Chachagua Rainforest Hotel & Hacienda Blog

I have been working in the tourism industry for more than 15 years: as a tour guide, as a recepcionist, as a waiter, as a manager. It doesn’t matter what position I have, the point is that every single job is enjoyable for me.

Humans have been doing tourism since the Roman times. We always have the curiosity of going somewhere, to taste new flavours, and to get new experiencies. And, that is exactly what my job is all about: to give that kind of experience that our visitors are looking for.

Because of the hundreds of tourist I have met in my life, I am able to write this blog. Because of them, my family lives much better than we used to live, because of all of those americans, europeans, canadians, chinese and japanese people, I have something interesting to talk about with my friends every day.

I am one of those, fortunately, whom are able to tell that love what they do. And, when you love your job, you do it not only for the money, but because it is your passion, and that’s a good reason to be a happy person.   I always tell people that, working as a Naturalist Guide in Costa Rica, I have the biggest and more beautiful office in the world, and for sure it is!

Every morning, when I wake up, I pray God for all the marvels I can see, and thank Him for make me so happy. And every day is a great chance to thank people for visiting us, because, when they come by and then go back home and tell others about what they have seen and done in my country, they help me to become happier, as well, ’cause, having more tourist every year, my hollidays seem to never ending!

Muchas gracias!

Hello, fellows!

To the present, tourism became a such important industry, and, for an emergent economy like Costa Rica, it is a good way to benefit people.

But, so far, many tourist  places are just that, tourist places, and people can get easily tired of them…

When you do ecoturism, you’re contribuiting with local comunities, because the tourist dollar is going to be expent in so many subjects, like food, transportation, salaries, and so. Also, you’re getting in touch with the reality, and learning about the local culture…this is the best way to delete some cliches that somehow we all have about some places, some people, some cultures.

I really love to show my country and all the marvels that is possible to find in this small paradise called Costa Rica!!!

See you here, guys, Pura Vida!

Costa Rica is a country with a large traditional cuisine.

The most important meal for us is breakfast, which is actually big: Gallo Pinto, fried plantains, eggs, sourcream, bread or corn tortillas, some fruit, coffee and juice…

Among all of these dishes, we can miss whatever but not the ‘gallo Pinto’, a combination of rice and beans, normally having some well chopped cilantro, sweet chilli pepper and some onion.

The recipe is really simple:

Take some rice, specially if it is from the night before, some black or red beans with a little broth, some cilantro and the onions, well chopped, and a little spoon of chopped sweet chilli pepper.

Once all the ingredients are ready, fry the cilantro, onion and pepper in some olive oil, then, add the rice, the beans and the broth. Keep them frying in the oil for a couple of minutes and then mix them up.

Now, serve them with some hot sauce, the sourcream, bread, plantains and the eggs. Get a good cup of coffee and some juice and…Bon appetite!!!!!

Once in a while, people can tell that all of that said about conservation of the forest and sustainable development is just wasted time.

Well, each person thinks different than others, so, I have learned that, if a have a feeling  and that one is good, I have to do it.

One week ago, I was planting some trees with Andres, my 4 years old nephew.

-This tree will grow, in 5 years, as tall as your house is, you know?-I told him. -Hmm-he replied-I though you were going to say that, in 5 years, this tree becomes the house of 100 birds, uncle…Won’t it be?

I smiled back to him, and said: -Yes, my boy, it will be!

What a simple way to see the future! That is why, no matter what, I’ll keep my efforts in order to conserve the environment, because, since that morning, I have decided to think like a little boy…

Costa Rica is located in Central America, a narrow and beautiful piece of land in the center of the continent. For many years, our neighbors were involved in civil wars, mean while Costa Rica lived in peace.

Our goverments, since 1948, believe in education of the people, and, for me, that makes the difference.

About the 13% of the national budget goes toward education. Elementary school and High school education are free for everyone.

Costa Rica is known as the happiest country in the world, and I believe so. We have a huge army of school kids, and our air force is big…the biggest in the world…more than 850 species of birds!

I love my little piece of land. And we lo ve tho show how we live for real.

That makes us to say Pura Vida, Costa Rica!

Come and visit us, you’ll feel in home.

One of the FAQ’s about our place is: How come you guys advertise Chachagua?

Well, as many other companies, we have a website, and we go on Social Network…but, to us, the most important marketing ever is the mouth to mouth.

This is exactly why we try to know everyone who visit us. Every single person in the world is different, and everybody has a storie to tell.

Chachagua Rainforest Hotel & Hacienda is a small place, we have only 28 rooms, and it’s never crowded. That allows us to talk to all of our guest, and, after a couple of hours, we become friends to them all. Our staff is native to the area, so, we know about the place, about our forest and about farming and the Hacienda’s work, since this has been our way of living since we were born. We all are farmers.

Our visitors always like to know about how to milk a cow, when and how the pigs give birth live, how to use medicinal plants.

They always want to know about the life in the rain forest, how is the interaction of a an air plant and a frog, what the cats eat in the forest and so…And here we are to tech and learn every day!

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that, everyday, there will be something new in the jungle.

You might walk throughout the forest time after time the whole night, but next morning, nothing will be on the same spot or the same position you saw it a couple of hours ago. That means that there is plenty of life in there.

Every single thing works for itself and for the others, everything in nature has a reason to be, and nothing is wasted.

It is amazing, I mean, just to walk and listen all of those sounds…the water running down the stream, the bird’s songs, the crickets, the frogs…once in a while, maybe hear the monkeys howling, or simply listen the wind blowing through the trees…

It is a magnificent experience to be in the jungle when it’s raining, seeing how everything comes active, and then, you realize that  you are part of the total…

I invite you guys to come and live that magical experience, if some day you thought that the world it’s getting crowded and life goes to fast for you, come over here, and you’ll change your mind.

That is the real experience you should be in…for sure, there is nothing like this.

This is why, I can tell you, folks…I am never working, I am always living in a hollydays, since I work with nature.

One of the most common animals found in the rain forest of Costa Rica is the Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)

From the same order of ant-eaters and armadillos, the Three-toed Sloth is a lazy animal who sleeps more than 15 hours a day. They are usually associated to the Cecropia tree, where is frequent to see the animal resting or hanging up side down. The sloth seems to like the leaves from Cecropia more than any other species of tree, but it is known that the cecropine, an alkaloid found in these leaves, as well as the excess of cellulose found on Cecropias could kill an animal with a very slow metabolism like the sloth. One of the reasons for this preference is that, since the sloth needs lot of hit in order to digest it’s food, and also, the cecropia tree has a weak trunk, this friendly mammal uses it for food, home and protection.

When they need to go to the bathroom, once a week, the three-toed sloth climbs down to the ground, digs a hole with it’s chunked tail, do whatever he has to do and, finally, covers it all with litter… then, it takes the whole day to go back up!

Three-toed sloth is eaten by jaguars, boa constrictor snakes and harpy eagles. Sometimes, while they are doing their needs on the ground, they are also attacked by coyotes, but this is not frequent. The sloth has a symbiosis with an algae, which covers it’s fur, giving them a kind of green or brownish color and working for camouflage up there. The algae grows fine on him, and sometimes the sloth  is seen licking his fur, maybe getting some nutrients from the algae.

Here, some pictures borrowed from the web, about this nice animal.

It’s the dream of every nature lover that I have  met in Costa Rica along 13 years working as a guide…Cris, are we gonna be able to see a Jaguar?

This big cat always awakes the interest of people. It was reverenced by indigenous civilizations like the Mayas and Aztecs…that talks about his power and importance in the rain forest.

Unfortunately, the jaguar is listed as an endangered species, althoug their population is still large in Costa Rica. In my whole life, I have seen only 2 of these animals in the wild, but is known that they are masters of camouflage. I am wondering if, in some of my lonely hikes to the rain forest, I’ve was’t been watched or followed by one jaguar…haha. Maybe, I am not a kind of yammy snack for these cats, thank God.

Well, a single male normally patrols his territory, being this larger than 40 square kilometers, and it is sometimes shared with 2 or 3 females.

Males get as large as 6 feet in length, and can reach over 250 pounds in weight. Females are a little bit smaller than males.

Jaguars have one of the most powerfull bites in nature, even stronger than the bite from Lions and Tigers. They kill their preys through a bite between the ears, being able to reach the brain. Jaguars prey on big mammals, like Tapirs and Peccaries, but also prey on birds, reptiles and, just once in a while, humans.

Melanistic individuals occur often, I mean, those black jaguars seen in movies and known as ‘Black Panthers’, but this phenomena occurs because a dominant alelum, as same in Leopards, so, there is nothing called ‘black panther’ but a melanistic cat from these 2 species…

Thank you for reading our blog.

It is said that beauty means danger…isn’t it? This is true in the case of one of the most beautiful creatures of the tropical rain forest: The Poison Dart Frog (Oophaga pumilio)

This little tiny amphibians (not larger than a nail) are found on the floor of the forest, on the caribbean slopes of Costa Rica. You can easily find them if you follow their sharping noise, putting your hands right behind your ears. Suddenly, their bright colors (red and blue) display their position and…there it is! A letal weapon for most of the predators in the forest, with the exception, maybe, of the huge Bull Frog (Leptodactylus savage)

This froggies feed on ants and termites, they get the formic acid from their preys and turn it into a neurotoxin called pumiliotoxin, a substance wich is able to paralize the muscles and kill by sofocation or a heart attack.

The males on this species are highly territorial, they defend their territory (about 8 square feet) from other males. The defense of it asures the quantity of ants and termites they will eat, and, also, it has been reported that, the number of bromeliads (air plants) in that spot has some influence when they choose the territory. Both, male and female, will bring their tadpoles up to the ‘pool’ of water found in the bromeliad, where they will finish the metamorphosis.

Some indigenous groups in South America used to get the toxins from the skin of these frogs, in order to poison their arrow heads. This is why the common name given to the species. There is no problem for humans, any ways, as long as you keep your distance from them…

As a tour guide, I like to find them for the fellows in my tours. Many people get amazed about their size, and the potencial danger in such a small creature. This is one of the most interesting animals in the rain forest.

This is the first post of a series, where I will let you know some more interesting details about plants and animals from the Costa Rica’s jungle.

I hope you guys find this interesting.