Lapa Rios Ecolodge

Surfing in the Osa vs Videogames at Home

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Last weekend at Matapalo Beach, a surf and volleyball tournament was held in benefit of the Carbonera School. All the parents, the teacher and the neighbors helped in one way or another to organize this special activity for the people of the community and for the kids.

People came from everywhere and enjoyed the activity in peace. Everyone had a great time and the parents raised a lot of money that will be invested to improve the infrastructure of the school.

One of my students participated in the tournament; he loves to surf and he´s really good at it!

Everyone was happy, the parents were proud because all their hard work had paid off and the kids were happy just enjoying themselves.

Some time ago, I took two couples on a tour to the school who were mesmerized by the way the children here grow up. I remember they were in shock because the kids go surfing by themselves, but also I remember how defeated their eyes looked when I asked them what do they prefer, to have their children surfing alone or to have their children playing videogames all day long without any supervision? At the end, what is worse?

Here kids don´t have full access to internet to check their facebook every five minutes, but they still have the freedom of taking their shoes off just to run through the damp grass; they do not need a virtual life because, even with all the needs they may have, they are occupied living a life where creativity and dreams are allowed.

Author: Estíbaliz Hidalgo Castro

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Riosoffers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Guest Experiences at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Wild nature, adventure, good food and a lot fun are all things you can expect when you come to Lapa Rios. However that’s not everything you can come for, connecting with the customs of locals is part of the eco-traveling philosophy. It has been proven that a great way for our guests to interact with locals is through sports and what is better than playing the national sport of ticos, “mejenga” or soccer? Every week we at Lapa Rios arrange soccer matches that involve guests, Lapa Rios staff, Carbonera School children and other members of the community.

Through sports like soccer, guests practice Spanish and learn more about the way of the people living in the South of Costa Rica. Additionally, playing soccer has healthy benefits like getting rid of the stressful life in the city and offers a great work out. You don’t have to be a Ronaldo or a Leo Mesi to play this sport, the only thing you will need is a little of sense of fun and a pair of sneakers.

See below the pictures of the match held last week. The final score was guests 4, Locals 0. Hard to believe it ehh? : )

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Waterfall Rappelling near Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:37:00 +0000

While staying at Lapa Rios, everyone goes on our fantastic hikes with the guides into the reserve. But aside from those, we also offer several outside excursions that are definitely worthwhile. One of these, waterfall rappelling, is done only 15 minutes away from the lodge and challenges you down to four amazing waterfalls, the last one about 70 feet high.

It is important for our front desk and reservation staff to understand how these tours are done, so we took them on this tour last week and we all had a blast! We definitely recommend the waterfall rappelling!!

WR1 pic: from left to right: Royer (front desk), Carlos (reservations), Greivin (front desk), Marijke (GM), Kyra (reservations) and Elizabeth(front desk)

Whether honeymooning or taking a family vacation, Lapa Rios Eco Resort is an ideal setting for your next vacation in Costa Rica.

Dental Health Care Services for the Communities near Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:54:00 +0000

The Carbonera Area is one of the most spectacular ones of all the regions that function as natural corridors among adjacent areas and the Corcovado National Park. One of the main factors that keeps this area untouched and biodiverse intense is the distance from civilization. The difficult access and the transportation challenge show the commitment that the local lodges have to maintain sustainable practices in their operations that include the social- cultural, economic, and environmental aspects.

The population in this area is not very large and is formed by small towns and houses scattered in the area. Most of the children have the possibility of an education by assisting to one of the 3 small schools in existence, but in some cases they have long walks near the jungle or they have to take a truck/bus, a pick-up truck with a cattle bed with no special customizations, to go to school. Albeit they have access to primary education, there are many other services that are not easy to acquire and that require a trip to Puerto Jimenez. That trip takes more than 1 hour. Most families do not own a car, making it necessary to take a “colectivo”, the same truck/bus mentioned before, that transfers people to and from Puerto Jimenez twice a day. This difficulty means that in order to have access to other services, primarily health and dental care services, it will require a full day trip.

Being aware of these difficulties, Lapa Rios, the Social Program of the Universidad de Costa Rica (a Costa Rican public university) and some of the local lodges; started last year with a Dental Health Care program that brings dentists and assistants to this remote location, to check out all local families, free of charge.
This year we hosted this program again around the end of May.. People from the different local communities, children from the Carbonera, Rio Oro and Rio Piro School and staff of the lodges, had the chance to see these professionals within the Lapa Rios property.

During these days, the dentists from the Universidad de Costa Rica performed more than 60 dental procedures. They also took the opportunity to educate the children from the schools, and the staff at the lodges, on preventive dental health care and the importance of having good dental hygiene habits.

The work to make this all happen was by no means small, from organizing and inviting people, to the actual transportation of professionals and their equipment in 4x4 vehicles, to setting up the temporary clinic and lodging for the days they stayed and so on... But today, we all agree that those warm smiles waving goodbye were well worth the effort, even more now because they are healthy smiles.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Puerto Jimenez Arts Festival for Young Adults

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Puerto Jimenez Arts Festival for Young Adults
Author: Estíbaliz Hidalgo Castro

Last Friday, Puerto Jiménez High School organized the Festival de las Artes (Arts Festival) opening showcasing artistic scenarios for the students that attend this institution. They presented different activities like dancing, singing and theater.

I was invited as a judge for the different categories and although during my teenage years I participated in activities related to visual arts, I have never been involved in music or acting, so I definitely wasn´t the best choice for this job, but at least I had a good time.

The most important thing that I noticed right away was that all the students there cheered and supported their fellow students who were doing the presentations.

Everyone seemed to have a great time and the presentations were really creative and inventive. These kinds of activities are really important for the development of youth, especially in places like Puerto Jiménez where healthy and creative recreation spaces are rare.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Tadpole Hatching at Lapa Rios!

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:38:00 +0000

The tadpoles hatched!!!!! Unfortunately one of the two clusters of eggs didn´t make it to tadpoles but the other one successfully made it to little tadpoles who are now happily swimming around in their green bucket!

Obviously this is not their natural environment so we are going to give the tadpoles that might still come out some time, and when we´re sure they´re all hatched we´ll transfer them to one of the frog ponds we made for the night walks and hopefully they will make it to big and strong red eyed tree frogs there.

Even though we are helping them, these little ones still have a long way to go before adulthood. They need to survive predators that live in and near the water lurking to feed on them but our desire and best wishes are that all of them make it through this part of their lifecycle.

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Costa Rica's Craft Brewing at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:14:00 +0000

New at our Lapapalapa bar! Cerveza la “Segua”...this beer is made here in Costa Rica by Craft Brewing Company. Its name and logo come from an urban costarican legend where it´s told that sometimes at night a beautiful girl appears on the roads to the men who are out drinking. But when the drunk boys invite her on the back of their horses to ride back home, she changes into a dead horse skull.

It´s an old story told to all ticos from when they´re young so they´re careful if they ever see this beautiful girl. This funny history is the background of this delicious, local and special beer.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Save the Tadpoles: A Lapa Rios Wildlife Story

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 20:25:00 +0000

When the red eyed tree frogs (family: Hylidae, Genus: Agalychnis) look for a nice place to lay their eggs, they usually look for a pond or place with still water and stick their eggs inside a transparent liquid to the surface of leaves that hang above that pond. The eggs then will develop into tadpoles inside these eggs and when they are ready they jump out and down into the water, to further complete the process of their development. Even if the little tadpoles are still inside the eggs and liquid that envelops them but they feel the proximity of any predator, they can prematurely jump out and finish their metamorphosis in the water.

A few weeks ago at Lapa Rios, a very confused pair of red eyed tree frogs mistook our fridge for a pond (Don´t ask us how!) and stuck their eggs to one side of the ice machine right above the fridge. Since we know these poor tadpoles are going to die without our help we decided to make these eggs our little science project of the month and try to monitor and save the tadpoles we collected the eggs. Fernando, one of our guides, ingeniously made them stick to a natural heleconia leaf and then put them above a bucket with water… and now we just wait and see what’s going to happen to these frogs. We hope they make it to an adult stage!

This is a frog that is exclusively nocturnal and can be seen on our night walks along with many other animal species.

To be continued………

Whether honeymooning or taking a family vacation, Lapa Rios Eco Resort is an ideal setting for your next vacation in Costa Rica.

Fish Tacos at Lapa Rios Ecolodge on the Osa Peninsula

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:45:00 +0000

During my last visit at Lapa Rios, I had the best lunch ever. I have been going to Lapa Rios regularly for almost 13 years (I must have been there almost a year of my life by now) and this past time, the lunch just blew me away. Why? I am not sure. Our Cayuga Culinary Director Jose and the local Food and Beverage Manager Rodrigo have been working hard to renew the menu and make it more local, fresh and simple. So I ordered the fish tacos. Not a complicated dish, but things can go wrong. Everything went right in my case. Fresh delicious mahi mahi on flour tortillas with a great coleslaw dressing and most importantly, homemade Chile hot sauce. Those Tacos were even better than the Tacos I had in Mexico City last year… and those were hard to beat.

I loved the fact that Leynor had prepared that meal for me. He is one of the local cooks that has been with us for the longest time. 15 years this month. When I told him how much I liked the Fish Tacos, he seems surprised saying, “ But it is so simple". But I could see how proud he was at the same time. This is where we are trying to take our Food and Beverage program at all of our hotels. Simple, fresh, local. Jicaro Island Ecolodge in Nicaragua and Harmony in Nosara have made that step last year and Lapa Rios is almost there. Step by step. Have you had those Fish Tacos at Lapa Rios? Let me know what you think?

--Hans

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Lapa Rios Team Visits Northern Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Several members of the Lapa Rios team took a short holiday to explore the northern area of Costa Rica, near Tenorio volcano. In case you were wondering the color of the water in the photos isn't photoshopped or adjusted in any way...this famous waterfall's (“Rio Celeste”) color is a natural phenomena because of certain volcanic elements that get into the river and give it this special light blue color. The team also went to hotsprings in the Miravalles area which is much less touristy then Arenal but very beautiful as well and in this area they produce geothermic energy so we learned about this renewable energy source during our stay.

In the picture below you can find from Lapa Rios staff: Jeudy (technician), Guillermo (guide), Adonay (housekeeping), Alexander (cook), Didier (reservations), Nazme (reservations), Fernando (guide), Marijk (general manager), Daniel (housekeeping) and Roger (waiter).

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Amazing Wildlife Stories at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 30 May 2012 19:10:00 +0000

One morning we heard a weird scream around 5:30 am while we, the staff, were having our morning coffee. We all rushed towards the area, but were not prepared for this sight… about a 3 meter long boa constrictor had caught a full-grown coati mundi (raccoon type animal) and was strangling it, then started a 45 minute breakfast session during which the mammal completely disappeared in a very impressive way.

Our guides told us that after this she, the boa, will probably not hunt for about 2 months and be nestled somewhere close to digest… It was quite an amazing nature show to witness and luckily quite a few of our guests had the chance to see it too. The only sad part of this example of rainforest and the survival of the strongest is that the next morning we heard again some squealing and crying and found four little coatis high up in the bamboo. Apparently the boa got the mom of a nest of baby coatis… Luckily we were able to rescue all four of them and brought them over to the sanctuary to recover… Nature at work...always surprising!

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Southern Bromeliad Boa at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 28 May 2012 17:11:00 +0000

A few days ago, the Lapa Rios team started the day with a pleasant surprise.

A very uncommon guest had made one of the plants in the restaurant garden its resting place for the day. We are talking about the Southern Bromeliad Boa, the only member of its family (Tropidophiidae) represented here in Costa Rica. This little snake is not directly related to the boa family (Boidae) but has several similarities to them…

Not much is known about this snake because of its rarity other than its diet mainly consists of lizards and frogs, its maximum measured length is 85 cm, and it appears to be more active at night than during the day.

This snake is considered safe towards humans and we are super happy to have had a sighting this close to the lodge! Unfortunately, the next day our new friend was already gone but we hope to see him back soon!

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Lapathon 2012: A Race with a Purpose for Puerto Jimenez

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:01:00 +0000

Lapathon 2012

A Race with a Purpose

Running to promote and support Sports in Puerto Jimenez

As part of our annual commitment, and in its fourth edition, on May 6th we held our Lapathon 2012. As a follow up to the blog we posted earlier this week, we would like to take the opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the participants, sponsors and visitors of this unique event in the Osa Peninsula.

The main goal of this year´s event was to restore and equip the Recreations Field in Puerto Jimenez, a place to practice sports and recreation for the residents and visitors.

To bring the excitement of this big event to you, we would like to start with a quick overview of the work, activities, feelings and emotions that we enjoyed in preparation of this half-a-marathon.

At 8am on May 6^th, part of the LapaRios volunteers’ team and members of the community started getting ready at the Recreations Field in Puerto Jimenez, which was also the Finish line for the Runners.

Little by little all things started to get done, the organization of transportation, the installation of the awnings, decoration, the runner’s list, the inscription desk, the departure line.

By 10:00 am, the Sansa Regional and Solid Car Rental team joined us to help with more work.

By 1:00 pm more of the Lapa Rios volunteers started with the Departure preparations for the race. Like previous years, the Lapathon was set to depart from the Carbonera School, 18 kilometers away from Puerto Jimenez. It was a pleasant view to see a large crowd of runners and even some cyclists. As our partners were busy handing out the t-shirts and numbers to each runner, another team went over to set up the water stations distributed along the way. The children from the local Boy Scout Troop and a group of Lapa Rios staff helped distribute water to the runners; refreshing and cheering them as they came along.

At 2:00 pm, the sound of the bugle announced that the time of departure was near. The cheerful atmosphere reflected on the participants faces, some chatting, others flexing and stretching, all feelings ready for a jungle run.

At 2:30 pm, the bugle finally called all runners to departure, all of them in friendliness and good sportsmanship encouraging each other on those 18 km ahead, each one putting finally in practice those long hours of training, in preparation for this day.

By 3:30 pm the volunteers started organizing the departure of the Kids Lapathon. Kids Lapathon is a mini-marathon, where children participate and run it´s 3km. There is no inscription fee for the kids to motivate as many as possible to participate.

At 4:00 pm the Kids Lapathon started. For this year we had 2 categories, the A (children from 7 to 9 years old, male and female) and the B (children from 10 to 12 years old). It was amazing to see so many children running for the love of sports in the Osa Peninsula.

It was at 4:10 pm when we saw the first two participants approach the finish line, Adonay Quintero (member of the Lapa Rios housekeeping staff) and Lisanías Matarrita, both had taken the lead a long way back in the marathon. On an exciting tight race, just a few meters off the finish line, both sportsmen made their last effort and sprinted for the right to claim the first place, trilling the audience that cheer them to no end.

Adonay Quintero proved to be the fastest man with a time of 1:09:00, with Lisanías Matarrita right behind at 1:09:30. The third place was won by Noel Calderón at 01:17:00.

The first place of the female category was won by Merida Barbee at a time of 1:24:00, second place was claimed by Ana Catalina Martin at 1:27:00 and the third placed Ursula Jensen with a time of 1:33:00. All of them were received with much applause, cheering, and excitement from everyone in the crowd.

At 05:30 with the participation of Hans Pfister (co-owner of Cayuga, Lapa Rios' Management COmpany) and the representatives of Lapa Rios Eco Lodge, El Remanso Lodge y Bosque Del Cabo Lodge we acknowledged the winners of each category. But all together, all participants who made it that day to the finish line are true winners in their own right.

The assistance and participation of the visitors made the event a true party with people from all walks of life, as well as the craftmen/women, organizations like the Osa Conservation, Yaguara, the Police station and Sansa Regional. Also we had the participation of our sister hotels, Arenas del Mar Beach Front and Rainforest and Harmony Hotel whom participated and shared in this spectacular marathon.

The activity came to a close but not without music and smiles with the participation of all runners and audiences alike.

You could´ve said, Wow! So much work! But if you were behind the scenes of this marathon you could see that there was a lot of support and collaboration from people and companies that made this activity a successful event.

We must give thanks to the 95 runners, the volunteers, and the people from the community and the sponsors that made this Lapathon happen and are responsible for the first steps towards restoring and equipping the Recreational Field in Puerto Jimenez. This year we collected the total of $3,840 to start the first stage of this project.

We would like to thank to all the sponsors for their support to this Lapathon 2012:

Sansa Regional, Solid Car Rental, Hoteles Cayuga, El Remanso Lodge, Bosque del Cabo Lodge, Aventuras Tropicales, Cerro Oro (La Palma), La Bomba de Osa, Farmacia Hidalgo, Tienda Estilos, Diego Mora, Ferretería Materiales de La Costa, Corcovado BM, Banco de Costa Rica, Marisquería Corcovado, Cancha Sintetica Arzaca, Almacen La Palma, Canopy Bosque Mar, Pura Vida Charters, Almentour Sport Fishing, Colosal Estero, ASO Gestión de Riesgos, Agencia de Viajes Travel Excellence y Travel Agency Costa Rican Trails

Lapathon 2012 benefits local Puerto Jimenez community

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:12:00 +0000

The results are in and our 4th Annual Lapathon was a success! Not only did everyone, runners and onlookers alike, have a great time but we also raised over $4,000 dollars for our local community in Puerto Jimenez!

Men Runners Category Winners:

1^st place Adonay Quintero (he works at Lapa Rios). Time 1 hour 9 minutes.

2^nd place Lisanias Matarrita. Time 1 hour 9 minutes 30 seconds.

3^rd place Noel Calderon. Time 1 hour 17 minute.

Female Runners Category Winners:

1^st place. Melida Barbee. Time 1 hour 24 minutes.

2^nd place Ana Catalina Martin Vásquez. Time 1 hour 27 minutes.

3^rd place Ursula Jensen. Time 1 hour 33 minutes.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Tamarind Fruit at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:22:00 +0000

Tamarind is the name of a tropical tree native to eastern Africa, but very common in Asia and Latin America. The tree produces a fruit resembling brown bags. In some Latin American countries, it´s sold as a sweet treat but in Costa Rica, it is found in concentrates and pulp for the preparation of drinks.

At our Brisa Azulrestaurant, we have some plates made with tamarind, one example is the Pork Ribs with a delicious tamarind sauce. It´s a very interesting combination of flavors.

We share a picture of our delicious “Tamarind Ribs”

Enjoy with us !!!

Team Profile: Eusebio "Chevito" Martinez

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Name: Eusebio “Chevito” Martínez

Occupation: Front desk

Treasurer for ASOLAPAS

What is ASOLAPAS?

ASOLAPAS is the Association of employees of Lapa Ríos Ecolodge. Formed in 2001 by the employees with the purpose of having an organized system where they can have access to loans and also where they can save their money.

Also, ASOLAPAS have been involved in charity. Chevito tells us about the time they gave food to a poor family from the Puerto Jiménez community.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Just a Simple Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Just a simple thought

Author: Estíbaliz Hidalgo Castro

Have you ever seen one of those videos on youtube that become viral? Recently, I saw a video that one of my “facebook friends” put on his wall, it was about a dog helping another dog that was injured in the street because a car ran over him.

I noticed that he got a lot of comments and “likes”; but what really caught my attention was the content of the comments, mainly because everyone talked about how amazing and special the act was.

The thing about the video that made me curious is that I think that it draws people attention not only because of the act itself, but also because it reminds us of the humanity and kindness that we –as individuals and society- have lost.

Sometimes we forget who we are. We forget why we came into this world, we forget our mission in life and we forget why we should be kind; we forget that we should seek for greatness not only for us, but also for everyone that lives among us, even those who we have never met before.

Simple acts of nature often remind us that beyond the material things we have accumulated over the years, what really matters in life is our capacity to do some good for this planet.

A lot of people live their lives and die without noticing this at all. They lived for themselves and maybe for their family, but for the rest of the world, what good did they leave behind?

So, let´s make a promise and try to ask ourselves everyday what good we have done.

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Celebrating Earth Day at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Seeing the realities in our society, behaviors, hopes and dreams is one of the biggest inspirations toward a better future and a part of what we are. Many of us look for a home, others to have children, while others seek to get a personal goal or just a reason to be or exist.

But what do we have in common and what makes us unique in the world?. There are an infinite number of answers and possibilities but maybe the most shared reason is our home, “the Earth”, that lodges life and all the right conditions to have the means of living wtih a number of shapes, colors, landscapes and many inexplicable situations. Our Earth, that one that we call home, where we stay without paying and our unique possibility to live on.

Even so, a home that has suffered unavoidable changes provoking for the actions that we as tenants do not control or do without knowing can lead to our home falling down. That without giving proper maintenance to it, it can deteriorate.

That´s why in honor of Earth day, we encourage everyone to think about the importance of the our planet and urge you to make a conscious difference, because each of us makes a difference when we take the time to pick trash up, separate solid waste, reuse and reduce, use a minimal amount of water and energy resources, reduce/eliminate our chemicals, among other actions.

As part of the activities and actions, at Lapa Rios we built a sign using solid waste. This sign had a special meaning “The importance of our home for the Human being”. This sign was made for the staff as a symbol of humans supporting the Earth. This sign is a symbol that we are responsible for the Earth and the immense biodiversity that the planet supports.

Additionally, we celebrated today through fun games and collaboration: Soccer games, 22 trees donated , craftsmen workshops reusing solid waste, a parade in Puerto Jimenez down town.

We share a small thought of Mahatma Gandhi “you must be the change that you wish to see in this world”.

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Baby Spectacled Owl at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, we had the pleasure of observing this baby spectacled owl on the bird watching tours. Actually, the parents were found first and it was not until after a few days of spotting them at the same place that somebody discovered the baby high up, hidden away in the palm trees.

While the baby grew, it became a habit for our drivers that bring our guests to the lodge to make a quick stop and show the baby owl and its parents watching over it.

A few weeks after birth, the baby decided to try out its wings and fly. Unfortunately, this didn´t really work well and one of our guides, Edwin, found the baby owl sitting on the ground trying to get back up in the tree, and the parents flying around preoccupied with their young.

So he took a branch and carefully lifted the chick back up into the trees for as high he could and it stayed there for three more days until it was finally strong enough to fly.

It has been a unique experience for many people in the lodge to get to know this big owl and its young from close up and there even are people that have been doing our bird watching tours for several days in a row to check on the little ones progress.

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Wildlife at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Wildlifeat Lapa Rios is simply stunning. It amazes me every day, every moment. Yesterday morning I was walking from one of the rooms to my office and started back when in the trail I found a boa constrictor struggling to suffocate an agouti. The aguti is a big rodent, like a guinea pig, however the snake managed to trap, kill and swallow very fast the poor animal. It was a incredible way to start the morning.

However when I had just overcome the excitment of the snake swallowing the agouti, the wild Osa Peninsula amazed me again, but this time with a very nice event. We found a woolly opossum asleep inside one of the rooms (we don't have an inkling how it got there!). It is not just a gorgeous creature, it is also an animal that loves to sleep very pleasantly and that's why he chose one of our cozy and comfortable bungalows.

-Arnay Garcia

Operations Manager

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Rios offers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.

Weaving palm leaf grasshoppers

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Learning how to weave a palm leaf grasshopper

Up, down, do a twist and make it tight!

Make your own coconut palm leaf Grasshopper!

Who does not know the famous grasshoppers or crickets, their shapes, techniques of camouflage and their incessant song that goes deep in our forests as a real concert to Mother Nature? Famous to many, fear by some, these interesting insects can be found all over our territory.

But how interesting it is to be able to reproduce the shape of this insect using coconut palm leafs and learn how to make your own weaved cricket as a part of our children and guest activities.

Step by step, the children, parents and guests of the hotel learned how to weave their own grasshopper with palm leafs. Amid smiles and surprises the tiny works of art started to spring. Up, down, twist and tighten! Some of the new steps were suggested by the children themselves.

This experience was lived by our guests in an evening gathering at Lapa Rios. A part of our many children´s activities that promote the interaction between the children and nature.

Whether honeymooningor taking a family vacation, Lapa Rios Eco Resort is an ideal setting for your next vacation in Costa Rica.

Lapa Rios Team Member Story: Faith & Teaching

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:02:00 +0000

Faith & Teaching

Author: Estíbaliz Hidalgo Castro

You see, I come from a family of educators. My mom is a teacher, my aunts are teachers and my sister is also involved in education. Because of this, in my family ,education is a priority and teachers –as professionals- are highly respected.

A few weeks ago I gave my first English class to kids of different grades who attend La Carbonera School (located near Lapa Rios). It was amazing, we had a great time and the kids really enjoyed the class, I was proud of myself not only because I was experimenting with something so different in my professional life, but also because I had the opportunity to do what the people I love the most have been doing for years.

The owners of the hotel had a vision many years ago, they wanted to build a hotel that helped the community by giving people a job where they can have the opportunity to overcome obstacles and achieve greater things. At the same time, they founded La Carbonera School, so the children of those employees and of the people from the local area could have a place to learn.

Teaching is one of the most important professions in our society; teachers have the power to change someone´s life, to make it better. Every day, teachers gave their heart out just to help their students and their families.

Teachers believe in a better world; they have faith in people and they show their faith by taking care of their students.

If you come to Lapa Ríos, you should visit the school. Meet the teacher, don Carlos, talk to him and ask him about how he manages to give a class to nine students from different grades; probably he´ll tell you that it isn´t that hard, but it´s just because he loves what he does.

He may not have a great paycheck, he may not have the commodities of the modern life, but he still has the humanity that some people already have lost, he has faith in his students and he works really hard every day in order to see them succeed.

Located near Corcovado National Park, you will be in the heart of the rainforest at Lapa Rios Ecolodge!

Our sister hotels, part 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Here's another EcoSalsa contest for our Lapa Rios blog subscribers - just be the first to comment (with your name, please) and correctly answer which hotel we're describing below and you will win an EcoSalsa CD!
Here are the clues:

This hotel is located on the Nicoya Peninsula in the Puntarenas Province
It is a beachfront property and their beach was recently named the #1 beach in all of Central and South America by TripAdvisor travelers
The bungalows are unique in that they are open-air style
There is a wild Tiger Heron who loves to hang out around the pool area

Whether honeymooning or taking a family vacation, Lapa Rios Eco Resort is an ideal setting for your next vacation in Costa Rica.

Celebrating Earth Hour at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:45:00 +0000

Earth Hour at Lapa Rios We had many activities planned for this year's Earth Hour and both staff and guests were eager to get involved!

Last week, Estibaliz made lanterns with the kids from the Carbonera School and children from our staff to motivate them to turn their lights off and use their own handmade lanterns!

Saturday afternoon, Estibaliz and Adrian (HR and Sustainability coordinators) gave a powerpoint presentation about the lanterns and their significance and history in CR. Afterwards all the children and adults made their own creative lantern or “faroles” out of milk carton boxes. And at 8pm we turned off the generator completely for a full hour where we enjoyed dinner by just candle light and the light of the self-made lanterns. It was a lovely experience and all our guests were enthusiastic about participating and having their family picture taken.

How did you celebrate Earth Hour? We'd love to hear your stories!

Our Sister Hotels

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:02:00 +0000

We have a special surprise for our blog subscribers this week! We'll be giving away an "EcoSalsa CD" to the first person who comments and correctly tells us the name of the hotel where the photos below were taken. Here are a few hints:

This is one of our sister hotels, located in the capital of Costa Rica
It offers exceptional food at its lovely restaurant and is walking distance to many wonderful attractions such as good restaurants, museums and our National Theatre

Even if you're not the first to comment, some of our other sister hotels will be offering a similar contest this week so be sure to subscribe to their blogs and get ready to play!

An Ecolodge in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Lapa Riosoffers a rainforest vacation you will never forget.