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| White water rafting is a
thrilling experience for beginners and advanced
rafters alike, as Costa Rica offers several
outfitted rivers to accommodate different levels
of experience. |
| Courtesy ICT |
President of Costa Rica Connections and Costa Rica
Sun Tours, Mr. John Aspinall, is interrupted by
a phone call in his San José office. With
a contented smile on his face, he asks: “Seriously,
can you really see Lake Nicaragua, Lake Arenal and
the Tenorio Volcano, all at the same time?”
When the phone call is over, he explains that it
was not a conversation with an airplane pilot, but
with his tour guide who is taking a group of tourists
on a Monteverde trek.
Costa Rica Connections is a tour operator based in
California specializing in travel to Costa Rica. Their
partner in Costa Rica is a ground tour operator of
fourteen years standing, Costa Rica Sun Tours. Being
one of the pioneers in two-to-three day packages,
it now has extended some of its tours up to ten days.
These packages reveal all the beauties of Costa Rica,
from the Pacific coast to the Caribbean coast and
everything in between, and the way to discover all
this is usually combined with hiking, rafting, horseback
riding or mountain biking.
At the end of the day’s tour, when it is time
to get some sleep, the company has its own lodges
to offer –making the whole experience extremely
satisfying, reliable and professional. Hotel Milvia
has nine bedrooms, each one decorated according to
the provinces of Costa Rica. The Arenal Observatory
Lodge was the first countryside lodge to receive the
four-leaf rating from the Institute of Costa Rican
Tourism. On the southern Pacific coast, the Tiskita
Jungle Lodge (www.tiskita-lodge.co.cr) is a wilderness
rainforest lodge, managed by brother Peter Aspinall.
The company’s clientele largely consists of individuals
and groups, but there is a growing market for students,
researchers, volunteers and honeymooners. The packages
are very much suitable for families as well, because
the company uses vans, enabling the entire family
to travel together, but separately from other groups,
if required so. Volunteers stay with local families,
and education works both ways.
According to Aspinall, one of the biggest challenges
in tourism today is to maintain the balance between
development, originality and naturalism, and at the
same time keep locals smiling and friendly. This is
best achieved by a saying: “Leave nothing but
footprints, take nothing but photographs, waste nothing
but time.”
Aspinall’s desires and hard work were recognized
in April 2000, when the Washington D.C.-based Conservation
International chose John Aspinall out of 69 other
nominations from around the world to receive the Ecotourism
Excellence Award. This Award is dedicated to “extraordinary
individuals and companies who have made a significant
contribution to biodiversity conservation, and whose
actions serve as a role model for others.”
Ever since receiving the award the nation of Costa
Rica, its tourism industry, and Love for the Planet
have worked to strengthen the work of the Aspinall
Family. They have a joint program with the San José-based
Earth Institute, called the turtle Restoration Project,
to protect the Ridley turtles of the Pacific coast.
The program encourages locals to protect these endangered
species, and they are even paid for monitoring the
beaches. “We teach the locals not to eat turtle
eggs, and every time they bring an egg to the hatchery,
they receive 5-10 Colones. If the egg hatches, they
get an extra 25 Colones, paid in food.”
One of the Aspinall brothers, William, implemented
the “Carrying Capacity” concept at the Monteverde
Reserve while serving as director of the Reserve.
"Carrying Capacity" limits the number of
visitors each national park can sustain at any given
time.
Mr. Aspinall is quite positive when it comes to his
country’s potential, both in the near future
as well as in the long-term. “What Costa Rica
is and has achieved is not an accumulation of the
last few years, it is a result of last thirty years,”
says Aspinall. “And this means professionalism,
safety and security.” In order to witness this
Aspinall promises a 10% discount to anyone making
a booking with reference to this article. |
