One of the most profound and beautiful biological encounters any wildlife enthusiast can experience locally is an “arribada”. An arribada is a Spanish term used for “arrival” and in the Nosara area, the word is synonymous with the mass synchronized nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles on the black volcanic sands of Playa Ostinal. Just a few kilometres north of Playa Guiones, within the World Wildlife Fund’s recognized conservation site of the Ostinal Wildlife Refuge, this year round phenomenon takes place to the delight of locals and tourists alike. 

In Costa Rica, there are two distinct seasonal times of the year: the “Green Season” and the “Dry Season”. Green Season runs from May to mid-November and is referred to as the country’s winter. While mid-November to April is referred to as the Dry Season and is considered their summer. Both have their advantages and it is just matter of a simple perception shift to enjoy both.

Wanderlust Realty has teamed up with Costas Verdes and BarriGuiones to create this inspirational video in appreciation of all that they’ve done for the Nosara community. Their mission is to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems on public lands, including protected areas, publicly owned portions of beaches, mangroves, riverbanks and wetlands. Since Costas Verdes was founded in 2008, they have become Costa Rica's leading coastal reforestation organization. Today they have returned the coastal forest to two beaches of great national importance, Playa Hermosa and Playa Guiones - creating a real and tangible benefit in local communities. Among the benefits are: economic (more tourism), social (active participation of the community, including schools, schools, local businesses and government entities) and environmental. They have become the catalyst of the interests of the Costa Rican’s in recovering the coastal forest of our country.

Wanderlust Realty was happy to host Vanessa Bezy for her discussion about what “sustainable” means and the challenges Nosara faces to promote sustainability in the current tourism and development boom. She used sea turtles as an example of the value of protecting nature and wildlife to the local community and economy. She also covered broader environmental, social, and economic aspects but focused on identifying concrete ways that community members can make a difference in their day-to-day lifestyle to minimize their impact on local wildlife and promote sustainable practices in Nosara.

We were proud to host a community discussion led by Nick Mcalpin & Ray Moss. They helped us to gain a greater understanding of rainwater harvesting and stormwater management.

Tom and Karen Walker are our first friends to be featured in a Client Spotlight video.  Fortunately for us, they agreed to the project on the condition that the interviews happen on location at their favorite fishing spot, 100 miles off the coast of Playa Garza. We jumped on the opportunity and were blessed with 4 days of epic catch/release fishing. In total, there were over 39 marlin successfully released during our adventure. Enjoy!

Rebecca Saltman joined us to speak about the importance of Social Entrepreneurship. The idea that businesses and non-profits must work together to achieve mutual goals for their community.

Wanderlust Realty was proud to host a community discussion wth Roberto Meza, president of SPHERA Sustainability Consulting. With the pace of development in Nosara, we felt it necessary to bring in his expertise - sustainable construction and conservation.

On April 25th, 2017 Wanderlust Realty hosted our first Nosara Talk. Scott Benson, from Costa Rica Solar Solutions, joined us to speak about how we can become a more sustainable community through implementing renewable energy sources such as solar power.

On April 18, 2017 the Wanderlust Realty team joined in on one of Harmony Hotels monthly beach clean ups. Harmony organizes 3-4 beach clean ups a month, one in Guiones, Pelada, Nosara and Garza. Volunteers meet early in the morning to collect the trash that’s been left behind by visitors or washed up onshore.