Costa Rica

Throughout Costa Rica’s plentiful rainforests, beaches and mountains, visitors are enchanted by the number and variety of butterflies. Costa Rica boasts over 1000 butterfly species, more than the entire continent of Africa.

Flitting from flower to flower the butterflies are enchanting to watch, the brilliant colors of their wings lending joy to the day. These delicate wings are covered with tiny scales which reflect light passing through them to form bright colors and patterns. They serve to identify the butterfly to members of its own species as it seeks to carry out its sole mission in life, mating. The colors of some species, such as the Monarch, which are toxic when eaten, warn predators that these butterflies are not dinner.

The male butterfly spends his short time on earth cruising around looking for a female. With his antennae he can smell her perfume (pheromones) from over a mile away. At the back of his abdomen—remember, butterflies are insects so their bodies have three sections, a head, a thorax, and an abdomen—is a set of “claspers” to grab on to his lady love. When couples mate they face in opposite directions with their abdomens locked together. The female, if startled during the conjugal act, will fly up into the air carrying aloft her attached Don Juan. During her short lifetime she will lay about 100 eggs. Some species lay their eggs in clusters while others lay each egg on a different plant.

Upon hatching, the tiny caterpillars go into the world to eat. As adult butterflies are primarily sex machines, caterpillars are primarily eating machines, munching the night away, and remaining motionless during daylight hours to camouflage themselves from predators. The growing caterpillar sheds its skin four times, then searches for the perfect spot on the underside of a leaf to attach itself and prepare for the miraculous change from a crawling eating machine to a glorious flying butterfly.

The butterfly’s life is short, varying from species to species, but averaging about three months—two weeks as an adult butterfly.

Join us on a California Native tour to beautiful Costa Rica and witness this bounty of butterflies for yourself.

This year’s winter has been a harsh one across North America. From the record breaking weather to the unsure economy, it has been trying for everyone. Here at The California Native, we want to shine a little light on those cold dark days. We know that many of our fans are looking for a great escape, so we are announcing our “Jump Start to Spring” Sale on our Costa Rica vacations.

Costa Rica is just the paradise to make the winter blues go away. It has rainforests and jungles loaded with exotic animals and birds—monkeys playing in the tree tops, sloths hanging from tree limbs, basilisks (Jesus Christ lizards) walking on water, macaws flying above, and butterflies dancing everywhere.

The scenery is unbelievable. From the Caribbean to the Pacific the country has so much to offer—fiery volcanoes, lush rainforests, mysterious cloud forests, and beautiful beaches.

Looking for a little action? Costa Rica boasts some of the best whitewater rafting around, canopy tours where you can fly above the tree-tops on a zip-line, hiking, horseback riding, swimming and kayaking. Whew! Need relaxing time? Nothing like a soak in hot-springs heated by the Arenal Volcano.

Costa Rica is the perfect place to thaw out. Located in the exact center of the Americas, right next to the equator, the temperatures are warm year round. (It is tropical, so it usually rains in the late afternoon but the rain is warm and not uncomfortable.)

Hungry? On your Costa Rica vacation you will savor fantastic seafood, tropical fruit and delicious coffee—all very fresh and oh so delicious. And the people who call it home, the Ticos, are warm-hearted and friendly which really puts the icing on the cake of a perfect vacation.

Join us on one of our Costa Rica Nature Explorer Tours by September 30, 2011 and receive our “Jump start to Spring” discount. All you have to do is mention this offer when you reserve your trip to paradise and you will receive a $400 per couple discount.

Phone or email us today and start packing for a wonderful adventure.

What in the world is a Tico? Sounds exotic. Maybe it’s something like a Piña Colada or a Cappuccino. Or maybe it’s one of those little biting pests that you find in tropical places. Wrong! A Tico is a very special group of people that inhabit one of the most beautiful, tropical and hidden paradises in the world—Costa Rica. “Tico” is simply the name commonly used to refer to the native inhabitants of Costa Rica.

But why “Tico“? In the Spanish world, the diminutive, formed by dropping the final “o” or “a” and adding an “ito” or “ita” depending on the gender, is commonly used out of friendliness and familiarity. It’s much more cariñoso (affectionate) to call your amigo (friend) an amigito (little friend).

About a century ago many Costa Ricans made the mistake of forming the diminutive by adding an “ico” to the end of words. So poquito (the Spanish diminutive of the word poco, little, few) would be poquiTICO when spoken by a Costa Rican. Because of their friendly and warm-hearted manner, the people of Costa Rica commonly used the diminutive in their everyday speech patterns and thus earned the nickname “Ticos” from outsiders.

Although the Costa Rican educational system has now taught most of the Ticos the correct grammatical usage of the diminutive forms in Spanish, the term “Tico” remains to commemorate this charming affection of the past.

Located in the Central Mountain Range, not far from Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jóse, the town of Sarchí is the center of Costa Rica’s painted oxcart industry.

According to legend, around 1910 a farmer was suddenly inspired to spruce up the appearance of his oxcart. He painted the wheels with multi-colored designs. Others copied his designs and oxcart painting became a uniquely Costa Rican art form. At one time each district in the country had its own special design, and people could tell by looking at an oxcart what region it came from.

Until about thirty years ago, oxcarts were the principal means of transporting coffee beans and other agricultural products to market. Today some farmers still rely on this traditional method of transporting their goods. The father of former president Oscar Arias Sánchez made his fortune hauling coffee in oxcarts to the port of Puntarenas.

Today, the painted oxcarts are produced mainly for decorative purposes. In addition to the full-size carts, replicas are available for sale ranging from small, inexpensive table top models to larger carts that are designed to be used as planters or living room cocktail carts. Regardless of size and price, all of the oxcarts are beautifully handpainted in bright colors featuring motifs of butterflies, flowers and fruits, as well as traditional design patterns whose origin can be traced to designs brought to Spain from North Africa by the Moors.

The gift shops in Sarchí are also filled with other woodcrafts including furniture, chairs, desks, coffee tables, and polished wood serving dishes, as well as leather items, ceramic crafts, and jewelry.

Exploring the arts and crafts of a country offers travelers another way to learn about its people and culture. Costa Rica has a wide spectrum of art objects ranging from the inexpensive to museum-quality collector’s items. Goods offered for sale include wood crafts, ceramics, reproductions of pre-Colombian figurines and masks, leather accessories, hammocks, woven baskets, jewelry made of woods, silver, gold and jade, embroidered dresses, blouses, table linens, and, of course, replicas of the famous painted oxcarts.

In San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, almost every craft item is available. However, as travelers visit the beautiful and diverse provinces of Costa Rica, they can purchase products reflecting the particular traditions and culture of the surrounding countryside.

One item that most visitors bring home is a bag or more of Costa Rican coffee beans. Sipping the rich flavor, and inhaling the wonderful aroma weeks after returning home helps recapture some of the adventures and sights of a Costa Rican vacation.

So how about it? Wan’na buy an oxcart?

We are offering a $100 discount for each person joining our Costa Rica Nature Explorer trips. All you have to do is mention this offer when you phone us and sign up before July 31, 2009. This offer is valid for departures on any day through December 31, 2010.

Costa Rica is a nature lover’s paradise. Unlike most tropical rainforests, where you can only view animals at a distance, in Costa Rica they are right up close. Sloths hang from trees, monkeys scamper through the canopy, basilisks (Jesus Christ lizards) run across the streams (they actually walk on water), and crocodiles sun themselves on river banks.

Did you know that Costa Rica has more species of butterflies than the entire continent of Africa, and more bird species than in all of North America?

The scenery is fantastic—volcanoes, rain forests, cloud forests, mountains and beaches. The country is peaceful, friendly and safe.

Now is the time to plan your Costa Rica vacation and save an extra $100 per person.

(This offer cannot be combined with any other offer.)