Kristofer Fallas

Bookkeeping, Bill Pay & Analytics – Kristofer Fallas Ureña was born in the highlands of the Central Valley, Costa Rica in the misty town of Tarbaca. As a teenager he moved to Norway to train as a mathematician in high school and university, focusing on statistics and calculus. He enjoys applying his quantitative skills in the tourism industry with quality control and marketing two primary areas of interest.

His past experience includes work as an auditor and customer service instructor in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica for luxury resorts such as Aqua Wellness Resort. For the last decade he has additionally worked as an eco-property designer and instructor around Central America and Europe. He makes his home in Playa Grande, where he lives with his loving wife, Kassi, and his furry cat, Gatitz.

Kris’ hobbies include studying mathematics, horticulture/botany, literature, fishing, blue berry picking and kayaking to work.

You can contact Kris in Spanish, English, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

It starts with the ride to the pier of the boats. Once you have passed Filadelfia first come the extensive melon fields and the Del Monte factories where the melons are processed. Then the sugar cane fields, at different stages, depending on the time of year.

Eventually you will come to Bolson, a real Costa Rican village with many old wooden houses, the Plaza annex soccer field with the church, school and pub.

After Bolson you drive first by lightly wooded meadows with typically cows of Guanacaste. If you are lucky you can see and hear the red macaw in the big mango trees lining the fields. Eventually the fields end up into tropical forests with a wide variety of trees and plants. Often there is a group of howler monkeys and many iguanas along the way.

The boat tour is very relaxing; the rippling water, the trees, the quietness of the many species of birds. The captains of the boats know exactly where they can find the different animals. Moreover, they have sharp eyes that constantly look at the trees and wall sides to search for “wild”, large green (and in the med in season oranges) iguanas, the funny Jesus Christ iguana, so named because they can run on the water, howler monkeys, squirrels , crocodiles of different sizes and once I saw an anteater.

But the most fun for me is always the Capuchin monkeys. There are several groups that are more or less along the water. One group is clearly bolder and more used to humans than the other. The monkeys of the shy group hardly dare to approach the boat. If you have a piece of banana on the front of the boat, they come very cautiously pick it up and run with it in a tree. The brutal group jumps on the boat, walking on the roof of the boat and the most impudent come in the boat and on your shoulder or head. It is a pleasure to feel that soft gentle hand in your hand when a monkey takes a piece of banana out of your hand.

I recommend doing this tour including lunch. Lunch is served or in Bolson or in the adjacent Ortega. It is a typical Costa Rican rich lunch, well prepared and very tasty.

Antares – 1948 Schooner

I recently had the pleasure of hosting a number of my classmates in the MBA program at the Terry College of Business of the University of Georgia in Tamarindo. We hope to have them back soon.

This was a great excuse to  take advantage of all the great activities that our area of Guanacaste, Costa Rica has to offer and an afternoon on the water with Antares is certainly one of those activities.

Sailing trips have always been a highlight of the area for a number of reasons:

1.  Physical requirements are minimal compared to surfing or canopy tours, which can be more strenuous.

2.  We have some of the best sunsets in the world!

3.  Nothing beats an afternoon on the water with an open bar and plenty of food.

Antares Under Sail

The team from Antares is new to the area, having brought their 1948 steel hull schooner into Tamarindo Bay in 2012. The ship has a long history. Prior its current task of showings visitors the seas around Tamarindo during day sails or overnight surf trips to places like Witch’s Rock, it was used for a time as a treasure hunting boat.

We set out to meet owner, Candy Lagesen, at LeBeachClub in the center of town. She assisted us with boarding a panga to head out to the Antares, moored in Tamarindo Bay.

At the ship, we met the rest of the crew including Captain Hermes Quijada.  He is also a doctor who practices in Santa Cruz, so we felt extra safe.

We got comfy on some of the many bean bags while the crew prepared cleared the moorings and got us headed North towards Cabo Velas. The ships deck is huge so we had plenty of room to spread out. The crew immediately started serving cocktails including local beers and rum punch.

The views from the ship of Tamarindo, Langosta, Isla Capitan, Playa Grande, Playa Ventanas, and Playa Carbon are incredible. The ship often heads to Playa Huevo, on the north side of Cabo Velas but we headed for Playa Carbon, which was sheltered from the powerful winds that day.

Antares Snorkeling Dingy

We set anchor and the crew readied the dingy to drop us on the beach with full snorkel gear. The 1st mate ferried us over and we checked out some rock formations and various tropical fish along Playa Carbon.  This beach is basically deserted. The only people there were from the ships.

Heading back to the ship, it was time for a full meal. While we were on shore the crew had been grilling.  The menu was:

UGA MBA Relaxing

• Chicken kebabs prepared with garlic, olive oil, lemon and parsley marinade.with red onions and green peppers.
• Vegetable kebabs with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, eggplant, zucchini and carrots.
• A salad with lettuce, white cabbage, red cabbage, carrot, green pepper, and cherry tomato.
• Garlic bread and regular bread.
• Chips and Crackers
• Guacamole
• Pico de Gallo
• Fruit kebabs with watermelon, strawberry and honeydew melon.

We ate at the table under the aft deck canopy. Delicious!

Tamarindo Sunset

While we were eating the crew had put us underway and set the sails. The sun was dipping towards the Pacific Ocean and the views were incredible. We got some great sunset photos as we headed back to the moorings in Tamarindo.

What a great way to spend the afternoon.

Trips with Antares are $80/person and include open bar, snacks, food, and snorkel gear. The boat is often fully booked days in advance, so please contact Cameron prior to your arrival with the number of sailors in your group: info@costapm.com

Local Legend exists, for about one and a half year. Except the lead singer Jose Mora and the bass player Paul Marin, the members of the band played in former bands in the area. David Nelson and Brian Holmes both guitar, played in The Electric Storm, a Rock band that had its base in Potrero. The drummer Olman Ovares played in The Electric Storm and in Indigo. Local Legend played a few times in Pasatiempo in Tamarindo, but most of their concerts were held in the Flamingo Potrero area.

Local Legend`s lead singer Jose sings both in English and Spanish. He has a great voice and a professional performance. If you like to listen to and dance on Rock&Roll music, you should take the chance to come to the concert

El Pescador is an open air restaurant, just a 100 meters south from the circle in Tamarindo, right on the beach.  The Canadian owners toke over the restaurant in January 2012. They made a lot of improvements to attract more customers to this well located restaurant, especially during the evenings.  They improved the menu by adding more international plates to the original Tico menu. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday there is firework on the beach. Wednesday and Friday there is a BBQ buffet with lots of fresh fish, lobster and all kinds of meat.

And now they have live music. I am looking forward to see and hear my favorite band in the romantic setting of the beach of Tamarindo.

The organization CEPIA offers these children, teenagers and  families a wide range of programs:

• after-school program for 300 children and teenagers offered weekly by volunteers
• psychological assistance for children victims of violence and abuse, on a daily basis
• Integrated Education for teenagers dropped out of school and living in a vulnerable situation, all year round
• Professional training for teenagers and adults (weekly cooking course, computer instruction, English course, Eco-jewelry, Crafts, Beauty Care among others)
• Scholarships for children and teenagers living in poverty or reintegrating the educational system (school supplies, uniforms,transportation…)
• Material support for single mothers living in extreme poverty (in exchange for volunteer work)
• Public library open every Saturday afternoon
• Events for the family (monthly movie nights, conferences for parents twice a year)
• Reinforcement of public schools through material support and training for teachers once a year

The programs of CEPIA are aimed at children and teenagers from 3 to 20 years old attending public schools and teenagers not attending school for reasons related to poverty, unhealthy environments and learning disabilities. All our programs involve the families of the children.

For more information about CEPIA visit there website: http://www.cepiacostarica.org/EN/

A fiesta is held on the center place that each village or town has. For villages this place is also the soccer field. A week in advance the men of the town build the arena where the most important part of a fiesta is held: the bull-riding.

Bull-riding in Guanacaste means that a rider tries to stay as long as possible on the back of the bull while the bull is jumping up and down in circles. When the rider is fallen off, the bull runs around in the arena and tries to hit the brave men that are running around in the arena as well. As soon as the bull nears someone, he jumps on the surrounded woodwork to bring himself in a save position.

Around the arena are all kind of stands selling drinks, food, cloth, whatever you can think of and there is also a fair.

The bull-riding is held every day between 5 pm and 8 pm. After that there is “Baile” in the community hall.

The first evening of the fiesta starts with a show where the queen of the year is presented to the public.

Although the fiestas typically are held for the Costarican people, a lot of tourists like to be part of it as well. So if you are on vacation in Guanacaste, try to find out which town in the surroundings has their fiesta during your stay.

If you are on the end of this beach, just were the Hotel Barcelo is, the beach ends at an estuary. This is a great place to let your little children save in the water because in this lake-like estuary there are no waves.

Passing the estuary, which you can do by walking at low tie, you enter a long yellow sanded beach. This beach, which is part of the Hacienda Pinilla, is the real Playa Langosta. A nice well maintained dirt road in Hacienda Pinilla, leads to this very quit beach. You go along the pasture and at the end you get the feeling that you are driving through the tropical dry-forest while you drive along the beach for a little while. At the end is a parking place and Hacienda Pinilla provided a few beach chairs and a shower. It is a very nice place to relax and enjoy the sun and the ocean.

Nosara is actually made up of three different neighborhoods. Playa Guiones is the main part of town. Here you will find most of the cafe’s surf shops and boutiques. Drive straight through to the beach access and take shelter in one of the free thatched huts on the beach. North of Guiones you have Playa Pelada, a smaller neighborhood but just has beautiful with it’s own beach ( better suited for fishing than surfing). There are quite a few hotels and restaurants throughout Pelada. The actual town of Nosara is the furthest North and inland about 5 kilometers. This is a typical Costa Rican pueblo with its futbol field, pulperia and varios Sodas. There is also an airstrip on Nosara for quick flight from San Jose or Liberia via Nature Air.

Next time you find yourself in Guanacaste check out Nosara, you won’t be dissapointed!

The vision of Amigos de la Educacion is to create a school environment where young people are empowered, self determined and confident enough to achieve their fullest potential, regardless of their background or current circumstances; thus, actively engaging in the future of Costa Rica.

The Annual “Have a Heart” Charity Golf Tournament will be held on Thursday February 14th at the Hacienda Pinilla golf course. The annual Valentine’s Day event is the major fund-raiser for Amigos de la Educación Foundation.

The $ 150 registration for the tournament includes: Cocktail Party on February 12th, Cart, Green Fee, breakfast, gift bag, lunch and a 9 complementary holes of practice on February 13^th.

Register for the golf tournament at the Amigos’ office in Tamarindo (2653-1945), Plaza Tamarindo, Suite A-10, weekdays from 9-5pm.

Basically they are two totally different towns.

Tamarindo has its origin as a vacation town for rich people from Santa Cruz. They built their vacation houses along the beach in the thirties. There are still a few of these wooden houses in colonial style left.  Besides that Tamarindo was just a little fishing “harbor”. The fishers themselves were living in Villarreal. About 8 years ago the last fisher sold his boat and started his tour fishing company.

Up till the last booming development in the beginning of this century, most of the buildings had only one store. Thanks to the crisis the development stopped so the small scale image was not totally ruined.

Flamingo is founded at the end of the fifties by an American family that built the Flamingo Resort, so called after the pink color that they gave their prestige hotel. From there the village was developed, mostly by American and mostly on big scale with buildings of 3 to 7 stores. On the outsides, up in the hill prestige big villas were built, mostly by American.

The waves in front of Tamarindo are very good for surfing. That attracts young sportive tourist from all over the world. The small scale image attracts both European and people from South America. This mixture makes that the Tamarindo tourists are very diverse.  This diversity you find back in the stores, bars, restaurants. All together Tamarindo is a very living town where you will find everything that makes your vacation a special one.

The ocean at the Flamingo beaches is calmer, not suitable for surfing. The style of the village and buildings attracts older American people who feel “like home” in a village like this, while younger, more adventure seeking people pass by. Shops, bars and restaurants are there for mostly tuned to the American taste.

I hope this information will make it easier for you to choose the right vacation destination for your taste and wishes.