Posted by admin on Nov 12, 2008
National Park Barra Honda in the Northern Pacific of Costa Rica, some 25 to 30 minutes before reaching the town of Nicoya and just some 10 minutes from the Palo Verde national park was established in 1971 to protect an interesting system of caves. Although the park has been shortened in the past, is now home to diverse and abundant species, which enjoy state protection, which has made that many animals before in danger, now are recovering. Barra Honda has an area of 2295 hectares and is located 335 kilometers from San Jose.
There is a good system of roads and trails through the park, allowing access to the caverns, with their unusual formations of stalactites and stalagmites. The park is located on the east side of the city of Nicoya, on the north side of the peninsula with the same name.
Barra Honda national park in Costa Rica contains a vast system of caves, about 42, of whom only 19 have been widely explored. These caves have a reputation for being perfectly preserved, proving that conservation efforts to retain all of the geo-characteristics of the area have been successful.
In this area there is a great bio-diversity; however the main inhabitants are monkeys, coyotes, snakes and other reptiles, which have evolved adaptations to the hot and humid climate of this area in particular. With the help of Costa Rica english speaking staff on duty in the park you can take to and from the caverns, or guide you on how to enjoy the wonders of this park.
Posted by admin on Nov 11, 2008
After Nancite Beach in Santa Rosa National Park, the second most important nesting site for turtles in Costa Rica is the National Wild Life Refuge Ostional that is located in the Nicoya Peninsula in the Province of Guanacaste. The Wildlife Refuge Ostonial as is known is a 200 meter strip of beach bordered in the north by Punta India and the south by Punta Guiones anda Nosara. This refuge also extends three miles into the sea and includes the tiny village of Ostonial. This refuge not only protects millions of turtles that nest each year but also cares for and protects marine life and wild birds in the area.
Surrounded by Ostonial Beach, Playa Guiones and Playa Nosara, the Wild Refuge Ostonial protects the Olive Ridley sea turtles as well as the Leatherback sea turtles and the Green sea turtle of the Pacific that comes to the beach in large numbers every year to mating and put their eggs during the months of July and December. This phenomenon known as “ambadas” occurs 4 to 10 times during this period and lasts from 3 to 10 days each.
It is thought that a large percentage of the Turtles of the Pacific Olive Ridley of the world lay their eggs in the Ostonial Wildlife Refuge. To date the largest “ambada” recorded in the shelter occurred in November 1995, when an estimated of 500,000 female turtles came to the beach to nest.
The refuge was officially established in 1984 and is the only place in the world where it is allowed the harvesting of turtle eggs, legally. `This was done to prevent the theft of eggs and at the same time to help the community of Ostonial. With this project, in the park is allowed to collect a percentage of eggs of each “ambada” for selling.
Posted by admin on Oct 29, 2008
Samara Beach as its name suggests is located near the picturesque little town of Samara which is located 35 kilometers south of Nicoya and 245 kilometers west of the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. Located on the Pacific South Coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, Samara is known for its beautiful tropical beach, which is famous for being one of the safest and most attractive of Costa Rica. Here you can find one of the best and most famous places to surf and water sports from around the country. Also the tourist can enjoy other activities as horseback riding, deep sea fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, visits to waterfalls and canoe tours.
It can be reached by a four-hour trip by car from San Jose, but also you can go much faster if you travel by plane from Liberia International Airport and then drive 2 hours to Samara via Nicoya. It should be noticed that this small village has its own landing strip for small planes mainly for tourist trips. Samara is a quiet town that lies at the foot of a steep hill. The main road takes us right to the town and ends on a splendid Samara beach and the town of the same name. This beach is ideal if you want to rest enjoy a quiet holiday or if you want fun vacations with your family. If you turn to left before the road along the beach you will find many hotels and restaurants of very good economical prices. Moreover, this road takes you near the beautiful and charming Playa Carrillo.
Playa Samara and Carrillo in Costa Rica 's North Pacific province
Samara and the surrounding area offer for the tourists the perfect place to relax and have an excellent time to enjoy. Here are a variety of rare plants and animals that are in the 5 kilometers of the strip of Samara Beach. Also the visitors can see some spectacular coral reefs. In a short boat trip is the beautiful and remote Isla Chira. In the town you can find everything from a supermarket to a large number of gift shops, bars and nightclubs. It is the ideal place to stop to go to the nearby national parks and reserves, is also perfect for a holiday or a quiet night away from home. It has sites of all types of accommodation like campsites, cabins and hotels for all budgets.
This prosperous farming village of fishermen is different of any other in Costa Rica, since many of the more prominent people have houses here like the president Oscar Arias Sanchez. Like other areas of Guanacaste has a real estate boom especially near the beach.
