 |
 |
||
|
|
||
 |
 |
||
|
|
||
|
 |
||
|
 |
||
|
 |
||
|
 |
||
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Home > EcoVacations > Group Tours > Sustainability Tour |
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
 |
Click here for FAQs | ||||||
Edible Adventures in Costa Rica
Dates: February 24 - March 2, 2008 & August 23 - 30, 2008 Broaden your palate! Explore the culture of sustainable and organic farming, visit rural farmers, remote indigenous villages, and distinguished restaurants as you follow your food's journey from the field to your plate! |
||||||||||
Day 1: February 24, 2008 We leave Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose to begin the most flavorful adventure of a lifetime. We drive past Cartago, Costa Rica’s original capital, and begin the climb up into one of the country’s most magical Paramo forests. We take a short hike into our eco-lodge, which is an off-the-grid family farm. Relax and soak up the views after a long day of travel. Overnight: Santa Maria de Dota |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
Day 2: Febraury 25 We spend the day on the Seeley farm learning about sustainability and organic gardening. This off-the-grid farm is owned by the family of one of our top guides. They have an extensive organic garden, including mustards and kales, tropical highland fruits and delicious chamomile tea. We take a breathtaking hike through the surrounding forests and have a chance to climb the magical Castle Tree, a redwood relative that is believed to be 1000 years old. On our hike we learn about the highland forest and see many unique species of plants, trees and birds that are endemic to this area. In the evening we have a wonderful dinner and drink homemade tea by the fire. Overnight: Santa Maria de Dota |
||||||||||
Banana Plantation |
||||||||||
Day 3: February 26 After a gourmet mountain breakfast and coffee we say goodbye to the Seeley family and drive to a nearby coffee farm to learn about one of the world’s favorite beverages from bean to mug. Costa Rica’s coffee is world-renowned and one of their top exports. After lunch we return to San Jose by way of a scenic drive. Dinner is served at one of Costa Rica’s most eclectic restaurants. Overnight: San Jose Day 4: February 27 An early start gets us on the road to the Pacuare River, where we have a full day of white water rafting. This is one of the top five rafting rivers on the planet with class III and IV rapids. Expert guides help us to navigate safely on our adventure. The river cuts through primary rainforest on the Caribbean slope as we pass numerous waterfalls that practically pour into our raft. Our guides transform our rafts into a delicious buffet for lunch on the side of the river. Afterwards, we head to our Caribbean coast bungalows, nestled in tropical gardens by the sea. Dinner is served at the hotel’s restaurant. Overnight: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limon) |
||||||||||
Day 5: February 28 Today we visit grassroots projects where we see local people implementing positive solutions to some of the environmental, agricultural and social issues we have learned about thus far. We'll meet farmers growing bananas, cacao, and pineapple organically and compare this method with the large-scale banana plantations located nearby. Among these farmers is an indigenous women's cooperative growing medicinal herbs, and family farms and cooperatives of small-scale indigenous farmers. Dinner is served at El Loco Natural, the Caribbean's most flavorful restaurant famous for its curry dishes full of homegrown organic ingredients. Overnight: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limon) Day 6: February 29 A local guide from the small fishing village of Manzanillo takes us on the only path through the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, showing off the wonders of his ‘backyard' while explaining the medicinal, culinary and cultural uses of many of the trees, fruits and plants along the way. We travel through the jungle and along the coast, where the diversity of flora and fauna is beautiful and abundant. We eventually arrive at a sustainable permaculture farm, Punta Mona, where we have a delicious lunch and take a short farm tour, tasting everything from cranberry hibiscus to miracle fruit. We return by boat to the town of Manzanillo. Dinner is served in town at one of Puerto Viejo's many wonderful restaurants. Overnight: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limon) Day 7: March 1 Our day begins with a visit to the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve where we learn about the culture and customs of the BriBri people. We start out at the Iguana Farm , a local project which has reintegrated over 25,000 endangered Green Iguana back into the area. Our native BriBri guide takes us on a walk through secondary and primary forests to teach us about the medicinal plants and trees that have supported their people's existence for thousands of years. Afterwards we are served a traditional lunch prepared with foods from their understory gardens. In the afternoon we return to San Jose for our farewell dinner at another fine restaurant featuring Central American cuisine. Overnight: San Jose |
||||||||||
 Back
to Top |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
This extension is designed for those who want to add a little more adventure to their trip. Costa Rica is famous for its zip-line canopy tours and Monteverde happens to have the best zip-line tour in the country. We also visit a Women's Crafts Co-op and learn about the area's fascinating history. Day 8: March 2
Day 9: March 3 Day 10: March 4 Day 11: March 5
|
||||||||||
| Back
to Top |
||||||||||
| Back
to Top |
||||||||||
Punta Mona Beach