Nosara in NYT’s Top 2012 Destinations
Now that the New York Times has included Nosara in their top 45 “Places to go in 2012” the word is out about the sleepy little surf town we know and love. What will this mean for Nosara? Will the beloved Guiones break start to look like choreographed chaos in Rincón featured in Surfer’s Journal‘s Symphony of […]
Voguing
It takes one a few days to feel Nosaran. One either watches the surfers or is the one surfing, as was described to us when we first started to shuffle our feet along the bottom of the ocean floor to pop-up ourselves as well as the stingrays. Both activities occupy time, and at the end […]
Free, Beautiful, Biodegradable Toys!
As part of my quest to incorporate more DIY, reused or found toys into my children’s lives, we’ve made it a point to show up at the beach without pails, shovels, etc and then see what we can find. My kids often find their own treasures, but sometimes (especially early on) I have found it’s […]
Repositories
Costa Rica is known for its holes, and in particular following the rainy season on the roads. I have a fondness for holes and a collection of mounds. These mounds range in material composition, but they tend to be made from organic matter. In composition they are created and range from additive to subtractive processes.
Illya Kagan in Costa Rica
This painting is just roughed in. I start them all on location, and get the foundations down. Then when I get them back to my studio, I make changes to the composition, colors, and details. As I look at this jpeg, I already see changes I will make to the clouds. This sight was interesting […]
Postcard from the Farm
Lemongrass is one of my favorite herbs, well grasses I should say. It grows prolifically wherever we seem to plant it (on the farm in Garza, Costa Rica). Two great culinary applications are pictured above and you can check out the growing process below. 🙂
VOWEL HOUSE
In 1955, the letter A was used as the form for a structure by the architect Andrew Geller for the Reese House, a beach residence in Long Island, New York. The New York Times published the house on May 5, 1957. Following the publication of the house, the form went viral across the globe. Today, […]
Illya Kagan in Costa Rica
Once again, I found a site not far from home. The surfboards on the beach along with the palm covered beach shack and the lone palm make for a good entrance into the painting.
BARBS DOLED
There are many things that run deep in still waters. In the Pacific, things run even deeper and one is advised when one is spending time in the surf to shuffle their feet as you move across the ocean floor. Adhering to this logic is a purposeful measure against being barbed by a stingray. Rays […]
Illya Kagan in Costa Rica
One does not have to go far to find inspiration. The lone palm is an icon on the beach, and let’s you mark where you are from any point. As you walk to the beach along the woody path from Harmony, first you can hear the roar of the surf, then catch a glimpse of […]
Illya Kagan in Costa Rica
As I get out of the water from surfing (a little beat up, and well washed by the surf), this is the view that greets me. I always find the view down the beach and over the waves a little more intense having been out in the water… Maybe the adrenaline has something to do […]
Illya Kagan in Costa Rica
I scrambled up the steep hill that divides Playa Guiones from Playa Pelada [located in Nosara, Costa Rica]. Had to go hands and feet as it was so steep… Almost turned around after sliding out twice, but was rewarded with this incredible view over both Pelada and Guiones. At low tide the pale blue green […]
Postcard from the Farm
Greetings from the farm in Garza, Costa Rica where it is hot and humid. We’ve officially returned to the Nicoya Peninsula for the winter season where we were blown away by these beautiful plants: fresh ginger (gingibra in Spanish) from the huerta (garden) in Garza! That ginger goes into making a vodka infusion (see below) […]
Sand Dollar!
Walking down the beach in Guiones you can still find sand dollars at the waterline. These little critters are beautiful and fascinating but because they are typically pretty motionless, some tourists pick them up thinking of them like “seashells” and leave on the beach to dry out and inadvertently kill them. Here’s a short clip […]
The Sheltering Sky
“Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than to the next, moves slowly, over periods of years, from one part of the earth to another.â€â€•Â Paul Bowles
Surf Book Review
There are only a handful of non-fiction surf books that I’m excited about and Surf Survival, the Surfer’s Health Handbook by Andrew Nathanson, Clayton Everline and Mark Renneker is one of them. The canon of essential surf books has long been missing a comprehensive resource to cover the myriad of potential threats surfers deal with […]
Walking on Water
The Harmony Blog sits down with Spencer Klein, paddleboarder, surfer and founder of adventure outfitter Experience Nosara.
Sea Turtle Tours
A few miles and a few river crossings north of Nosara lies the small beach town of Playa Ostional. Here you will discover the legendary “arribada†or arrival, when tens of thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles flood a single beach to nest. Or you may choose to visit six weeks after an arribada to […]
Four Costa Rican Artists to Watch
Artist links: Rosella Matamoros Rafael Azofeifa Federico Herrero Cinthya Soto
Key Facts: Sea Turtle
Sea Turtle (Information from The Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica.)Total Length: 60.2 inches ( shell length averages 39.3 inches)Weight : 130 to 440 pounds.Range : Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans in tropical regions.
