National Pejibaye Festival, Costa Rica

By CostaRica.com

Every October the sleepy village of Tucurrique comes alive with thousands of visitors to celebrate the National Pejibaye Festival. Spanning two weekends, the event honors the town's regional specialty – pejibaye, or peach palm fruit.

A unique fruit that tastes like a cross between a baked potato and roasted chestnuts, the pejibaye is yellowish-orange to red in color, and is always boiled before consumption. Delicious even when served plain, the pejibaye is often crowned with a dollop of sour cream or mayonnaise.

At the Pejibaye Festival, the hosts prepare this delicacy in many different ways. You'll be able to try creamy bisque, cakes and breads, sugar cane treats, drinks, and even homemade liquor – all made from pejibaye.

In between mouthwatering goodies, guests can enjoy the festival's other attractions. An adjacent farm gives pejibaye tours on traditional oxcarts or tractors that detail peach palm cultivation and production. Another favorite is shopping artisan and bakery stands, run by locals who sell their handicrafts and typical foods.

The festival also promises a wide range of events, including parades, folkloric dancing, fireworks, contests, rodeos and horseback rides. Live music is always a staple and tunes range from steel band cimarronas to modern favorites like salsa and cumbia. The annual festival is held downtown at the Centro Agricola Cantonal de Tucurrique, located on the outskirts of Turrialba.

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Waterfall Rappelling in Costa Rica

Just one of the many adventure pursuits in Costa Rica.

Which Coast to visit in Costa Rica - Pacific or Atlantic

By CostaRica.com

A common question when vacationing in Costa Rica is which coast to visit. Flanked by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the country offers more than 800 miles of gorgeous coastline, and each beach town has its own perks and appeal. Your accommodation needs, time of visit, and activity preferences will help narrow down which region to visit; or if you have ample time, plan to explore both the Caribbean and Pacific sides. While you can book just about any adventure tour on both coasts, the climate, beaches, amenities and general ambiance vary greatly between the two.

Pacific Coast

Overview: Home to Costa Rica's most touristed beach towns, Costa Rica's Pacific coast is the more popular choice for most travelers. Beach communities like Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Flamingo and Conchal have modern infrastructure, upscale hotels and resorts, and easy access to high-speed Internet. The northern Guanacaste region is the most developed region on this coast, and in addition to plenty of other travelers, you'll encounter a large expat population, ethnic restaurants, and a slew of stunning beaches that vary from pink to white to cocoa-colored sands. The cultural ambience is purely "Tico," or Costa Rican, and many locals speak English quite well. If you're interested in spectacular sunset views, the Pacific coast is for you.

Most Popular Towns: Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Montezuma, Samara, Tamarindo, Flamingo, Conchal and Papagayo.

Best Swimming Beaches: For the tamest waves, head to Manuel Antonio, Playa Carillo, Playa Langosta, Samara or Conchal.

Caters To: The bulk of Pacific coast beach towns cater to families with children, honeymooners, nature lovers, and travelers looking for upscale or all-inclusive resorts. Business travelers typically find the amenities and services better on the Pacific coast. The remote Osa Peninsula offers more rustic accommodations and is frequented by backpackers, and wildlife enthusiasts eager to get off the tourist trail.

Weather: Generally speaking, the Pacific coast -- especially Guanacaste province-- is drier than the Caribbean. The rainy season runs from May through October, with the rainiest months being June, September and October. Daytime temperatures hover around 89°-96°F, with an average of ten hours of sunshine during the dry season.

Caribbean Coast

Known for its laid-back vibe and distinctive Afro-Caribbean culture, the Caribbean coast sees fewer tourists than the Pacific, but hosts some of the country's most idyllic black sand beaches. Luxury accommodations do exist, but this side of the country is focused more on ecotourism, nature and beachfront living. The infrastructure is minimal in many areas; pot-holed dirt roads are the norm, but villages like Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Tortuguero still draw thousands of tourists each year. Wildlife watching and turtle tours are Tortuguero's main highlights, while big waves and deserted beaches lure visitors to the southern Caribbean coast. This side of the country has an entirely different feel than the Pacific, from the prevalent Jamaican cuisine and music, to the provincial, small-town feel in each village.

Most Popular Towns: Tortuguero, though only visited for canal tours and wildlife watching, as its dark sand beaches have strong riptides and aren't good for swimming. Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Punta Uva and Manzanillo offer secluded spots for beach-side picnics, and the waves at Salsa Brava can't be beat for seasoned surfers.

Best Swimming Beaches: This coast has stronger currents and notorious riptides, so always look for areas that are marked safe for swimming. Cahuita's Playa Negra, portions of Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita, and Manzanillo have gentle waves.

Caters To: Backpackers, budget travelers, culture aficionados, and visitors looking for a unique, laid-back vacation destination. While four-star hotels do exist, they're few and far between, and most visitors prefer to spend their extra funds on splash-out Caribbean meals or adventure tours.

Weather: Though the Caribbean is more humid than the Pacific coast, temperatures are bit milder, ranging from 77 to 89°F year-round. This coast has an entirely different weather pattern, as its driest months occur February-March and September-October. If your vacation dates fall between September and October, which is the rest of the country's rainy season, a trip to the Caribbean might be your best option

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Tabacon Hot Springs, Arenal

First lots in NatureWalk 4 Dominical launched

The first building lots in NatureWalk 4, overlooking the sea in Dominical have been launched. Just a few minutes from the sea and ideally located these are beautiful lots.

To find out more please e mail us on info@costaricainvest.ie

Preliminary Modular Home Designs

Costa Rica Investments in Bio-fuel, and Sustainable Agro Developments

The Costa Rica News

Central America and especially Costa Rica has seen a large surge in Biofuel initiative. There new Biofuel cooperative projects, intercropping (with food and oil bearing plants) development, including a new investment wave called Multi Purpose Real Estate, United Biofuels Of America (UBA)

Investing in bio-fuel is profitable in the short term and long term and helps reduce dependency on unstable foreign sources.

Here in Costa Rica the governmental bodies have full buy-in to renewable energy and sustainable agro developments.

Costa Rica is attempting to produce ethanol and biodiesel on a large enough scale to eventually reduce or even replace petroleum fuel. The state oil company, Recope, is constructing a large processing plant, the government is about to release a plan for the industry’s development, and the Institute for Agrarian Development, is engaged in research projects for certain products to convert to biofuels.

At present, ethanol is produced from sugar cane and to a lesser extent from yuca (cassava), a root crop. There is some production of bio-diesel from African Palm oil. Research is ongoing with respect to very promising oil seed crops for biodiesel, higuerilla and jatropha.

There is ample opportunity for investments in these crops to supply a local and international market. Petroleum prices are expected to remain at high levels. Biofuels reduce vehicle emissions when mixed with or replace gasoline or diesel. However, when biofuels are produced on a large scale there are also large scale environmental and social consequences, especially when the source of ethanol is corn or soybeans for biodiesel or when growing crops that displace food crops or convert forests to crop lands.

These adverse environmental and social consequences are mitigated when biofuel crops are grown on land that had been previously deforested and converted to cattle pasture. In Northern Costa Rica there are vast expanses of unproductive cattle pasture, much of it mechanizable and not requiring irrigation. This is a good opportunity to promote the conversion of cattle lands to socially useful and productive crops. This is already occurring with the proliferation of pineapple, root crop, and palmito plantings. However, it makes good sense to plant many more food crops there, such as rice, beans, and animal feed, while still leaving space for biofuel crop cultivation.

Presently, there is a project that involves an effort to plant thousands of hectares of jatropha in Costa Rican and other countries. The oil from the seed is converted to diesel and no modification of diesel motors is required. Yield is high, production costs for the hardy plant are low, and demand is potentially infinite, including for aviation fuel. The company engaged in the project invites equity participation, as well as offering technical assistance and production contracts to growers.

An excellent investment for animal feed is in pejibaye, a palm nut fruit that is very high in protein and other nutrients. Research on pejibaye has demonstrated that it is superior to corn or other grains for animal feed, especially for poultry. The fruit is also very nutritious for human consumption, including for baby food. Pejibaye palm is very productive, much higher yield than grains, and has a low cost of production. Costa Rica spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually in importing grains for animal feed and development of this high yield crop would be an excellent import-substitution measure and help reduce the nation’s chronic balance of payment deficits. The export market for prepared chicken feed would also be excellent. To accomplish this on a large enough scale to make a difference will require the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute for Agrarian Development, and other government planning institutions.

With recent increases in food prices Costa Rican officials and the general public has become concerned about food sovereignty, that is the cost and availability of food imports. While Costa Rica is largely self-sufficient in fruits and vegetable, dairy products, and meat and fish, this is far from the case with the basic staples of the population’s diet, rice and beans. Domestic production accounts for less than half national consumption of these staples. Corn and other grains are almost entirely imported. There is ample land for mechanized cultivation of these crops, especially in the Northern Zone.

Money Does Grow On Trees!!!!

UBA is not listed on any stock exchange, but IEA, which markets and sells renewable energy farms, is seeking to get listed on the BNV share index or in the United States within three years. So a potential green investor can either wait for IEA to become an IPO (initial public offering) or purchase one of the renewable energy farms. One farm is 1.24 acres of planted parcel real estate property that is segregated and costs $35,000. The purchase includes 800 – 1,000 jatropha and palm trees, a Costa Rican corporation (the investor owns that for tax and transfer advantages), irrigation, management, road, water and electricity. UBA will sell the jatropha oil produced on the farm and give all revenues to the investor minus a 10% management fee. The oil will be sold to a guaranteed buyer, Recope, which is the national petroleum company of Costa Rica. They have a mandate to put a 10% blend in their fuel by next year.

Based on crude prices of $90 or less a barrel, Yépez says, infrastructure that is developed has an added value of $35,000 because the price of the farm doubles when facilities are added. After ten years the value will be over $120,000, giving the investor a 380% return on investment. The investor will also have $50,000 produced in revenues from the biofuel plantation. It’s a ten-year investment where you can opt out any time.

For more informaion on Multi Purpose Real Estate Investments e mail us on info@costaricainvest.ie

To Read the full story on the Costa Rica News click here