Friday, October 26, 2007

Costa Rica October Newsletter 2007

October 23, 2007

Hola Everyone!

The Rainy (Green) Season draws to a close! This has been an unusually wet green season in the Guanacaste area. Last year the green season saw lower than usual amounts of rainfall, but this year has been the opposite. We started off the season with a lot of rain and we are ending with a lot of rain. We had over 20 inches of rain in the last 10 days alone! Emptying the rain gauge became a regular occurrence as the rains continued for days. The only saving grace was at least it was warm rain! Some type of tropical depression formed over Costa Rica while a cold front over Mexico held the rain in place. It just seemed to circle over us and continually drop rain. Flooding was extensive with roads washed out and people displaced from their homes. As we write this today, the sun is out and it is looking like we are heading toward the Dry Season. Once we are in the dry season, we will not get any rain for six months (till May). Below is a picture of the Tempisque River as it nearly overflowed the major bridge that provides access to the beach areas where we live. Usually the river is at least 35 feet below! I could not believe the water could come this high till I saw it with my own eyes!

The Mountains!

The beach is a great place but when we really want to get away from the heat and the busyness of the beach, we love to travel to the mountains. In fact we have purchased some land up near Rincon de La Vieja National Park, where land is still relatively inexpensive. The weather is crisper and cooler even during the dry season, although the Papagayo Winds that are prevalent during the Dry Season can really get going. We plan to build a “cabina” or two up here and maybe eventually have a vacation lodge. It’s a great place to get away to enjoy nature as the wildlife up here is incredible. We have terrific views of Volcan Rincon de la Vieja and Volcan Miravalles as well as out toward the Tempisque River valley. And on a clear day you can even see the coastline and ocean. Quite a beautiful spot - we get excited each time we drive up! The property is only 19 kilometers from Liberia but the road is an adventure either dry or wet! It is called the “Ruta Blanca” and is actually carved through volcanic ash which gives it the white color. It takes an hour to drive the 19 kilometers of the Ruta Blanca so, combined with the 30 minutes from Coco to Liberia, the entire drive is 1 ½ hours.


What’s New!

The real estate business has been quiet during the Green Season as the tourism slows. Markets in the US are facing issues as well and this may or may not impact our business. The opportunity is still now to own a “piece of paradise”! We are planning an advertising blitz for the Calgary market in November/December and hopefully will be a major part of a Costa Rica Feature Article in the Calgary Herald in November. Plans also include a large ad and advertorial in the Recreation and Investment Properties Magazine in December. Then we will be manning a booth at the Recreation Investment Properties Show in Calgary January 11-13, 2008. Drop by and visit! We will have lots of great information on Costa Rica and all it has to offer!

Just to give you an idea of what you can buy for a lot less than a house in Calgary. below is Casa La Mariposa which is next door to our home.


This is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2300 sq ft home with single car garage, high ceilings and many upgrades. Construction is first quality. It is located in a very quiet neighborhood about 5 minutes by car to the beach. Priced at $349,000!


Until next time, hasta luego!


Herb and Donna
Visit our blog site: www.costaricasecrets.blogspot.com

For Vacation Rentals visit: www.beachfront-cr.com. Tim Ellis can help you locate the perfect home to rent for a great winter holiday!

If you would like to book a Real Estate Costa Rica Tour please send us an email at herb@discovercostarica.com. We would be pleased to help you out - we can arrange for good discounts on rental car and accommodations, plus we will show you some of the real Costa Rica during the tour! If you do end up purchasing property using our services, you will receive $1,000 that can be used to offset your travel expenses!

Keep an eye on our new website: www.costaricadiscovered.com




















PS: If you do not want to receive our updates please send us a quick email and we will take you off our email list! Conversely, let us know if anyone wants to be added to our list or just forward to friends or relatives. We will try to send these updates once per month.

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