Properties in Costa Rica Blog

Costa Rica’s local cuisine has many interesting and authentic flavors to offer and also a broad selection of very fine restaurants that can meet the highest standards.

The warm climate itself helps the growing of fruits and veggies, making the freshness of the produce tempting for anyone. Organic restaurants, coffee places, and farmer markets exist in every town. Not only you could buy from these places, but you can order them online, through many apps and portals.

Many nostalgic expats with excellent cooking skills have opened a business in this welcoming country. As ambassadors of their culture and knowing that there’s always a demand for new tastes, only in Escazu you can find Indian, Peruvian, Lebanese, Spanish, French, Italian, oriental and many more culinary ventures. This variety can be found in most touristic towns and the Central Valley. Familiar fast food chains are found everywhere as well.

The quality and freshness of the produce you can buy locally are tempting and will definitely impact the int the way you eat.

If your aim is to enjoy the Costa Rican local food and its benefits for your health and your pocket, you need to love rice and beans. They are served three times a day with some variations. For breakfast, the “Gallo Pinto” along with some eggs, sour cream, tortillas or bread and fried plantains is the way to have this meal. At lunch ” El Casado” – a marriage between rice and beans- served with a piece of meat, pork or chicken, salad, and picadillo (a vegetable stew) is the way to fuel you for the rest of the day. For supper, usually, you can have the same menu as lunch with fewer side dishes.

One of the best things about this tropical nation is that fresh fruits and vegetables are available all year long at very good prices. This condition benefits the local food scene providing a huge array of fruits, usually used to prepare the most delicious drinks. Don’t hesitate to ask for -natural- when you stop at the Sodas (Small restaurants) when you have lunch. The other wonderful beverage that anyone should have is a cup of coffee. Some areas of Costa Rica claim to grow and harvest the best in the world. There´s only one way to know…

As most of the countries, each region has its own specialty. If you visit the Pacific coast, seafood has an important part of the diet. The – ceviche – or raw fish cooked in lemon juice will provide a refreshing snack while visiting the Pacific beaches. If you’re on the Caribbean side, then all dishes have a Jamaican accent that becomes a real treat. When visiting the mountains, a bowl of Olla de Carne – a beef stew with big chunks of different vegetables- will comfort you in this cool places.

The best thing about eating in Costa Rica is that no matter where you are, you´ll find good deals to keep you going on your adventure.

Several surveys confirm it, Costa Rica is a wonderful place to have a thriving social life. The happy planet index tops this country as number one; the life expectancy, well being, ecological footprint, and equality among its inhabitants grant the tiny tropical nation this honor.

Another approach, “the ease of settling in” index, suggests the same results: Costa Rica is a great place to improve your social network. On one of the considered subcategories, ” finding friends” the place ranks in the highest places. Also the “Feeling welcome” score tops in this study.

So, the question is, how to harness the bounties of the “Pura Vida” friendliness?. For most people the answer is rather instinctive and obvious, yet, the opinion and help of others might appeal to many. According to the experience of many expats, there are some formulas that are almost perfect, most of the cases.

Local groups: Become a member of the birdwatchers club, go to church, visit any country club, join a philanthropist venture; any cause or hobby that you’re identified with, has a reply in most of the country’s towns. It`s a matter of time to find them and start sharing with the members.

Learn Spanish: Besides the pragmatical reasons that you have to do this, also becomes the key to enjoy the most authentic experiences that Costa Rica can offer. Imagine all the jokes and puns you can catch in any casual talk with some effort in a very rewarding goal such as learning a new language.

Be a good neighbor: Open yourself to your fellow citizens, knock the doors and introduce yourself. Most Costa Ricans, especially in the countryside love to share their produce and gardening tricks with their neighbors. You never know what wonderful people you can have living close to you.

Learn to enjoy soccer: Definitely the most popular in the country can open doors to something more of a group. The belonging sense to a particular team can turn you in in this kind of brotherhood, only found among the true fans of any team. If this doesn’t appeal to you, the practice of the discipline itself will call the attention of many around you.

Social networks: This global trend is very strong in Costa Rica too. Don’t hesitate to become facebook friends with people that become familiar with you, or start chatting on any other platform. Chances are that you find interesting people in this virtual world.

The fact is that Costa Rica is a wonderful place not only to find your dreamed piece of heaven but also find great people to share this joy.

The birth of Jesus Christ, a worldwide celebration where Costa Rica is no exception. The traditions and feelings during this time of the year are in some dimensions, universal. Yet, this country has some interesting accents that can be very special to experience these days to come.

But before going into exploring the particular traditions of the Tico culture during Christmas, there are two important events that happen this same month that add cheerfulness to the environment felt all around. The first one is that during the first two weeks of this month, aguinaldos – an extra wage one month worth – is paid to all workers giving all economic activities a nice bump along with the season’s sales. The other wonder is, that after a tough rainy season, the dry season – or summer – as locals call it, finally settles. Blue skies, crisp afternoons and spectacular sunsets pamper the damp souls of the people.

The Costa Rica Christmas is celebrated with the local version of tamales. It´s a cornmeal paste stuffed with chicken or pork meat, vegetables, rice and sometimes raisins, all wrapped in banana leaves. Then, they are steamed for hours, usually in a huge pot over a bone fire. The making of this specialty involves a long assembly line where the family members are included, all under the rule of the matriarch. Recipes and variations are as many as the houses where they are made and it’s common to get into arguments with other families claiming that their tamales are better.

Since is mainly a Catholic country, the weight of all religious ceremonies is important. The posadas (a Spanish version of the Christmas carols) are represented with customs of Saint Joseph and Saint Mary looking for a place to give birth to baby Jesus. The night of the 24th the rooster mass is celebrated, where they commemorate the precise time when Jesus was born at midnight, so, after this, gifts are exchanged and dinner is served. The nativity scene also has a more important place in many houses compared to the Christmas tree.

The 25th of December becomes a day to share with the family and enjoy the smile of the children and their new toys.

The rest of the week has a very important place in San José especially, with holidays festivals and activities very typical to Costa Rica. The “Tope” is a horse parade where all riders like to show off their horses and their skills.

December is really a nice time to visit Costa Rica, don’t hesitate to get this cultural experience and get to know the best places of this tropical paradise at its peak.

Costa Rica is known to be the home of 5% of all living beings in the world. For a tiny country that covers only 51000 square kilometers (a similar area to West Virginia) entitles the country as megadiverse. Not only its position in the tropics, two coasts in different oceans and a challenging geography, allows this condition. Also, the conservation efforts along Costa Rica’s history have yielded the chance to the people to have contact with wildlife every day almost everywhere!.

A special bounty for the bird enthusiasts is found in any fruiting tree. 900 species from the resplendent quetzal, to colorful macaws or the traveling warblers that fly away from the winter; like many tourists that come and enjoy the sunshine can also hear their songs in this tropical latitudes, instead of the white, quiet and cold landscapes near their homes. For those looking for a unique sight, the country is a sanctuary to many endemic species. The volcanoes that crown the north part of the central valley are great places to look for them.

Some of the rainforest emblems, frogs, and crocs, are common on your way to the central Pacific beaches. A popular stop, the Tarcoles river bridge, allow you to see dozens of fierce crocodiles sunbathing. The nearby Carara National Park is home to the popular blue jeans frog, a visit to this place on your way to Jacó is worthed. The red eye tree frog, almost a national symbol, might be harder to find, but after a rain shower in the afternoon or at night, they can be spotted near any creek in the southern Pacific.

The beaches in Guanacaste are great to start a fishing adventure but also a few of them have a special visit during the new moon nights: olive ridley and green turtles come to lay their eggs to the beaches near Sámara. But Playa Grande, next to Tamarindo is visited by the leatherback turtle, a huge and endangered reptile that finds the last refuge in this beach.

Mammals are sometimes difficult to see, but several places have night tours where you can spot kinkajous, ringtail cats or raccoons trying to find a late night meal. Nevertheless, there are parks, such as Manuel Antonio where is always easy to enjoy the company of the squirrel monkeys and even a deer that feels very comfortable with people. Peccaries, large cats, tapirs and other forest dwellers are more difficult to see. A trip to the Turrialba mountains with a local guide could be the way to get this kind of adventure.

If your thing is to relax and contemplate your tropical garden being visited by butterflies and hummingbirds, don’t hesitate to explore all corners in Costa Rica. The perfect place for you might be waiting for the next turn.

According to most of the scholars in Costa Rica, the name of Escazu comes from the indigenous word Itzcatzu. The closest translation is “a place to rest”. It’s easy to imagine that in pre-Columbian times, the beauty of the area was so intense that it was considered a reward to rest here. Good news is that much of it is still found in all of the roads climbing the surrounding mountains. The most unique houses and properties are found here. From any angle, you can enjoy amazing views towards the Central Valley and the Volcanic Mountain Range with its emerald green hills. A treat for your eyesight.

Another important part of the charm is that the town is known as the city of the witches!. Two versions of the origin of this name are told among the locals.

The first one states that Jewish women that lived many years ago used to wear veils and lit candles on Shabbat. The locals interpreted this as witchcraft and the name – Ciudad de Las Brujas- stayed until this days.

The other version is more intriguing and claims that a famous witch -Zarate- used to live in the white boulder near the church.Minor witches, such as “La Tulevieja” and the “Maria La Negra” lived there too and tormented the people with their magic in the old times…Some claim that they still around so they wear their shirts upside down to keep them away. Most of the people cherish this stories and feel pride and identity about them, therefore, it’s common to spot stickers and signs with this paraphernalia in the streets of this town.

Nowadays this county of San Jose has not only wonderful places to visit, a rich history, colonial houses and special places to spend good quality time but also a thriving economic activity that allows to please the most demanding and fanciful tastes or the very particular service that you need. Restaurants for the most sophisticated customers, jewelry with the most special pieces, hotels for the rich and famous are next to the most skilfull doctors or dentists or the most professional firms needed for your business. Also avant-garde developments in the country with concepts that mix commercial, leisure, and residential needs are being built here. Anyone looking for investment opportunities would know how to take advantage of this trends.

Definitely, Escazu has a lot to offer for all kinds traveler, business person or for those who want to find a place to rest.