The biggest holiday in Costa Rica is Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week, which is celebrated with religious processions and masses. The official holiday falls on the Thursday and Friday before Easter Sunday, but in reality the country shuts down for the entire week and many places offer few if any services. Public transportation does not run on Thursday and Friday and all alcohol sales are prohibited Thursday and Friday. Most Tico’s go to the beach with their entire families to celebrate Semana Santa.


The first of May is Día de los Trabajadores (Labor Day). Parades, marches and cricket matches, fiesta’s, street fairs with music, dancing, traditional food and Toro a la Tica (bullfights without the bloodshed) are the highlights of this public holiday.


Virgen de Los Angeles is a national holiday celebrating the patron saint of Costa Rica, La Negrita. It is celebrated on August 2nd with religious pilgramages from all parts of the country, and even as far as from neighboring countries Panama and Nicaragua, to the Nuestra Senora de los Angeles Basicila in Cartago.


The 15th of August is mothers day in Costa Rica; Día de la Madre. Mother's day is a national bank, school and business holiday in Costa Rica. September 15th is Independence Day in Costa Rica. Costa Rica gained independence from Spain on the same day in 1821 as the rest of Central America. The day is celebrated with parades, traditional dancers and street parties that end with the arrival of the freedom Torch, delivered from Nicaragua to Cartago by relay runners . That’s when everyone in the country stops and simultaneously sings the national anthem.

 

1. Search for a responsible travel agency and ask them questions about their policies such as: What percentage of their employees are local citizens? Do they support any projects that benefit the local community?
2. Read up on local customs and pack appropriately in preparation for your trip.
3. Once you have arrived at your destination, use locally run services whenever possible, choose local buses, locally owned lodges and local car rental agencies and airlines. That way, money spent in the community stays in the community.
4. When shopping don’t engage in overly aggressive bargaining for souvenirs and don’t shortchange.
5. Be respectful of local citizens’ privacy and ask permission before entering protected places, homes or private land. Another thing is to be sensitive to when and where you take photos or pictures of others. Always ask first.
6. Pick up after yourself and put your trash in the appropriate receptacles. Recycle whenever possible.
7. Observe animals at a respectful distance when visiting natural areas. Don’t ever feed the animals, this can make them sick and expose them to predators and other dangers. Don’t remove plants, rocks, shells or other items from protected areas.
8. Finally, save water and energy and accept hotels suggestions that towels and sheets aren’t washed daily.

Dropping off supplies to a remote village, partying at Puerto Viejo’s numerous reggae bars, and teaching English to eager schoolchildren – these are some of the highlights during an exciting and notable first ten days in Puerto Viejo. I recently started an internship in Puerto Viejo focusing on community development projects, including strengthening ties with our current partners and looking towards expanding into other sustainable projects in the area. I was lucky to have Isaac here to show me around for my first few days in the town. While it started off slightly dull, as we had to acquire a bunch of supplies for our new house and spend an entire day cleaning it up inside and out, things quickly picked up. On Friday night, we went to Johnny’s Place, a reggae bar right on the Caribbean where it seems like most people in the small town converge on weekend evenings. Probably due to the high afro-Caribbean population in the region, reggae seems to be the music of choice for this and most of the bars here.

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to accompany a group of about eight people to Alto Katsi, a small village close to the Panama border that has been devastated by floods in the past six months. Alto Katsi is quite difficult to get to, and required a drive, boat, another drive, and then finally a 40 minute hike. This lack of proximity to other towns makes it difficult to buy products and sell the plantain and cacao goods that they produce, and is a major reason why Alto Katsi faces economic difficulties. Luckily, the journey featured some beautiful landscape, including steep cliffs, thick jungle and many rivers rushing in all directions. The purpose of our trek was to deliver supplies to the villagers of Alto Katsi. In total, there were about ten garbage bags filled with backpacks, clothing, shoes, and other supplies. Each child in the village was given a children’s backpack with learning materials. The children were present to personally receive the backpacks, and all of them accepted the backpacks by immediately putting them on. The people of Alto Katsi were very excited to receive the donations. Lacking a better method of dispersal, the clothes were dumped on plastic bags on the ground, where the villagers were able to take what they liked. In one instance, a tug-o-war broke out between two young girls who both wanted the same pink shirt. After we gave out the donations, we visited the school, which is nothing more than a wooden shack with only a floor and a roof. The two “classrooms” are separated by a small wooden log in the middle. The school is flooded several times a year, and the villagers are currently looking for a new place to build a school at a higher altitude. After seeing the excited faces of the people of Alto Katsi as they received the donations, it became clear to me that we must continue to raise money and give our best efforts to help these people and others that are in need.


Returning to Puerto Viejo on Monday, I went to teach at Cocles Elementary School. Generally, the students were willing to learn and were excited when they saw me as they knew it was time for Ingles (English). Ironically, it seems like the younger the students, the more willing they are to focus. The school is not in the best shape, and the fans work only some of the time, making it difficult even for me to focus in such hot weather, but after visiting Alto Katsi I felt like I was teaching in a deluxe North-American private school!


The rest of the week was spent teaching at Cocles in the morning and spending the afternoon getting to know the town, meeting some of its residents (like Rondhini, who showed me some magic tricks in return for a donation; and Veronica, who runs a vegetarian restaurant and hostel in the center of town), and taking in the beautiful beaches that seem to be omni-present, as you are never more than a few steps from the shore. Overall, a great introduction to the town where I will be spending three months.

Aydin Smith
Community Development intern Puerto Viejo

Thinking of taking a family trip? Why not choose a life-changing voluntour experience in Costa Rica. In 2008 the National Leisure Monitor (NLM) stated that between 2000 and 2008, there was a significant increase in leisure travelers traveling with children. In fact, in 2008, 38% of all vacations taken by Americans were taken with children. NLM also claimed that there are more ‘multi-generational’ trips being taken than ever before.

On their family vacations 50% of families choose a beach trip, while 30% choose an outdoor adventure. That means that 80% of vacation-goers will be pleased with what Costa Rica has to offer, from its beautiful white sand beaches, to its tropical rainforests and lava flowing volcanoes. Costa Rica has everything that a family seeking a different vacation could desire.

Each year Tropical Adventures welcomes many families to Costa Rica, from parents with three children, including babies, to grandparents and their grandchildren. Every one of our families has always been 100% satisfied with their experience volunteering with us here in Costa Rica. Not only are they able to make the impact on people’s lives while volunteering, but they can also enjoy all the adventures that Costa Rica has to offer through one of the many tours available.

The beaches of Talamanca, on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, are beautiful and a great place for anyone who loves the sea. During September and October and from March till May Talamanca offers the best easy beaches for diving in the country.

In the rest of the year when the famous waves kick up, these Caribbean beaches are the best beaches for surfers. Puerto Viejo is the surf capital of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.

Puerto Viejo is a small town in the south of Talamanca, famous for its laidback people, breathtaking nature, bars, reggae music and its beautiful beaches.

Professional surfers come to Puerto Viejo to surf the Salsa Brava. The waves of Playa Cocles are perfect for those willing to learn. The beach of Punta Uva is a great beach for diving.

More and more tourists and Costa Ricans are going to Talamanca for vacations on one of the many beautiful beaches. The dive and surf shops have doubled over the last few years. You can get the newest top-of –the-line gear, professional dive guides and the best surf instructors.