3 Unique Experiences in Costa Rica

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3 Unique Experiences in Costa Rica
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A popular tourist destination, Costa Rica is rich
in bio-diversity and natural beauty. Host to up
to 2 million visitors a year, it is one of the
hottest adventure tourism locations in Latin
America. Despite its popularity, the country is
able to offer the tourist a peaceful and laid
back experience. Its beaches are calm, endless
and empty, the atmosphere borders on lazy and the
lodgings are cozy and secludedperfect
combination for a relaxed holiday. But for the
adventure junkie, its a different story. Active
travelers can surf, hike, river raft, go
kayaking, snorkel and spot Costa Ricas exotic
wildlife for starters. If this is not enough
action, you have the option of climbing an active
volcano as well! Apart from this regular
indulgences on the itinerary, here are a few off
the block activities that might not be on the top
of every Costa Rica travel guides list but would
definitely make for a unique experience
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VISIT THE SLOTH SANCTUARY
Strange looking and not exactly cuddly, sloth
bears seem to have found an ardent fan following
in the form of the Avarios del Caribe sanctuary.
This place has the most interesting story a
regular bed and breakfast type of resort till
1992, the proprietors were given an injured
three-toed sloth to nurse back to health.
Deciding that the hotel needed added attractions,
they started accepting and taking care of other
sloths that were handed over for rehabilitation.
Soon word got around and as the number of animals
increased, so did the facilities for them. Now
the BB is a full-blown sloth sanctuary with a
clinic, kitchen, laundry, nursery and a
quarantine centre. The sanctuary offers daily
tours, a small bed and breakfast as well as boat
and bird watching tours on their property. All
sloth bear enthusiasts head to Costa Rica!
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VISIT A LOCAL VILLAGE
To really know a place, it is important to be
introduced to its culture, its roots. In the
case of Costa Rica, this would mean having the
Costa Rica vacation guide digress from the usual
adventure sports path into a local village.
Typically villagers are a friendly lot, and
happily give you a guided tour of their village.
If youre lucky, youll probably be invited into
one of their homes and be offered a meal. If
youre really lucky then an enthusiastic villager
might even show you how to make pure chocolate
out of a cocoa seed!
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Visit a Vanilla Farm
Costa Rica is a good place to grow a variety of
things, but the weather is particularly conducive
for cocoa plantations, cinnamon and vanilla
farming. An interesting place to visit is the
Villa Vanilla Spice Farm which specializes in
vanilla farming along with other spices like
Ceylon cinnamon, cocoa, peppers, ginger, red
turmeric, allspice and cardamom. The two and a
half hour tour allows you to see, smell and
tastes a host of tropical spices. Villa Vanilla
is a great place to go if youre traveling with
kids, they offer a number of educative activities
plus stays in cabins for volunteers. It is a
very informative trip, which a visitor can top
off by stocking up on the mouth-watering
merchandise.
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This small nation can be best described as an
invaluable refuge for nature. A haven of peace,
Costa Ricans have set aside one quarter of their
land as national parks and protected areas. Eco
tourists are encouraged and rewarded with
unparalleled botanical and animal marvels. So go
ahead and experience a holiday like no other.