School almost opens!!

All the Elementary and high school students are in summer break (which lasts from the middle of December to the middle of February) but will be back in around fifteen days and we can’t wait. We are very excited to see how many kids we are having this year and if we are having a new teacher in our Carbonera school. We have a lot of projects this year and we really want to started. If anyone has any interesting ideas or projects that we could start at the schools, please write to me at sustainable@laparios.com

Bird news

Elegant Euphonia (Euphonia elegantissima)

A small billed euphonia easily distinguished from all others of the genus by its sky-blue hood. This beautiful euphonia, now called elegant euphonia (before Blue-hooded Euphonia), was first seen near Lapa Rios, 3 years ago. Recently, we’ve being seen it again in our birding tours. Its habitat wanders through upper levels of highland forest in small flocks, coming lower at edges and in semi-open and second growth; eats soft berries, principally of mistletoes, from which it removes the skin before swallowing pulp and seeds.
It’s rare specie for the South Pacific slope, which reproduces in medium elevations, but migrates attitudinally outside the breeding season. It’s being said that the lowest they can get is up to 1300meters, but we have a new report of coming as low as sea level.
Unfortunately some numbers undoubtedly reduced by intense persecution to secure cage birds.

The President Visits Lapa Rios Ecolodge

On Friday 18th, 2008, Oscar Arias (the president of Costa Rican) visited the Osa Peninsula and us here at Lapa Rios Ecolodge. He was invited for a presentation hold on the Osa Campaign (a campaign for the conservation of the Osa Peninsula). The presentation was held in Bosque del Cabo ( another ecolodge in the area), and after the presentation, he came to Lapa Rios for a quick visit. He had some snacks and he walked a little bit in the property: later on he visited another lodge in Carate near Corcovado National Park. While his entire trip only lasted for one day, we feel very lucky to have been able to share the beauty of the Osa Peninsula with our president.

Ule is back!!!

Ule is back!!

Ulises Quintero, our nature guide, returned to Lapa Rios for good. He worked since 2003, and decided to leave and experience something new. He started working with fishing boats and doing surf lessons near Puerto Jimenez. He was out for 5 months, and soon he decided to come back. He started working the first week on December and since we’ve enjoyed his smiles and jokes. We are very glad to have him back and hoping he will stay for long.

Welcome The University of Vermont!

On January 12th,2008, we had a group of eighteen students fron the University of Vermont. All of them were taking a sustainability tourism class, and came to Lapa Rios for lunch and for a discussion of sustainable tourism, the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), what we do and our plans for the future.
It was pretty interesting to hear their ideas and their questions, and to see the interest that they show in sustainability. We saw a lot of energy in their young faces and a lot of expectations. We have been hosting The University of Vermont for many years, and we hope they continue to visit us for the years to come.

EM for everyone!

We just started using a new product in our septic tanks called EM (Effective Microorganisms) to make sure that we are not releasing any types of harmful bacteria into the rainforest. Our new general manager, a graduate of the EARTH University, is a HUGE fan of EM and uses it for everything (literally, everything). Here is some information about EM-1

EM-1 is used in over 120 countries to accelerate the soil building process, promote beneficial microbial communities, and decrease incidence of disease in all soil types. EM-1 produces high levels of polysaccharides and other beneficial enzymes and organic acids that help build stable aggregate and soil structure, reducing soil erosion and run-off resulting in soils that are better able to absorb and retain moisture, as well as cycle nutrients. EM-1 efficiently breaks down organic matter into stable humus, a key component to aggregate formation, by reducing oxidative forces that primarily rob the soil of C and N in the form of methane and ammonium gases. The result is a greater amount of organic matter being converted to humus, aiding in aggregate formation.

Check this out!

We really liked this video:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Check it out!