the reX-Files » costa rica

Costa Rica, a carbon-neutral destination and Loco Natural

Rex — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:03:15 +0000

Costa Rica, a carbon-neutral destination – The Globe and Mail.

The nation throws down a green gauntlet

Seeing this article reminded me of our time in Costa Rica and I thought, why not send an email to our friends Pamela and Carter at Loco Natural see what they have been up to….

…and they have been busy.

When we were there 2 Decembers ago they only had two lovely custom built accommodations that people could rent out. We stayed at the La Casita, which was a perfect one bedroom/bath place. Now they have two more: the Casa Mambo and the Bird House.

The Bird House

Our new two story Bird House is perfect for families or groups of friends. There is a Queen size bed and a single bed upstairs, and a Queen size bed with two single beds downstairs. It has a full kitchen downstairs, a wet bar with refrigerator upstairs and a bathroom on each floor.

Casa Mambo

Casa Mambo is a three bedroom house with many unique features that express the true beauty of your natural surroundings. The house has a large living room and dining room/kitchen attached to the deck. There two bedrooms with queen size beds and one with two singles which can sleep up to 6 persons total.

We had such an amazing time and it was the best way to stay and explore Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limon. It was conveniently location (10 minute walk to the beach and out of the busy town area, we recommend that you rent a bike), very, very affordable (we also saved money making our own meals) and Pamela and Carter were excellent hosts which made our time in Costa Rica memorable.

Hasta Luego Costa Rica!

Rex — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 23:37:11 +0000

Our three week adventure in Costa Rica has almost come to an end. I am writing this in San Jose where we are taking it easy (I am hunched at the computer again and Tlell of course is watching the food network). What an amazing experience it has been for the both of us. Our trip pretty much stayed close to our itinerary and of course we added some extra/unexpected turns and dove into non lonely planet mentioned places here and there. Surprisingly, we managed to “comfortably” squeeze in everything we wanted to see and do without burning ourselves out. Smart planning I guess and of course we have experienced many travel lessons and tips for the future.

Some public photos will be up for display shortly and of course many personal photos will be up behind the scenes as well for friends and family.

Muchas, muchas GRACIAS to…

Hotel Los Volcanes…for the great (included) breakfast and the free suite upgrade on our last day (Tlell much appreciated that).
Great New Orleans food (believe it or not and thanks for letting us in the gates)
Iguana Lodge and Pearl of the Osa (Luis, Maverick, Ouriez, Andres, and the rest that I cannot remember). Thanks for accommodating us and driving us around.
Juan Carlos & Ivan…thanks for the great tour (of the plastic tucans and sloths) and for the horses!
Laura (and Onyx) from Aventuras Tropicales Golfo Dulce …best kayaking tour we have had in the long time….the dolphins were amazing and thanks for sharing your knowledge of the ecosystem. You are our favourite tour guide!
Monika at Hotel Arco Iris Lodge (In Santa Elena ~ Monteverde) – thank you so much for helping us get to La Fortuna.
Eagle Tours for the jeep, the amazing boat transport via the Arenal Lake, and taxi. If anyone needs to get to and from Monteverde to La Fortuna, this is definitely the way to go.
Daisy and El Sesteo in La Fortuna…for our private cabin, pool and view of the Arenal Volcano. A beautiful and reasonably priced accomodation.
Carter and Pamela at Loco Natural (along with Rumba, Mambo, and the two other dogs and the cat), you are the best. Muchas, muchas gracias. El Loco Natural and the food was amazing….(I’ll be wearing your tshirt around Vancouver).
to Brandon the New York guy, thanks for the bikes.
Hotel Aranjuez…..the gourmet breakfast was delicious!!!!
Finally, Nature Air (for the overloaded plane ride), Interbus (private transport), Explorardores Adventures, and the humble taxi drivers, gracias!!!

Costa Rica was our first international trip together and it will undoubtedly will not be our last.

Gracias!

Hola Costa Rica!

Rex — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 23:39:19 +0000

We’re off to Costa Rica (Dec. 10th to the 31st) …. the land I have heard so much about during my ERS days; where the vast majority of the country has been preserved as national parks and globalization has yet to choke the local culture and economy. We picked up multiple books for our trip (as well as used the Costa Rica tourism web site) help us plan our 3-week trip . I recommend Lonely Planet as they describe more funky-off-the-beaten type areas and activities. Fodor’s is more conservative but provides a great overview of the country. Lonely Planet also offers a great travel-size phrase book as well.

So here is our itinerary. We’ll mainly be busing it, maybe rent a car, and of course hitching a ride on donkey cart.

Dec. 11-12 – Arriving in SanJose staying at Hotel Los Volcanes.
Dec. 12-15 – flying Nature Air to Puerto Jimenez and staying at Pearl of the Osa.
Dec. 15-16 – flying Nature Air back to Alajeuala to Hotel Los Volcanes.
Dec. 16-19 – busing it (or riding a donkey) to Monteverde, Santa Elena, Arco Iris.
Dec. 19-20 – ???
Dec. 20-27 – hitching a ride with Jose to Puerto Viejo and staying with Carter @ Loco Natural Jungle House.
Dec.27-30 – touring San Jose, staying at Hotel Aranjuez.

That is all and that is what is planned so far.

Hasta luego!

(a link to our traveling theme song)