While it is not my habit to write these posts from a personal place, this post is a little bit special. I recently had a bit of an epiphany, and it happened while seated in a big comfortable chair, early in the morning, in Ocotea’s back garden.

December 24th marked the first anniversary of the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, and passing that milestone naturally makes us think back on the events of the past year and reflect. We are happy to say, our first year has been spectacular, and we couldn’t be more proud of the wonderful team of people who have made that possible.

A little while ago, we wrote a blog post about some of the delicious culinary options that can be found in and around Monteverde. One of the restaurants that we discussed was Bon Appetit!which is located not far from our very own Ocotea Boutique Hotel. 

Costa Rica is famous for several things, but when it comes to tourism, canopy ziplines and eco-tourism top the list. I suppose in a way, those two things are connected because ziplining is a way for visitors to enjoy the beauty and grandeur of the forest while leaving the smallest footprints behind.

What is Craft Cuisine?

The concept of “craft cuisine” is an interesting one. In part because the craft cuisine movement involves creating food by hand, using intention, expertise, and experience. Craft foods are artisanal in nature, meaning the creator has a level of skill that is beyond the average, making the food, in essence, an art form.

In many parts of North America, we tend to think of seasons in terms of weather, and expect to enjoy four distinctly different seasons.

Life in Monteverde revolves, in many ways, around the nearby cloud forest. Why? Because it’s such a rare occurrence! Only 1% of the world's remaining forests are cloud forests. This focus on the cloud forest often distracts from the fact that we have several other kinds of forest here as well.

I recently wrote a post entitled “Where is Everything In Monteverde?”It was chock full of useful information about what is available in the Monteverde area, and how to find what you’re looking for in Monteverde, thanks to a handy map of the area which encompasses Monteverde, Santa Elena, and Cerro Plano.

Monteverde is the general name used to describe the area around the Monteverde Cloud Forest, but it’s a little misleading because the place actually includes several small neighborhoods which are all quite close together- Monteverde, Cerro Plano, Perro Negro, and Santa Elena, which is the largest of the neighborhoods.