MuchaCostaRica.Com

Top 10 Things that make Costa Rica Great

Rayna Levin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:35:59 GMT

After living here awhile, things that are unique to Costa Rica begin to stand out. Here are a few things that come to mind when I think about how great Costa Rica is.

Arenal Volcano - one of the most active volcanoes in the world and when there are no clouds, you can often actually see lava flow
Natural Hot Springs - these are located near the active volcanoes (Arenal and Rincon de la Vieja, among others). You can often choose the temperature pool that´s right for you and have a relaxing soak. Plus the natural minerals in the water are really good for your skin.
Cano Island - one of the best places to dive in Costa Rica
Scarlet Macaws - in certain areas like the south Pacific, you can see these beautiful (and loud) birds daily
La Paz Waterfall & Gardens - an absolutely amazing nature park with the largest butterfly garden in the world
Tu Ru Bari Nature & Adventure Park - besides being an amazing park to visit for the day, their Superman style canopy tour is one of my favorites in all of Costa Rica.
Casados - (plate of the day, Costa Rican style) a wholesome inexpensive meal available at just about all typical restaurants. It´s a great way to sample some of the local vegetables too!
Bioland products - We are so lucky to have this company here. They make organic and natural food and skin care (personal) products, AND their prices are very affordable.
Mountains and beaches - the changes in elevations offer a dramatic variety of climates. You can literally go from hot beach-like weather to cool, refreshing mountain air within an hour.
Sloths - We have 2 species of sloth in Costa Rica. They are adorable creatures.

Birthdays Costa Rican Style

Rayna Levin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:01:03 GMT

How do Costa Rican's celebrate birthdays? Very sweetly!

I wanted to share the impressive dessert menu from a traditional birthday celebration in Costa Rica.

For starters, a traditional meal might consist of rice with chicken or shrimp, accompanied by beans (of course, no meal is complete in Costa Rica without beans!) and a fresh fruit beverage, or Coca Cola. Any other typical dish would do as well such as casados (rice, beans, salad and choice of meat or fish), olla de carne (a pot of soup with beef still on the bone and lots of veggies like carrots, yucca, plantains (sweet or green), squash (various kinds) and other root veggies), among many other typical dishes.

Now for the best part... dessert!

All in one bowl the following items would be piled up:

Cake - of course this is to be expected.
Ice Cream - again, normal.
Jello!
topped with canned mixed fruit
then topped with powdered whole milk or better yet... sweetened condensed milk!

AND, on the side, a sweet milk beverage called Horchata (a spiced cold milk drink).

Now that's what I call a SWEEEET surprise.

Free Week in Costa Rica

Rayna Levin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:00:45 GMT

Enter to win a FREE week in Costa Rica and help support a good cause while your at it. All proceeds go to help remodel a school in Quepos.

The drawing for the winning ticket will be on June 21 for a free week at Villas Tranquilas in Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Tickets are $20 each
Buy five tickets get one free

Dear Friends: Our trip to remodel the school in Quepos Costa Rica in only one month
away. We still desperately need funds. We have a lot to accomplish.
Please help us by entering our drawing to recieve a free week at Villas Tranquilas
(villastranquilas.org) This is a beautiful resort and a great vacation!!!
You can read about it at tripadvisors.com. Just put Villas Tranquilas in the search.
This prize is good for up to six people. This is worth $1100.
You can even write off your entry fees as a contribution by writing the check to
Ridgeview Church.
Please mail check to Penny Williams, P.O. Box 301510, Escondido, CA 92030
Write: Penny Williams, Quepos School in the comment bar at the bottom of your check.
Please read about our project at www.queposschool.org
We really really need your help!!!
Thank you so much,
Penny
760 580-6113

Summer Music Festival in Costa Rica

Rayna Levin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:31:51 GMT

Rockin´ the Rainforest 09

Costa Rica will be rockin June 19, 20 and 21 as Puerto Jimenez (a small town on the Osa Peninsula) hosts a 3 day music extravaganza. It is a benefit event to support conservation, education and regeneration of the Osa Peninsula´s endangered forests and resources.

For more info vist the Rainforst Aid 2009´s website and for a complete music line-up, click here.

For foreigners, ticket prices range from $49 for a one day pass and up to $425 for a complete package including roundtrip transportation from Alajuela (where the international airport is), homestay with meals, 3 day event passes and more.

Photo Friday - Happy Mother's Day

Rayna Levin — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:17:20 GMT

Culture & Holidays in Costa Rica - updated

Rayna Levin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:13:18 GMT

We just updated our Costa Rican Festivals, Events and Holidays page: Check it Out!

New Photos Uploaded 1

Rayna Levin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:08:56 GMT

I just uploaded some pics a friend shared with me: Their travels took them to the beaches in Guanacaste and to Tortuguero.

Easter Week in Costa Rica

Rayna Levin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:31:34 GMT

Easter in Costa Rica is not just a Sunday holiday. Costa Ricans begin to celebrate Easter on the Wednesday before Easter Sunday. The holiday is marked with parades re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus and his historic walk thru Jerusalem to his death, attending mass, special prayer services and family time. Traditionally from Wednesday until Sunday elaborate meals are not cooked nor prepared and so easily prepared meals, seafood and empanadas are the traditional fare.

For many Ticos, Easter is also a time for family vacations and many Ticos head to the beach. The beaches become crowded and the cities are abandoned.

Another interesting tid-bit is that it is illegal to buy or sell beer or liquor from midnight Wednesday until midnight Friday. So many Costa Ricans stock up on beer and liquor before the big holiday and actually, more alcohol is sold in Costa Rica during this week prior to the dry days than any other week of the year.

Easter Parade in Costa Rica

Rayna Levin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:44:31 GMT

Easter in Costa Rica is a very religious holiday for many Ticos. One of the most traditional events is the Easter parade. San Joaquin's parade used to be the most popular and widely attended, but after it became too commercial, the priests decided to scale it down.

Here is a snapshot video of what transpired this past Friday.

Eco Travel on the Osa Peninsula

Rayna Levin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:06:37 GMT

The Osa Peninsula is one of the most remote and undeveloped regions of Costa Rica. Towns like Puerto Jimenez and Drake Bay and places like Cano Island and Corcovado National Park are some of the hot spots where thousands of people come every year hoping to see whales, dolphins, tapirs, scarlet macaws and many other unique animals who call the Osa Peninsula their home.

Traveling 'eco style' is relatively easy to do if you consider the following:

Getting There and Around

Consider flying to Drake Bay, Puerto Jimenez or Sierpe on Nature Air, Costa Rica's first carbon neutral airline
Take a Shuttle from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez or Sierpe - sharing transportation is more ecologically friendly than driving

Hotels - Many, many hotels in Osa are eco-friendly in that they offer:

The choice to not have your sheets and/or towels changed daily (I mean who has fresh sheets at home every night?)
Propane heated hot water
Recycling programs (glass, aluminium, plastic and batteries*)
Biodegradable soaps
Bio-digesters
Notices to conserve electricity: Turn off all lights and fans when leaving the room. It does not make the room any cooler to leave fans on while your away than if you immediately turn them on upon your arrival. You might want to always carry a flashlight with you if you leave your room in the late afternoon or after dark.

Some Things to Know

Corcovado national park is the largest track of primary rain forest in Costa Rica. It is NO LONGER permitted (as of October 2008) for people to hike independently from one ranger station to another. A certified guide must be hired to escort you on the cross park trails.
Costa Rica has a land area of only 51.100 km2 (0.03% of the planet’s surface), but it has more than 4% of the world's biodiversity, much of which can be found on the Osa Peninsula.
The waters near Drake Bay and Cano Island have the longest humpback whale season in the world as whales from both North and South America go there to breed and give birth. Read more about whale watching in Costa Rica

* - Costa Rica does not recycle batteries. Please take all expired batteries back home with you. DO NOT dispose of them in the trash.

Wordless Wednesdays: The Largest Cockroach in Costa Rica

Rayna Levin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:54:47 GMT

She's kinda cute! I would not squish her!

A closer look...

For more Wordless Wednesday go here and here

Wordless Wednesday: Hummingbird Babies!

Rayna Levin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:53:46 GMT

For more Wordless Wednesday go here and here

A MuchaBaby and a Spanish Lullaby

Rayna Levin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:43:23 GMT

Wordless Wednesday: Look at his Tongue!

Rayna Levin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:09:42 GMT

For more Wordless Wednesday go here and here

Seven Cent Customs Duty

Rayna Levin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:23:38 GMT

Inorder for us to bring you unique videos, blogs and photos of everything Costa Rica, we thought it best for me to have a cell phone/camera/video camera. This way all my gadgets are together in one place and since I always have my cell phone, I would also always have a camera, ready to get that shot that comes along once in a life time.

So Brendan, the programmer for MuchaCostaRica offered to mail me his extra Nokia N95, a truly modern device that is very similiar to an IPhone.

I told Brendan to mail it to me insured, via regular mail (not UPS or DHL) to avoid a potential delay with customs. He mailed it to me about a week ago, and I was able to track it online so i knew exactly when it arrived in Costa Rica.

It arrived in about 6 days and when I went to the post office to get the package, i was given a little piece of paper that said i had to go to the main customs office in Zapote. DARN! My plan to avoid customs did not work.

Fortunately, on this particular day, I just so happen to be passing one block away from the customs office in Zapote on my way to Cartago, so this was not too horribly inconvenient.

I found the post office with out any problems and even stopped at the bank first so I could have cash in hand to pay whatever the exorbitant fees would be.

I was directed to the International Package Claim office in the back of the building. There are four windows, or four steps you have to go through before you can take home your package.

Window 1: sign for your package and they agent pulls it from the mountain of boxes
Window 2: Customs - discuss the value of your package. It was here I was informed that anything that comes into Costa Rica worth more than $500 gets stopped in customs. Since Brendan had insured the pacakge for $500 and the shipping fees were $30, my package was routed to Zaopte since it was $30 over the limit.
It is here at window 2 that your tax is assigned and guess what, you can't pay it here. You have to walk to the bank a block away to pay it. Which is fine, except in this case, the tax I owed was SEVEN CENTS!!!! I had to walk to the bank, wait in line for 25 minutes to pay a SEVEN CENT tax. By this time, it had started to rain, so i walked back to the post office in the rain and returned to window 2 with the stamped copy of the bill proving I had paid the tax and then went to Window 3.
Window 3: Here you have to pay a standard stamp tax or something. Its 675 colones (about $1.25)
Window 4: Finally, you get to pick up your package.

The whole situation was very funny to me since the tax I owed was so minimal, yet it cost me almost 2 hours of my time. You would think that they would waive taxes if it's less than $1 ... but no. :)

I do have to say the process was very rigid and meant to protect the valuable goods that come into Costa Rica. I have no complaints. My phone arrived and I can now spend hours and hours learing how to use it.

BTW, it also comes with GPS and my exact location in Sierpe, Costa Rica is:
Latitude: N 8.8784
Longitude: W 83.4688
Altitude: 35m

And a Video I made with my new toy:

Wordless Wednesday: This is Soooo Sweeet!

Rayna Levin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:36:34 GMT

I took this in Tortuguero my first time in Costa Rica. She was sleeping in a tree branch close to ground level. The blonde color on her belly is a baby.

Wordless Wednesday: Men at Work! (Costa Rica style)

Rayna Levin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:26:35 GMT

For more Wordless Wednesday go here and here

Wordless Wednesday: What the heck IS this?

Rayna Levin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:07:14 GMT

We know this is a caterpillar, but of what species or what it will turn into, we don't have a clue... Is it a moth or a butterfly? Any guesses?

Landslides in Costa Rica Part II

Rayna Levin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:59:44 GMT

So I waited 3 days for the rain to stop so that I could make my way south to the Osa Peninsula, but it did not. I listened to the news and called the 800 number for the Department of Transportation several times a day waiting for the pass to be open in the morning. I figured out that the Cerro de la Muerte (the mountain pass I take to go south, AKA Inter-American Highway, Route 2) was open every day late in the afternoon, but too late for me to leave my house and make it over the mountain before dark by the time I heard the updated the status... So I decided to head out in the morning and just wait it out. If I had to wait in traffic for hours, that'd be OK, just as long as i could get over the pass before dark.

I packed up all my stuff and made sure to bring along some food (popcorn and sun flower seeds) and a good book. It was a rainy morning, and I mean pouring!!!! I managed to get all my stuff in the car during a brief pause in the rain and off I went.

Much to my surprise (though it should not have been) the traffic getting out of Heredia was horrible. Accident here, accident there. After 3 U-turns, i finally punched my way thru and got out of town. Two hours later (it should have been one hour) I got onto the highway going to Cartago. At the toll booth, it said the Cerro was closed, but the 800 number said it was open, so i continued.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the Cerro was open, though i had to wait about 4 times for 10-20 minutes each time for tractors and dump trucks to clear the fallen mud from the roadway. I arrived at my destination, Sierpe de Osa, seven hours later, it normally takes 5.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and comfort of the beds of the little hotel I stayed at in Sierpe, Margarita's. Comfortable mattresses with nice sheets (high thread count) and that actually stay on the mattresses, clean rooms and hot water. What more can you ask for when paying $20 per night.

It's now a partially sunny morning in Sierpe, though the clouds remind me more rain is to come. Cheers to living in the tropics. Pura Vida!

Wordless Wednesday

Rayna Levin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:35:29 GMT

What!! A See Thru Butterfly

Click to Enlarge