Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN recently did a story on Juan Sostheim owner of Rancho Margot.
Juan Sostheim (pictured above), is founder and owner of Costa Rica’s first carbon-negative company, a sustainable farm and eco-resort, Rancho Margot. Rancho Margot is about 40 minutes from La Fortuna, Costa Rica. *The above pic of Juan was done by CNN, I hope they don't mind me borrowing it.
Actually, I'm going to quit writing now because the CNN video on Rancho Margot speaks for itself. It's very nicely done and definitely worth 6 minutes of your time, especially if you're into ALL things sustainable. Our video on Rancho Margot is also below but keep in mind, we were actually video-taping a Cooking Class on that day and just decided we would do a quick overview of Rancho Margot. So, next to CNN, ours is pretty weak. Oh well. 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!
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-
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!
Love in the Wild Reality Show was filmed in and around La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Supposedly this new realty show, 'Love in the Wild' is a cross between, 'Survivor' and 'The Bachelor'. Wow, how original. Of course I'll never know because really, I don't give a f**k.
But, it's kinda cool that they filmed 'Love in the Wild' in and around the La Fortuna area and with good reason, it IS beautiful here. I think it was about 3 or 4 months ago and as I recall they were here for awhile. And what's doubly cool, is they filmed quite a bit at our friends place, 'Princesa de la Luna' an eco-lodge about 15 minutes outside of town. It just so happens, we did a video on Princesa de la Luna a short time after 'Love in the Wild' packed up their cameras, which you can see below in case you missed it.
'Love in the Wild' publicity photo taken at the beautiful La Fortuna Waterfall.
So, if you end up being a fan of 'Love in the Wild' and you're in the La Fortuna area, check out 'Princesa de la Luna' and I think you'll understand why they decided to film there in the first place.
How could I possibly talk about a reality show without mentioning the one yours truly was on about 10 years ago when reality was true REALITY... not. ENjoY!
Eco Lodge, Princesa de la Luna in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
Princesa de la Luna is an Eco Lodge about 12 minutes from the center of La Fortuna and sits on 25 acres of rain forest. It has about 6 miles of hiking trails, a natural 'river pool' and what seems like 20,000 different varieties of Costa Rican fruit trees. We've lived in La Fortuna for almost 6 years and had never been to Princesa de la Luna but finally, we recently got the chance.
We did a video of Princesa de la Luna and I'll post it in the next couple of days... this is just a 'teaser' post, complete with a few pics of Princesa de la Luna.
One of a few 'common areas' at Princesa de la Luna.
The pool at Princesa de la Luna.
The natural 'river pool' at Princesa de la Luna.
VIDEO up in a couple days, so CHECK back, it's worth a look.
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!
FIRST, the farming company, Agropecuaria Caletas S.A, told 'the powers that be' in Costa Rica to F-OFF, and now, THIS.
Here's what's going on. Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. is a farming company in Costa Rica. It owns land next or close to, Caletas-Arío National Wildlife Refuge. Agropecuaria Caletas S.A is owned by Sylvestre Feichtinger or is it Sylvester Feichtinger, a US-Austrian citizen. He's rich, he owns other things as well, but we'll get to that in a minute.
We'll call this guy, Sylvestre (Sylvester) Feichtinger.
Last year, Pretoma , an organization that PROTECTS the oceans resources and especially the sharks and sea turtles, took issue with Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. and it's owner Sylvester Feichtinger and this happened:
Last April, responding to a lawsuit filed by Pretoma against Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. for draining the wetlands of the Caletas Ario Wildlife Refuge, the Environmental Tribune ordered the farming company to halt all of its activities in and around this sensitive wetland. Last June, the Environmental Tribune ordered the company to pay $21,200 for damages caused therein (Resolución N° 390-09-TAA). The resolution came after officials observed how the company is, by design, draining, burning and thereby sucking the biological diversity out of a 150 hectare wetland that boarders Playa Caletas on the southern Nicoya Peninsula.
After being ordered to fix the problem and pay the fine, the 'fucks' at Agropecuaria Caletas told the 'powers that be' in Costa Rica basically to F-OFF and IGNORED the penalties and mandates.
*If you're interested in the 'nitty-gritty' of this story, I wrote about it a few times about a year ago (read in order):
Now, a year later, just a couple weeks ago, Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. is doing THIS and the volunteers at Pretoma caught them:
Yup, spraying chemicals all 'willy-nilly' with devastating consequences to the area. Here's the FULL STORY from Pretoma's website. But you can be SURE, Pretoma will be taking Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. to court, yet AGAIN.
Let's just assume the 'powers that be' in Costa Rica don't give a RIP about this. Doesn't matter, that's not really the point ANYMORE. This is ALL about perception and Costa Rica is looking like a complete BITCH on this one. You can't on one hand market yourself as one of the most eco-friendly places on the planet, packed with spectacular flora and fauna- a TRUE naturalists PARADISE, and on the other hand let these atrocities go unpunished. This story is OUT there, people are WATCHING. Perception is EVERYTHING. Agropecuaria Caletas S.A has IGNORED the 'powers that be' once with little consequence and now THIS. Something needs to be done.
HEY Costa Rica, you tried this the FIRST time, it didn't work...
On principle, Costa Rica has to do something OVER-the-TOP to set a precedent and make an example of Agropecuaria Caletas S.A., something that SCREAMS- You BREAK the environmental laws in Costa Rica and you pay the PRICE.
"I got something for you Mr. Crop Duster plane... that's right, a little closer..."
I kid, but you get the point.
Oh, and btw, in an IRONIC and very hypocritical twist, guess who owns a hotel by the wetlands of the Caletas-Ario Wildlife Refuge and markets it as an eco lodge where the highlight is its natural surroundings... that's right, our friend and owner of Agropecuaria Caletas S.A., Sylvester Feichtinger. It's called Casa Caletas, give'em a ring and tell them why you WON'T stay there. It's the least you could do.
To find out how you can HELP and other great INFO:
Casa Caletas Hotel on the Nicoya Penisula in Costa Rica- "Obviously YOU don't CARE."
I haven't heard word 'one' from Casa Caletas Hotel. "Bet you thought I forgot about you, didn't you Casa Caletas?"
Why shouldn't you stay at Casa Caletas Hotel? The short answer- the owner doesn't seem to CARE about some LAND that he is ASSOCIATED WITH and is important to the sea turtles. But there's MUCH MORE to the story.
So, it's time to seriously BOYCOTT anything to do with the owner(s) of Casa Caletas and possibly two other hotels, Hotel Fuego del Sol in Playa Hermosa and Lake Coter Eco Lodge in Nuevo Arenal, which may ALL be owned by Sylvester Feichtinger or his company(s). (If they'd answer my emails I would know for SURE), but since they pretty much told Costa Rica to 'fuck off' when ordered to 'cease and desist' stripping the wetlands, I'm fairly certain I'm not HIGH on their 'need to respond to' list.
It would also be COOL if you could email them and ask them 'WHAT'S UP with that?' reservaciones@ticoresorts.com is their email.
'Sea turtle's already have a tough BEGINNING, but at least they have a place to START... don't let it disappear.'
BE the CHANGE YOU want in the WORLD, the sea turtles will thank-you for it.
Manuel Antonio National Park is perhaps the #1 tourist destination in ALL Costa Rica, with places like La Fortuna,Tamarindo,Jacó and a few others- a couple steps behind. Manuel Antonio is like the Poster Boy for Costa Rica, the CREAM of the CROP, the successful SON, the CROWN JEWEL; but NOW it appears Manuel Antonio is about to be pushed off the pedestal- HARD! Why, because Costa Rica has shot itself in the FOOT (actually the FACE), yet again.
Here’s the Costa Rican NEWS today:
The Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio could be shut down the end of the month unless the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones (Minaet) corrects a number of deficiencies signaled by the Área Rectora de Salud de Aguirre (local health department), following a visit to the park last week.Read FULL story here.
Read the story if you must, but it’s all about SHIT; shit in the ocean, shit in the lagoons all around Manuel Antonio National Park- nothing but shit, shit, shit. There’re also a few problems with ‘exceeding park capacity,’ and ‘junk vehicles found in some of the trails,’ but mostly SHIT, and ‘flowing’ from the RANGER STATION- are you fuck’in kidd’in ME.
This story disgusts me. There’s nothing to say, and I don’t want to even THINK about the implications- let’s just say if this is happening in Manuel Antonio, what about the Parks and places around the country that don’t get as much ‘PLAY,’ or have the resources Manuel Antonio has been privy to over the years. And don’t get me started about the Eco-friendly, GREEN, Self-Sustainable, ‘BULLSHIT moniker’s,' Costa Rica has been waving in the AIR the last 10 years or so in order to entice the eco-tourist, they’re obviously not SERIOUS about this SHIT. pun intended.
I DON’T GET IT. It’s not, “What are you thinking?” it’s “Are you thinking?”
I want to SEE HEADS ROLL.
I want SWIFT ACTION.
I just want the SHIT to stay in Jacó where it belongs.
If you live in Costa Rica, you already know they LOVE their boxes. Just about any food or drink product here has the potential to come in one of these 8” x 4” (approximate) boxes- wines, milk, every juice imaginable and a thousand other things.
We were at the annual Travel Expo in San José last year, but hanging out in the ‘Verde’ section, which is a part of the Expo set aside for everything and anything organic, self-sustainable, ‘Green’ and/or Eco-friendly. Needless to say- our kind of section- as our ‘Green-NessNess’ is well documented.
We came across something very ‘generic’ but simple and cool. We want to share.
Martha Stewart has nothing to worry about.
Check-out this whole new way to ‘Think outside the Box.’
