perfect time to say, "PURA VIDA".

btw- 'DICK dude' isn't his real name.... but it should be.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Deconstructing La Fortuna Park limb by limb

2011-12-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

La Fortuna Costa Rica has one of the BEST small town parks in in the country BUT...
...this is what they did 4 days ago:

For some reason the 'powers that be' in La Fortuna seem determined to deconstruct the park tree by tree. It started some months ago. Of course we did a video:

It's almost as if they'd rather it was a parking lot. To many, it may seem like, "Dude, what's your problem?, the park still looks GOOD." But damnit their were a lot of animals that lived in that little gazebo- hummingbirds, lizards, toads etc. and it's not as if they're replacing it, they just tore it DOwn. BITCHES! So yeah, I'm venting a little, sorry. Until next time.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

FUN Things to do La Fortuna Costa Rica

2011-11-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

Arenal Volcano aside, there's TONS of things to do in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Here's just a few of the adventures and tours you can experience in the La Fortuna/Arenal area. There's many more and we'll be posting videos of those as we do them, but these are a few of the more POPULAR tours in the La Fortuna/Arenal area. And if you want to take it easy one day and do something a little different, check out the 4th video down which is a Costa Rica Cooking Class- informative and YUMMY!

And if by chance you'd like to do these of other adventure tours in the La Fortuna area, check out the last video, it will tell you how to book them.

Canyoneering/Rappelling-

Canopy Tour aka Zip line-

The Arenal Hanging Bridges-

Cultural Costa Rica Cooking Class-

How to SAVE BIG TIME on the above tours-

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Costa Rica Nicaragua Border Crossing at Los Chiles UPDATE

2011-11-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

Crossing the border from Los Chiles Costa Rica to San Carlos Nicaragua.
NOT to be confused with the more popular and EXTREMELY busy border crossing between the 2 countries at Penas Blancas, although we do have video of that border crossing as well. *BOTH Border Crossing videos are posted BELOW.

The majority of people who use the Los Chiles Costa Rica to San Carlos Nicaragua border crossing are usually folks who are affectionately or infamously, depending on your view, called 'perpetual tourists'. Briefly, 'perpetual tourists' are people who live in Costa Rica but do NOT have residency, so they have to leave EVERY 90 days (like a tourist would) to get their passport (visa) stamped in order to remain legal. It may not be the BEST way to live in Costa Rica but it is legal. And NO, you don't have to remain out of the country for 72 hours as evidenced by this video.

D'Angelo and I chillen' in Los Chiles Costa Rica waiting for the boat to leave.
Normally, we travel by bus since riding the buses in Costa Rica are a cheap and usually efficient form of transportation. We paid $4.00/pp from Muelle, which is about 25 minutes from our hometown, La Fortuna. Most buses to Los Chiles depart from Ciudad Quesada aka San Carlos. Often we rent a 'private' van if we have quite a few people who need to go (get their passport stamped). It's cost effective if you have enough people going.

The problem with this particular border crossing (at least with perpetual tourist types) at this particular time, is the boat only leaves TWICE a day, once at 12:30 and the other at 3:30 and the only return boat to Costa RIca is at 4:00. This gives you NO time in San Carlos to shop or even have a beer, let alone lunch, unless of course you want to stay a night or two in San Carlos. It used to leave earlier but what it really comes down to is 'supply and demand'... the more people crossing and the more times they will cross. Usually the folks working on the Nicaraguan side don't hassle you about 'coming and going' quickly,,but they could, which is ALWAYS the problem with these crossings...9 times out of 10, it's all good but get the wrong guy and they can give you shit, pretty much forcing you to at least stay 1 night, although this has NEVER happened to us.

THIS IS WHY YOU ALWAYS TREAT THE FOLKS AT THE BORDER WITH EXTREME COURTESY... and personally, I would give them a little something/something in the form of a 'present' or hell, bake some cookies..whatever, but if you live in Costa Rica and you ARE a perpetual tourist,,you don't need the problems, so do what you gotta do.

A couple years back, the boat left earlier and you could spend more time in San Carlos, which was a good thing, there's CHEAP shopping there, so technically, San Carlos shoots itself in the foot by letting you do a quick 'turn and burn' as we call it, but then of course, it could be Costa Rica fuckin with them since that's where the boat leaves from originally..... who knows.

San Carlos Nicaragua offers some good bargains.
Another option is to procur a 'private' boat in Los Chiles. A few years ago it was relatively cheap, NOW they gringo price you BIG time and a boat can cost you $200. or more if you don't know what you're doing. It's only cost effective to do this if you have a LARGE group.

No matter who you are, perpetual tourist or NOT, if you do happen to return to Costa Rica, you need to KNOW and REMEMBER one thing that is extremely important. When you return to Costa Rica to get stamped in, you probably and most likely, especially now, be asked to PROVE your leaving Costa Rica within 90 days... you either need to show a airline ticket or bus ticket with the appropriate dates proving that fact....if you can't, they won't stamp you back into Costa Rica, or they won't until you can produce said document,,which is a pain in the ass to do.. doable, but a pain in the ass. It also forces you to spend the night in Los Chiles because it's not possible to do it over the internet fast enough before IMMIGRATION closes for the night. This border crossing is not 24/7.

You may not get this if you can't prove your leaving Costa Rica within 90 days.
This VIDEO will give you a good idea on what to expect when crossing the border between Los Chiles Costa Rica and San Carlos Nicaragua. Below it, is the border crossing between Costa Rica and Nicaragua at Penas Blancas a much BUSIER border crossing to say the least.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

La Fortuna has a Costa Rica Cooking Class

2011-11-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

La Fortuna Costa Rica, NOW offers a Cultural Cooking Class.
With all the ADVENTURE tours to experience in La Fortuna, a cultural cooking class is a perfect addition, especially since there's nothing like it in the area. *Don't want to read... SKIP down to the VIDEO we made.

Our friend Scott, (pictured above, middle),who also happens to own one of the more popular restaurant/bars in La Fortuna, Lava Lounge, has decided to offer a cooking class that combines all the elements- history and background on Costa Rican cuisine, step-by-step preparation and instruction, hands-on, local chefs, english-speaking presenters, relaxed atmosphere, and let me tell you, B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L surroundings. 'Rustica', as Scott calles it, is just a few minutes walk from the La Fortuna waterfall, so it sits atop a hill overlooking parts of La Fortuna and is surrounded by lushness which attracts a wide variety of wildlife and of course, has a GREAT view of the Arenal Volcano. Scott's, Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class has it all. He even starts things off with a beverage or two, alcohol or virgin, your choice. Whoo Hoo! That's what I call starting things off RIGHT.

michael alan and D'Angelo chefin' up some Costa Rican cuisine.

I love, Love, LOVE, ceviche. Looks good right?
Well, we just had to do a video and I think it came out good. I believe you'll get a good sense of what Scott is doing. So CHECK it OUT and if you happen to be in the La Fortuna area and are interested in learning about local Costa Rica cuisine while preparing it, or hell, maybe it's just raining and you don't feel like whitewater rafting in the rain, Scott's, Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class, just might be for YOU.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

We'll MISS YOU Carol Patterson

2011-11-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

I'm very seldom at a loss for words so I guess this is 'the seldom'. I'm heartsick. Our good friend, Carol Patterson, who also lived in La Fortuna along with her husband, Bill, died VERY unexpectedly the other day. Actually, D'Angelo was talking to her on the phone when we were crossing the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border about picking her up a few things 'on the cheap' in Nicaragua. She died of what we think was a massive heart attack about 6 hours later. She was 53.

I understand death is a part of life and I also understand death can strike at anytime but it's always seemed a bit surreal to me when one second someone is there and the next, not. Not 'shock', just crazy, strange to me. Either myself or D'Angelo talked to Carol about everyday because like us, she enjoyed blogging and promoting her husband's paintings on the internet, so she was always emailing us with ideas and updates and what not... the usual back-n-forth. There's a very recent email from her in our inbox and I swear in my brain I believe if I answer it, she'll write back.

My heart goes out to her husband Bill, who is also a friend, and as a matter of fact, we've made 2 videos with him. Bill and Carol were close and so excited about living out the rest of their lives in Costa Rica, enjoying each others company and doing things they hadn't gotten a chance to do when living in States. They have the cutest little house close to the La Fortuna waterfall with a unbelievable view of the Arenal Volcano. I hope Bill can somehow find the resilence to keep going.

I know why I'm posting this song but I can't tell you. sorry.
I realize death touches us all and I'm not even quite sure why I'm writing this post. I do know, for me, death has a way of putting life in perspective. Anyway, send positive thoughts to our friend, Bill, I'm thinking he's going to need them in the months to come. Here's one of the videos I did with Bill.

Carol, we love you and will miss you. Keep an eye on Bill, he's going to need your presence. I hope where ever 'there' is- it has blogger.

One of the BEST Things to do in La Fortuna

2011-11-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Rappelling in La Fortuna Costa Rica but technically it's called canyoneering.
There's many adventure tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica and canyoneering is one the BEST. Why you ask? Because it combines rappelling, hiking, trekking and quazi ziplining all in ONE adventure. But the BEST part, it's all done in the middle of the rain forest. It doesn't get any better than that.

Contrary to popular belief, D'Angelo does spend time away from the computer every now and then.
I say we let the video do the talking. So this is us, doing one of our favorite tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica, canyoneering. ENjoY!

If you'd like to do this tour, go HERE.

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

Arenal Hanging Bridges VIDEO

2011-11-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Arenal Hanging Bridges VIDEO from Travel Costa Rica Now.
Hey Everyone! As promised a few days ago, here's our video of the Arenal Hanging Bridges just outside of La Fortuna Costa Rica. I think it's fairly easy to see why we recommend the Hanging Bridges tour even if you don't see any animals. The LUSH vegatation combined with the beauty of the surrounding area including Volcan Arenal and Lake Arenal, are simply stunning @_@. But for us, it was like sugar on ceral because we did see a LOT of wildlife (Thank-you Erick Guzman)- like this RARE bird, the Juvenile Ornate Hawk Eagle:

For a second, I think he thought I was a mouse.
Anyway guys, ENjoY the video and if you're ever in the La Fortuna Costa Rica area, the Hanging Bridges just might be for you.

Want to go on Hanging Bridges tour or see some others:

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!

A Promo Video for Vamos 4x4

2011-11-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Travel Costa Rica NOW does a promo video for Vamos 4x4 Car Rental Agency.
Vamos 4x4 is a Car Rental Agency based in San Jose Costa Rica. If Alamo, Hertz, Thrifty, Budget and other BIGger, nationally known agencies are McDonalds, Vamos is the hamburger joint on the corner, providing quality beef with an emphasis on service. Our relationship with Vamos started when a few years back we begun to receive frequent emails asking us if Vamos 4x4 was legit, something to do with their prices being so low. So we decided to check them out for ourselves and that's when we met the owner, George, who like us, is dedicated to providing a quality service for a fair price. We liked him immediately, so yeah, we do promote them to our audience.

Since, George decided he would like to have some videos about Costa Rica on his site, for no other reason than to provide INFO for his clients, so he decided to sponsor us as we travel around different locations in Costa Rica and make videos...

This is the FIRST in a series of videos we will be doing for Vamos:

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!