The Howler monkeys must have digital alarm clocks because every morning at 5:30 a.m. on the dot, I awake to a chorus of male “Congos” as we call them. Their voices travel for miles through the rain forest and serve as a wake up call to the jungle. Shortly after they sound the alarm that a new day has dawned, the other species begin to stir. Green parrots take flight and announce that their squadron has taken to the air with ear piercing screeches that cannot be ignored. The soft cooing of a Dove in a nearby Coco Bola tree softens the blow of the raucous early risers. As the sun begins to rise above the jungle canopy that surrounds my house, soft rays of sunlight pierce through and illuminate the morning mist like beams from a light house. As I stand on the second level porch overlooking the garden, my favorite sentinel for the new day arrives with brilliant blue flashes and not a sound. The magnificent Blue Morpho butterflies take flight and enjoy the open spaces and sweet nectars of the garden. Reflecting on all of the natural beauty that surrounds me every morning, I am grateful and privileged to be awakened by the sounds of nature and knowing that I am alive to experience another Blue Morpho morning.
With the rains tapering off and the beginning of summer just a few weeks away, soon we will see the population of tourists, ex-pats and Ticos begin to fill in at the beach. Here in Pavones, the horses that have had the beaches to themselves for the last few months will have to share with the coming surfers, sun bathers, and bikini clad girls who adorn the shoreline in the summer months. The economic stimulus that accompanies our guests will be welcomed by locals as the cabinas become occupied and the restaurants stock their kitchens. The smell of pan seared tuna and the wonderful aroma of chuletas and onions will fill the air and fill the tables with people sharing their daily experiences here in the jungle. Children will be on vacation from school and will enjoy the freedom from studies and the energy of youth as they play soccer on the plaza, explore the rivers and beaches, and reunite with visiting family members during the holidays. With the approaching New Year and the promise of Costa Rica’s many attractions, we are all looking forward to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012!
Pura Vida from Pavones, Costa Rica
Bobby Nielsen,
United Country – Properties in Costa Rica Associate in Pavones, Southern Pacific
Before the year of 2006 your options for drinking wine in Costa Rica were slim to none. If you were not ready for the full cultural experience of Imperial or Guaro then your alcoholic beverage options might have been limited. Between the years of 2006 – 2008 the wine industry in Costa Rica grew by 30% and with most things in 2009 did not grow. In 2010 and 2011 there have been a 15% growth which means it is back on the rise. Wine is often a good indication of what the economy is like. If people are willing to spend on top bottles of wine from all over the world then there is a good chance they are living the good life.
ExpoVino which was held at Real Intercontinental was a display of your wine options in Costa Rica from all over the world. ExpoVino was a success for their third year. What they are noticing is that Ticos are becoming very educated and doing their research on different wines. Many Costa Rican’s drink wines from Chile due to the free trade agreement and the average spent on a bottle is about $10’s which is relatively cheap when talking about wine. This might be due to the fact that Costa Rican’s are new to the wine industry and with a few more years of experience and taste it is thought that they will begin to spend the extra money on finer wines. Keep an eye on the economy and keep an eye on what kind of whine you see being offered in places. CHEERS!
The Country Day School in Escazu, Costa Rica is celebrating the United Nations week with multicultural activities representing more than 40 countries and all 7 continents!
Beautiful dances, songs and food from all over the planet have embellish the campus of the International School. Children from the early learning center through elementary and high school have been practicing for months their performances for this week. Parents and teachers have contributed with typical dresses from their countries as well as teaching traditional dances and preparing delicious meals to share their culture with others.
This beautiful activity is an example of how children from all over the globe naturally share and appreciate together their own diversity and the values of peace, friendship and innocence… The rich experience of exchanging flavors, culture and traditions from so many different countries -all united in Costa Rica- is the main reason why we decided to enroll our children in this school…
Costa Rica is a beautiful place to live so no wonder why it is also home to many people from all over the world. Costa Rica offers quality lifestyle, a democratic tradition, educated, happy and welcoming people, modern infrastructure and amenities, business opportunities (many multinational companies have chosen Costa Rica for their operations), and above all, Costa Rica offers a fantastic environment to raise our children…
Hope you enjoy the video! Let’s stay connected!
Art Guzman
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Costa Rica is known as the green country. As the country that has the majority of it’s rainforest protected and some of the happiest people in the country. As all countries Costa Rica is not perfect and if they had one crutch in their system it would have to be the Central Valley sewage system. The good news is that they are now in the works to bring a state of the art sewage treatment plant into the country between 2010 – 2030.
For those of you in the business world this might sound like a dirty investment but it happens to be one of the best investments you will find in these times. One option would be to look for a nice piece of land in Costa Rica and build your retirement home and after that you can invest in Costa Rica’s new sewer treatment plant. They are expecting this project to cost around 2.5 billion dollars.
The numbers are not out yet but over the next 20 years having an investment in this might be one of the most solid things to think about along with investing in some land in Costa Rica.
Being on the list of Forbe Magazines most beautiful National Park’s in the world isn’t a bad way to start the week for Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. One of Costa Rica’s smallest national parks is without questions one of the most exciting to see. It is filled with miraculous beaches, hiking trails, and plenty of wildlife.
In the Forbe’s magazine article they mention that the park is a century younger than Yosemite. Not only is it younger but it is just a small fraction of the size. Yosemite is huge and this small little pearl of Manuel Antonio on the Pacific of Costa Rica is 1,500 acres while Yosemite is 800,000 acres. This is quite the difference in size but they say “good things come in small packages” as is the case with Manuel Antonio National Park. The national Park of Manuel Antonio is also located at the end of a peninsula. The better portion of the length of this peninsula is now hotels, condos, and properties looking to get the best view of the protected national park while keeping their distance to help keep it pristine and in the best of conditions.
The Manuel National Park is closed on mondays in order to allow the wildlife, trails, and foliage to have it’s natural way without visitors. During the Mondays in the area there is still plenty to do and see with sea-kayak tours, ziplines, ATV’s, sailing, and just relaxing at some of the most luxurious hotels in all of Costa Rica or just chilling at a 6 bedroom house rental with startling views of the deep blue pacific.
by Rod Martin
Comments Off on Most Beautiful National Parks in the World
If you are thinking of moving to Costa Rica or just shopping for a real estate investment you might want to look at it as more of an investment in your children.
There are plenty of people that are in their day to day jobs that dream of moving to tropical paradise surrounded by nature. Have we ever wondered why this might be. Well it turns out it is only “natural” to want to be surrounded by the very life system that gives you life. This is ultimately important for kids and many adults need to break the barrier of being detached from nature.
In Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods — Saving kids from Nature-Deficit Disorder” he talks about the damaging affects of raising children in a world where they have more “screen time” than “stream time”. Kids grow up so detached from nature he says that they have much higher risk of health problems such as obesity and attention disorders. He also argues that this detachment from nature could have a devastating affect on future generations and the functioning of societies.
For those that have moved to Costa Rica and found themselves in a tropical paradise surrounded by nature like on the ridges of the Dominical area surrounded by jungle with views of the Pacific I can assure you that their stress level has dropped. If you decide to move down to an area of Costa Rica surrounded by nature and you have your children experience the beauty of the tropics you will be opening them up to the natural world at an early age which will be nothing but beneficial to their future health.
Richard Louv did the study of the affects of kids lacking nature but it would be interesting to found out how those that decided to make the move to Costa Rica just how much their health mentally and physically has improved.
If your looking for the perfect Oasis in nature let us know and we can make your dream a reality.
In a recent study done by Euromoney Costa Rica was again listed in the top 10 countries in Latin America for investing. The good news is that Costa Rica moved up 5 places to be only behind Chile and Panama. They credit the moving up 5 places to “improved political stability” and “limited economic risk” both of which are nothing new to Costa Rica.
There was also a study by FDI intelligence that looked at 405 Latin American cities and found San Jose as the 5th best city of the future in all of Latin America. It was ranked as the top city for the future in Central America.
This is great news for Costa Rica on investing and can already be seen in companies making decisions such as IBM’s recent investment of $300 million.
In an interview done with CEO of Properties in Costa Rica Arturo Guzman by the Real Estate Magazine a number of interested topics were discussed in regards to Costa Rican real estate. Arturo shares his thoughts on some of the current questions of the Costa Rica real estate market.
The article starts out by asking Arturo who is buying properties in Costa Rica? The answer was that local Costa Rican’s and foreigners are buying properties. The locals are encouraged to buy with the opening credit while many foreigners are buying with direct financing available through the buyer. There is also a number of foreigners and Costa Rican’s that have the capital available to buy.
In talking about the recent years of the market in Costa Rica Arturo makes the comment that “Remember that the prices in Costa Rica wre unrealistic in the past years because of the housing boom in the United States” He also states that “in this country people get carried away because a “real estate” expert told them their property is worth so much or that a nearby property sold for a certain price”. The answer goes on to point out the importance of working with reputable appraisal experts and Real Estate companies that have an understanding of the market in Costa Rica.
Where to buy in Costa Rica?
Probably everyone’s favorite question of the article is: What are the Areas of Appeal?
Anyone reading a real estate magazine is going to want to know what one of Costa Rica’s most recognized real estate experts has to say about where to buy. Well the answer was related to new roads and some beautifull beaches along the Pacific coast. The new highway is La Caldera highway that runs from San Jose to the Pacific Coast and also the 40 km stretch of the Coastenera highway that connects the port town of Quepos to Dominical and opens up to picturesque beaches from Dominical South.
Future of Costa Rica Real Estate
By now you are asking yourself what the future holds for Costa Rica real estate? When dealing with the future you sort of have to see where the present is. Arturo had an excellent answer when responding to the future of the market. He mentioned that Costa Rica was one of the happiest countries on the planet, people are very educated, and it is of the top eco-tourism destinations on Earth. As far as we can tell the future looks very promising.
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As of 2010 Costa Rica was home for 210 different foreign companies creating 58,000 jobs. This number will grow in the coming years as IBM has decided to invest $300 million and add 1,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
This type of investment in Costa Rica is a home run for the Laura Chinchilla administration and great news for the ever growing techy industry in Costa Rica. Laura has set a goal to have $9 billion in foreign direct investment by 2014 and news like this from IBM i
s a huge leap towards that goal. This is one of the largest investments in Costa Rica in the past decade.
The IBM managers said they picked Costa Rica because they were aware of the talent they could find here. It is said the Laura Chinchilla in her visit to New York last year which was an attempt to rally businesses to invest in her country was where she made the contact with IBM. She then followed up her contact in the month of May and here they are today agreeing to the sweet tune of $300 million dollar investment starting in 2012.
This is excellent news and who knows what other contacts Laura might have made in New York. We can just sit back and wait to see what other major companies follow in the lead of Intel, Hewlett Packard, and now IBM as they put Costa Rica in the global spotlight for the tech industry.
The Howler monkeys must have digital alarm clocks because every morning at 5:30 a.m. on the dot, I awake to a chorus of male “Congos” as we call them. Their voices travel for miles through the rain forest and serve as a wake up call to the jungle. Shortly after they sound the alarm that a new day has dawned, the other species begin to stir. Green parrots take flight and announce that their squadron has taken to the air with ear piercing screeches that cannot be ignored. The soft cooing of a Dove in a nearby Coco Bola tree softens the blow of the raucous early risers. As the sun begins to rise above the jungle canopy that surrounds my house, soft rays of sunlight pierce through and illuminate the morning mist like beams from a light house. As I stand on the second level porch overlooking the garden, my favorite sentinel for the new day arrives with brilliant blue flashes and not a sound. The magnificent Blue Morpho butterflies take flight and enjoy the open spaces and sweet nectars of the garden. Reflecting on all of the natural beauty that surrounds me every morning, I am grateful and privileged to be awakened by the sounds of nature and knowing that I am alive to experience another Blue Morpho morning.
Being on the list of Forbe Magazines most beautiful National Park’s in the world isn’t a bad way to start the week for 
In an interview done with CEO of Properties in Costa Rica Arturo Guzman by the Real Estate Magazine a number of interested topics were discussed in regards to Costa Rican real estate. Arturo shares his thoughts on some of the current questions of the Costa Rica real estate market.