JourneyEtc

Costa Rica may denote paradise and boast of toucans, howler monkeys, and a good number of wildlife that can complete a Disney cartoon flick. The life in Costa Rica is pretty much relaxed. Add to that the strong waves and beautiful environment. These reasons among others attract around 1.5 million travelers every year to Costa Rica.

The number of things you can do in Costa Rica are myriad.. Those who are into active travel can go surfing, snorkeling, hiking, and wildlife spotting. You can also cross the cloud forest, go to an active volcano, and have a relaxing massage on the beach . If you want some adrenaline pumping, you can go ziplining or surfing the rough waves of the Pacific.

If you’re environmentally conscious, you probably won’t mind sacrificing a little luxury lodging for a run-of-the-mill mosquito ridden inn. After all, if you can help save mother earth, the sacrifice is all worth it. That was several years ago, though. Now, you don’t have to camp out just to have a guilt-free summer getaway. A green vacation is possible while enjoying high-end facilities and first-class services as well.

There’s a new breed of hotels and they’re aptly tagged “eco-chic”. Now, you can enjoy the best amenities without harming the planet. Below is a list of the hottest eco-chic hotels and resorts around the world.

Costa Rica: Monte Azul Hotel and Center for Fine Arts

Costa Rica is already a known pioneer of eco-tourism, however, the set up as Monte Azul Hotel seems to beg for some redefinition. Here, the hotel’s friends and neighbors seem to give it what it needs. You can find anything just across the road: from organic vegetables to fresh milk to eggs and perfectly aged steak.

Think about the cleanest country in the world, and chances are you will answer “Singapore”. While the city state is praised time and again for being spotlessly clean, the fact remains that Costa Rica has been lauded as one of the most environmentally clean countries in the world. They have pledged to offset all carbon emissions and become fully carbon neutral by the year 2030. A tall order, but it seems that they are well on the way to achieving this status.

Prior to the pledge, Costa Rica’s reputation as an environmentally conscious country is well known across the globe. They gazetted more than a quarter of its total area and make them protected sanctuaries. Translated, this means that more than a quarter of the republic country consists of forests and wildlife parks. Costa Rica is also proud that it generates much needed electricity from renewable sources – at an impressive amount of 96 percent! In fact, they promise to reduce even more emissions from its various industries – something that most countries cannot even begin to promise.

In the Hispanic world Santa Teresa is an important saint and celebration. Consequently Santa Teresa is a wide spread town name : there are Santa Teresa in U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Only the last one, Santa Teresa from Costa Rica waked my interest and I visited it since short time.

La Playa Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa is a fast growing city sitting in the jungle. The road conditions are poor, the touristic infrastructure is also not very developed, as the city has been for many years a humble fishing village in Costa Rica. Despite all of these things, the town and the area tourism is booming. Some prominents have discovered this wonderful quiet place ( e.g. Giselle Bundchen owes a property in the area, and she celebrated her wedding there. It was a violent wedding, with shotguns.)

A villa in Sata Teresa