Costa Rica is a Mother Nature loving, adventure seeking haven!

In this tiny county (the size of West Virgina) you can surf, climb, repel, jump into endless waterfalls, raft world class rivers, zip-line through jungle canopies (they invented it), dive, climb, and never get bored frolicking through he most pristine rainforests in the world.

*Bonus—it’s safe, you can drink tap water (unheard of in most of Latin America) and many people speak English, and if not, they’ll smile anyway and throw out a friendly ‘Pura Vida!’

I was recently invited down by the Costa Rican Tourism Board through a program they call “Gifts of Happiness.” I had no idea what it was all about—all I knew is that it was a free dream trip for me and one guest, yes please!

Most single guys might bring a sexy lady for the ride, but instead I chose my brother Ethan (happy birthday!). We were due for some bro bonding and what better place than Costa Rica.

I’ll let the video do the talking but the most impressive aspect of Costa Rica (besides the endless adventures) are its commitment to being Eco friendly. Our entire trip was carbon neutral, even the flights were offset. We stayed at three incredible Eco lodges but my favorite was the Selva Bananito Lodge run by the craziest, funniest and most eco warriorist German I’d ever met, Jürgen the Great!

The rooms are made with salvaged wood, they use solar power for lights, they employ all natural water treatment methods (see video below), food is organic, the soap is made from local flowers and they compost all waste to create rich soils. Wow!  They also run some pretty awesome canyoning tours which you’ll see in the video.

More countries (the United States included) should take note of what Costa Rica has been doing for years, and rethink how travel affects our precious environment. 

I’ve been all over the world and this little country in the tropics is the Eco-friendliest by far.

Pura Vida!

Here’s our week of adventure:

Jürgen explaining the water treatment methods at Selva Bananito.

*Bonus (from a previous trip) Running a marathon on the beaches of Tamarindo.

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 Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photos: courtesy of the author