Costa Rica looks to keep changing the world in 2017
The Central American country is among the 15 finalists of the National Geographic World Legacy Awards, which are given to honor the companies, organizations and destinations that excel in their tourism practices.
The Cayuga Collection destination is the place selected for both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, currently it has eight award winning eco-friendly hotels and lodges. These places are fully committed to preserve the communities and eco systems on the country. The award winners will be announced at ITB Berlin on March 8, 2017.
In Costa Rica, the Caguya Collection has seven properties that include: Kura Design Villas in Bahia Ballena; Arenas del Mar in Manuel Antonio; Finca Rosa Blanca in Santa Barbara, Heredia; Lapa Rios in Osa Peninsula; Latitud 10 in Santa Teresa, Puntarenas; Grano de Oro in San Jose; and the Harmony Hotel in Guiones Beach, Nosara, Guanacaste.
This collection of touristic venues work under a common goal of not using fresh water for irrigation but reusing treated water to keep green areas irrigated. Another environmental innovations include using solar power to heat water, and replacing plastic bottles and straws with reusable glass bottles and recyclable bamboo straws.
Cayuga, aided by Osa Conservation also helps with scientific research at Lapa Rios, together they protect wild feline populations that are a highly endangered species. They even have their own NGO in Earth Equilibrium, this initiative provides environmental education to children in the community.
Other initiatives include the “plant-a-tree” program, electric go-karts and promotion of biogas to reduce propane use. There’s also the “Dock-to-dish” program that is currently in its initial stage. This program's objective is connecting local fishermen with restaurant chefs to preserve marine species.
The Cayuga Way
At the Caguya Collection, they have developed a philosophy into a new form of living, by doing things right, making it clean and enjoyable for their visitors. The tourism operator is one of the top sustainable alternatives in Central America.
“The Caguya Way is to do things right, experiencing, learning, connecting and relaxing are the pillars of a great vacation. You can expect to have elements of those four things at any of the Caguya Collection Hotels”, says Hans Pfister, president of Cayuga Collection.
The owners of the facility, Andrea Bonilla and Hans Pfister, are both graduates in eco-tourism at the Hotel School of Ithaca, Cornell. They have dedicated themselves to make small, sustainable hotels, resorts and lodges that incorporate luxury and ecology.
Green Luxury Vacation
“Sustainability isn’t easy, because if it were easy, anybody would do it,” says Pfister. His and Bonilla’s idea of being environmentally friendly perfectly matches Costa Rica’s ecofriendly way of life. The “Pura Vida” kind of living has attracted the right people to take the country to the next level of human society.
To the company’s VP, Andrea Bonilla, there’s no point in treating the guests as kings and queens if they’re not doing their part for the environment. The resort's workers teach the visitors about Costa Rican culture, community and the importance of preserving nature, hoping that they make a difference in their home countries later.
The Different Places of Costa Rica’s Paradise
At the Manuel Antonio area, visitors won’t have to choose between the having a good view of the city or looking at the beach, as every room has the best of both worlds, at Manuel Antonio's the choice seems to be between being happy or happier.
The Finca Rosa Blanca is just a short drive away after you land in Costa Rica, the place offers beautiful gardens and a plethora of places to feel in heaven. One of the vacation packages offers a tour on making gourmet coffee at their own plantation, there you can experience coffee cupping and taste the best beverages the nation can give.
Latittude 10 was originally built as a hangout place for the summer. Its beaches are the kind of blessed-by-nature places you’ll talk to your friends back home for weeks. It’s the sort of place that welcomes anyone with its beaches, cantinas and its wonderful town.
At the heart of San Jose, Hotel Grano de Oro is a natural splendor within the city. Formerly, it was a Tropical Victorian mansion, today it still has the coziness of a private home with everything that a top hotel has to offer.
Just beside the pristine beaches of Costa Rica, people can surf away their worries at the Harmony Hotel premises. Green inspires green at Nosara, the surfer town that invites tourists to be part of a true relaxation experience.
As a National Geographic Unique Lodge, Lapa Rios brings one of the most comfortable places to be. Its sustainability makes it one of a kind as a renowned model for eco-tourism. Filled with thousands of species, it can be an adventure for the senses.
Drones fly high in Cartago to deliver chicken wings
Pilot plan from GoPato will have up to 200 transport units
Have you ever felt that the future is here? That’s the sensation we get when we think about robots making deliveries to our homes. This is precisely what’s happening in Costa Rica’s province of Cartago. Ticos will have the chance to get a taste of Back to the Future 2, the film that showed us dog walking drones.
Back to the Future 2 it was placed on 2015, but now Cartago residents can feel like they’re in the movie, as convenience stores AmPm of Plaza Vivo, Doña Doña and Hooters are giving delivery services with the use of drones. Clients will receive breakfast and lunch combos including donuts and chicken wings airborne style.
The local company GoPato is the one taking the next step. They’re currently running a pilot program that will last from Thursday to Sunday. This company has operated for 18 months, covering delivery services and personal assistance, according to his founder, Jose Navarro.
“70% of our deliveries will be done by drones. People want things now but heavy traffic doesn’t allow it”, said Navarro. During the pilot phase, drones will only make deliveries up to 3 pounds and will only cover up to 2 miles. In production stage, they could double the carrying weight and could travel up to 5 miles.
Drones, the flying revolution
Just this December, 7 Eleven claims that to have beat Amazon as the first company that uses a commercial drone for delivery services. 77 (pun intended) deliveries were made in Reno, Nevada. This achievement was done in partnership with drone maker Flirtey.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Amazon made their first drone delivery in the UK in the countryside, a much simpler task than a populated area, which was the case for 7 Eleven. Mass deliveries were made this past December since their first delivery this past July. Back then, the first delivery consisted of a chicken sandwich, donuts, candy and hot coffee.
According to a statement from Flirtey, deliveries were made in less than ten minutes after the order was made. All deliveries are made with autonomous drones. However , according to American law, drones must be within line of sight of the drone pilot.
GoPato, land and air delivery service
GoPato qualifies itself as a personal assistant, delivering documents, buying food and getting groceries at the supermarket. By taking on all these chores and tasks, the company plans to get into the hearts of costa ricans, helping them do things most people can't do because it takes precious time off of their daily schedule.
The service can be done using Facebook Messenger or downloading the GoPato app that is currently in beta stage. Payments can be made with debit or credit card, services and fee prices are based upon the form of transport you hire; drone deliveries start their test phase this Thursday, yet motorbike and car deliveries are always available.
The company has 200 patos that will go anywhere and do anything to do your daily errands, from documents to getting lunch or buying groceries, the diligent patos will even take your pet to the vet, says his marketing manager, Daniel Quiros.
Navarro says that services have no cost to allied companies but for the rest of its customers, he expects that it will cost less than ¢500, a little less than an American dollar.
These drones are autonomous like the ones 7 Eleven or Amazon use, and will avoid any object or building that stands in its way. After the test phase finishes, some fine tuning and security permissions are the next steps for GoPato. As a result, the service will be fully available for all customers.
“We hope we can expand our business within three or five months’ time”, said the company’s CEO. This new service and its implementation doesn’t mean we’re reducing our workforce, this company is in constant growth.
GoPato´s name and qualities
GoPato has proven professionals on its workforce. They recently added two Silicon Valley mentors and experienced engineers that have worked for logistics giant DHL. GoPato takes up to 100 orders on a daily basis, showing that people value their efforts to lead the way in personal assistants.
They offer an innovating service and a new alternative in the costarrican market. It performance reflects on various acknowledgements it has received, both nationally and internationally. GoPato was even included in the Forbes Top30 best entrepreneurs in Central America.
Thanks to their alliances with leading companies as AmPm, Hooters, Britt and Automercado, GoPato was able to offer successful sales promotions that in occasions ran out in a little more than an hour after they were announced.
2016 was a year of great events for GoPato, and they’re starting strong this year with the drone delivery pilot. By the second half of the year should be fully serviciable for companies and customers alike.
Costa Rica is becoming a runner’s paradise
Recently announced San Jose Marathon becomes the fourth in the calendar
Costa Rica tourism is growing exponentially, with close to $3,000 MM earned and 3 million tourists in 2015, is no secret that it’s the country’s main source of revenue. A huge part comes from ecotourism but there are other niches that are becoming more and more popular, such as running.
Currently, there are three marathons in Costa Rica distributed throughout the year. Later in May, a fourth race will take place in its capital city of San Jose, the name: San Jose’s Marathon. This competition will be the second marathon of 2017 happening in Central America after the Bahamas Marathon.
“It is very important to us that there are these kinds of races for our athletes. Instead of running in other countries, they can run here, we have good races too”, said Geen Clark, president of the Costarrican Athletics Federation.
San Jose’s Marathon has the IAAF certification and the course will be the same as the 2013 Central American Games Marathon: a 6.5 mile circuit that starts and finishes at the Catedral Metropolitana, visiting iconic landmarks of Costa Rica’s capital along the way.
“I think the marathon is great, it brings another alternative to local athletes. By doing the race at San Jose it prevents people from making big investments to assist the competition” said Gabriela Traña, the first elite runner to sign in for the race.
Registration is open for the general public, the fee for the marathon is $55, 36$ for the half marathon and 27$ for the 6.5 mile race. The event organizers are expecting 5.000 participants in total. Additionally, prizes for the top finishers add up to $40.000.
Costa Rica already has three major races
Before this race was announced, the Central American nation had three marathons on its official calendar; additionally, in July, there’s the Correcaminos Marathon; on September, we have the Tamarindo Beach Marathon and the season finishes with its international marathon on December.
The Correcaminos Marathon started as an initiative by the Asociacion Deportiva Correcaminos in 2010, and fortunately, the people’s response to the race exceeded all expectations. As a race with benefical purposes, the funds gathered are given to community projects and to help promote sports in the country.
As for the Tamarindo Beach Marathon, this one offers a pleasant climate. Running in the nature, beach and pasture gives an enthusiastic experience that, with the support of the locals, will make runners from all over the globe feel just like home. Currently, the race offers various packages to attract international runners so they can enjoy the marathon without worrying about hotels, transports or meals.
Costa Rica’s International Marathon is a non-profit association founded in 1993 that, for more than 20 years, has worked to organize world class events. After a large investment to make the race a IAAF certificated venue it has maintained its status and hierarchy as a top class marathon in Central America.
Running and tourism, two ways, one destination
The Cantonal Committee of Sports and Recreation in San Jose and its municipality gathered to organize the San Jose Marathon. The goal is to give it national and international importance and attract tourism.
“It’s all a part of a study, we look that there are good events in the capital. Nevertheless we feel it’s important to make one that is strategically positioned to satisfy tourism in the city”, said Heiner Ugalde, president of the committee.
The idea is based upon the most important marathons in the IAAF calendar, Berlin, Paris, London and Boston are the biggest races and Costa Rica’s plan is to make their big four as well, the nation makes its effort to continue to grow on tourism year after year.
Ugalde also says that San Jose doesn’t have any strong international events each year. They are looking forward to the San Jose Marathon being what they’re striving for, he adds.
Meanwhile, Johnny Araya, mayor of San Jose said that the race is something they want to boast about, apart from being a way to promote athletics. “We know the stories of many successful cities that have made the marathon as an emblem, we will use this to help us position San Jose among the best in the world”, he commented.
San Jose’s Marathon paves the way to running in Costa Rica
The efforts to create a running culture in Costa Rica go back to the early 1990’s. The country’s current economic and social moment are at their very best to promote athletics and other tourism alternatives.
The San Jose Marathon has a long way to go if it wants to reach the status of its peer races in Costa Rica. Fortunately, it’s backed by both government and private efforts. The tourism on the nation is as high as it’s ever been, the right ingredients to be successful are there and the “Ticos” can eventually have more marathoners to compete in world class events.
