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Historically turkeys have been obscenely expensive in Costa Rica (we’re talking up to $70-150 USD or more for a single bird), but the past few years prices seem to have gone down a bit (to about $50-60 a bird). This year, Automercado is selling 6.5-7 kilo turkeys for 3,795 colones per kilo (starting at about…

A Warm Greeting from our family to yours:   During 2015 Mar Vista blossomed into a vibrant and growing community. We now have twenty homes with five additional homes currently under construction and several more scheduled to break ground within the year. The excitement and positive energy is palpable. We are very pleased to welcome…

Costa Rica doesn’t officially celebrate Halloween (although bars and restaurants countrywide would wholeheartedly disagree with that statement). Instead, the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture created a national mandate declaring October 31st the “Dia Nacional de la Mascarada,” or the traditional day dedicated to traditional masks and mask makers. “Mascaras” are beautiful handmade masks that have…

It’s easy to lose yourself in the vivid shades of orange, pink, purple and blue of a Costa Rican sunset. But why do sunsets vary so much from place to place, and from evening to evening? Why are they typically more stunning near beaches, deserts or canyons than in other parts of the world? To…

In 2021, we were proud to transition Blue Water Adventures to new ownership. Please visit them at Blue Zone Experience. One of the most common questions we get from visiting families is this: what are the must-do tours and activities in the Tamarindo area? Here’s our list of ideas for things to do with kids…

For about two or three days each year in early July, crabs are everywhere. Thousands of red and purple carapaces and gigantic claws swarm Tamarindo’s shorelines in a mass exodus. They click and clack around the beaches, roads and even parking lots. The Tamarindo estuary overflows with them. And these aren’t just any ordinary crabs…

HGTV House Hunters International featuring Playa Flamingo to air September 7 by Becky Clower House Hunters International has again set its sights on Costa Rica. This time, the popular HGTV show elected to focus on not only the beaches of northwest Guanacaste including Playa Flamingo, Playa Potrero but also as far north as the small…

  Each year on August 24th in the mountain town of Barva de Heredia, the young and old alike take to the streets in handmade artistic masks to celebrate the town’s patron Saint Bartholomew. Bands called cimarronas play loud traditional music, and townspeople run around chasing one another with air-filled cow bladders tied to a…