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Welcome to Uvita Costa Rica Online!

"The Zone" is Costa Rica's southern pacific zone, loosely measured from a little south of Quepos to just Palmar Sur.  Contrary to the normal effects of a recession, there is a surge in people visiting and moving to the zone.  This is in large part to the newly finished coastal highway that connects the Quepos to Dominical.  The drive to San José is 2 hours 40 minutes now.  Life has certainly changed in The Zone. 

Uvita is at the heart and soul of all this "community".  The last 2 years has seen the arrival of 2 full sized grocery stores, 3 banks (all nationals), 3 pharmacies, and a myriad of other services.  Uvita is becoming the cultural, economic and social center for Costa Rica's southern pacific zone.

There is a also an interesting community development going on.  Groups are getting together to put together effective road care prgrams, water systems are being formalized and crime is being dealt with on a zone-wide level.  The times they are a changing in The Zone.

My name is Ben Vaughn and I am working my way through a complete rebuild of both this site and www.Dominical.biz

If you are interested in having a spot on the site with your business, B & B, Vacation Rental, whatever, here's what you do:

  1. Register
  2. Drop me a line telling me your login name and you should describe your business.  

I'll contact you and help with the setup of your page.

Banks in Uvita Costa Rica

There are 3 banks in Uvita Costa Rica.  All 3 are national, meaning that they are Costa Rica owned and operated and are actually government banks.

  1. Banco de Costa Rica
  2. Banco National
  3. Banco Popular

All 3 banks are located on the highway and can be seen and located by simply driving along the highway through Uvita. 

As you drive south through Uvita, Banco de Costa Rica or "BCR" is the first one you'll come to.  It's located on the inland (as opposed to "ocean") side of the highway in the main intersection of Uvita, just next to La Corona grocery store.

Continuing towards the south, you'll drive over a bridge.  Shortly thereafter you'll see a dome shaped building in a commercial center to your right (ocean side of the highway).  Just past that is Banco Popular.

Coninuing on a few hundred meters you'll see Banco Nacional on your right (ocean side of the highway).

Learn Spanish - It's Really Really Hard.

There is an awful lot of emphasis put on life enrichment these days.  We see it when we turn on the TV, listen to the radio, surf the web.  Walk into a book store and there is likely a display of books on how to be happier, healthier and live a fuller, richer life.

I’ve got a tip that can enrich your life – learn Spanish.

It has got to be one of the, if not the most life enriching thing that I’ve done. 

To be able to communicate with another culture is an amazing thing.

This fact had an awful lot to do with my then wife and I deciding to sell out, pack up, and move our family to Costa Rica in 1999. 

Prior to that time, I had always admired and envied those that had a second language. We tried in the States to learn Spanish.  I bought a huge satellite dish and put it out in the yard just so we could get Spanish TV.  I thought that would be the way to get the kids to learn Spanish – NOT. 

At that time there was no Rosetta Stone, but I did scour the market and found what there was.  Berlitz has always been pretty good.  I bought their cassettes and memorized them.  “Hola Pedro. Como está?  Donde está María?” and so on.  We found a video set that assured us our kids would learn Spanish.  They did watch the videos and would mockingly say “Zozo está listo para los panquekes?”

Escuela Verde

Escuela Verde

Contact Escuela VerdeOn February 1st, 2010, preschool Puerto Nuevo will re-open with a new name, Escuela Verde Costa Ballena, in the heart of Uvita (at the previous location of the Heartsong lodge, 300 meters from BCR, across from muebleria Chacho). This is a provisional location for 2010 to allow for construction of the ultimate school site in Bahia in 2011.

This year we are offering pre-school classes for children from two years to four years of age, kindergarten and primary grades first through third. The mission of the school is to prepare children to be resourceful and independent while inspiring them to give back to their multi-cultural community and the natural environment. We aim to foster critical and creative thinking skills and an enjoyment of learning through life-related experiences with an ecological focus.

The school will be bilingual – with approximately 60% of the classes for first through third grades being taught in Spanish, and 40% being taught in English. The preschool and kindergarten classes will also have English, to prepare children to enter the bilingual primary school. We aim to educate children to become fluent in both languages. Children of all nationalities and languages are welcomed – being bilingual is not a pre-requisite.

Flutterby House, Hostel by the Sea

Uvita's premier hostel offers cabins, camping, showers and a friendly, welcome atmosphere.

Haga click aqui para Español


Daytime  011 (506) 8341-1730
Price range for all accommodations: camping and cabins.
$12 -$70
 Long term available.

 

Jolly Rodgers

After visiting Costa Rica's southern pacific zone for a while, one begins to notice that Costa Rica is not bound by the normal 3 rules of picking a good spot for your restaurant. Those 3 being:

  1. Location
  2. Location and then
  3. Location

Jolly Rodgers is this in spades.  It's just a bit off the beaten path.

What's kinda funny is that it is up by where I live in Escaleras so it is actually convenient for me. But if you don't live in Escaleras, you've got to engage your 4 wheel drive differential and get on up the hill.

The access is part of the charm.  Nat & I went over for our loosely styled tradition.  Saturday nights at Jolly Rodgers are a regular poker night and so we like to get there around 6:00, which is before the poker players show.  We don't play poker, but we enjoy the festive feel of the evening.

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Guys In The Zone Uvita Costa Rica