Last week I had the pleasure of making a 5 day mountain bike trip out of Las Catalinas with some of my friends. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it even more emphatically now – this is such a great area for exploring! We rode one day in Las Catalinas on our singletrack; one day a big backcountry loop out towards Tempate, Sardinal, and Nuevo Colon; and three great days up and around the Guanacaste volcanoes. The climate and scenery changes so dratically and quickly up and around the continental divide it is just hard to believe! Here is a video. I hope you enjoy! (PS – I have been unable to conquer a couple of technical quirks in the video – the sound gets a bit out of synch with the video image. Sorry. I need technical support!)
Vuelta a Volcan Mountain Bike Trip
March 27, 2012 By 4 Comments
Toro, Toro
March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This past Sunday was the grand finale of a long fiesta in Liberia. A group of us from Las Catalinas attended the final rodeo and fair that evening. Packed! The rodeo is partially like what you may have seen on TV and partially different. The large ring is at all times occupied with a couple of hundred or so men and boys! When a bull rider comes out, he is thrown within the first few seconds – like normal. But that is just the beginning of the show as the bull then gets to chase all the guys in the ring. A few are daring and flirt with the danger of the bull – most hang back in the distance. There is another event where a bag of money is tied to the bull’s horn, and the one who is daring enough to pluck it off gets to keep it.
Once we figured out that the danger in the ring was mainly optional, some of us Las Catalinas hombres went on in the ring. A memorable evening, for sure!
Liberia Air Arrivals Soaring
March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In January 80,680 people arrived in Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Airport. That’s up from 65,000 in 2011 and 51,000 in 2009, both of which were themselves record years. December was similarly strong. New flights and the new terminal building are making it easier and easier to get to Las Catalinas.
Liberia airport’s new terminal building
January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
We are a just few months away from having a brand new terminal building in Liberia’s airport. The new terminal will be operated by Houston Airport System Development Company (HAS-DC). Here are some renderings of the new building.
[Read more...]
Road Trip Report – Monte Verde, Lake Arenal, and Rancho Margot
January 6, 2011 By 1 Comment
One of the cool things about the Guanacaste beach area where Las Catalinas is located is that there are so many wonderful places to visit within nearby striking distance. Last week I got to do a road trip with two of my children, Bob Davey, and two of his children. This is my report.
Our first destination was Monteverde, the famous high altitude cloud forest preserve area. The drive there was spectacular. From Las Catalinas a nice paved country roads take you through the Guanacaste and Nicoya countryside across the Tempisque River bridge to the Pan American Highway. From there you leave the pavement behind and start heading up! The shortest route would be via Juntas. We went via Guacimal. The scenery and views on this route are stunning. To the east we could see the clouds clinging to the ridge tops. To the west is an incredible panaroma of the Gulf of Nicoya and the mountains of the Nicoya Peninsula beyond. [Read more...]
CIMA hospital has broken ground 40 minutes from Las Catalinas.
November 25, 2010 By 1 Comment
There is some exciting news in our region of Costa Rica, CIMA hospital has broken ground in nearby Carrillo which is roughly 40 minutes from Las Catalinas. CIMA currently operates a world class full service hospital and professional offices in San Jose and is one of the preferred private hospitals in the country by expats and Costa Ricans alike. In fact, Reid Berry, the son of Las Catalinas’ General Manager James Berry, was born in CIMA San Jose in March and was amazed by not only the quality of care, but also the affordability of the services. Attached is the original Spanish newsletter and below is an English translation:
‘Pacific Plaza has just begun construction just outside of the Liberia airport, the CIMA Hospital and Medical Plaza will be the first two buildings to be built.
After being given the starting signal on November 2nd, the construction officially began on the first complete medical services community in Costa Rica, located in Carrillo Guanacaste 10 KM from the Daniel Oduber Liberia International Airport.
The first phase will have a total built area of 16,000 square meters (160,000 square feet) and the construction will take approximately 12 months to complete. The hospital will be managed by the CIMA corporation, will feature a class A medical services hospital, and the medical center will have room for 40 medical specialty offices and some convenience stores.
“The initial term of the work of Pacific Plaza, embodies the commitment and success of the management over the past two years, we look forward to the opening of the project and the implementation of CIMA Guanacaste” … noted Mr. Bennet, Director General of the Hospital CIMA in San Jose.’
Las Catalinas’ Special Guanacaste Visitor’s Guide
August 27, 2010 By 1 Comment
August 26, 2010 – A work in progress…
Introduction
I’m writing this idiosyncratic guide for friends who are planning to visit the Guanacaste area of Costa Rica near Las Catalinas. Once we have the first buildings finished at Las Catalinas and we are up and running my recommendations will be greatly simplified! But in the meantime here is some guidance. This is meant to be just a starting point for this document, we will continue to develop it and would love to have your suggestions! And you really should be in touch with us as you plan your trip so we can help! [Read more...]
School Time
August 25, 2010 By 3 Comments
We are extremely fortunate to have two exceptionally high quality private schools located very close to Las Catalinas. Just down the road in Flamingo is the La Paz Community School. La Paz is only three years old – but it’s success and growth so far is astounding! The school is non-profit, targets a mix of local Costa Rican and expat families, is completely bi-lingual (Spanish and English), and has a strong emphasis on community service and parental involvement. I have had the good fortune to get to know some of the founders and to visit the school a few times. La Paz is truly an inspirational place, and an inspirational story. What a great asset for our community! [Read more...]
Blue Flag Award for Playa Penca
April 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Potrero is the town that borders Las Catalinas, and over the last couple of years we have become involved in local affairs, trying to help out where we can. At the end of last month the Potrero Association received a Bandera Azul award for Playa Penca. This is a national award for environmental best practices. Our own Michael Garcia was on hand at the ceremony, which featured Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, to receive the award on behalf of the association. We are very proud of Michael and of the progress in Potrero that led to this award.
By the way, Playa Penca is a particularly beautiful beach, one of a series that leads up to Las Catalinas. Playas Penca, Prieta, Pan de Azucar, Danta, Dantita, Guachipelines, Zapotal, and finally Guacamaya make for a great range of beach experiences in our immediate area. The kayaking from one to another around the rocky headlands and penninsulas is great. Our vision is to have them all linked by a great maritime zone hiking trail as well.
Guanacaste Airport Arrivals Way Up!
March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
From the Tico Times: “The number of tourists who landed in January and February at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, a short drive from popular beaches in Costa Rica’s northern Pacific province of Guanacaste, was up more than 24 percent from the same span in 2009, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT).
The Liberia airport saw 50,427 arrivals in the first two months of the year, up from 40,564 in the same period last year.”
That is pretty strong!
