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Tag: Costa Rica

Coffee: a tropical treasure

For coffee connoisseurs, it’s not a secret that the best coffee comes only from a handful of countries including Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Vietnam, Kenya, and Ethiopia. But, what do these countries have in common if they are all scattered around different parts of the planet? Surely you’ve guessed it by now: they all lie close to the Equator along the tropical zone, forming a band around the globe that is known as “the Bean Belt.”

This Bean Belt provides the necessary warmth and humidity for the coffee tree to reach its maximum potential. But it’s not only the latitude what creates a great coffee. Inside the tropical zone, there are unique places with the perfect conditions for the coffee beans to grow as rich and tasty as you know them. The soil, for example, provides nutrients that are absorbed by the plant and are different in every region of the world. That’s why coffee is grown in the volcanic territories of Kenya will never taste the same as the one produced in the limestone soil in Guatemala. The altitude, on the other hand, influences on how much cold the beans receive during the nighttime, which determines their acidity. Los Andes region in Colombia is known for its high-altitude strong-flavored coffee beans, while Brazil’s coffee has a mild and sweeter aroma.

Original from tropical Africa, coffee started to be consumed in the 10th century in the Arab world, traveling to Europe and finally reaching the Americas in the 16th Century. Until today, it remains one of the most consumed drinks in the world, with over 2250,000,000 cups being brewed worldwide daily.  If you are a coffee lover, you’re in for a treat when traveling to Tropical Latin America. This region is the largest producer in the world and contains some of the major exporters of coffee, including Brazil, who produces one-third of the total supply of coffee on the planet. And if you’re interested in visiting a coffee plantation and try the most delicious beans, our Espíritu Santo Coffee tour — included in our Costa Rica package — will give you a fragrant and informative morning experience about how this whole industry works.

Unfortunately, many factors are threatening the coffee production in this region. Climate change is modifying the rain patterns that make the Bean Belt so unique, and the demand for lower prices is pushing farmers to prioritize quantity over quality in their plantations.

One of the advantages of you visiting Tropical Latin America is that you’ll be able to try for yourself the best quality coffee in the world, giving you the chance to support the local economies and learning about the work involved behind a cup of this delicious beverage.

We hope to see you soon here to share with you a morning cup of one of the most valued tropical treasures!

 

By Mariana Arámburu

Twitter & Instagram: @m_buru
Born and raised in Mexico City, Mariana graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana with a degree in Communication and Film. Later, she moved to Vancouver, BC, where she currently resides, and studied Creative Writing at Capilano University. Mariana loves photography and to visit new places. She also loves animals and aims to one day focus her work on conservation issues.

The adventure awaits you at the Arenal Volcano National Park

We already talked about the many wonders you’ll find in Costa Rica. Not only does it contain the happiest people in the world, but it’s also a paradise for any nature lover seeking to add some adventure to their trip. If you are one of these adventurists, there’s no way you can miss on the opportunity of visiting one of Costa Rica’s most mesmerizing natural wonders: the Arenal Volcano National Park.

This park was founded in 1991 and extends across a total area of 121.24 square kilometers. Because it forms part of a greater conservation area, it contains hundreds of natural attractions, including a lake, two volcanoes, and natural hot springs that lure tourist from all over the world looking to walk its scenic trails and to spot the wildlife that is unique to this region. Just to give you an idea of the biodiversity of the place, is this region you can detect more than 900 different bird species, plus a great variety of snakes, monkeys, and other mammals endemic to Tropical Latin America, like the jaguar, the lowland paca, de coati, and the sloth.

But the main attraction of this national park is mentioned on its name: the Arenal Volcano covers a surface of 33 square kilometers and can be spotted from almost any part in the park as well as from the towns surrounding the area.

The Arenal Volcano was thought to be inactive for a long time, until in 1968 it made its biggest and more damaging eruption, destroying the nearby towns of Tabacón y Pueblo Nuevo and killing more than 80 people. Since then its activity slowed down, and since October of 2010, it has remained inactive.

The Arenal Volcano is around 7500 years old, which is pretty young for this kind of formations, and 1,633 meters or 5357,612 tall. What makes it so distinctive compared to other volcanoes is its almost perfect conical contour with a steep profile, shaped like this thanks to the buildup of several layers of lava and volcanic ash. The word Arenal means ‘sandy’ in Spanish, and the name refers to how the lava has been turned into sand due to wind erosion and accumulated on the base of the mountain, giving our volcano the appearance of a giant sand hill.

But the Arenal Volcano is not the only one in this national park and shares the landscape with the smaller and older Chato Volcano, which has been inactive for the last 3500 years. The Chato Volcano offers excellent opportunities for everyone looking for a challenging but exciting hike up to its 500-meter wide crater containing the Cerro Chato Lagoon inside it.

Now you know the adventure that awaits you at the Arenal Volcano National Park. Just by arriving in La Fortuna, the colorful town known as the main gateway to the park, you’ll find yourself already surrounded by savanna and rainforest. When you see the Arenal Volcano guarding over the town, we promise you’ll want to stay here with us!

Ready to join us on our next adventure to the Arenal Volcano National Park? Check out what our complete tour includes and how you can book 7 full days of soft adventure in Costa Rica with Hamaca Tropical Tours!

 

By Mariana Arámburu

Twitter & Instagram: @m_buru
Born and raised in Mexico City, Mariana graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana with a degree in Communication and Film. Later, she moved to Vancouver, BC, where she currently resides, and studied Creative Writing at Capilano University. Mariana loves photography and to visit new places. She also loves animals and aims to one day focus her work on conservation issues.

Welcome to Hamaca Tropical Tours!

We’re delighted to have you here today. We are looking forward to giving you everything you need for your next tropical adventure. First of all, we would like to introduce our company and tell you some useful information about who we are and what we do.

Our company’s origins trace back to 2004 when Peter Rodríguez-Pontón founded Hamaca Tours, a tour operator that assembled the best tours for travelers to the Ecuadorian coast.

Peter, born in Toronto from Ecuadorian parents, was raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port. Growing up in the center of the tropics and in a coastal city, there’s no wonder why he grew such a love for this paradise and decided to build a career as a Tropical Expeditioner. Even though he leaves far from Ecuador now, he still remembers how his grandmother used to nestle him in her hammock (or hamaca, in Spanish) to help him fall asleep as one of his most cherished childhood memories.

With Carol Villao, our Chief of Operations, added to our team, Hamaca Tours was dedicated to offering the Ecuadorian coast and the Galapagos as a travel destination for American and Canadian tourists for years. It was in 2018 when we decided to take the next step and expand our company outside Ecuador, adding more Latin American Destinations, starting next summer with Costa Rica and its wonders to our list of paradises. With this in mind, the name Hamaca Tropical Tours was created now offering a broad catalog of tropical vacations all across Latin America. To fully immerse you in these places, we provide with tours combining soft adventure, wellness, cultural and local experiences, and of course a hammock: the icon of a well-deserved tropical rest!

Hamaca Tropical Tours is committed to the conservation of the environment and the local communities we visit. That’s why we partner with companies and operators who share our same values. Some of our partners include:

  • Specialized local guides. Tour guides experts on different fields and native to the place, to teach you about the costumes of the community and make you feel like a traveler more than a tourist.
  • Naturalists. Biologists, zoologists, conservationists, and environmentalists, between other expert fields, to guide you through our wildlife adventures.
  • Reiki Masters. Expert practitioners in alternative medicine that focus not only on your body but in your mind’s well-being.
  • Yoga teachers. Certified instructors to guide you through our yoga retreats, teaching you how yo practice this ancestral Indian discipline to unify the mind and body.
  • Soft Sports Instructors. Skillful and talented surfers, bikers, divers, and other adventurers to take you in unique  and daring recreational activities.

So, here you go! Whatever path you choose for your adventure, we have over 14 years of experience to help you plan your perfect vacation. Whatever your interests are, we’ve got you covered in putting together the trip of a lifetime for you!

Now it’s your turn: Who are you, and what do you envision as the perfect tropical destination?

 

 

By Mariana Arámburu

Twitter & Instagram: @m_buru
Born and raised in Mexico City, Mariana graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana with a degree in Communication and Film. Later, she moved to Vancouver, BC, where she currently resides, and studied Creative Writing at Capilano University. Mariana loves photography and to visit new places. She also loves animals and aims to one day focus her work on conservation issues.