Snorkeling

Living and working at Nicuesa Lodge changed
my perspective on life. My expectations for this opportunity were really high,
and no doubt I had the time of my life. The knowledge and the fun that I experienced there is owed to the awesome people I was so lucky to spend the time with; guests,
co-workers, and the coolest managers you could ask for. 

Melo, boat captain

It
has been seven weeks since a captain with a beautiful smile, Melo, picked me
up for a wonderful 30 minute boat ride from Puerto Jimenez to Playa Nicuesa.  A ride that I was able to take many other
times, and to Golfito and around the gulf as well; sometimes to pick up new guests,
to help with errands, to represent the lodge on recycling campaigns,
or just for the fun and pleasure of being there. Those boat rides made me realize all the amazing secrets that this water holds, and the different
sensations that you get just by staring at it. 

Looking calm and still like if the surface of
the water was a mirror, it can suddenly be disturbed by a jump of a dolphin -or
many dolphins-, the bright yellow skin of a sea snake only seen in the Golfo Dulce, or
by a turtle trying to swim unnoticed beside your boat.  

Sea Snake (Pelamis platurus)

Sunset at Yoga Deck

The yoga deck was my every day sanctuary,
the place where we practice yoga and massage.  Every day at least twice a day I did the most
beautiful walk from the lodge to the deck on a wooden path over the lagoon,
always taking the time to see all the humming birds flying around the flowers, animals walking on the side or swimming
underneath the bridge. Nature fills up the
platform with the purest energy. 

Dancing with the staff

Working here you really get to relate to the guests, we share every meal with them but you actually end up sharing more
than that, lots of good talking, music, laughs, drinks and even some dancing.
People come here from all over the world and for that reason I got the chance
to hear stories from very different situations and very diverse points of
view. I
learned a lot from everybody that I spent time with. I learned
a lot from Verónica, our Sustainability Coordinator. Sustainability is very strong in Nicuesa, and from her I learned the importance of it. I also learned from her and the
rest of the staff  a lot about the flora and fauna of the Golfo Dulce and the Osa region.  

Hiking in the trails

Jumping from a palm tree during high tide

I had so much fun jumping off the dock on low tide with everybody
and jumping off the fallen palm tree at high tide, took couple of cooking lessons, swam to see the bioluminiscent planckton at night, visited the Old farm house, went kayaking the river, did
the loop trail, visited the wild life refuge and botanical garden
with guests, went to cheer for my Nicuesa boys at the soccer games, watched a
movie at the neighbour’s, watched the stars laying at the dock, relaxed at the hammocks. I loved to hear the
stories from the local staff, incredible people that have been living in this jungle since they were little. 

This morning Juan Pablo brought me to Puerto
Jiménez to take my flight back home. I already know that I’m going back being a
more open person, willing to become a better human being and to give my best to
the world.

Flying back home

2012 Achievements 

2012 has proven to be an outstanding year with regard to sustainability at Playa Nicuesa! 

Certificate of Sustainability Highest Level 

We are VERY proud to share our biggest achievement of this year: Playa Nicuesa has been awarded the highest level of the Certificate of Sustainable Tourism (CST) – five out of five leafs! The Costa Rica Tourism Board has recognized all of our hard work on, and dedication to sustainability. This certificate is given to businesses of the tourism sector, based on the degree to which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and social resource management. CST consists of a scale of 5 “levels” of sustainable tourism achievement and is regulated by the Costa Rican National Accreditation Commission. Up until 2011, Playa Nicuesa had been awarded 4 levels of sustainability. And, last year, after an exhaustive evaluation performed by members of the Costa Rica Tourism Board, we were honored to receive the 5th and highest level! Learn more about the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) Program.

Ecological Blue Flag 

Award
Another award which we are also proud to announce that we have been awarded each year since 2009 is the Ecological Blue Flag for our beach front. This National award recognizes Nicuesa’s efforts towards environmental education of our Nicuesa employee family and communities nearby, as well for maintaining our beach clean and safe for visitors. 

Organic Agriculture 

This past year we experimented with organic agriculture. Thanks to our improved composting system, and organic supplements, the fruit garden surrounding the solar drying room is thriving and providing Nicuesa guests organically homegrown, cassava, star fruit, sour guava, lime, sugar cane, pineapples, Brazilian guava, passion fruit and papaya! In addition to our regular compost, we now have worm-compost, also known as the ‘gourmet’ of composting. In this very unique composting system, the worms eat the organic waste and transform it into very rich and nutritious fertilizer. Learn more about our Sustainability Programs.

Donations and Social Programs 

Every year Playa Nicuesa feels grateful for our guests that kindly make donations towards the conservation and social programs that Nicuesa supports. As a result of donations received and matching of funds by Nicuesa, in 2012 we contributed to several different NGO’s and community programs as such as PRETOMA, MarViva, ASCONA, Osa Conservación, Yaguara, and Ministry of Environment. Click here for more information about these NGO’s. 

Thank YOU for all your past and continued support of Playa Nicuesa’s Sustainability efforts!! We wish you a very sustainable 2013!!!

]]> http://www.nicuesalodge.com/sustainability-end-of-the-year-report-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.nicuesalodge.com/costa-rican-mammals-love-our-gardens/ http://www.nicuesalodge.com/costa-rican-mammals-love-our-gardens/#comments Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:34:39 +0000 admin http://www.nicuesalodge.com/?p=1442

In the gardens of Playa Nicuesa
we get a lot of visitors every day. Birds, reptiles, butterflies, spiders,
frogs and mammals are attracted to our gardens due to the great amount of
native plants with nectar and fruits they can find in here. Even though we do
not support artificial feeding, animals stop by our place looking for food and
shelter. Nicuesa’s garden is part of their natural habitat.

 
 When you stay at Nicuesa, you
will see a lot of animals walking around your cabin. One of the most common one
is the White Nosed Coati (Nasua narica).
You could find White Nosed Coatis (or Pizotes as we call them in Spanish) in
the ground or in a tree during the day looking for food. They forage by keeping
their nose close to the floor and sniffing around to find beetles, spiders,
scorpions, ants, termites, worms, centipedes, and even land crabs. 

Toño: Nicuesa’s Coati

Agouti eating seeds

Tamandua

Kinkajou

All of these animals and more you can find here in Playa Nicuesa. Don’t worry if you hear steps or strange noises at night or during the day outside your cabin. The fauna that lives in here is always minding their own business: looking for food, for a partner, taking care of their offspring or just enjoying life in the Golfo Dulce jungle. Thanks to our lush and biodiverse gardens, you may be lucky enough to see them all just sitting from  your cabin’s balcony.

Cabin’s balcony

Everyday at Nicuesa we are grateful for being living in such a wonderful paradise. Just by being in the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce, you can tell that you are in a very special place. The breathtaking scenery of the Osa Region is more than enough to feel Mother Earth’s power. 

But… What is it about this place that makes it so extraordinary?

Sunset in the Golfo Dulce

The Osa
region of Costa Rica is a true biological treasure. It is the healthiest
primary rainforest on the whole pacific coast in Central America, in this
entire region this is the forest which contains the tallest trees and supports
some of the biggest populations of endangered fauna. There is an exceptionally
high number of endemic species, meaning that they occur only in this place in
the world.   

Within ACOSA,
or the Osa Conservation Area, there is a cluster of protected areas, 17 in
total, including the Corcovado National Park and Piedras Blancas National Park.
This patch of protected area, which represents only 3% of the country’s
territory, is home to half of Costarican plant and animal species. That is an
extremely high level of density of species, considering that Costa Rica
contains 4% of the world’s biodiversity.

Big Morray in the corals of the Gulf

The “Golfo
Dulce” (literally, “Sweet Gulf”) is the marine equivalent of the lush, pristine
jungles in the area. Commonly called a gulf, it is actually a fjord, one of the
only four tropical fjords in the world. With a maximum depth of 700 feet, it
contains very different habitats that range from warm, shallow marine coral
formations where little fish abound, to the cold depths that only cetaceans can
explore.  

Bottlenose Dolphins

The order
Cetacea comprises whales, dolphins and porpoises. Surprisingly, their closest
terrestrial relatives are ungulate mammals, which include horses, cows, tapirs
and deer among others. It was a long evolutionary way to adjust a terrestrial
mammal for life in the ocean. Some of the most obvious adaptations are the
transformation of hind limbs into a flattened tail, the fusing of cervical
vertebrae that allows no neck movement whatsoever, and the shift from front
nostrils to blowholes at the upper part of the head.

Humpback Whale blowing through the blowhole

There are
two suborders within the Cetacea order, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. Mysticeti, or
baleen whales (also called toothless whales) have mouth plates instead of teeth
and have two blowholes. All members of the Odontoceti suborder (which includes
all dolphins and toothed whales) have teeth and only one blowhole. 

Humpback Whale

Among the
more commonly seen cetaceans around the Golfo Dulce, are the spinner dolphins,
spotted dolphins, bottle nose dolphins. All these are resident and can be seen
year round. Humpback whales on the other hand, seasonally come to breed and
nurse the calves. 


Populations from the south arrive from August through November,
and populations from the north arrive from November through June. This overlap
in breeding seasons makes the Golfo Dulce an extremely rare spot where
different populations meet, promoting genetic variety of this species.    

To visit this paradise is one in a life experience, especially for those who love water, rainforest and wildlife!