Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge is located about 2 miles from the center of La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Arenal Oasis is a GREAT option when you love nature and don't care about having a flat screen in your room. It's got 7 'rustic-style 'cabinas' with comfy beds and a nice option for people who want to experience 'true' Costa Rica.
Here's a few shots of Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge:
Cute little cabina at Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge.
We Love rustic but we also LOVE a good bed. lol
Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge- snakes INCLUDED.
There's many species of birds and animals on the property and a mini-refuge as well, complete with hiking trails, butterfly garden, red-eyed tree frog habitat and terrariums along the hiking trail various types of snakes, spiders, frogs and lizards. *They mentioned they might take the terrariums down and release the animals into the refuge itself. YIKES, even the snakes?
Arenal Oasis also offers night hikes every night. This is a tour, so you don't have to stay in the hotel to go on the night hike.
Check out our video on Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge-
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There's a LOT of opportunities to volunteer in Costa Rica- I do know that. From protecting turtle eggs to feeding a baby sloth at a refuge to teaching English to the locals or working on an organic farm, there's a plethora of things to get into if you're interested in volunteering in Costa Rica. And I also know you usually have to pay for the privilege of doing so.
I got the chance to talk to with 2 young women, Stephanie and Louise, who were right in the middle of their 'volunteering' experience. They happened to be teaching English in a couple of the schools around the La Fortuna area. Although we don't mention it in the video, they booked their 'experience' through a company on the internet called: i-to-i Volunteering, which to me, is merely a 'travel agency' for volunteering, but the girls were happy with them and they appear to have a strong, positive presence on the internet. There's a lot of things the girls looked for when researching a company to use, but since they were both wanting to teach English they wanted a company that dealt with TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification. Anyway,,,,
Here's what Stephanie and Lousie had to say about their Costa Rica volunteering experience about 3 weeks in:
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I know I've said this numerous times but one of the BEST things about what D'Angelo and I do is meeting travelers. Obviously, we also love cruising around Costa Rica and videotaping our experiences and passing those experiences on to you, but actually meeting the folks who watch our videos is WAY COOL and a BIG highlight for us.
Amy and Brad contacted us after watching our videos and asked if we could all meet up while they were in La Fortuna. I think they mentioned, 'having dinner and a few beers' and of course we NEVER turn down an opportunity to have a 'few beers', so of course said yes. Then in a subsequent email, Amy mentioned that Brad was somewhat of a computer 'geek' and had quite a bit of extra computer stuff laying about that he wasn't using and asked if we'd be interested. Can you say, 'Hell yeah'.
WAIT! It gets BETTER. Long story short, they also found me a used laptop, which I sorely needed, cleaned it out and fixed it all up for me and brought it down as well. WHOOP! WHOOP!
Below is a video about our apartment we had just posted, you can see just how bad my computer was at 1:28, so, a 'new for me' laptop was probably the best Christmas present I ever received.
Pretty pathetic if you ask me.
Needless to say, we were touched. The fact Amy and Brad went out of their way to bring us much needed computer equipment AND a laptop was just beyond words... In a way it's a bit embarrassing, but at this point in our lives we just aren't in a position to say, 'no thanx'. But I gotta tell you, no words could express our appreciation to Amy and Brad.
Having dinner and drinks at Lava Lounge in La Fortuna with Amy and Brad.
We had a great time and hopefully we'll see them again... but just wanted to take this opportunity to say, 'ThanX' and send a little cyber hug along with good vibes........as they made 2 guys barely scraping buy VERY thankful for their life.
Pura Vida Amy and Brad and tell 'Tink' and 'Argos', Pincho says, 'WOOF!'
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'Joluva Hotel in Granada where underage Nicaraguan boys are enslaved waiting to be sodomized by pedophiles from around the WORLD.
Sorry, but you got the wrong hotel.
Granada Nicaragua's, Hotel Joluva, a gay, straight-friendly guesthouse, has been shut down after police arrested the owners and investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and pornography.
"All five men are being held under preventive prison sentences while they await trial on charges of promoting tourism for the purpose of sexual exploitation, pornography and sexual abuse, according to Granada Police Chief Horacio Sobalvarro."
I call total BULLSHIT.
First off, the owners of Joluva Hotel, Jan and Francis, who are from Belgium, are our friends and although it's true you never REALLY know someone 100%, we know and have experienced Joluva enough to know these allegations are BULLSHIT. And since they're getting a bum rap here on the internet, I feel inclined to respond. Especially after this Nicaragua website uses our Joluva video and mentions our names in attempt to kinda, sorta prove something salacious was going on at Joluva Hotel. *I'll try to refrain from blasting this particular article even though they could have easily contacted us if they REALLY wanted insight and info on Joluva, versus making assumptions, inferences and spreading innuendo. Totally NOT cool when people's lives are at stake. But anyway, fuck them. I'll get back to them later.
Here's our VIDEO on Joluva that supposedly offers proof that illegal activity was taking place. We totally apologize for this video because truth is, it is NOT a good video. At the time, we were still learning about editing. Joluva deserves a better video which we would be happy to do in the future.
BE WARNED- this video contains a butt crack and some guys in their underwear.
Joluva is a gay hotel which obviously caters to the gay traveler BUT it is also straight friendly, which is telling. I'll explain shortly. They're all over the internet, Trip Advisor... and for good reason, they're a legitimate gay destination, not some 'no-name, secret room down the alley with little boys for sale' kinda place. If they were exploiting boys or promoting underage sex etc, it would have been quickly known and shut down years ago. You think they would let 'straight people' in Joluva if they were doing illegal 'gay' activity, I think not. Promoting gay sex? Where are the fliers? Is there a price list? The straight world uses Tits and Ass to promote everything from cars to pencils, so please, a hot guy in his underwear just isn't enough. And a note to Jan & Francis, if you're going to exploit young men, you should do it by the hour, it's much more lucrative than actually having folks book a few nights. Joluva is NOT a bordello, just so we're crystal CLEAR.
The 'boringness' of this pic is pretty much the point.
You can't even ENTER Joluva without a key or someone letting you in so people just don't come and go. Jan and Francis were well aware who entered their hotel and since there's only 4 rooms, it's not as if it isn't manageable. They also have cameras, not sure why they would have cameras installed if their was so much illegal activity going on. But Jan and Francis weren't stupid, they knew they would have clientele from time to time who WERE of the 'sketchy' type, which is precisely the reason they had cameras installed and furthermore, wouldn't let any Nicaraguan 'boy' in Joluva who couldn't prove they were of legal age. I witnessed this a few times and it also happened to me and D'Angelo when we befriended a guy in Granada and invited him to our room for pizza. At the time, Jan knew us very well, but the guy still had to produce his 'drivers license' in order to come in. But I imagine your first thought would be we invited the guy in for 'other' reasons... because you know us gay guys, sex, sex, sex... but then again, like your first assumptions of Joluva, you'd be wrong.
Assume what you want, this guy was in our video and at the time of shooting was 24 years old. He's a dentist now.
The other problem having a gay hotel in a 3rd world country is the fact, boys, and I mean boys in every since of the word, WILL engage in gay for pay, if given the opportunity. The 'whys' and moral obligations of a society will not be discussed in this post but it is a fact- many Nicaraguan boys would like nothing better than to connect with a foreigner in order to receive money, gifts, attention, school tuition etc...but I digress. Again, this is the reason for the locked entrance, cameras, night security and proof of age requirement. These measures are standard in most legitimate hotels in Granada as well as in Costa Rica. *Some will make you pay an additional charge if you have a guest in your room.
Can a consenting adult in almost ANYTOWN or CITY around the world make a connection with another consenting adult, in let's say, the bar at the Airport Holiday Inn and return to first consenting adult's room? What is the responsibility of the Holiday Inn? Jan and Francis do everything in their power to ensure it's a consenting adult entering 'that' room. Probably a lot more than the Holiday Inn does.
Cute guys give legitimate massages at the Joluva. And? So? If you like a steroided, German lady with big hands giving you a massage, that's your prerogative... I'll take the cute guy. What you do or don't do with BIG hands, German lady is none of my concern... are we adults or are we not?
Joluva also has a private pool on another property they own. Every Wednesday and Sunday they take whoever wants to go, along with a bunch of Nicaraguan guys (all of legal age), to the pool and have a party.
Nothing like a gay KISS to throw gay in the face of the straight world.
I've been numerous times. It's fun. I've swam naked there before and have seen the 'private parts' and asses of a couple of the Nicaraguan guys there as well. I won't apologize as I have no guilt or shame about who I am. Think what you want. I've been to the pool at Joluva numerous times, I've never seen sex in or around the pool. But like I said, seen plenty of frolicking, horseplay and nude swimming- SCANDALOUS. That said, I'm not sure if sex in a pool with consenting adults is illegal or not in Nicaragua,but personally, I'm not opposed to the idea.
They're attempting to portray Jan and Francis as 'Chester the Molester' types and it's not difficult to do when you use words like, 'child sex, exploitation of minors, moral values, child abuse, pedophilia, manipulation, pornography etc.' It's not hard to make assumptions and draw misguided conclusions when you don't personally know the people involved.
Here's the BIG evidence one site reports they have on Jan and Francis:
Police, however, say they have witness testimony from five Nicaraguan boys, ages 14-17, who claim they were exploited. No one is claiming rape, but the alleged victims are claiming they were tricked, sexually exploited and had their “moral integrity affected,” the police chief said.
Total BULLSHIT..not to say, WAY general- WTF is 'moral integrity affected'? Probably some kids who wanted to sell themselves for easy money and Jan and Francis told them to get lost. And please, if they're sexually exploiting children, they're sexually exploiting children...shouldn't be hard to find plenty of these supposed, 'sexually exploited and abused' kids. Five boys, seriously?
This my friends has almost everything to do with GAY and 2 Belgium guys doing well in Nicaragua. Nicaragua does NOT like gay and you need to know that and these accusations are shaky at best. Unfortunately, Nicaragua will probably NOT play by the rules and that scares me for my friends. The media coverage is already against them.
The sad and a little ironic part of this story is how much Jan and Francis give back to the community of Granada: Shoes, school supplies, dental work, clothes, money, food, employment, the list is long and I've witnessed their good works on many of occasions. EVERYDAY, a steady stream of folks come to the gate of Joluva asking for 'something'. I've often told Jan I think he gets taken advantage of, he just smiles,,, then hands the girl a few bucks so she can buy a little food. But you don't want to hear about that do you?
Like I said, you never know someone 100%...but I've seen and experienced enough to make an educated judgment, and I'm here to say, underage ANYTHING does NOT happen at Joluva... but if there's proof of it...I'll cut their balls off myself.
PS. I'm not through with you 'Nicaragua Dispatch'. Your story SUCKED so I'll be answering to your bullshit soon and if you EVER want to debate this issue in an open forum, by all means, BRING IT.
PSS. If you've never been to Nicaragua,,you might be better off if you leave your comments to yourself.
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WHOO HOO! - - Hip Hip HOORAY! - - We Won! - - We WON!...U MAD?
Always kinda nice when 'right' actually WINS.
Here's what happened- Back in December, we had a serious setback that totally bummed us out. Long story short, some dude booked almost $500. worth of tours through us but never went on them (his fault), and when he returned to the States, disputed his credit card bill. Totally wrecked our finances. I wrote about it here: 'Dick dude SCREWS US!' So obviously we had to FIGHT!
This morning we received this email from PayPal:
We are pleased to inform you that we have successfully disputed chargeback case #PP-001-578-XXX-XXX. The buyer's card issuer has decided in your favor and within seven days you will receive reimbursement for $482.56 USD.
So, today was a good day. Do you have something to CELEBRATE...let's Do IT!
*The 'U MAD' at the top of the page was a personal note to J. Hudson, who is 'Dick dude'.
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There was a homicide here in La Fortuna Costa Rica yesterday. I know both parties involved.
One, a gringo who just started a little, hole-in-the-wall hamburger joint here in La Fortuna, which is/was on its WAY to serious success- You know how hard it is to get a decent hamburger in Costa Rica? For the record, Hamburger Man cheffed up a MEAN burger, for cheap. The other, a Tico, wannabe thug/thief/druggie who found it difficult to keep his sticky little hands off things that weren't nailed down. I hope I don't sound too bias.
Anyway, story goes that Thug Boy and Hamburger Man have a history. Something about Hamburger Man taking a restraining order out against Thug Boy for Thug Boys past transgressions against Hamburger Man and his property. Thug Boy was again on Hamburger Man's property. A heated argument ensued. Thug Boy became aggressive and witness say even threw rocks at Hamburger Man.Hamburger Man deciding not to chance ANYTHING, stabbed Thug Boy in the heart. Thug Boy didn't die instantly but as witnesses recalled it, the 10 minutes it did take Thug Boy to die were NOT pretty. Upon reflection, I'm thinking the 10 minutes it took Thug Boy to die probably felt like a lifetime to him. *Pun kinda intended.
Hamburger Man was arrested. Here in Costa Rica, the story has already broke on the internet. They're saying Hamburger Man acted in self-defense and he's being seen as kind of a hero... for now that is. I don't wish death on anyone but secretly their are some people who die and I kind of believe society is much better off....so good riddance to my way of thinking. Last time I thought that was Jerry Falwell, but whatever. Bottom line regarding Thug Boy- you play, you pay. But that's me.
We'll see. Hamburger Man has a wife and 2 kids so hopefully everything will work out but this being Costa Rica and all, it's hard to say what might happen. And as you might not know, in Costa Rica, you're guilty until proven innocent. That said, I'll let you know more as I do. If I had to guess, I think he'll get off...
*NO, this is not a regular occurrence in La Fortuna so don't go there.
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