Costa Rica didn't originate the Mojito but they may as well have...VIDEO below.
'ALL' cooking and 'NO' drinking would make the Costa Rica Cooking Class in La Fortuna still a fun thing...but a little less so. I mean, really, what is Garlic Fried Yucca without a tasty beverage to accompany it? Scott, owner of Lava Lounge, a hugely popular bar/grill in La Fortuna, also has a Tropical Cooking Class here and shows us how to make a Mojito, Costa Rica style below.
Care to take a guess on what makes this Mojito strictly a Costa Rica thing...hehehee?
READY? SET? Get out your blenders.....and ENjoY!
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Truth is, in Costa Rica, Gallo Pinto can be eaten morning, noon and night... and often is. It's a staple here and with good reason, if made correctly it's a tasty, TASTY treat- YUMMY! if you ask me.
Our friend Scott, who's lived in La Fortuna the last 5 years and owns a really popular bar and grill here, Lava Lounge, decided to start a Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class and if you keep up with this blog, you may have seen the video (if not, no matter). But anyway, he's asked us to videotape some of his recipes and since we like Scott and LOVE food we said yes.
Here they are, the ingredients for Gallo Pinto.
So of course, Gallo Pinto being a Costa Rican favorite, it was one of our first videos. Check it out and see what 'secret' ingredient makes Gallo Pinto, Gallo Pinto. ENjoY!
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Costa Rica is Pura Vida and Pura Vida is Costa Rica.
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake...
I was probably murdered and drowned in Arenal Lake."
I can't even count how many death threats I've received for this video:
Nice t-shirt dumbass.
And truthfully, I understand. Saying ANYTHING negative, in public, about Costa Rica borders on sacrilege. I may as well wear a t-shirt that says, 'Mohammed SUCKS!' in Afghanistan. Same difference.
Most detractors are offended by the title, which again, I understand, as it is a tad offensive. I chose the title purely for 'key words' and obviously I chose correctly based on the number of hits it gets, but I was hoping when the video was watched the title would be seen for what it IS- total hyperbole. Obviously, I guessed wrong on that one.
I guessed wrong because many Ticos don't really understand what I'm saying in the video, being that in many cases, their English is about as good as my Spanish. So, they see the title and just assume I'm talking shit....
In case I wasn't CLEAR, I love Costa Rica and I love the phrase, 'Pura Vida'... BUT, I stand by what I said in the video, the phrase is often misused and in my mind has been somewhat bastardized in recent years....but the 'true' meaning of 'Pura Vida' is a beautiful thing. Oh, but I do apologize for not saying it correctly, learning Spanish has been my Achilles heel since I got here 7 years ago. (Making a video about that as we speak).
I also apologize for the t-shirt I'm wearing in that video... even the guys from 'Queer Eye....' were thinking, WTF? sorry.
If you're ONE of the MANY people who want to see I never make another video about Costa Rica again, I have 2 favors to ask.... before you 'off' me, watch our other 200+ videos FIRST to get some perspective and second, leave D'Angelo alone, he didn't approve of the title either.
Other than that, "Pura 'fuckin' Vida"
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Puerto Viejo Costa Rica is one of our favorite places to CHILL. *Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica close to the Panamanian border.
We love Puerto Viejo for a few reasons, but one is the FOOD.. and especially the food at a place called, 'STASHUS con FUSION', formally known as 'Loco Natural'. 'Stash' the owner and chef let us know about the name change so we're passing it on to you. When we were there a little over a year ago it was 'Loco Natural' but don't worry, nothing has changed but the name- Stash assures us it's still GREAT food and in our opinion, probably some of the BEST you'll find in ALL Costa Rica let alone Puerto Viejo.
And of course a year back we did a video, so CHECK it out and if you're ever in the Puerto Viejo area, you'll definitely want to stop in at 'Stashus con Fusion' and PLEASE, tell Stash we said, "Hey". pura vida.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
We sell adventure tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica on the CHEAP and we do this so YOU, the traveler, can have a GREAT time in La Fortuna without paying an arm and leg to do so... but because of what happened yesterday we might have to reassess if it's worth it for us to sell tours in La Fortuna. Here's what happened.
'DICK dude' wanted to do 3 tours over a 2-day period. Money was sent via PayPal, vouchers were sent, the tour company was expecting 'DICK dude' and his party on such and such dates...etc. About 8 emails were exchanged and 'DICK dude' seemed excited and was pretty personable to us in his emails. So we were concerned when the tour company notified us that he didn't show up for his rafting tour. We tried to track him down but he had given us the wrong hotel. He told us he was staying at Arenal Lodge but in reality was staying at Arenal Observatory Lodge. Understandable mistake and didn't really change anything. D'Angelo finally tracked him down and also went out of his way to help him out after he missed his first tour. Here's part of 'dude's' last email to us:
"We are supper bummed about missing the raft trip, I didn't call you because of the no refund statements on you site. If we can get some type of credit or alternate activity that would be cool - minus any cancellation fee or whatever. This place is beautiful so we will be coming back. Looking forward to the other two activities. Thanks for checking up on us...and let me know if anything can be worked out."
Here's part of D'Angelo's email back to 'DICK dude'.
Hello 'DICK dude'... glad to hear everything is okay. I will call the tour company and see if there is anything they can do about the missed rafting tour. If you go 5 or 10 minutes early to your ATV tour you can ask them as well and see what they say.
*It should be noted the reason we do not refund money is because we pay a LARGE chunck of it to the tour company usually a week or two in advance of the tour(s).
Well guess what, he missed his next 2 tours as well but we didn't know since the above was the last email we received from him.
BUT, he obviously returned to the United States and disputed the ENTIRE charge of the tours to his credit card ($492.), telling the Credit Card people he never received the 'services' he had purchased. So our PayPal account goes negative while we work this shit out. I can tell you, neither us nor the tour company dropped the ball on this one. I couldn't begin to speculate why he missed his tours, hell, maybe he was hungover or his wife had a bad case of diarrhea, who knows, but I know until this thing gets worked out, we're kinda F**Ked. Since we've been working on our videos, websites and blogs, we've been living on a shoestring and a short one at that... Whatever. Just kinda sucks that we tried to help out 'DICK dude' and he doesn't even have the courtesy to contact us and tell us what happened or at least what he perceived to have happened. I can tell you, usually if a tour company screws up, clients are on the phone within minutes... also funny 'DICK dude' wants his entire refund since he pretty much admits to missing the first one on his own accord, if it was ours or the tour company's fault, he would have been more than 'bummed' trust me.
We'll try to hang on while this gets worked out because we're pretty sure we'll win the dispute. We figured this was going to happen from time to time after all it's pretty much the nature of the beast. But for us it's just bad timing since we're just getting started and don't have any 'buffer' money in our PayPal account yet.
I guess this would be a perfect time to say, "PURA VIDA".
btw- 'DICK dude' isn't his real name.... but it should be.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
La Fortuna Costa Rica has one of the BEST small town parks in in the country BUT...
...this is what they did 4 days ago:
For some reason the 'powers that be' in La Fortuna seem determined to deconstruct the park tree by tree. It started some months ago. Of course we did a video:
It's almost as if they'd rather it was a parking lot. To many, it may seem like, "Dude, what's your problem?, the park still looks GOOD." But damnit their were a lot of animals that lived in that little gazebo- hummingbirds, lizards, toads etc. and it's not as if they're replacing it, they just tore it DOwn. BITCHES! So yeah, I'm venting a little, sorry. Until next time.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Arenal Volcano aside, there's TONS of things to do in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Here's just a few of the adventures and tours you can experience in the La Fortuna/Arenal area. There's many more and we'll be posting videos of those as we do them, but these are a few of the more POPULAR tours in the La Fortuna/Arenal area. And if you want to take it easy one day and do something a little different, check out the 4th video down which is a Costa Rica Cooking Class- informative and YUMMY!
And if by chance you'd like to do these of other adventure tours in the La Fortuna area, check out the last video, it will tell you how to book them.
Canyoneering/Rappelling-
Canopy Tour aka Zip line-
The Arenal Hanging Bridges-
Cultural Costa Rica Cooking Class-
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Crossing the border from Los Chiles Costa Rica to San Carlos Nicaragua.
NOT to be confused with the more popular and EXTREMELY busy border crossing between the 2 countries at Penas Blancas, although we do have video of that border crossing as well. *BOTH Border Crossing videos are posted BELOW.
The majority of people who use the Los Chiles Costa Rica to San Carlos Nicaragua border crossing are usually folks who are affectionately or infamously, depending on your view, called 'perpetual tourists'. Briefly, 'perpetual tourists' are people who live in Costa Rica but do NOT have residency, so they have to leave EVERY 90 days (like a tourist would) to get their passport (visa) stamped in order to remain legal. It may not be the BEST way to live in Costa Rica but it is legal. And NO, you don't have to remain out of the country for 72 hours as evidenced by this video.
D'Angelo and I chillen' in Los Chiles Costa Rica waiting for the boat to leave.
Normally, we travel by bus since riding the buses in Costa Rica are a cheap and usually efficient form of transportation. We paid $4.00/pp from Muelle, which is about 25 minutes from our hometown, La Fortuna. Most buses to Los Chiles depart from Ciudad Quesada aka San Carlos. Often we rent a 'private' van if we have quite a few people who need to go (get their passport stamped). It's cost effective if you have enough people going.
The problem with this particular border crossing (at least with perpetual tourist types) at this particular time, is the boat only leaves TWICE a day, once at 12:30 and the other at 3:30 and the only return boat to Costa RIca is at 4:00. This gives you NO time in San Carlos to shop or even have a beer, let alone lunch, unless of course you want to stay a night or two in San Carlos. It used to leave earlier but what it really comes down to is 'supply and demand'... the more people crossing and the more times they will cross. Usually the folks working on the Nicaraguan side don't hassle you about 'coming and going' quickly,,but they could, which is ALWAYS the problem with these crossings...9 times out of 10, it's all good but get the wrong guy and they can give you shit, pretty much forcing you to at least stay 1 night, although this has NEVER happened to us. THIS IS WHY YOU ALWAYS TREAT THE FOLKS AT THE BORDER WITH EXTREME COURTESY... and personally, I would give them a little something/something in the form of a 'present' or hell, bake some cookies..whatever, but if you live in Costa Rica and you ARE a perpetual tourist,,you don't need the problems, so do what you gotta do.
A couple years back, the boat left earlier and you could spend more time in San Carlos, which was a good thing, there's CHEAP shopping there, so technically, San Carlos shoots itself in the foot by letting you do a quick 'turn and burn' as we call it, but then of course, it could be Costa Rica fuckin with them since that's where the boat leaves from originally..... who knows.
San Carlos Nicaragua offers some good bargains.
Another option is to procur a 'private' boat in Los Chiles. A few years ago it was relatively cheap, NOW they gringo price you BIG time and a boat can cost you $200. or more if you don't know what you're doing. It's only cost effective to do this if you have a LARGE group.
No matter who you are, perpetual tourist or NOT, if you do happen to return to Costa Rica, you need to KNOW and REMEMBER one thing that is extremely important. When you return to Costa Rica to get stamped in, you probably and most likely, especially now, be asked to PROVE your leaving Costa Rica within 90 days... you either need to show a airline ticket or bus ticket with the appropriate dates proving that fact....if you can't, they won't stamp you back into Costa Rica, or they won't until you can produce said document,,which is a pain in the ass to do.. doable, but a pain in the ass. It also forces you to spend the night in Los Chiles because it's not possible to do it over the internet fast enough before IMMIGRATION closes for the night. This border crossing is not 24/7.
You may not get this if you can't prove your leaving Costa Rica within 90 days.
This VIDEO will give you a good idea on what to expect when crossing the border between Los Chiles Costa Rica and San Carlos Nicaragua. Below it, is the border crossing between Costa Rica and Nicaragua at Penas Blancas a much BUSIER border crossing to say the least.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
La Fortuna Costa Rica, NOW offers a Cultural Cooking Class.
With all the ADVENTURE tours to experience in La Fortuna, a cultural cooking class is a perfect addition, especially since there's nothing like it in the area. *Don't want to read... SKIP down to the VIDEO we made.
Our friend Scott, (pictured above, middle),who also happens to own one of the more popular restaurant/bars in La Fortuna, Lava Lounge, has decided to offer a cooking class that combines all the elements- history and background on Costa Rican cuisine, step-by-step preparation and instruction, hands-on, local chefs, english-speaking presenters, relaxed atmosphere, and let me tell you, B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L surroundings. 'Rustica', as Scott calles it, is just a few minutes walk from the La Fortuna waterfall, so it sits atop a hill overlooking parts of La Fortuna and is surrounded by lushness which attracts a wide variety of wildlife and of course, has a GREAT view of the Arenal Volcano. Scott's, Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class has it all. He even starts things off with a beverage or two, alcohol or virgin, your choice. Whoo Hoo! That's what I call starting things off RIGHT.
michael alan and D'Angelo chefin' up some Costa Rican cuisine.
I love, Love, LOVE, ceviche. Looks good right?
Well, we just had to do a video and I think it came out good. I believe you'll get a good sense of what Scott is doing. So CHECK it OUT and if you happen to be in the La Fortuna area and are interested in learning about local Costa Rica cuisine while preparing it, or hell, maybe it's just raining and you don't feel like whitewater rafting in the rain, Scott's, Costa Rican Tropical Cooking Class, just might be for YOU.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
I'm very seldom at a loss for words so I guess this is 'the seldom'. I'm heartsick. Our good friend, Carol Patterson, who also lived in La Fortuna along with her husband, Bill, died VERY unexpectedly the other day. Actually, D'Angelo was talking to her on the phone when we were crossing the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border about picking her up a few things 'on the cheap' in Nicaragua. She died of what we think was a massive heart attack about 6 hours later. She was 53.
I understand death is a part of life and I also understand death can strike at anytime but it's always seemed a bit surreal to me when one second someone is there and the next, not. Not 'shock', just crazy, strange to me. Either myself or D'Angelo talked to Carol about everyday because like us, she enjoyed blogging and promoting her husband's paintings on the internet, so she was always emailing us with ideas and updates and what not... the usual back-n-forth. There's a very recent email from her in our inbox and I swear in my brain I believe if I answer it, she'll write back.
My heart goes out to her husband Bill, who is also a friend, and as a matter of fact, we've made 2 videos with him. Bill and Carol were close and so excited about living out the rest of their lives in Costa Rica, enjoying each others company and doing things they hadn't gotten a chance to do when living in States. They have the cutest little house close to the La Fortuna waterfall with a unbelievable view of the Arenal Volcano. I hope Bill can somehow find the resilence to keep going.
I know why I'm posting this song but I can't tell you. sorry.
I realize death touches us all and I'm not even quite sure why I'm writing this post. I do know, for me, death has a way of putting life in perspective. Anyway, send positive thoughts to our friend, Bill, I'm thinking he's going to need them in the months to come. Here's one of the videos I did with Bill.
Carol, we love you and will miss you. Keep an eye on Bill, he's going to need your presence. I hope where ever 'there' is- it has blogger.
Rappelling in La Fortuna Costa Rica but technically it's called canyoneering.
There's many adventure tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica and canyoneering is one the BEST. Why you ask? Because it combines rappelling, hiking, trekking and quazi ziplining all in ONE adventure. But the BEST part, it's all done in the middle of the rain forest. It doesn't get any better than that.
Contrary to popular belief, D'Angelo does spend time away from the computer every now and then.
I say we let the video do the talking. So this is us, doing one of our favorite tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica, canyoneering. ENjoY!
Arenal Hanging Bridges VIDEO from Travel Costa Rica Now.
Hey Everyone! As promised a few days ago, here's our video of the Arenal Hanging Bridges just outside of La Fortuna Costa Rica. I think it's fairly easy to see why we recommend the Hanging Bridges tour even if you don't see any animals. The LUSH vegatation combined with the beauty of the surrounding area including Volcan Arenal and Lake Arenal, are simply stunning @_@. But for us, it was like sugar on ceral because we did see a LOT of wildlife (Thank-you Erick Guzman)- like this RARE bird, the Juvenile Ornate Hawk Eagle:
For a second, I think he thought I was a mouse.
Anyway guys, ENjoY the video and if you're ever in the La Fortuna Costa Rica area, the Hanging Bridges just might be for you.
Want to go on Hanging Bridges tour or see some others:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Travel Costa Rica NOW does a promo video for Vamos 4x4 Car Rental Agency.
Vamos 4x4 is a Car Rental Agency based in San Jose Costa Rica. If Alamo, Hertz, Thrifty, Budget and other BIGger, nationally known agencies are McDonalds, Vamos is the hamburger joint on the corner, providing quality beef with an emphasis on service. Our relationship with Vamos started when a few years back we begun to receive frequent emails asking us if Vamos 4x4 was legit, something to do with their prices being so low. So we decided to check them out for ourselves and that's when we met the owner, George, who like us, is dedicated to providing a quality service for a fair price. We liked him immediately, so yeah, we do promote them to our audience.
Since, George decided he would like to have some videos about Costa Rica on his site, for no other reason than to provide INFO for his clients, so he decided to sponsor us as we travel around different locations in Costa Rica and make videos...
This is the FIRST in a series of videos we will be doing for Vamos:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
We sell tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica SO CHEAP, you can do them TWICE!
Hey Everyone! Just wanted to share a nice email we received this morning. It speaks for itself. *I took out the 'other' website he was referring to, since we have to live here.
Dear michael alan and D'Angelo
Prior to you guys doing excursions, we were going to book with a site 'site name was here' to give you an idea of what we would have spent with them, you will see I have no complaints about your prices:
With you guys, we are paying $275/person which includes all fees. That's a savings of at least a $100/ person!!!! Can anyone say Pura Vida ;) Not sure if you're allowed to tell people about my comparison, but I did a lot of my homework. Prior to you guys, that 'site name was here' site was cheaper than others I saw. I am almost afraid to tell you how much you guys saved me, you might realize how much of steal this is for us, lol.
Pretty nice letter I think since we just started selling these tours. Here's the VIDEO that started the ball rolling in case you missed it.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
I gotta admit, I wasn't super excited to go to the Arenal Hanging Bridges... I mean, I knew they were beautiful and all ,,,its just that we've done the hanging bridges before (in Monteverde) but I knew we had to go because we needed to make a video...
BOY! Am I glad we went.
Tourists ENJOYING the Arenal Hanging Bridges.
The Arenal Hanging Bridges are located about 20 minutes outside of La Fortuna close to Lake Arenal with a beautiful view of the Arenal Volcano as well. It really is a beautiful location and foto ops are about every 10 feet. Seriously!
We had a guide and again, am I glad we did.
*Our guide's name was Erick Guzman. Speaks better than average English, very knowledgable and has some nice write-ups on TripAdvisor. Here's his website if you're interested:
The BIGGEST complaint we hear about the Hanging Bridges is that you don't see any animals. Now, personally, even if you didn't see one creature on your hike, it's still a beautiful hike and SO worth it...the rain forest and the surrounding area is stunning to say the least. BUT, since we had a guide, we saw stuff we NEVER would have seen- snakes, like the eyelash pit viper, birds like the Motmot, the Juvenile Ornate Hawk Eagle, yup, this is him on the left, seeing this eagle was a TOTAL SCORE, so needless to say, a guide was totally worth it.
This is just one of those days we're glad we forced ourselves to go... know what I mean?
Wasn't really a bird enthusiast before, but since moving to Costa Rica I have a whole new appreciation. This is a Motmot.
We'll be posting a new video here on my blog and on our other sites in the next couple days with more INFO and great footage of the Arenal Hanging Bridges, so don't miss it. If you happen to be in the La Fortuna/Arenal area and you want to do THIS tour or any other tours in the La Fortuna/Arenal area,,we SELL them ALL for a BIG SAVINGS to you. Here's the LINK.
Again, if you're interested here's the VIDEO about CHEAP tours we offer in the area:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
and I just want to THANK EVERYONE who messaged me with some really good advice and answers.
Come to find out this little guy is called an 'Orange-Chinned Parakeet' and he's probably about 6 weeks old... obviously I don't know a parrot from a parakeet. We're also pretty sure he did not fly into our apartment from the big tree outside, we think he might of come in sideways from someone elses house since he can't fly for shit and he's VERY freindly to humans.
We think we're going to keep him. After doing some research on the internet, sounds like this little guy is quite intelligent (although he might want to slow down on the beer), so he might be fun to have around. It also helps that he won't get much bigger since our apartment is quite small, we think he'll fit right in.
Anyway, thanx again for all the tips, suggestions and knowledge, very much appreciated.
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
We live right next to the park in the center of La Fortuna Costa Rica and this little guy just flew through our window...
...just a day in the life of.
Obviously we see a LOT of birds here in Costa Rica but living in the center of town, it's usually the regular cast of characters and although parrots frequently fly by, they don't usually stop and rest on the trees in the park.... so the fact this little guy flew through our windown is odd. A hummingbird, yes... a bananaquit, yes...a baby parrot, no.
Problem is, we have some questions since we don't know anything about parrots and we're thinking YOU just might. If we take the baby bird outside and put it in a tree will it be okay....we're betting, NOT... but we're wondering? He doesn't seem to be able to fly 'up' for any length of time and his neck feathers have not grown in and the bigger question, what in the hell does he (she) eat? Answers, anyone, besides 'Google'?
This video may help in figuring things out:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
La Fortuna has some of the BEST zip lines in the Costa Rica, like this one I'm doing now.
REALLY? You're not going to do a zip line, aka Canopy Tour while you're in Costa Rica? You realize that's sacreligious.... right?
HEY EVERYONE! Living in La Fortuna, we get the opportunity to do a LOT of adventure tours, and I gotta say...it's hard to get tired of zip lining over the rainforest. If it's NOT on your 'bucket list', maybe it should be.... it really is ALL THAT!
When we went on this tour there was this older lady with us....I would say 75 at least. She was with another woman, also older. One did the zipline and the other did not. Needless to say, one of them realized, LIFE IS SHORT.... the other will probably regret she didn't do it. Whatever.
I would encourage you to conquer your fears, you'll be HAPPY you did. This zip line is SO FUN... trust me. CHECK OUT the VIDEO...I think you'll AGREE.
If you are interested in doing this zip line while you're in the La Fortuna/Arenal Area... you can watch this next video and see how you can do it on the CHEAP!
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
FINALLY! Travel Costa Rica NOW offering ADVENTURE Tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Here's a few adventure tours Travel Costa Rica Now will be offering: various rafting excursions, hiking in places like- Rio Celeste, Cerro Chato, the Arenal Volcano, bird watching, along with biking, canyoneering/rappeling, ATV's, horseback riding, fishing, kayaking, hanging bridges... OMG! the list just goes on and on.
Me, zip lining over the rain forest at 9,000mph and of course we do sell this one since it's one of our favorites.
D'Angelo hanging by a thread at 200ft.
And like we've been saying, at a great discount to YOU. We're passing most of our commission on to YOU... but we do need to make a couple bucks for our time. We can literally save a family of 5 who choose to do canyoneering, zip lines and rafting, hundreds of dollars. Obviously, we can still save you money on some of the less expensive tours but the BIG SAVINGS comes from the more popular adventure tours. Anyway......
Here's the VIDEO explaining it:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
We totally stand by Gecko Trail Adventures and Easy Ride Shuttle Service's decision to NOT refund Bitch's money.
This girl, Amanda, is attempting to SMEAR my friends, Gecko Trail Adventures, Hotel Banana Azul and Easy Ride Shuttle Service on the internet.
Here's what happened:
We received this email yesterday from some girl named, Amanda. For this post she will now be referred to as, 'The Whining, Complaining, Gringa Bitch' or just 'Bitch' for short. Here's Bitch's email:
"If you are considering using the services of Gecko Trail Adventures, here is my experience, so traveler beware.
They insist that you pay in advance by credit card and they issue a voucher. For example travel is $40 per person from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. My flight was delayed and I called to move the shared shuttle to the next day and they refused to honor the voucher. They claim when you call them that its because they have independent contractors providing the shuttle service, but I think that's a poor excuse.
This company works with Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo. I strongly recommend avoiding them. Of course the best way to not get ripped off is to not pay companies in advance, but to pay cash for services rendered. This was a special circumstance, my brother's honeymoon, so I wanted to make it hassle free for him and pay everything in advance. I have learned my lesson with Gecko. I hope you will choose not to use them and go with a more reputable provider."
I won't bother you with the details but the bottom line is, 'Bitch' didn't read the cancellation policy of Easy Ride Shuttle Service and tried to switch shit up last minute and fact is, Gecko Trails did try to accommodate but it was just too last minute. Therefore, no refund. Could you imagine trying to run a shuttle service where people were attempting to change the schedule last minute... and then demand a refund when things don't go their way? And then have the audacity to threaten a 'battle' on the internet by emailing everyone associated with said event (like us) and attempting a 'character assassination' on sites such as TripAdvisor?
If you're going to STAND-UP for something, it helps if you have TRUTH on your side... think of me as Tank 1, Gecko Trail Adventures as Tank 2, Easy Ride as 3 and Banana Azul 4..."BITCH, you need to BACK OFF."
First and foremost, we LOVE constructive feedback and it is VERY much appreciated but what we don't like is when people don't take responsibility for their irresponsibility and attempt to BLAME others for it... and then 'threaten' when they don't get their way.. Since we work exclusively with Gecko Trail Adventures because we LOVE them, we happen to know they go OUT of their way to make things right, sometimes breaking their own rules and policies in order to do so. *We've got countless emails praising Gecko Trails and thanking us for recommending them, this is the FIRST negative one in over 14 months. So, when Bitch attacks them and thinks we will automatically back her without finding out the facts (which we did), we take it personally. Bitch may as well of called MY mom a bitch.
Oh, I almost forgot, she also mentions one of our favorite hotels in ALL of Costa Rica, Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo,like they should be avoided because they're associated with Gecko... BITCH PLEASE
Please, go on TripAdvisor or other websites that post reviews: Nine and a half times out of ten, both Gecko Trails and Hotel Banana Azul receive glowing reviews, hopefully making Bitch's gripe, irrelevant. But yes, I'm sure both have screwed-up in the past and when you work with people EVERYDAY, that's inevitable but in the overall BIG Picture- both are top-shelf companies and go out of their way to please and make things right.
*Yeah, follow Bitch's advice and tell the Shuttle Service you promise to pay them when you see them, then let me know how that works for you. Credit Cards/PayPal are pretty much used universally to 'book' things and furthermore, Cancellation Policies are also pretty much the same in the travel biz.
I'll probably be accused of being too mean to 'Bitch', but trust me, I've seen all the emails and I just don't like her threatening manner and besides, if my mom happened to be a bitch, I would admit to it.
But I'll bet anything Bitch is a bitch at a restaurant.
Here's our VIDEOS of Gecko Trail Adventures and Hotel Banana Azul in case you never saw them:
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
"HEY! michael alan from Travel Costa Rica NOW, we rented a Vamos 4X4 like you guys recommended and LOVE IT...two thumbs UP!"
Living in a tourist town like La Fortuna, Costa Rica, we often get the opportunity to talk with folks who have seen our videos or cruised around our blogs and website. Usually, it's because they recognize us on the street and are kind enough to come up and say, "Thanx guys, we appreciate all the INFO, keep up the good work." It happened to me yesterday while riding my bike. These guys were so NICE- said they had seen most of our videos and were doing many of the things on their travels that we had recommended. As a matter of fact, they had just had pizza at 'Just Good Food' who we had just done a video for (you can see itHEREif you want) and they loved it.... *At first I was a little nervous to ask if they enjoyed the food, because although I love 'Just Good Food' every now and then they under cook the pizza.... WHEW!
Which leads me to my point.
We take what we DO very seriously and are very cautious on who we 'get in bed with'. We don't want to be like 'most' websites pertaining to Costa Rica travel, which seem intent on 'pushing paradise' at any cost in order to make a few bucks off unsuspecting tourists.
Travel Costa Rica NOW won't go to bed with just ANYONE either.
If the people or businesses we get in bed with aren't all they say they are, then we're NOT interested and if we were to get hookwinked for a minute or two, we'd tell you and then KICK the BUSINESS to the CURB. So, just like yesterday, we're fairly certain 9 out of 10 people will LOVE Vamos 4X4 if they rent a car from them and the same goes for Gecko Trail Adventures, who is the travel agency we recommend (video below). When we were researching if we wanted to recommend Vamos 4X4 or not, we were talking with the owner, George S. and he told me he wasn't in it for the money, rather he loved what he was doing and if he couldn't do it with integrity and honesty than he wouldn't do it.. and unlike many Costa Rican businesses here, he does believe the 'Customer is King', and take my word, although that's mostly true in the United States, it isn't here- so it's appreciated. And after further investigation, he wasn't kidding. And the exact same principles are held by the folks at Gecko Trail Adventures. I can't tell you how nice and refreshing it is to run into like minded people or businesses here in Costa Rica.
And the same goes for the Adventure Tours D'Angelo and I will be selling in La Fortuna, when we say we will SAVE you a TON of money, we hope you know it's TRUE (actually, do your homework and compare, we're sure you'll be BACK!)
I'll HANG here until you decide to come back.
Anyway, THANX to all the people who take the time to give us a SHOUT OUT! And also want to say, "THANX" to the folks at Vamos 4X4 and Gecko Trail Adventures for believing in us as much as we believe in THEM. pura vida.
In case you haven't seen them, our videos for Vamos 4X4 Car Rental Agency and the Travel Agency we work with and recommend, Gecko Trail Adventures. ENjoY!
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
