Archive for January 4th, 2008
Friday, January 4th, 2008
The fact that more than one million tourists visit Costa Rica each year does not happen by chance. Our country, located in Central America, is an isthmus where life seems to have created its roots. Covering only 0.03% of the surface of our planet, Costa Rica has approximately 6% of the world’s biodiversity.
In addition, Costa Rica is characterized by an impressive scenic beauty, consolidated system of protected areas, social and political stability, high educational levels, and efficient infrastructure and services. All these characteristics you can find in a territory of only 51 thousand square kilometers, surrounded by both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, only three to four hours away from each other by land or 45 minutes by air.
The country’s strategic position, in the heart of the western hemisphere, the Government’s positive attitude towards foreign investment, its infrastructure, access to international markets, and labor quality and cost, make Costa Rica an ideal place to establish commercial operations.
Why Costa Rica?
During the past century, Costa Rica has experienced an outstanding period of political stability. In the past years, significant facts and achievements have placed Costa Rica as the leader in the Central American region with a number of noteworthy milestones.
Then-President Oscar Arias authored a regional peace plan that earned him the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize — his popularity had him re-elected in February 2006. Astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz has served in various and important Space Shuttle missions. Claudia Poll won an Olympic gold medal for Costa Rica.
This history of outstanding success has been translated across other platforms including economics. Costa Rica is the only nation in Central America with industries such as Tourism and Technology that surpass agriculture as the main source of revenue. Tourism is one of the main economic activities in Costa Rica; in 2005, 1.6 million tourists generated $1.5 billion.
Major investment players such as Intel, Unysis, Acer, Procter & Gamble have established a solid presence in Costa Rica. The travel / hospitality industry has seen the arrival of major hotel chains from the U.S. (Marriott, Best Western) and Spain (Barcelo, Melia).
New foreign investment is in the growth in Costa Rica and names such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, Subway, TGIF, Tony Roma’s and others are seen across the country.
The U.S. and Costa Rica have a history of friendly relations. As many as 35,000 U.S. citizens reside in Costa Rica and 500,000 U.S. citizens visit the country annually. Important numbers are also applicable to residents from Canada and Western Europe.
To learn more, we invite you to view the Costa Rica profile by the U.S. Department of State.
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Friday, January 4th, 2008
With 755 miles of coastline on two oceans, Costa Rica has more breaks than you can shake a stick at. The country’s selection of surf spots range from idyllic beach breaks to coral platforms where the water leaps up and tubes like a miniature Pipeline.
Having coastline on two oceans is quite an advantage, since when one ocean is flat, there is usually something breaking on the other side of the country. Often enough, there is good surf pumping on both coasts.
And the country’s surf is complemented by its comfortable water temperatures – you can leave that wet suit at home – beautiful scenery, and the convenience of a variety of accommodations and restaurants near most breaks.
Since it is five times longer than the Caribbean coast, the Pacific has considerably more surfing spots. Many of the country’s best breaks are found in the northwest province of Guanacaste, but there are also some excellent spots in the Central Pacific and Southern Zones. And the few breaks that are available in the Caribbean province of Limon are certainly nothing to complain about. The following is a listing of the country’s best surf spots:
Carribean
Playa Bonita: Left over reef off popular beach just north of Limon City. Cahuita: Beach break on Playa Negra, near hotels and restaurants. Puerto Viejo: Fast right over coral reef, plenty of hotels and restaurants. Cocles: Beach break just south of Puerto Viejo. Manzanillo: Beach break, only when big, some accommodations nearby.
Central
Boca Barranca: Long river mouth left just south of Puntarenas. Tivives: Beach breaks and river-mouth left, south of Puntarenas. Jaco: Popular beach break with abundance of hotels and restaurants. Hermosa: Several very consistent beach breaks south of Jaco. Manuel Antonio: Beach breaks near plentiful accommodations. Dominical: Great beach breaks near hotels and restaurants. Matapalo: Right point break at tip of Osa Peninsula. Pavones: Very long left at mouth of Golfo Dulce.
PLAYA HERMOSA/JACO is one of the easiest spots to get to from San Jose. It is only 2 hours from airport and caters to the intermediate to expert surfer. There is plenty of accommodation for all budgets and loads of nightlife.
MANUEL ANTONIO caters beautifully to beginners and those traveling with non-surfing partners. It is 3 hours from San Jose by car and the area offers plenty non-surfing activities.
DOMEICAL is and excellent choice for serious surfers who wish to avoid the crowds in favour of a more relaxed atmosphere than Jaco without compromising the quality of the surf.
Pacific
The Pacific coast has the upper hand over the Caribbean when it comes to surfing in Costa Rica. Most of the hotspots are located on the Northern and Central Pacific coasts with a few on the southern coast near Panama and some others on the Caribbean coast
Guanacaste Potrero Grande: Right point break in Santa Rosa National Park, only accessible by boat; no camping. Playa Naranjo: Great beach break by Roca Bruja, in Santa Rosa National Park, accessible with four-wheel-drive vehicle or boat; camping permitted. Playa Grande: Very consistent beach break north of Tamarindo. Tamarindo: Good beach break, excellent base for surfing nearby beaches. Playa Langosta: River mouth break south of Tamarindo. Avellanas: Very good beach break further to the south. Playa Negra: Right point break further to the south. Nosara: Several beach breaks near selection of accommodations.
The Northern Pacific Coast
TAMARINDO is a gigantic surfing mecca. The area is quite built up and provides a way to find lots of different surf in short period of time. There is plenty of accommodation and positively hopping night scene. Tamarindo is 4½ hours from San Jose via paved road.
NOSARA is somewhat unique amongst Costa Rican surf spots in that it offers world class surf all year long. It is the perfect middle ground between Tamarindo and Avanelles/Negra in terms of accommodation, amenities and nightlife.
AVANELLES/NEGRA is perfect for those that want a slower pace than Tarmarindo or Nosara. The hotels are adequate and nightlife is virtually non-existent. This area is accessed via dirt road from Tamarindo.
MEL PAIS is a haven for intermediate surfers and occasionally offers swells large enough to challenge more advanced surfers. The area has an incredibly green backdrop, adequate accommodation and no real nightlife. It is, therefore, the perfect destination for a relaxed surfing in Costa Rica experience.
Southern Pacific Coast
MATAPALO features uncrowded, pristine beach in an extremely remote location. Everything in the local area operates on solar power so there is very little chance of staying in self-catering accommodation. It can be quite expensive as all meals are included in the price.
PAVONNES is also extremely remote and quite difficult to get to. The surf is very inconsistent surf but if you happen to be there at the right time, it is well worth the hassle of traveling there. On a good day, you can catch rides of up to three minutes.
PUERTO VIEJO is the home of the famous Salsa Brava and is for experts only. There is some accommodation in the town proper but most of the nightlife is a little further south in Cocles. The town is three hours from San Jose by car almost all on paved roads.
Safety
There is very little to worry about when surfing in Costa Rica. The country is relatively free of crime so your possession will be safe unless you are quite careless. In regards to the water, most of the breaks, Salsa Brave being a notable exception, are beach-bottom. One small concern, particularly when surfing on the Caribbean side is crocodiles. If there have been heavy rains, there may be more than usual around river mouths.
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Friday, January 4th, 2008
Two oceans, magnificent inland lakes and countless miles of pristine rivers provide anglers in Costa Rica with some of the finest and most diverse fishing you’re likely to find in such a small and easily accessible area anyplace in the world.
From the capital city of San Jose, fishermen are only 30 to 40 minutes flying time from the prime fishing regions on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, with two national airlines providing daily service and a variety of charter airline services available to meet any schedule.
And because Costa Rica is a small nation geographically , there’s hardly anyplace in the country you can’t reach within six hours driving time, and some of the best inland fishing regions are within two to three hours from the capital.
Costa Rica’s reputation for incredible fishing is well justified, but like anyplace in the world, there are never any guarantees. Action will vary with the seasons and prevailing wind, weather, currents and other natural conditions at any given time, and the following break-down, should be considered only as a general guide. Visitors will be well advised to check on what’s happening shortly before their trip.
Keep in mind that fishing licenses are required of residents and visitors alike to fish inland and ocean waters. Charter operators normally provide the salt water license as part of their packages. If fishing inland waters, you will normally have to obtain your own license, and should also be aware of closed seasons. See section on Inland Fishing, below.
PACIFIC COAST: The Pacific Coastal region is divided roughly into the Northern, Central and Southern fishing areas, with conditions varying with the seasons in each area. Increasing numbers of charter boat operators on the Pacific have been “following the fish” in recent years, moving operations from one area to another depending on the season and making it possible to assure visiting anglers the best fishing available whenever they choose to visit.
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Friday, January 4th, 2008
Leo Hickman on a carbon offsetting scheme that really works – because you can see where the money is going from your airline window seat
Flying the green flag… NatureAir supports a range of local projects, including protecting the rainforest it flies over
I didn’t know it at the time, but I have flown with the “world’s first and only zero emissions airline”. But don’t get too excited: I’m not talking about a new paradigm in jet propulsion, or the revival of the airship. This airline still uses fossil fuels just like every other.
In the summer of 2006, while conducting interviews for my book The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of Our Holidays, I took a short flight from Punta Islita on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast to the capital San Jose. I joined a dozen or so other passengers aboard one of NatureAir’s de Havilland Twin Otters, thereby avoiding the best part of a day’s travel on Costa Rica’s notoriously bad roads. The flight was memorable for me because it carried us over some stunning rainforests and mangroves at a low enough altitude that you could appreciate some of the detail below.
What I didn’t know at the time – most other airlines would be ramming such marketing gold dust down your throat at any given opportunity – was that the airline supports a range of local projects in Costa Rica aimed at reducing emissions. The most notable of which is a scheme whereby 200 hectares of rainforest on the Osa Peninsula have been protected from loggers. This, the airline calculates, compensates for roughly 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide that it has emitted into the atmosphere since 2004.
I’m highly sceptical about carbon offset schemes – and NatureAir’s actions are no different really from those of any firm offering offsetting – principally because they often make decidedly dubious claims, they don’t encourage us to address our polluting ways but only disguise them, they lack independent verification, and rarely can they demonstrate “additionality” (that these actions wouldn’t have been undertaken without the offset scheme). But I am in favour of remedial environment projects that are located close to the problem. It makes sense for a Costa Rican airline seeking to atone for its carbon sins to fund and nurture environmental projects in its own backyard – even if I don’t buy the claim that the airline’s emissions can be said to be “zero” as a result. Nonetheless, the projects still appear to be worthwhile in their own right.
When I watch the tourism industry racing to paint itself green, I do wonder why more within the industry don’t try to play the “local” card, as you see happening so much within the food industry. I’m sure it would lead to a lot less cynicism about the true motivations and usefulness of offsetting. Rather than pay a sum to a faceless offset scheme, as most airlines now offer their customers the chance to do, I’m sure passengers would much rather know that this money was being spent on projects at the destination, thereby helping to improve the often strained relationship between the visitor and the visited. Perhaps a visit to such projects could be part of the trip?
The fundamental point is that we like to know where our money is being spent – and that it is being spent well. For example, there are very few fans of Advanced Passenger Duty (APD), the departure tax levied on the UK’s outbound passengers, outside of the Treasury, even though it claims to be an environmentally motivated tax. But if the £2bn revenue it raises each year was ring-fenced for certifiable and visible environmental projects, then it would instantly achieve much more support from travellers.
A fast-growing number of us appreciate that we must start paying the true environmental cost of our travel, but we are only ever likely to support the necessary green taxes that would curb the current runaway growth in emissions if we know and can see they are directly funding projects that also reduce or mitigate these rising emissions.
In Costa Rica, NatureAir is able to achieve a lot of “buy in” in relation to its offsetting initiative with its customers because passengers can look down and see the very thing that is worth saving below them. Just how you achieve that on, say, a mundane transatlantic flight is certainly a challenge, but the fundamental point remains: travellers must see that the tax hikes that will inevitably affect air travel in the coming years are truly benefiting the environment they have been introduced to protect.
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