Travelrific® Travel Journal

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Archive for costa rica

Painting the Sky

By Linda Tancs

Legend has it that the gods dipped their paint brushes into Costa Rica’s Rio Celeste (Blue River) while painting the sky. The river gets its amazing blue hue from sulfur emitted from volcanic activity courtesy of Tenorio Volcano, which lends its name to Tenorio Volcano National Park. Located in northern Costa Rica, it’s one of the country’s youngest national parks, prized not only for the volcano but also for Rio Celeste waterfall. You’ll find an abundance of natural hot springs, along with mud pots and a beautiful cloud forest at the summit of the volcano. A trek through the entire park will take four or five hours.

Costa Rican Adventure

By Linda Tancs

From the misty coolness of the cloud forest to the eternal spring found in the Central
Valley, there’s something for everyone year round in Costa Rica.  Travelrific Radio®
looks at the following popular stops:  San José, the Central Valley, Guanacaste, Arenal, Monteverde and the Nicoya Peninsula.

The Switzerland of Central America

By Linda Tancs

For decades Costa Rica has been referred to as the Switzerland of Central America, owing to peace, prosperity and stability.  But let’s not forget the other Swiss-like attributes, like gorgeous mountains offering sweeping panoramic views and hiking opportunities galore.  And, like Switzerland, thrill seekers will love rafting.  Costa Rica offers some of the best whitewater rafting in the world thanks to its mountainous terrain and rain produced by the rainforests.   It’s available year-round, but white-knuckle enthusiasts should wait until May through October to get wet and wild.

Sloth Central

By Linda Tancs

The sleepy surf of Costa Rica’s Caribbean side may seem like an unlikely place for a rescue center for the native sloth, but three miles north of Cahuita lies the world’s only sloth rescue center, Aviarios del Caribe.  The learning center and sanctuary is home to special adult resident sloths named Millie, Toyota, Spiderman, Einstein, Nala and TopoGigio.  The sanctuary offers visitors the opportunity to sleep with the sloths (well, kind of) via a small hotel on the premises.  Just one more way to get up close and personal with the natives.

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Feeling Blue Around the World

By Linda Tancs

Feeling blue?  In some parts of the world, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  That is to say, if you live in a blue zone–areas of the world where the population regularly lives to the ripe old age of 100 or more.  Places like Loma Linda, California, Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa, Japan.  Don’t pack your bags just yet, though.  Just being there won’t increase your chances for longevity.  You gotta walk the walk, as they say.  That means lots of whole grains, veggies, beans and fruits.  Maybe Mama was right after all.

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A Head in the Clouds

By Linda Tancs

If you fancy the idea of experiencing life amidst the treetops like Swiss Family Robinson, then a trip to Costa Rica should be on your short list. At Monteverde Cloud Forest, you can commune with nature along the Skywalk, a series of suspension bridges and integrated walking paths atop the forest canopy–that’s in the clouds, of course (hence, the name). Orchid lovers will swoon over nearly 1500 species supplying a great part of the world’s florists. The walk will take about 2 hours. If you’d rather zip along, then you might want to take Sky Trek (a bit of a misnomer if you ask me), a zip line that zig zags through 10 different cables at about 500 feet. The less adventurous would do just as well taking the tram. They say that 90% of all rainforest life is found in the canopy. With all the flora and fauna converging on this ecosystem, it gives new meaning to the phrase “workplace diversity.”

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