$10 Million Water Kingdom Aquatic Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Over the last few decades, surfing has been a major attraction for visitors arriving in Costa Rica. The strong sets at Jaco Beach in the Central Pacific and Salsa Bravain the Southern Caribbean will test the skill of board riders, and the clean, smooth conditions often seen atWitch’s Rock and other breaks in Guanacaste make Costa Rica a prime surfing destination.

It is in the province of Guanacaste, however, that a curious amusement park project is underway and scheduled to open next year, just in time for the holidays and the school break. The project is actually a grand idea: a $10 million dollar investment in one of the sunnier and warmer regions of Costa Rica, with the capacity to entertain about 10,000 people each day. Seven massive swimming pools and other water attractions will welcome families from all over the country.

The name of the project is Water Kingdom, just like you read it in English. There is no Spanish name planned for it, although some of the attractions, such as Bahia Pirata (Pirate’s Bay) will remind you that you are still in Costa Rica. Information on Water Kingdom’s website indicates that the place will be a lot of fun: water slides, splash fountains, relaxing rafts, diving platforms, floating bounce houses, SCUBA diving instruction, athletic fields, mini-golf, restaurants, and more.

Water Kingdom’s location is a winner already: Just a couple of kilometers from the Palo Verde National Refuge and down the road from the Llanos de Cortes waterfalls in Bagaces. This is a beautiful region of Costa Rica, located about 40 kilometers away from several pristine, world-class surfing spots in the Gulf of Papagayo. Water Kingdom visitors, however, will not have to travel to the beach to catch some waves: They can stay in the park and enjoy 1.20 meter waves in 1,400 square meter pool complete with a beach that can accommodate hundreds of surfers.

The Waikiki wave pool is named after the legendary beach in the Island of Oahu in Hawaii. Water Kingdom’s website explains that the water attractions in the park are on par with those in the United States and Spain, although the wave pools in those countries are located at a very considerable distance from the nearest surfing spot.

Water Kingdom has been certified by the National Board of Tourism (Spanish initials ICT) as a major attraction in Costa Rica. The project is expected to be completed in November 2014.

New Toll Free Number

Hola from paradise!  We have a new toll free number for clients wishing to call us.  The new number is 1-866-978-6556.  Please disregard the old number.

Pura Vida

Herb

Costa Rica Big Game Fishing !

Costa Rica is a great spot for sport fishing and our area of Guanacaste is world renowned.  We are pleased to recommend a great company for sport fishing here in paradise.  Dream On Fishing has two beautiful boats fully equipped including great crews. Owner Randy Spate has been a sport fisherman since he was a kid and realized his dream of owning his own boat in Costa Rica.  Last week he took out a couple and they caught 15 sail fish which is a new record for Dream On, eclipsing the old record of 8.  Randy and his crew can help you catch the big ones and the not so big ones.  Outstanding mahi mahi,wahoo, rooster fish, sail fish and of course the elusive marlin.  Have a look at Randy's website www.dreamonsportfishing.com to see all the great fishing photos.

Dream On 

160 Pound Sailfish

Mahi Mahi Action

Get the BBQ Ready! 

Bird Watching and Cycling !

I was out for my morning bike ride at 4:45 AM and enjoying the cool, fresh rainy season morning. I was riding along the Truncas road passing the sugar cane fields and rice fields when I spotted and heard some old friends from Canada.  Two of my favorite birds as a youth came flitting by for a quick visit and song.  Their songs brought back many memories for me as a kid in South West Saskatchewan.  The song of the Red Wing Black Bird is quite distinct and melodious coupled with the wonderfull song of the Meadow Lark.  These little guys are like us and have chosen to live here in paradise all year around - no return trips to Canada and the US in the spring.  I guess they like the all round summer - Pura Vida :-)  

Red Wing Black Bird

Eastern Meadow Lark

Colonia Blanca Cabalgata - Year 2

Wow! It just seems like yesterday that I participated in the 2012 Colonia Blanca Cabalgata along with my neighbor Hubert and his sun Claudio.  Riding back through the jungle in black dark on slippery,  muddy trails is not something you soon forget!  Well, on Sunday it was a year later and time for another Colonia Blanca Cabalgata!  This time I was going prepared - complete with headlamp, full rain gear, extra Johnny Walker Scotch for the trip home.  This year, Donna and I were Invitados, meaning we were two of the many people from the surrounding area to receive special invitations. Also, this year we were going as a bigger group with Hubert, the original Jungle Jim, leading the way.  We would be trailing 6 horses including our gelding Prieto.  Donna and Rafael our farm worker would take the Land Cruiser and meet us in Colonia Blanca.  So off we went with horses about 9:30 AM for the 16 kilometer ride to Colonia Blanca.  Riding through the jungle up from our home is beautiful in the AM except this time of year the hard packed lava soil is as slippery as a skating rink and heading up steep hills on horses does cause a bit of panic :-)  But our trusty Costa Rican ponies handled the challenge with no falls or incidents.  Thank Goodness! We completed the ride in 1 1/2 hours as Hubert pushed the horses and they had no problems.  Chalana, our tireless mare, loves a challenge when there are other horses around and loves to be in front which made the ride easier for me.  Registration of the cabalgata started at 12:00 PM and we arrived with lots of time to spare.  Over 120 riders and horses registered for the event with  9 of us from the San Jorge area.  Prior to starting the ride, there is a lot of visiting and a few cerveza consumed along with some great Costa Rican food dishes including my favorite - chicharones!  The actual ride started at 2:30 PM and the afternoon rains held off to give us a great ride through the back country with some great mountain views and some tricky sections.  Of course along the way we were given a few drinks of the locally famous moonshine for this area - Los Torres had Baileys Tico and Colonia Blanca has Cherriche which was a pleasant cherry tasting but powerful local brew! Here are a few photos of the event and ride. Note the local police force providing original Costa Rican music a the starting area prior to the start of the race - I guess it is all part of police service in the back country! The ride back home after the cabalgata was interesting in the dark but this year I brought my headlamp to ward off the beasts of the jungle!  Luckily no rain and no slips on the slippery terrain :-)

Claudio and Hubert trailing horses

Registration 

Costa Rican Sound System

Dancing to the music!

Local police providing live music!

They start them young here in Costa Rica!

Claudio - Hubert's son

Riding through pastures

Single track through the forest

River Crossing - that's Donna
at the back of this group

Half way point refreshment break

Rafael

Hubert's daughter Genesis

Passion Fruit

Maracuya in Spanish or Passion Fruit in English is a wonderful plant that grows well here at the mountains. There are two versions  of passion fruit down here - the mountain version or the Americana version shown here.  The American version grows fruit about the size of a soft ball.  The mountain version is much smaller but just as tasty!   Here is a picture of a Passion Fruit flower growing on the fence at our farm here in Costa Rica.  This fruit makes one of the best fresh fruit drinks around.  The last time we bought some passion fruit I took the seeds and planted them in some small containers.  I then transplanted them along our fence line. The seedlings that survived the transplant are growing rapidly and fixing themselves along the fence.  Soon it will be time for ice cold Maracuya fresco natural.   The natural fruits and vegetables of Costa Rica are incredible and coupled with our fresh tilapia, free range eggs and fresh milk, beef, chicken and pork with no artificial ingredients from our Tico neighbors - the opportunities to eat healthy are limitless! Pura Vida!

Maracuya or Passion Fruit ! 

Paradisius Papagayo Bay Resort & Luxury Villas - under construction in Playa Hermosa

Paradisius Resorts have started their new resort in Playa Hermosa. Click here to see the video of what the finished hotel will look like - Paradisius Papagayo Bay Resort & Luxury Villas .  When finished this will an incredible new hotel and spa complete with a rail system for moving people from their view rooms to the beach.  This project will have an incredible effect on Playa Hermosa - all the more reason to buy a property now before all these new people visit Playa Hermosa, stay at the Paradisius and fall in love with the area.   Now is the time to buy for investment, vacation or retirement. Pura Vida!  We have front row seats to the construction as our home in Playa Hermosa looks directly across building location.  Right now they are busy with the ground preparation work.  This will take till November when the actual building construction will start if not before.