The Rainforest Blog
Forest & Sea Adventures
June 6th, 2011It was a nice walk to the waterfall with Camila and Joaquin from Chile. It was a lovely and quiet morning with white faced monkeys swinging by, ameivas lizards scurrying along the ground and butterfly’s fluttering around us.
The best part was planting a cedar sapling in the regenerating secondary forest that leads to the primary forest surrounding the stream flowing from the waterfall, located within the Piedras Blancas National Park. Later that same day I went with these new friends on their honeymoon to snorkel in the Golfo Dulce.
With our heads immersed in the blue-green waters, we took a lot of photos of the wonderful world of the coral reefs. There was an abundance of colorful fish like rainbow fish to entertain our eyes.
It was incredible to see these two different worlds all in one day – the lush vibrant green of the lowland tropical forest and the emerald green-blue waters filled with multi-colored fish!
Ecological Blue Flag Program
May 23rd, 2011
Playa Nicuesa has been recognized for its commitment to a clean beach and environmental consciousness in its community by receiving the Blue Flag. Costa Rica has expanded the Ecological Blue Flag Program, which started in in Spain, to include many categories with the purpose of verifying the implementation of activities in communities and schools that contribute to the protection of water sources, forests and coastlines.
Playa Nicuesa has been participating in the beaches category of the Blue Flag Program for over a year now. To receive the Flag the hotel must test quality of drinking water as well as ocean water, coordinate beach clean ups, ensure a responsible waste management system in the community including garbage bins along the coastline, educate the community about the importance of water and other environmentally related topics and regularly inspect the coastline to ensure there are no industrial or domestic discharges.
The motivation to participate in this program came from a few employees that began to gather garbage that washed up along the beach in their free time.
Now they have expanded that initiative and have educated the community on a wide variety of topics related to water, planned beach clean ups in our own backyard as well as in several neighboring beaches. Even guests have gotten drawn into the fold by joining in on beach clean ups and learning how garbage arrives even on pristine and protected shorelines.
April 27th, 2011
It was a wonderful morning with a lovely family – Kurt, Tally, TJ, Tanner, Tom, Laurie and I in the mangroves. We started by creeping up the river, pausing frequently to look at the snakes and birds along the shoreline and flying above us.
We stopped and anchored in an incredibly peaceful part of the river where we could absorb the sights and sounds more fully while eating breakfast and sipping on our coffee.
Throughout the trip we had an amazing time taking pictures, the best of which were
the grey breasted martin,
northern tree boa,
and the green heron.
Guests always comment that they feel they are entering a different world as they glide through the black and red mangroves found in Rio Esquinas observing these species.
Beach Cleanup in Puntarenitas Coinciding with the International Coastal Cleanup
April 19th, 2011
On September 19th all of Nicuesa’s employees joined the Red Cross, Fire Fighters and many other local businesses to remove the growing amount of plastic bottles, Styrofoam and garbage on the island of Puntarenitas. Puntarenitas is located offshore from Golfito, (the closest town to Playa Nicuesa) and we hope to soon make it as pristine as the clean shores that we enjoy at Playa Nicuesa. Nicuesa’s Sustainability Coordinator, who organized the cleanup, also enlisted the help of Terra Nostra – an NGO focused on cleaning up Costa Rica’s rivers and beaches.
The group of around 50 volunteers collected over 7,000 plastic bottles, 5,000 pieces of Styrofoam, 900 bottle caps and much more within the span of only 4 hours. The beach resembled a dump in some places and reminded all those participating of the reasons why the three r’s are encouraged – more than 100,000 marine animals die every year as a result of getting caught in or trying to eat plastic floating in the ocean!
Due to time restraints the group had to call it a day before being able to finish. Thus, Nicuesa along with the community hopes to continue the effort in the near future. Additionally, Nicuesa is also part of the Tourism Chamber of Commerce in Golfito, which aims to clean up the city and educate people how to properly dispose of solid wastes.
September is the international month of beach clean-ups. If you go on the website of the Ocean Conservancy you can find out where there is a clean up close to you or even organize one yourself for the upcoming year!
Waterfall hike- The Monkeys were on the Monkey Trail
November 9th, 2010Coming back from the waterfall, walking down the Monkey trail we heard a big noise and the tree branches breaking. We stopped completely and stood quiet paying attention to the forest to realize that it was the jungle mafia, yes the White Face Capuchin Monkeys giving us a warning: “HEY YOU GUYS! This is our territory”.
Mike and Lisa were captivated by the scout of the group and the troop behavior. These are the smartest monkeys in the Tropical Rainforest, they are opportunists (they eat everything) and they can live up to 45 years. Capuchin Monkeys travel in packs from 6 to 8 males and as Mark and Lisa witness it, they fight to protect their territory. 
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The Mango Guest House is a 2 story accommodation that has 4 private rooms. Set in a beautiful jungle garden area with mango trees on all sides and open views of the surrounding rainforest. Each room has private entrance, beautiful hardwood floors, private bathroom, private terrace, louver doors and windows that wrap around the room to afford panoramic views. Rooms have queen beds (or twin beds upon request) with mosquito netting and ceiling fans. The Mango Guest House is separate from the Main Lodge. 
The mango house is great for all types of travelers. Especially a good choice for friends or families that want to be close, but also have the privacy of your own room with private bathroom. Also great for single travelers or those who are a bit nervous about staying in the jungle, as the mango rooms are more in an open area then the private cabins that are tucked into the rainforest. 
Also great for parties of approximately 6-10 that want to rent all 4 rooms at once.
These cabins are very private and set apart from all other accommodations. Tucked into the rainforest affording you a unique feeling of being in an amazing natural setting, yet with design and comfort details that has been described as simple yet jungle chic. Each cabin has a private entrance, beautiful hardwood floors, private open air shower-bathroom, private terrace, louver doors and windows that wrap around the room to afford panoramic views. Cabins have queen beds (or twin beds upon request) with mosquito netting and ceiling fans. The garden open air shower is within the cabin's bathroom, yet allows you to look at nature all around. Look out for the peeping monkeys! 
The new Cabin Suite is also very private and set apart from all other accommodations. Tucked into the rainforest affording you a unique feeling of being in an amazing natural setting, yet with design and comfort details that have been described as simple, yet jungle-chic. 
The cabin has a private entrance, beautiful hardwood floors, private open air shower-bathroom, private terrace,mosquito netting over the beds, ceiling fans, louver doors and windows that wrap around the room to afford panoramic views of the surrounding jungle. The Cabin Suite is similar in size to the two bedroom cabin, but set in a large loft like room with a removable 
partition wall to add flexible space for families and groups. With the partition in place it creates two large bedrooms that can accommodate 4 to 5 guests in a variety of bedding options. The Cabin Suite is also great for couples seeking more space, as well as the luxury of a comfortable sitting area, set up with a couch and chairs. 
This is a private cabin much like the single cabins but larger with two bedrooms and a common den that can also be converted for another bedroom. This is a great choice for families, especially with younger children. The cabin is set at the edge of the jungle but only a few steps from the main lodge building. Each cabin has a private entrance, beautiful hardwood floors, private open air shower-bathroom, private terrace, mosquito netting over the beds, ceiling fans, louver doors and windows that wrap around the room to afford panoramic views of the jungle. 
The cabin has one large bathroom complete with our signature garden open air shower that is designed to allow you to look at nature all around. The cabin can accommodate up to 5 people. 
However, we recommend that families with older children or groups of adults that want to be near each other also consider two rooms in the mango guest house. Two rooms in mango guest house will give you more privacy amongst your group and an additional bathroom.
