Jan
13
Going Green: Great Green Macaws Back in Talamanca
Posted by Colline | January 13, 2012 | Tags: Environment, Helping Out, Nature | 4 Comments

For the first time in many years, Great Green macaws (Ara ambiguus) are back in the Talamanca area! Great Greens are listed as endangered, with the last remaining population in Torteguero numbering only 300 individuals, with only 25-35 breeding pairs left. They are endangered due to deforestation and extensive poaching, primarily for the illegal pet trade. They are perfectly adapted for living in the rainforest and may live over 60 years in the wild. They depend mainly on the mountain almond tree, or almendro de montaña
(Dipteryx panamensis) for food and nesting. These birds take ten years to reach breeding age and will mate for life!
The Ara Project, based in Alajuela, breeds Scarlet (Ara macao) and Great Green macaws with the sole intention of release into the wild. Find out more and donate at: www.thearaproject.org
We are now re-introducing Greens here with the hopes that once a sustainable population is established, they will eventually meet up with the wild population and re-create the Caribbean corridor. A reintroduction has never been attempted officially with the Great Green species, so the Talamanca area is witnessing the first release of these birds in the world! The first release consists of ten birds, nine of which have been released since August and are doing extremely well.
The success of this release is not solely dependent on the macaws; the community must be supportive of this effort if it is to be successful. We are encouraging people let us know if any macaws are in your area. This lets us know not only how they are using the release range, but also helps us identify birds that can fly farther and faster than we can keep up! With the help of reports, we have estimated they have established a range of 41 square kilometres! People can also help the macaws by planting fruit trees such as the almendros, and enjoying the birds from afar. They do best when left alone, and we hope people watch out for anyone trying to harm the birds.
Thank you so much for your support and interest in the Ara Project and the macaws! Please feel free to contact us at any time:
colline@thearaproject.org (506) 8524-4675
allan@thearaproject.org (506) 8971-1436
Colline W. Emmanuelle is the Education & Community Outreach Manager for The Ara Project. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and has been involved with the Project since February 2011. In addition to macaws, Colline’s favourite animals include anteaters and yeti crabs. |
Jan
9
Un Caribe Más Seguro – A Safer Caribbean
Posted by Eric | January 9, 2012 | Tags: Community News, Crime & Punishment | 3 Comments
The US Embassy in San José asked Eric Haller of Un Caribe Más Seguro to write a feature piece on the community safety efforts they are undertaking in the South Caribbean area and we’ve reposted it here for the Puerto Viejo community. The article below describes their innovative work, and shares best practices.
OVERVIEW:
There have been community anti-crime organizations in the South Caribbean for years, dealing with crime issues typical of any tourist beach town: assaults, robberies, and less occasionally, attacks of a more violent nature. Attendance at various neighborhood watch groups tended to follow a cyclical pattern that spiked with the occurrence of higher profile crimes then rapidly diminished.
A meeting in San Jose in 2010 with Jorge Rojas, Director of OIJ, drove home the point that, owing to the extremely low percentage of crimes reported (estimated to be in the mid to low teens), the canton of Talamanca had, on paper at least, one the lowest crime rates in the country. Without the statistics in the form of denuncias, the area received fewer personnel and resources than the conditions in the zone called for.

Community meeting with police
As a response, we created an online database with which the community could report crimes and compile its own statistics, to gain a clearer picture of what was occurring, to identify problem regions and recurring patterns that might aid in prevention, as well as to demonstrate that the incident rate was far greater than was being captured in official numbers. Several barriers existed to adoption, chiefly a strong reluctance, in a town whose economy relies almost solely on tourism, to openly discuss crime for fear of jeopardizing commerce.
A Facebook group was launched, and the ability to see and discuss in near real time how crime is affecting the neighborhood proved a compelling experience. A consensus developed that there was far more to be gained than lost from this sort of open discussion. The group expanded very rapidly, and people motivated each other to get active in the effort.
WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY:
Members of the community have met regularly with the Director of OIJ, Ministers of Public Security, Fiscal General, etc in order to bring to attention the needs of the communities Southern Caribbean. The police chief actively reaches out to the community through regular public meetings and online through the Facebook group. Similar meetings occur with the Fiscalia. The Mayor of Talamanca is also very involved, offering full support and participation in the efforts of the local community and maintaining an active Facebook profile.
PROJECTS:
During the past year, Un Caribe Mas Seguro has continued their work and undertaken new projects. Some highlighted projects:
Online database of Incidents: This has become the primary source of information used by Fuerza Publica. The website also shares information on prevention, who to call, how to act and much more information of importance to the local community: http://www.caribeseguro.com
Convenio between CATCCAS and Ministerio de Seguridad Publica: provides a legal framework for binding agreements of cooperation between MSP and the community.
Streetlight project: a digital inventory map of major streetlights in the region indicating where lights were present, where they needed to be replaced and where they needed to be installed. This would eliminate some of the “dark zones” where tourists were regularly being assaulted at night. The map was used to petition ICE into addressing the issues.
Digital map project: Requested by the Fuerza Publica in order to better identify the local streets and location of residents and businesses. A new police officer receiving a call to person x’s house will be able to pull up that person’s location on a computer screen at the delegation and speed the response time.
Rise in Official Denuncias: Victims who saw little hope of individual justice started filing denuncias for the benefit to the community as a whole that arises from more accurate reporting and statistics.

Police station renovation
Fuerza Publica Capacitacion: Security training program and certification for businesses was offered in June.
Beach Guard Program: ARECHIPU – Association of Residents Playa Chiquita Punta Uva have organized to hire three local beach guards. Guards patrol the beaches, caution tourists who are not being careful and report suspicious behavior to police. Since the inception of the program, the previous average of 1 incident per day has been reduced to nearly zero.
Victim’s Assistance: The Victim Assistance Program helps both locals and tourists through an often complicated judicial process. It supports tourist victims with translation services, helps to file denuncias, helps to cancel stolen credit cards, contacts embassies, offers transportation to OIJ, etc. In the case of more serious crimes, the program helps to coordinate additional nights at hotels and meals in local restaurants so the victim can complete the denuncia process without incurring additional expenses. The program has been successful in turning victims’ encounter with crime from “a very negative experience in a foreign country” to “the community cares – what a great place”.
Hotel and Business Certification Program: Project under development to establish guidelines and a certification program in crime prevention for local hotels and businesses.
LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES:
Law enforcement in Costa Rica faces the reality of needing to do more with less, and without the communication, cooperation, and trust of the communities they work in, they will be at a grave disadvantage.
We consider a program like ours critical to the success of citizen security, and elements that in our experience are essential are:
1) Forum: enables the community to be in direct contact with each other and with law enforcement. We are fortunate to have a police chief, Leandro Chaverri, who was highly receptive to the idea and very motivated, and we used Facebook because of the high adoption rate and its “stickiness”.
2) Incident Database: a tool for the community to keep track of what is occurring is key. As well, it demonstrates to law enforcement that the community is a serious partner, and is dynamically and independently evaluating their work.
3) Regular Meetings: While the communication afforded through the internet is extremely powerful, face-to-face meetings are critical as well.
Article by Eric Haller. Eric Haller has lived in Cocles for 5 years, plays music, and can be found blogging from time to time at erichaller.com or twittering @haller |
Jan
2
How wet was 2011?
Posted by Editor | January 2, 2012 | Tags: Environment | Leave a Comment
Did you think 2011 felt wetter or drier than normal?
Well if you guessed drier you’d be correct.
A resident of Playa Negra, Charlotte, has been adding up rainfall numbers each month since 2002 on her rain gauge. Click the image for a full-sized version of the rainfall chart.
The average monthly rainfall is Puerto Viejo is 310 mm (12.2 inches) with November and December generally being the rainiest months and September and October being the dryest months. But in 2011 the dry period stretched from August to November and the average was only 260mm.
Of course, as any resident of the area knows, the rain comes and goes during the day and there’s rarely a day without sun!
The Puerto Viejo Weather page has more information and the most current forecasts.
Dec
14
Annual Donation Drive for School Kids
Posted by Editor | December 14, 2011 | Tags: Helping Out | Leave a Comment

ATEC is once again coordinating the annual Holiday school supply drive. This year, we will help the Suri School in Upper Talamanca.
There are 100′s of kids in Talamanca that need help to purchase their school supplies. School starts in February, but we do the drive now so you can have the opportunity to purchase the gift of education for a local student and then present to the conscientious person you want to honor with that gift.
Levels of donating:
• You can donate the actual materials that kids need by dropping them off at ATEC. Contact tmatecadmi@gmail.com if for the official list of supplies needed.
• US$1+ buys some pens or a notebook.
• $35 buys all of the school supplies for one kid for one year!
• $66 buys all of the school supplies for one kid for one year AND their school uniform AND SHOES!
• Or you can adopt a 1.5 kids or whole bunch of kids!
If you’re in Puerto Viejo drop off your donations of supplies or cash at the ATEC office. Or if you can’t make it there, you can make a credit card donation at the Puerto Viejo Satellite donation page and Puerto Viejo Satellite will cover all the fees so that 100% of your donation will make it to the kids.
Oct
27
Marc Anthony Visits Puerto Viejo
Posted by Editor | October 27, 2011 | Tags: Arts & Culture | 2 Comments

Latin pop music star Marc Anthony was spotted in Puerto Viejo on Sunday and again at a beach south of town on Tuesday. Crowds came out to catch a glimpse of the popular singer.
Anthony apparently flew into Limon airport on Sunday on a private flight and filmed a segment for the reality TV show “¡Q’ Viva! The Chosen” which he is producing along with his ex-wife, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez.
More: AFP: Marc Anthony conmociona al Caribe costarricense, Tico Times: Latin star Marc Anthony making waves in Costa Rica
Oct
25
Puerto Viejo Surfter Wins World Championship
Posted by Editor | October 25, 2011 | Tags: Sports | 2 Comments
Craig Schieber catches a wave on his way to a world championship. Courtesy of Costa Rica Surf FederationCosta Rica entered the history books of world surfing Sunday when Craig “Tequila” Schieber became the first Costa Rican surfer to win the title of world champion at the 2011 International Surfing Association World Masters Surfing Championship, held Oct. 16-23 in La Libertad, El Salvador. Schieber won gold in the Grand Kahuna division (age 50+).
The masters championship is a gathering of the world’s top surfers age 35 and older. Surfers from different countries compete for medals in five categories, Masters (35+), Grand Masters (40+), Kahunas (45+), Grand Kahuna (50+) and Women Master (35+). Tica surfer Andrea Díaz placed fifth in the women’s category. Costa Rica finished the tournament ranked seventh overall in the world.
Schieber, who became a naturalized Costa Rican citizen 20 years ago, lives in the beach community of Puerto Viejo. He and the rest of the Costa Rican masters team are set to arrive back in Costa Rica on Monday afternoon.
Source: Tico Times: Costa Rican wins world surfing championship
Oct
23
KOKi Beach Among Honorees at National Awards Ceremony
Posted by Editor | October 23, 2011 | Tags: Community News, Helping Out | Comments Off
Puerto Viejo restaurant Koki Beach won national recognition for its contributions for the environment and social work in an awards ceremony recognizing businesses and institutions that improve the quality of life in Costa Rica.
The restaurant is was one of the recipients of the “Aportes al Mejoramiento de la Calidad de Vida” prize for 2011.
Other awards were given to a community leader in Alajuela, a team of veterinarians from the Universidad Nacional, a group of clowns and a recycling program.
The awards were decided on by a committee from Costa Rica’s ombudsman and from the public universities.
More: La Nación: Autoridades premian aportes para mejorar la calidad de vida
Oct
11
Details Revealed for Route 32 Expansion
Posted by Editor | October 11, 2011 | Tags: Transport | Comments Off
Traffic backups are common on route 32 with many large trucks traveling between the central valley and Costa Rica’s most important port in Limon. Photo courtesy of La Nación.La Nación is reporting today many more details of the proposed expansion of Route 32 between San José and Limon.
The project is now being estimated to cost between $350 million and $420 million dollars. It is being financed by a credit line from the Chinese government and would be built by Chinese firms.
The 108km project starts from the Rio Frio crossing on Highway 32 to Limon. It will include 4 four lanes of traffic in a separated roadway, 14 overpasses, bus bays, pedestrian overpasses and a bike lane to protect the many students and workers who commute by bicycle along the route. The plan also includes repairs to the 32 km connection from Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui (the other Puerto Viejo) to route 32.
The route carries about 5,000 cars a day including 700 commercial trucks.
The project is still in the planning stages so no timeline has been announced.
More information: La Nación: País negocia crédito blando con China para ampliar vía a Limón
Oct
3
Beach Clean Up Gets Results
Posted by Nina | October 3, 2011 | Tags: Community News, Helping Out | 2 Comments
The beach clean up was a great success, you really do not know how much trash there is all over the beach until you are out there picking it up for yourself! Volunteers collected around 300 kilograms from Home Creek river all the way to Salsa Brava beach in downtown Puerto Viejo.
A big thank you to the Puerto Viejo School kids, who spent their unscheduled day off from school with us in the unrelenting heat. Way to go!
These community events do not only rely on the people to come out and spend their day picking up trash, we also need the local businesses to get involved. I am happy to say that the support from the local businesses was amazing! It is truly a great feeling to have companies and organizations like ATEC, Banana Azul, Cantik, Coco Loco Lodge, El Diamante, Exploradores, Farmacia Amiga, Interbus, Koki Beach Restaurant, Supermercado Old Harbour and Terraventuras which all pulled together to help make the event a great success.
Special thanks to Terra Nostra for coming to support us for this day! Their insight of how important the clean-up of our beaches is, was very inspiring. They instructed us on not just picking up trash, but also on how to sort trash correctly. I guarantee you I will never look at trash the same way again.
After collecting all this trash it had to go somewhere. Well that was when Reci Caribe and Municipalidad de Talamanca took over. After the trash was sorted correctly all the recyclable items were documented and then loaded onto a truck and were sent to the local recycling center, all the remaining trash was transported away by Municipalidad de Talamanca to a local land fill.
All the collected trash collected at this beach clean up is going to be reported to the Ocean Conservancy and the data is going to be added to their world wide program “International Costal Cleanup 2011”.
Residents and local businesses of Puerto Viejo really proved that even the smallest communities can make a difference when everyone works together. Once again great job everyone! Lets all continue to keep our beautiful beaches clean!
You can see more photos and more information about the results at the facebook album.
Article by Nina Neidhart. Nina is the general manager of Gecko Trail Adventures, a Puerto Viejo based tour company which offers packages, transportation, tours and activities throughout Costa Rica. They specialize in helping clients to set up a customized and authentic experience of the real Costa Rica. More information at GeckoTrail.com. |
Sep
23
Mountain Bike Event October 16
Posted by Editor | September 23, 2011 | Tags: Community Calendar, Sports | Comments Off
| October 16, 2011 | ||
| 9:00 am |
PromoBike and CATCAS are sponsoring this year’s mountain biking event in Puerto Viejo on the 16th of October.
The event will include a 74km long route and a 35km short route for riders.
The ride starts at 9 a.m. and the entry fee is 6000 colones. That includes hydration stations, bicycle mechanics available and a raffle. And there’s usually a great party afterwards!
For more information, telephone 8383-8223 or 8389-5289.
Sep
21
Funds budgeted for Route 32 upgrades in 2012
Posted by Editor | September 21, 2011 | Tags: Transport | 1 Comment
Diario Extra is reporting that the Costa Rica government has budgeted funds in their 2012 budget to expand and modernize this route which connects San José and Limon.
Caribbean residents are well aware of the faults of the route given the frequent mudslides which close the route and the resulting delays or hours long detours.
The newspaper states that the funds will primarily come from long term loan from the Chinese government with additional funds coming from the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (Central American Bank for Economic Integration). However the figures quoted by the newspaper don’t make a lot of sense as they give figures in colones and in dollars that are completely different, at one point quoting ¢420,000,000 (which is just $840,000 USD more or less) and at another point quoting $210,000,000 USD. One hopes the latter figure is the correct one as the first one doesn’t seem adequate to accomplish much.
The work will take some three years to complete and is said to include expanding the road to four lanes between Rio Frio and Limon.
More: El Diario Extra: China Prestaría ¢420 Millones Para Arreglar Ruta a Limón
Sep
20
Education by example in the southern Caribbean
Posted by Editor | September 20, 2011 | Tags: Community Calendar, Community News, Helping Out | 1 Comment
| September 30, 2011 | ||
| 8:00 am |
Local tour company Gecko Trail Adventures is organizing a beach cleanup day on Sept 30 with local school kids.
Lead by example! Keep the beach clean.The company strives to actively participate in community projects that promote a sustainable development of the local area. In this effort, they encourage their employees to look beyond their day-to-day tasks and work on projects benefiting their community. One of these endeavors is the beach clean-up they are organizing with children from the local school along with staff from Gecko Trail Adventures and Hotel Banana Azul for September 30th.
The project was made possible thanks to supplied donations from local businesses and various providers Gecko Trail Adventures works with. The trash collected will be counted with the help of Terra-Nostra. The results will be reported to Ocean Conservancy to be able to have a document that governments, organizations and companies can use to check the Waste World Marine Index.
If you find yourself in the Puerto Viejo area on September 30th you are very welcome to join them. The meeting point will be at the beach in front of Hotel Banana Azul at 8:00am.
Article by Gecko Trail Adventures. Gecko Trail Adventures started 3 years ago with 2 staff and a tiny tour desk in a local hotel. The main objective was, and still is, to offer good quality and reasonably priced tours to clients that wish to visit the Caribbean as well as all other areas of Costa Rica. Today they employ 14, local Caribeños as well others from around Costa Rica and around the world, who devote themselves to ensuring that everyone has the best possible experience while visiting this beautiful country. Their goal is to provide customized services that fit each client’s needs, and in this way utilize local guides and small companies and hotels to be able to offer an authentic Costa Rica experience. More information at www.gecktrail.com. |
Sep
19
Massive Landslide Blocks Highway 32
Posted by Editor | September 19, 2011 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters | Comments Off
Rescue workers at the scene. Photo courtesy of La Nación.The heavy rains this weekend caused a large landslide at kilometer 33 on route 32 (between San Jose and Guápiles) and fell onto a car driving through at the time.
The car was pushed off the road and into a ravine, some 90 meters deep. The driver, a 50 year old man, was taken to hospital in San Jose but seems to have miraculously suffered only minor injuries.
The accident happened at 6:32pm last night and the road remains closed today so drivers are advised to take the alternative route.
More: La Nación: Derrumbe bloquea paso por vía hacia Guápiles desde anoche
Sep
12
Seeing Another Talamanca: Volunteering with ANAI
Posted by Kevin | September 12, 2011 | Tags: Environment, Helping Out | Comments Off
Sleeping in an indigenous Bribri house 15 miles from any road, as part of an expedition as insightful and non-touristy as it gets. Listening to our Bribri friends relate the ancient beliefs of their culture, part in Spanish, part in Bribri. Eating lunch out of banana leaves next to a cool mountain stream. Watching a 5-foot eel narrowly escape our seine net. Looking at thousands of freshwater fish daily. These were all relatively normal events during my time volunteering with the Asociacion ANAI, which hopefully sheds some light on how interesting living and volunteering in Talamanca can be.
I spent about half a year living in Hone Creek, a small town 5km inland from Puerto Viejo, as a volunteer with ANAI. The organization’s objectives lie mostly within the realm of river and stream monitoring and environmental education, though in reality it is involved in a multitude of related activities. The field station in Hone Creek takes 25-35 trips a year,between February and May/June, to sites all over Talamanca, for 1-5 days each. The trips take place in many different places, from the border at Sixaola to Limon, from the coast to higher up in the mountains than most people knew existed, even into Panama.
Many of these expeditions take place high up in the watersheds, in places very few people see, where human impact is minimal to none, to get samples of fish near their breeding grounds, where the indicators of stream health are most present and significant. On these expeditions, 3-5 ANAI staff, usually a couple volunteers, and about 4-8 locals, all participate in biomonitoring to improve the health of the water systems in the region.
Everyone, including the volunteers, are directly involved in the work, and aren’t left standing and watching on the side. Fish are collected and identified, along with shrimp, eels and macroinvertebrates (larvaeof flying insects). Visual assessments are taken, water is tested, pictures are taken, and at the end of each day, a delightfully large cache of information has been made to be used in various ways. The information is put into a database and compared to previous years, then given to the local government, the Costa Rican government, the University of Costa Rica (which volunteers sometimes work with as a partnership), UNESCO, and other NGOs working in environmental management. Academic articles are also published from time to time in peer-reviewed journals. The field work can be physically demanding, but then again most rewarding things aren’t easy, right?
These expeditions serve as environmental education courses almost as much as they serve the goal of biomonitoring. The ANAI staff teach as they go, to the local people hired to help carry gear (and participate) as well as to any volunteers with ANAI at the time. These “courses,” at least in my opinion, are infinitely more helpful, practical, and interesting than the majority of courses in a classroom because everyone has the opportunity to ask questions all dht”ay long, see firsthand what the studies look like, and not worry about tests to pass or homework to do. The work is fun, the information is very interesting, and therefore learning becomes an enjoyable and interactive experience that doesn’t feel forced. After all, who could complain with being outside all day, learning about watersheds and tropical ecology?
The website is http://anaicr.wordpress.com and any inquiries can be made to Maribel Mafla, who lives permanently in Talamanca and co-runs the field work, at mmafla@anaicr.org (Spanish only) or to Diego Lynch, the President of ANAI, who lives in San Jose, at diego@anaicr.org (English or Spanish). They are happy to take phone calls at 2756-8120.
Jul
27
Demolition begun on Hotel Las Palmas
Posted by Editor | July 27, 2011 | Tags: Environment, Government and Politics | 4 Comments

Officials begin demolition work on the Las Palmas Hotel this morning. Photo courtesy La Nación
Government officials this morning have begun carrying out a demolition order on Hotel Las Palmas in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.
However, a judge has ordered a stay on the demolition at nearby Hotel Suerre pending a further appeal. Both hotels are located near Punta Uva.
The legal fight here goes back almost 20 years.
In the late 80′s, the Czech-born businessman Jan Kalina proposed a hotel in the area within the refuge Gandoca-Manzanillo. On June 17, 1990 he received a land use permit with the commitment to carry out the project in strict compliance with the environmental regulations for construction in the reserve and he proceeded to build the Hotel Las Palmas.
However, in 1992, apparent irregularities and environmental damage were detected. These included the construction of an artificial lagoon, the construction and expansion of drainage, the obstruction of natural water ways, tractor work, mercury lighting on the palm trees and use of coral to fill a swamp and unauthorized removal of trees.
On March 5, 1993, a court ruling gave the green light to a resolution issued by the then Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines to revoke the original land use permit. This order required the eviction and demolition of everything that was built.
After that, Kalina appealed seeking to overturn the measure. In 2004 the appeal was rejected by the Sala Primera court which again ordered the resort demolished.
It was not until September 28, 2005 when the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Mina) took possession of the hotel, evicted the guests, then the employees and ultimately the owner and his wife. Two days later Sala IV court stayed the eviction and demolition order pending another appeal.
On October 8, 2009 an Administrative Court judge ruled again for the eviction and demolition of the hotel.
The work was finally begun today despite the opposition of some neighbors and protests over the last two days. Those protesters fear that the demolition of the hotel will lead to eviction and demolition of other properties which may also be in violation of the environmental regulations in the reserve or their land use permits.
When the officials entered the hotel, there were 14 tourists staying there who have been relocated elsewhere in the area.
Meanwhile, 28 employees were assisted by the Joint Social Welfare Institute (IMAS) to determine if they qualify for financial assistance.
Luis Diego Román, coordinator of the eviction operation, said the demolition of the buildings would start today and there is no deadline to finish it.
“Here they drained a wetland, cut down trees and modified the beachfront. And there is not even any wastewater treatment. The environmental damage was caused 20 years ago when the hotels were built. The owners have not paid the state for five years and now we will try to return to its natural state,” said Roman.
More:
- La Nación: Minaet toma posesión de dos hoteles en refugio de Manzanillo
- La Nación: Litigio de 18 años termina en demolición de hotel Las Palmas
- La Nación: Comenzó demolición del hotel Las Palmas
- Teletica 7: MINAET desaloja 2 hoteles en el Caribe sur

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Colline W. Emmanuelle is the Education & Community Outreach Manager for
Article by Eric Haller. Eric Haller has lived in Cocles for 5 years, plays music, and can be found blogging from time to time at 
Article by Nina Neidhart. Nina is the general manager of Gecko Trail Adventures, a Puerto Viejo based tour company which offers packages, transportation, tours and activities throughout Costa Rica. They specialize in helping clients to set up a customized and authentic experience of the real Costa Rica. More information at 
Article by Gecko Trail Adventures. Gecko Trail Adventures started 3 years ago with 2 staff and a tiny tour desk in a local hotel. The main objective was, and still is, to offer good quality and reasonably priced tours to clients that wish to visit the Caribbean as well as all other areas of Costa Rica. Today they employ 14, local Caribeños as well others from around Costa Rica and around the world, who devote themselves to ensuring that everyone has the best possible experience while visiting this beautiful country. Their goal is to provide customized services that fit each client’s needs, and in this way utilize local guides and small companies and hotels to be able to offer an authentic Costa Rica experience. More information at 


