Hideaways
Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe designed this two-room bamboo house with open courtyard for his mother, who had moved to Costa Rica to live in the forest “in search for home.” Originally living in a shelter that she built with scrap wood and plastic bags and with a view of the moon from her bed at […]
New Glass Frog Species Discovered in Costa Rica
Scientists have recently described a new species of glass frog found in the Caribbean foothills of Costa Rica. Named for lead author Brian Kubicki’s mother, Janet Diane Kubicki, Diane’s Bare-hearted Glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium dianae) is Costa Rica’s fourteenth species of glass frog. This is the first time a new species of glass frog has been discovered […]
Postcard from Costa Rica
Walking through the rainforest at night leads to many surprises. I went on a night hike with a naturalist guide and his ten-year-old son, who easily caught tiny frogs before the rest of us recognized their whereabouts. We were searching for frogs, in fact, and I searched for small snakes in each bromeliad I passed, […]
Hideaways
With a variety of accommodations, Tree House Lodge has a focus on sustainability. The buildings are built with fallen trees, the furniture is handcarved with sustainable wood, and one of the bathrooms is built around a living 100-year old Sangrillo tree. Water is gravity-fed and heated by solar panels, cleaning materials and detergents are biodegradable, […]
Postcard from Costa Rica
On a search for the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, my group heard its distinctive cooing high in the canopy. We kept turning our heads, following the sound, until finally we saw the beautiful bird fly over a gap in the canopy, its long, elegant tail feathers trailing behind the rest of its body. It landed in […]
Hideaways
Within driving distance from Volcano Arenal, this tree house is surrounded by mineral-rich, natural hot springs. The tree house sits in 35 acres of surrounding rainforest filled with two-toed sloths, iguanas, capuchin and mantled howler monkeys, tree frogs, toucans, hummingbirds, and butterflies. An afternoon on the balcony observing the sights and sounds of the rainforest […]
Costa Rica goes 75 Days without Fossil Fuel
For 75 straight days (and counting), Costa Rica has met 100% of its power demand with renewable energy. Most of this energy has come from four hydroelectric power facilities, due to heavy rainfall this year. The country supplements this energy with other sources of renewable energy, including geothermal, solar, biomass, and wind sources. Costa Rica […]
“Mystery Stone”
Rima de Vallbona is also the author of “Mystery Stone.” On a tourist trip in Guanacaste, Berta spends the night at the home of her two cousins. When she arrives at their home, I entered into a magic world, in which a certain something lingered in the air; the enchantment was enhanced by the vases […]
Rima de Vallbona
Rima de Vallbona has written twelve books of short stories, novels, and essays. These include Mundo, demonio, y mujer, Polvo del camino, Noche en vela, and Cosecha de pescadores. Among her several literary awards is Costa Rica’s Premio Nacional Aquileo J. Echeverría. She is the author of “The Chumico Tree,” a story that shows the […]
Hideaways
Does this childhood dream ever go away? For many of us, apparently not. A Colorado couple made their dream a reality in the Costa Rican rainforest by creating a treehouse community called Finca Bellavista, a fantastic yet real treetop paradise where people can live out their dreams. The whole of the property is now close to […]
José León Sánchez
José León Sánchez, in a plan to reclaim the Virgin’s riches for indigenous people, attempted robbery of the Basilica de los Angeles in Cartago. At age nineteen, when he entered prison for his crime, Sánchez was illiterate, but he went on to write fourteen books. Among these are Tenochtitlán, La isla de los hombres solos, […]
“The Carbonero”
Carlos Salazar Herrera has a second story published in Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. “The Carbonero,” originally published in De amor, celos, y muerte: tres cuentos is translated by James Hoggard, who also translated “The Bongo.” Hoggard is the author of eight books and seven produced plays, and his translations have been widely published. […]
Carlos Salazar Herrera
Carlos Salazar Herrera is the author of two stories in Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. He was an art professor at the Unversidad de Costa Rica; the author of many stories, poems, and plays; and the 1964 winner of Costa Rica’s Premio Nacional de Cultura Magón. Originally published as “El Bongo” in Cuentos de […]
Samuel Rovinski
Samuel Rovinski is an essayist, playwright, and fiction writer. He is the author of Ceremonia de casta, Las fisgonas de Paso Ancho, El martirio del Pastor, and La hora de los vencidos, for which he won the Premio Nacional Aquielo J. Echeverría. His story “The Adventure” is not about an adventure in the typical meaning […]
Guiones Surf Photo of the Week
May we always remember and reflect the same simple joy of just “being” in the Surf . From First Time to Lifetime, all else is kept in perspective when dancing among the Waves. Stoked ! photo provided by Surfing Nosara
Uriel Quesada
For ten years, I haven’t been to the sea. I want to see it so badly that this morning I begged my mother until I made her break down in tears. I remember the sea, despite how long it’s been and how small I was then. I can almost make out its rhythmic motion, its […]
Guiones Surf Photo of the Week
Howling offshore winds create lumps of chop coming up the wave face, effectively acting like speed bumps and moguls. Getting a light, short board into this position on such a day is no easy task. Perfectly poised, he’s about to reconcile all forces at play as wind and wave compete for transitory dominion. photo […]
Julieta Pinto
Julieta Pinto is the author of many books, including Tierra de espejismos, La estación que sigue al verano, and Los marginados, the latter two of which received the Premio Nacional Aquileo J. Echeverría. Her translated work appears in When New Flowers Bloomed, alongside Carmen Naranjo. “The Blue Fish” is a story of a child’s fascination […]
Postcard From Nosara
A turtle hatchling makes its way to the sea at Playa Ostional. A series of moments captured by New York data scientist and friend of the Harmony Hotel, Burton DeWilde, during a week spent in Nosara with his boyfriend Nick.
The Palm at the End of the Mind
Of Mere Being The palm at the end of the mind, Beyond the last thought, rises In the bronze distance. A gold-feathered bird Sings in the palm, without human meaning, Without human feeling, a foreign song. You know then that it is not the reason That makes us happy or unhappy. The bird sings. Its […]
Guiones Surf Photo of the Week
We often reference “The Glide” throughout our lore and experiences of having board under feet, on the magic carpet ride. Others too, for no apparent practical reason, celebrate the transcendent joy of riding waves. When performed with grace, the act becomes sublime.
Abel Pacheco
Abel Pacheco is the author of Paso de tropo, Una muchacha, and De la selva a la embajada. His story “Deeper Than Skin” was originally published as Más abajo de la piel, and an excerpt appears in Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. This excerpt includes twelve short vignettes about the characters, animals, and landscapes […]
Postcard From Nosara
Staredown with a Howler. A series of moments captured by New York data scientist and friend of the Harmony Hotel, Burton DeWilde, during a week spent in Nosara with his boyfriend Nick.
Guiones Surf Photo of the Week
Whether the wave is large or small, positioning reveals intimate knowledge about any rider’s approach. Graceful bottom turn around the critical section is the same on a playful longboard day at the beach or triple overhead Pipe. Leaning hard on the inside rail to project down the line. photo provided by Surfing Nosara
