jueves, 30 de mayo de 2013

Sueno del Mar's Environmentally Green Practices: Composting!


At Sueno del Mar we have a clear vision with regard to caring for nature and the environment ... Besides our sewage purification system, we have a compost of about three meters square. It's super simple to have one in your own home, maybe it's time to try! Once your plants get the nutrients made from your own compost, you will see that nothing will be thrown in the regular trash again .. Save the planet!

You can make your own compost in a plastic bin!! Try it!

Here's How:

  1. You will want your compost bin to be at least three feet in diameter. For a three foot compost bin, measure out ten feet of wire fencing. If you are making a compost bin that is four feet in diameter, measure out twelve and a half feet of fencing.
  2. Use wire cutters or tin snips to cut the fencing. You'll want to cut the cross wires flush with an upright wire so that you don't have any ends sticking out. Cut carefully, and be sure to wear your gloves. The cut wire can be quite sharp.
  3. Form the length of wire fencing into a circle. Sometimes when the wire fencing has just been cut from the roll, it seems determined to spring back into a tight little roll. Laying the fencing on the ground, opening it up, and walking back and forth over it a few times will flatten it enough for you to be able to form it into a circle.
  4. Fasten the ends of the fencing together. You can use wire, twine, or zip ties to fasten it. To be sure that your compost bin is secure, fasten the ends at the top, middle, and bottom.
  5. Put your compost bin in place in your garden. The best place for a compost bin is near the garden, where it will be easy to put garden waste into the bin, as well as put finished compost into the garden. Just make sure you have enough room to move around it for those times you need to turn it or harvest the compost.
  6. Start filling the compost bin. Lawn and garden waste, vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, and egg shells are all great additions to the compost pile. You can also use it to hold chopped fall leaves to make leaf mold.
  7. Turn your compost regularly, or just let it sit until the materials break down. You can use finished compost anywhere in your garden, on your lawn, and in potted plants.

Tips:

  1. Be sure to wear gloves! This project can be very hard on the hands.
  2. An electric multitool with a cutting wheel is also a good option for cutting the fencing.

What You Need

  • Wire Fencing
  • Wire Cutters or Tin Snips
  • Gloves
  • Zip Ties, Wire, or Twine


Information extracted from: 
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/compost/ht/wirecompostbin.htm



Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.
 

lunes, 20 de mayo de 2013

Hiking in Rincon de la Vieja National Park

Located only 75 minutes from Playa Tamarindo and Sueno del Mar Bed and Breakfast, Rincon de la Vieja National Park is the perfect place to spend the day, hiking in our local Guanacaste province.  Here you will find wildlife and a diverse type of flora.  At some points on the hike, you will be in a more tropical rainforest-like setting while at other times, you will find yourself walking through a tropical dry forest which is almost desert-like!

Rincon de la Vieja is a volcano but at this time, no activity is present and the Park remains open.  There are many beautiful waterfalls located inside the Park to enjoy and take a dip in!



Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.

jueves, 16 de mayo de 2013

Learn the difference between bananas and plantains!


In Costa Rica, we have two types of bananas:
1) Banana, yellow, eaten uncooked, alone, with other fruits or cereal (English banana)
2) Banana, ripe or green. The ripe plantain is fried or baked with sugar, cinnamon, cheese, sour cream and butter, delicious!. Green can be minced, in ceviche or tostones (fried plantains).

Properties:

Green Banana Is Anti-Diarrhea
Banana Is Anti-Ulcer Activity
Banana peel suppresses Prostate Gland Growth
Banana stem extract suppresses Oxalate Kidney Stones
Banana consumption protects the skin Against UV-Light Damage
Bananas have Anti-Diabetic properties 
Banana contains a variety of Anti-Infective Compounds

In our garden at Sueno del Mar Bed and Breafast, we have a beautiful banana tree...every year it gives us delicious bananas. We always serve them making organic banana pancakes. Lili, our chef, makes great pancakes! Visit us and try it!!

You will feel right at home at our beachfront Bed and Breakfast located near Tamarindo, Costa Rica.



lunes, 13 de mayo de 2013

Relax and Unwind. Enjoy a Massage at Sueno del Mar

At Sueno del Mar, our goal is to help you completely relax and unwind into the tropical paradise of our Playa Langosta Bed and Breakfast.  During your stay with us, why not enjoy a relaxing massage, listening to the quiet sounds of nature that surround you...the birds singing, the breeze blowing through the trees and the waves crashing onto our beachfront property.

You will feel right at home at our beachfront Bed and Breakfast located near Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

Massage made by Kim Thabault contact information: (506)83848801 
Photography by Sean Davis.

jueves, 9 de mayo de 2013

Learn How to Grow Papayas from Seed


At Sueno del Mar Bed & Breakfast, we love to grow papayas from the seed!  We always serve a plate of fruit with our gourmet breakfast... and we have our own compost...but we like to keep the seeds so we can grow our own trees.  It's super simple!


  • Just cut the papaya in half, scrape out the seeds and dry them.
  • Select a sunny and sheltered place in your garden. That's right, in your garden. Don't start them in pots! Papayas don't transplant well.
  • Papaya trees need very good soil, rich in organic matter and nutrients.
  • Now sprinkle on some of your seeds. Cover the seeds lightly with more compost, and then mulch the patch well. The seeds usually take about a couple of weeks to germinate, and may take longer.
  • Soon you will notice that your seedlings are very different in size and vigor. That's why we planted so many. Start culling the weaker ones. Pull them out while still small, or cut bigger ones down to the ground. Only keep the very best.
  • Papaya plants can be male, female, or bisexual, and you want to make sure that you have some females or bisexual plants amongst your seedlings. The male papayas don't bear fruit.
  • Papayas start flowering when they are about one metre tall. The males flower first. Male flowers have long, thin stalks with several small blooms. Female flowers are usually single blooms, bigger, and very close to the trunk.
  • Cull most of the male plants. You only need one male for every ten to fifteen female plants to ensure good pollination.
  • And that's it. You should end up with one very strong and healthy female plant per bed.
Information extracted from: http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-papaya.html



Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.
 

lunes, 6 de mayo de 2013

Reasons to Visit Playa Tamarindo during the Green Season



The green season is upon us and we're all so happy here at Sueno del Mar!  While we love our summer season, the green season brings us slightly cooler temperatures and a little bit more rain in the late afternoons and evenings which turns our entire region of Guanacaste green and tropical!

Taking a vacation to Costa Rica during the green season also means:
  • Less tourists and crowds
  • More personal attention, especially on tours
  • Local kids are in school since they have a different schedule from the US and Canada
  • It often only rains at night or late afternoons
  • Room rates are less expensive 

Make your reservation today at our Bed and Breakfast for the 2013 Green Season...we look forward to seeing you!



Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.