Lapa Rios Ecolodge

Lapa Rios is even wilder … in the Green Season

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Can you see yourself in the middle of the rainforest, curling up with your favorite book or taking a nap while the rain pours on the roof of your cozy eco-bungalow?

Lapa Rios Ecolodge is world renowned for its remote wilderness luxury. But you haven’t experienced the true wild until you’ve been on the Osa Peninsula during the rainy season.

When you book an eco-getaway at Lapa Rios from May until October, you get the benefits of the Green Season, including lower flight costs and room rates, less crowds and better wildlife viewing opportunities. Check here special promotions at Lapa Rios.

They call it the rainforest for a reason; the forest gets rejuvenated by rain for six months out of the year. But, it doesn’t rain all day. Usually mornings are clear so you can head for the beach or outside tours. The temperature never drops, so even if it rains you wont be cold; tours always run regardless of rain, and you can return to your awesome room and a rewarding hot shower.

Most of the signature species in this area are almost impossible to see, like the magnificent jaguar. But during the rainy season, it’s easier to find them, as all animals leave their tracks in the mud. It’s amazing to walk a trail and recognize the tracks of all the animals that have recently passed by with help form your guide. And, this is the time of year when you might be able to see whales from the deck of your bungalow!

Fewer people on the beach and on tours translates to more personalized attention and service from staff. You’ll have that “we have this place all to ourselves” feeling every day, which means more privacy and quality time with your partner or family.

Green is sexy. Green is in. Come to the Osa Peninsula for a Green Season experience you’ll never forget at Lapa Rios!

KIDS LOVE LOCAL CRAFTS

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:34:00 +0000

Jocksan is one of the local artisans, a craftsman who comes up once a week to show and sell his handiwork to our guests. Making his living out of selling his handcrafts in Lapa Rios and other lodges, Jocksan creates beautiful jewelry with materials like local seeds, mud, pearls, shells, bamboo and macramé. For our younger guests, it’s a treat because they have the opportunity to learn how to make simple but very nice bracelets. These kids were with us last week and each of them made about four bracelets for themselves and to take home to their friends as well. They learned, had a nice evening activity and ended up with a souvenir too, quite a successful night! As our future guest, you can have the opportunity to buy a very authentic handmade souvenir from Jocksan.

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:34:00 +0000

Last Sunday, August 15th, everyone in Costa Rica celebrated Mother's day, including our female (and male) staff. Our nine very speical “mothers on staff” at Lapa Rios were in for a treat that day. They all enjoyed an incredible lunch out on our restaurant's deck, prepared by our kitchen staff (all men!) and were then surprised with a live serenade by some very talented singers or “mariachi” as we call them, who dedicated special mother-themed songs to the ladies. Each receiving a personal note from their children at the end made for a great surprise event for them, and as some of our staff said: it was great to see them happy and to thank them because all of them are “mothers” to our staff as well, nurturing and encouraging us in all our endeavors. Congratulations to Hellen, Lea, Vanesa, Vilma, Josefa, Zeneida, Olga, Doris and Teresa!

MATAPALO: THE STRANGLER FIG

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Perhaps the best known tree in this area is the towering strangler fig tree, so well known that the area close to the beach here and actually the entire ridge Lapa Rios is situated on is named after this tree, but in Spanish: Matapalo. This impressive tree, a type of epiphyte, starts life as a tiny seed high up in the canopy on another kind of tree. The roots grow down to the forest floor where they dig in and begin to take nutrients from the soil. Gradually the roots wrap around the host tree, widen, and slowly form a lattice-work that surrounds the host's trunk. The fig's crown grows foliage which soon overshadows the tree. Eventually, the host tree dies, leaving the fig with a hollow trunk, which is easily climbed thanks to the many openings in the trunk. Figs are often the only tree species remaining after forest clearing since their knotted and twisted wood is shunned by loggers. Ironically, this agent of death provides an important niche and food source to many rainforest creatures. Its hollow trunk, with an abundance of nooks and crannies, provides an important home to thousands of invertebrates, rodents, bats, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. Many other species are attracted to the fig tree because of its production of large amounts of good-tasting fig fruits. These fruits are packed with seeds, many of which are not destroyed when they are consumed, and are passed out in the dung of animals far from the mother tree. In many forests the fig tree is considered a keystone species since during parts of the year it is virtually the only tree producing fruit. During these lean times, many primates and birds feed almost exclusively on fig fruit.

Photos by Frances Figart

A SURPRISE TOUR!

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:56:00 +0000

Thanks to their dedication and effort to always provide an exceptional service to our guests, three of our staff members went with our Operations Manager on a surprise tour. Greivin (friendly receptionist), Gabriel (excellent waiter) and Olger (cook who gives the Lapa Rios cooking lessons) never expected to be rappelling from a waterfall when they started at work that day at 6 a.m. One of the nearby lodges, Remanso, offers a waterfall rapelling tour and invited us to check it out. None of the four had ever done this before and it was a team building experience and reward for hard work that they will never forget!

ODE TO HUMMINGBIRDS

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:43:00 +0000

The hummingbird family (trochilidae) is one of the largest bird families in the world with about 330 species, ranging over south, central and north America. Although they are found from Alaska to Tiera del Fuego, hummingbirds are far more numerous in the tropics. In Costa Rica we have 57 species of hummingbirds distributed over the whole country. Following are a set of interesting facts that you maybe didn’t know about these gorgeous little acrobats of the sky.

● The hummingbirds’ flight involves rapid wingbeats and a unique rotation of the entire wing at the shoulder joint; changing the angle of their wingbeat permits flight in any direction including backward or hovering in place.

●Depending the species, hummingbirds beat their wings 22-79 times per second.

● Because of its size, in relation to other birds the hummingbird has the highest metabolic rate and energy needs.

● One of their most important mechanisms of saving energy is their ability to enter into a state of torpor on cold nights, regulating their body temperature 30-50⁰F (17-28⁰C) below active level.

● About eighty percent of a hummingbird’s day is spent perched in trees and bushes.

● Their bills range in size from 4 inches to ½ inch in length.

● Half a hummingbird’s weight is in chest muscles, which are used to power their flight.

●Often a hummingbird’s tongue measures two times the length of their bill.

●The smallest hummingbird, the bumblebee, is two inches long with half the length in its beak and tail. The largest hummingbird is the giant hummingbird and can reach eight inches in length.

Hummingbirds are undoubtedly the best known New World avian family - and one of those things in nature that are so fascinating to see, you just have to stand still for a while. During a stay at Lapa Rios, you are sure to see them every single day if you are watching.

Photos by Frances Figart

LAPATHON FUNDS MATERIALS FOR SPEECH THERAPY

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:49:00 +0000

On June 30, the Lapa Rios staff went to hand over the materials and equipment which was bought with the donations of our latest Lapathon Jungle Run on May 1. This 18 km race - with a total of 143 participants and many more supporters - was able to raise funds for a total amount of 1,016,000 colones (about $1,900) to buy the equipment for the only classroom on the Osa Peninsula that serves children with communication difficulties who require speech pathology. Materials bought with this money included furniture such as chairs and tables, big mirrors, archive equipment, a computer, a CD player, desks and educational materials, all of which are necessary to provide better care for the 60 students of this speech therapy room. Everything was received by the teachers, school administration, parents, and community members with great appreciation and a lot of smiles from the students. A big thank you for everyone who helped with this educational project!

OUR SCARLET MACAW GOT A FACE LIFT

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:39:00 +0000

In celebration of the amazing Scarlet Macaws that surround our rainforest ecolodge, we have updated our logo and a new web site is on its way. And to help you celebrate our new look in person, we have extended Lapa Rios’ “Stay 5 nights, pay for only 4” promotion to include July and August.

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. It is about 81 centimeters (32 inches) long, of which more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of all macaws. The average weight is about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). The plumage is mostly scarlet, but the rump and tail-coverts are light blue, the greater upperwing coverts are yellow, the upper sides of the flight feathers of the wings are dark blue as are the ends of the tail feathers, and the undersides of the wing and tail flight feathers are dark red with metallic gold iridescence. Some individuals may have green in the wings.

Scarlet Macaws make loud, low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks and screams designed to carry many miles to call for their groups. A typical sighting is of a single bird or a pair flying above the forest canopy, though in some areas flocks can be seen. The Scarlet Macaw can live up to 75 years in captivity, although, a more typical lifespan is 40 to 50 years. Scarlet Macaws eat mostly fruits and seeds, including large, hard seeds. They like nuts and fruits. They also feed on nectar and buds.

The Scarlet Macaw’s distribution used to include much of Costa Rica. However, by the 1960s Scarlet Macaws had been decreasing in numbers due to a combination of factors, particularly hunting, poaching, and the destruction of habitat through deforestation. Further, the spraying of pesticides by companies cultivating and selling bananas for export played a significant role in decreasing Scarlet Macaw populations. The combined factors stressed the population of Scarlet Macaws in Costa Rica, where they had previously occupied approximately 42,500 km of the country's total national territory of 51,100 km, leaving viable populations in the early 1990s isolated to only two regions on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica; the Carara Biological Reserve and the Osa Peninsula, where Lapa Rios is located. By 1993 surveys had shown Scarlet Macaws occupied only 20% (9,100 km) of their historic range in Costa Rica.

Photos and editing by Frances Figart

HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR PLANET?

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:58:00 +0000

Lapa Rios was recently involved in a celebration of Biodiversity Day by local grade school and high school students, who organized a full day of activities in Puerto Jimenez around the theme. The main objective of the celebration was to motivate the children to investigate the biodiversity of the Osa Peninsula. Sustainability and conservation professionals were involved to give presentations about the area’s flora and fauna. Lapa Rios staff at the Puerto Jimenez office created a banner asking "How do you like your planet?" which represented current environmental threats and their solutions. Rain did not stop children of all ages from parading proudly down the main street with their conservation message promoting the idea of planting trees. Kids from the Nueva Hoja School performed a play, and sang a song of Corcovado, our nearby national park. Other activities included painting meaningful drawings that would encourage people to take care of the environment, its wildlife and the entire ecosystem. The local community was extremely impressed and inspired by the kids’ presentations.

INTERVIEW WITH MARIJKE MULDER CUBILLO BY FRANCES FIGART

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:58:00 +0000

Marijke Mulder Cubillo is the Operations Manager of Lapa Rios Ecolodge. Born in Golfito, in the southern part of Costa Rica, she grew up in Belgium until the age of 16, when she moved back to her native country. A year later, she applied for her first job, a position at the front desk at Lapa Rios. That was 2003 and now, seven years and many experiences later, she is in charge of the resort’s food and beverage service and is taking courses to obtain a general Sustainable Tourism Management degree. I caught up with Marijke recently to talk to her about her work. Here is the resulting interview.

Frances: How did you first come to work at Lapa Rios?

Marijke: When I was 17 and really wanted to start working, I wanted to speak different languages and be able to travel a lot. The only interesting possibility for someone to practice languages without a degree was an opportunity at a hotel. I remembered how beautiful the lodge was and heard a lot of good things about it, so I put in an application and went to the interviews. I started working at the front desk in 2003, with no experience and little English, but with a lot of energy to learn new things. That’s when I first became interested in tourism. I worked for almost three years in different departments like front desk, reservations, accounting/providers and finally as sustainability coordinator. Then I left the company to start my own project for 2 years. I came back at the end of 2008 as part-time sustainability coordinator, was offered the position of guest service assistant manager and finally moved up to operations manager.

Frances: What is a typical day like for you at work?

Marijke: I make sure all procedures are in place and applied in daily operations by walking around in the restaurant, kitchen, reception area and hotel in general. I’m in charge of new initiatives that have to be implemented either by doing them myself or by assigning those new projects to one of the other leaders and by making sure they follow up or let me know when they need help. This part includes weekly meetings with each one of the leaders of departments I’m directly involved with and reviewing their weekly reports as well as making my weekly reports for the general manager, management and owners. Aside from that, I follow up on requests received by e-mail. Probably the biggest part of my work is paying attention to the details to ensure a positive guest experience through observing the different departments, receiving our arriving guests, talking with guests in general and helping them if there is any specific service issue. I also follow up on suggestions we receive for improvement. In addition to being a support and help for anything that happens in the lodge while I´m there, I’m also in charge of supervising our Human Resources Committee.

Frances: What are some of the things you like best about your job?

Marijke: One of my favorite aspects of the work is being part of a unique and unforgettable experience for our guests. It’s amazing to share with others the wonders of nature and teach them about our culture, and about the difference it makes to support the local people, and to see guests leaving satisfied and wanting to come back. A second favorite part is our work through Human Resources, to be given the chance to grow and learn new things every single day and make sure everyone has that opportunity. It makes me happy to see the degree of progress in the surrounding communities in terms of ecological awareness, recycling or cleaning efforts, education in general, more interest and involvement of the people and a positive growth in individuals who have been taking advantage of opportunities to become leaders in the community and our lodge. There are a lot of different things we do that make me feel good about my job, like showing guests to the local Carbonera School, or the day we did the Lapathon with a final amount of $1,800 raised for a community project. Or when we have an incredible new picture of an endangered puma on our property, or when we receive a returning guest who greets all staff like family because that´s the way they felt when they left last time.

Frances: What do you feel are the benefits for tourists or travelers who come to stay at an eco-resort or sustainable hotel as opposed to a regular, mainstream accommodation that does not consider sustainability?

Marijke: I think you get to be more involved with the “big picture” of the country you’re visiting because the emphasis is more on helping while you´re enjoying yourself, rather than just focusing on yourself being away from home. The traveler benefits from feeling good because of the choice they made to support a local community and its conservation efforts while having their vacation.

Frances: Do you think Lapa Rios benefits from being managed by Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality?

Marijke: Tremendously! So much so that it wouldn´t be where it is right now if it wasn´t managed by them. Cayuga has the vision, knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and people to help us continually improve and find better ways to be more sustainable and offer better experiences to our guests. The lodge benefits from the variety of different Cayuga team members who can guide and assist the operations through various transitions that are a normal part of growth in any accommodation.

Frances: Why do you like working with Cayuga personally?

Marijke: Because everything is about team work with this company; they give everyone a chance to share their ideas and respect those, although not every idea can be implemented, of course. It just feels good to be part of Cayuga, because they work towards making a difference, they care for the important things like wildlife protection and the potential of people to grow. Their most valuable asset is their commitment to sustainable development and the local community for each of the hotels.

Frances: If the guests who come in contact with you during their stay at Lapa Rios could take away one particular memory or feeling about you as a staff member, what would you want them to take away and remember forever?

Marijke: I would want them to remember me as someone who listened to their experiences, made them feel special and then went on to exceed their expectations by teaching them something interesting and completely new about Costa Rican culture or conservation.

Frances: The rainy season is beginning now in Costa Rica. Is this still a good time to visit Lapa Rios? How is it different?

Marijke: I think there are a lot of benefits actually to coming to Lapa Rios during the rainy season. To start with, the rates are lower, there is much less tourism so you might have a private tour or more of that “all by ourselves” feeling and, very importantly, the temperature is at its best! The rainforest looks more mystical and romantic when it rains, and the sounds of the jungle are even more intense. In my experience, especially for that romantic honeymoon you always wanted, it’s the time to be here!

The Story of the Puma and the Peccary

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:24:00 +0000

By Frances Figart

A so-called “camera trap” is a method that biologists use to study animals in the wild. A pair of motion-sensitive cameras is set across a pathway, and animals that cross between the cameras trigger a photograph. This allows a variety of species to be studied without introducing the stress of capture.

Our staff at Lapa Rios recently checked our camera trap on the Ridge Trail and found this amazing photo from last month of a Puma who had just caught a young White Collared Peccary. We have a lot of puma pictures at our reserve, but never before have we captured one on camera with its meal in its mouth. An hour later the camera recorded the rest of the peccary group moving on up the trail with one less pig in the pack.

According to the 2010 Field Guide to Wildlife of Costa Rica by Reid, Leenders, Zook and Dean, camera studies in Costa Rica have revealed some surprises: “Pumas, often considered very rare and local, have been found to be fairly common… Once thought solitary, it turns out that Pumas often travel in pairs.”

More about the Puma

One of the largest cats in the Americas, the puma is second in weight only to the jaguar. Adults are generally cinnamon to rufous brown with a white underside, but young pumas are spotted, and with subsequent molts their coloring gradually becomes more like that of adults. Until they are 6 months old, though, they can be difficult to tell from juveniles of the jaguar or other spotted cats.

The puma can tolerate habitats varying from temperate, coniferous forests to low, multistrata, and tropical rainforests. Ranging from British Columbia to Patagonia, the puma lives between elevations above 2,000 m. down to sea level. In Costa Rica, it can be seen at Corcovado National Park, Santa Rosa Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and may also be found in Cerro de la Muerte.

The tropical puma is smaller than its brother in temperate North America, most likely because it finds smaller prey in the Tropics. Still, the puma is an excellent hunter and athlete in the lower regions of its range: it can leap 16 feet into the air, and is a good climber even though it spends more time on the ground. The puma generally stalks its prey from behind, usually first attacking the back of the neck.

More about the Peccary

When born, White Collared Peccaries are reddish brown, but by adulthood they have gray-black skin covered in coarse hair that can be as long as 15.2 cm on the back. A distinct white strip around the neck makes them easily identified as "collared.'  

Resourceful and versatile in many habitats, this peccary can survive in tropical rain forest, tropical deciduous forest, semidesert land, scrub forest, and some agricultural areas (where they are considered pests). Of North American ungulates, the collared peccary has one of the largest ranges, including from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas down to Rio Plata in Argentina. Within Costa Rica they are present from sea level to at least 2,000 m. in elevation and can be seen in La Selva, Corcovado National Park, Santa Rosa National Park, and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

The peccary is very social and keeps hierarchical herds of three to thirty or more; in Costa Rica, the group size tends to stay between 2 and 15. Individuals within these groups sleep next to each other to keep warm, and are cohesive in their actions in general. Friendlier individuals rub each other, especially in greeting: each will rub its head against the scent gland on the back of the other. Peccaries make several vocalizations, including a loud bark, aggressive grumblings (especially when feeding in groups), warning tooth chattering, and purring.

White-Lipped Peccaries at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:06:00 +0000

The peccaries are active both during day and night depending of the area they live in, they tend to take a rest during the warmest time of the day. In Lapa Rios we have trap cameras set-up in the forest and this is our catch of the week: for four consecutive days this group of about eight collared peccary’s have been bathing in these mud pools very close to the Osa trail. So we managed to get some nice pictures.

Cornell Hotel School Alumni, Forbes and Yahoo Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:25:00 +0000

Lapa Rios Ecolodge received quite a bit of media attention last week. Not only was the Ecolodge featured on the cover of the Cornell Hotel School Alumni, but it was also chosen as one of the world’s top five hotels with the best views by Forbes and Yahoo Travel.

Remember our green season values starting next month at Lapa Rios and all other Cayuga Managed Properties!

Squirrel Monkeys at Lapa Rios Ecolodge

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:48:00 +0000

The squirrel monkey is the smallest monkey of Costa Rica it is also the most threatened primate of Central America. The Osa Peninsula where Lapa Rios is located is home to the biggest population, left over here we still see big groups of up to 45 individuals. These cute looking monkeys forage through the forest with incredible speed and accuracy looking below every leaf and in every nook and cranny for small animals, they mostly feed on invertebrates and fruit but they are able to change their diet to small vertebrates, nectar and fruits when insect abundances are low. They are very easy to recognize because of their size and lighter colorings they are also the only species that doesn’t have a prehensile tail but rather use it as a rudder when making their incredibly far leaps trough the trees. In the Osa Peninsula we have the privilege to host all four species present in Costa Rica.

The Bullhorn

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:09:00 +0000

The Bullhorn is a swollen-thorn acacia native to Central America and Mexico. The common name of "bullhorn" refers to the enlarged, hollowed-out, swollen thorns, that occur in pairs at the base of leaves, and resemble the horns of a steer, locals call them "cornisuelo". The tree grows to a height of 10 meters (33 ft).

Bullhorn Acacia is best known for its symbiotic relationship with a species of ant ,(Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) that lives in its hollowed-out thorns. Unlike other acacias, Bullhorn acacias are deficient in the bitter alkaloids usually located in the leaves that defend against ravaging insects and animals. Bullhorn acacia ants fulfill that role. The ants act as a defense mechanism for the tree, protecting it against harmful insects, animals or humans that may come into contact with it. The ants live in the hollowed-out thorns for which the tree is named. In return, the tree supplies the ants with protein-lipid nodules called Beltian bodies from its leaflet tips and carbohydrate-rich nectar from glands on its leaf stalk. These Beltian bodies have no known function other than to provide food for the symbiotic ants. The aggressive ants release an alarm pheromone and rush out of their thorn "barracks" in great numbers.

According to Daniel Janzen (Costa Rican Natural History, 1983), livestock can apparently smell the pheromone and avoid these acacias day and night. Getting stung in the mouth and tongue is an effective deterrent to browsing on the tender foliage. In addition to protecting A. conigera from leaf-cutting ants and other unwanted herbivores, the ants also clear away invasive seedlings around the base of the tree that might overgrow it and block out vital sunlight.

Snake doctors use the bark and root to slow down snake venom from entering the bloodstream. Acne and various skin problems can be treated with water extract of the thorns. It is used to treat impotency in males.

Osa Peninsula Lapathon Jungle Race 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:46:00 +0000

The second edition of the Lapathon, a race for a good cause organized by Lapa Rios Ecolodge will take place on May 1st. Start of the 18 kilometer race is the Carbonara School in Matapalo at 2:00 p.m. and the finish is at the Plaza in Puerto Jimenez. Participation fee is of 8,000 colones (about $15) and all proceeds from the race will go towards an educational project for children with learning disabilities in Puerto Jimenez. Prices include hotel stays and dinners at lodges, resorts and hotels managed by Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality as well as domestic airline tickets. And for the first time, children age 8 to 12 have the chance to participate in the Kids Lapathon of 3 kilometers!

Special offers and discounts to stay at Lapa Rios or fly to the Osa on Nature Air are available upon request. Contact our reservations office in Lapa Rios at (506) 2735-5130 or info@laparios.com.

Starfish Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:19:00 +0000

The Osa Peninsula is not only interesting and bio-diverse on land but there is also a wide variety of marine life in this area. The starfish tour is available for about four days a month this because it is only done with the negative tides. This tour will open a completely new world just before your eyes, you’ll see: starfish, sea orchids, pufferfish, anemones, blue danzel-fish, sea sloths , crabs and occasionally we even see some octopus or morane eels. Make sure to request if this tour is available during your stay at Lapa Rios!

The Naked Indian Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:14:00 +0000

The Naked Indian tree or Bursera simarouba belongs to the Family Burseraceae. As a medicinal plant it is used in the treatment of stomach ulcers. To prepare this medicine you have to boil twenty centimeters of bark in one quarter of water for about fifteen minutes, then you drink one cup first thing in the morning every day. One of the nicknames for the naked Indian tree is the tourist tree this because the bark of this tree is constantly exfoliating which gives it an appearance of sunburned skin. This is one of the trees that is commonly seen along the roads in the Osa Peninsula because a lot of local farmers use it as a live fencepost. Look for it on your way to Lapa Rios!

From our Manager at Lapa Rios Ecolodge this week...

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:15:00 +0000

Today I get a call by Radio form Luis our Reserve "Ranger" he says 'Juan I found a baby Macaw on the ground in the middle of the Ridge Trail what should I do?' Normally I tend to let nature lead the way and keep things in their natural order, but in the case of animals that are in danger of extinction (not by natural order but because our human ways have tilted the balance one way it’s hard not to think it’s best to help out and try to balance back a bit...) Any way so I tell him to bring it back to the lodge, and so he did, look at the cute guy, he is still growing its feathers and it’s not ready to fly, apparently fell of from the nest, but looked healthy enough and was very docile, everybody fell in love, guests staff and visitors all wanted to take a picture and pet it.... No wonder there is a market for this animals as pets, as some even suggested we keep it as a pet and let her roam free here at the lodge, we explained the importance of leaving animals in the wild and specially the importance of being an example by keeping it as a pet even under this circumstances we would be joining the many how keep wild animals in captivity so we send her off to the animal Sanctuary on the other side of the Gulf where they will work hard to release it back to the wild as soon as she is able to survive on her own.

Win a complementary 3 night stay at Lapa Rios!

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:59:00 +0000

We offer a complimentary three night stay at Lapa Rios for the winner of our photo and essay contest. Submit a minimum one page essay backed up by a photo or short video on your stay at Lapa Rios or any other Cayuga managed hotel. We will post your submission on our webpage and select the winner. Deadline is May 15th. For questions, please contact us at info@cayugaonline.com.

Sunrise at Lapa Rios

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:31:00 +0000

March 25^th, 5:26 am. Sunrise over the Golfo Dulce from bungalow 8 in Lapa Rios. Everybody that has been to Lapa Rios remembers those sunrises and the sounds of howler monkeys and Scarlet McCaws flying by.

Introducing Eco-Salsa to our Guests

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:24:00 +0000

Last night, we introduced Eco-Salsa to our guests at Lapa Rios. We wrote a salsa song just about Lapa Rios and it was a huge success. Everybody was dancing. This week, we even applied for the Latin Grammys with this album that features songs that are a tribute to Costa Rica’s most distinguished ecolodges, national parks and Latin rhythms.

The Halloween Crab

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:50:00 +0000

A very common land crab in the coastal lowland tropical rain forests of Costa Rica where, Lapa Rios Ecolodge is located, is the Halloween Crab (Gecarcinus quadratus).

Halloween Crabs are quite attractive with a black carapace, orange legs, and purple claws. Because they are terrestrial and so colorful, Halloween Crabs are sold as exotic terrarium pets. In the wild, these nocturnal land crabs live in small burrows in the coastal jungles of Costa Rica. Although they are terrestrial, Halloween Crabs are most common near the coast because they must return to the ocean in order to reproduce. They range from the coast to about 0.4 miles (600 m) inland, but they are seen sometimes as far as 5 km inland. Halloween Crabs emerge at night to collect fallen leaves and seedlings, which they then drag back into their burrows to eat in safety. These terrestrial land crabs can also be seen climbing trees with ease during their nighttime foraging. During the day, these colorful crabs hide in underground burrows.

Fiery-billed Aracari

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:36:00 +0000

The fiery-billed aracari is a kind of Toucan which is found on the South Pacific slope, where Lapa Rios Ecolodge is located, up to 500ft (1500m). This beautiful bird is found only in Costa Rica and Western Panama.

Their main diet consists of fruits and insects but they also look out for nestling birds. They live mainly in the rainforest and its adjacent clearings in straggling bands of ten or les individuals. Sometimes they descend almost to ground level to eat berries, they pass the night in old woodpecker holes where they sleep together in groups of five animals and the rest of the groups sleep in holes nearby.

Our Biogas Proyect

noreply@blogger.com (Lapa Rios Ecolodge) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:43:00 +0000

A great example of applied sustainability at Lapa Rios Ecolodge in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica is the biogas project. This was the idea and initiative of one of our employees. We feed the leftovers from the kitchen to our pigs and their droppings produce biogas that we catch in a plastic structure (see picture with Juan above). We use this gas for cooking on the employee kitchen have reduced the use of propane gas by over 70%. Our goal is to go 100% biogas in the next weeks. Oh, and of course the pigs are very popular with the staff as we sell the meat to them at very low prices. You know that one of the favorite meals here is “chicharones”…