In Association with Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary, SWAP is developing a surf and conserve program on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Based near to the popular surfing area of Malpais the one month program allows individuals to gain experience in working on a range of conservation projects and explore the surrounding area..

The Program

Program consists of:

-3 Week stay at Rainsong wildlife sanctuary working on a variety of conservation projects

-One week stay in Malpais area with the opportunitiy to surf the great variety of waves in the surrounding area

Raingsong Sanctuary

Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary and Penjamo Community Wildlife Refuge are being created on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The Sanctuary and Wildlife Hospital will be located in Cabuya, on the edge of Costa Rica's oldest National Park, "Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco." Our community refuge stretches from Playa Coyote to Paquera, including (to date) almost 3000 hectares (7500 acres) of protected habitat, a figure already larger than the nearby Cabo Blanco Reserve, and this figure is growing rapidly as additional property owners sign up.

Their goals:
Create a "Community" Wildlife Refuge by gathering signatures of conservation-minded individual landowners who are committed to stopping hunting and providing safe habitat for animals. In the first few weeks we have already signed up over 7500 acres to the Penjamo Community Wildlife Refuge.

Provide information and assistance in reforesting the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. We are already providing half-price seedlings of endangered hardwoods and fruit trees favored by wildlife.

Operate a badly needed regional wildlife hospital for the rescue of injured or abandoned animals and birds.

Re-introduce endangered species to the areas where they've become extinct in the past few decades. These will include the endangered Scarlet and Great Green Macaw, Three-toed Sloth, Spider Monkey, Quetzal, and Baird's Tapir.

Projects

1. Association for the reintroduction of Endangered Species                   

Although the Southern Nicoya Peninsula is known for its wildlife, there are several amazing species that have become extinct in the area in the past few decades due to hunting and deforestation. We are working to bring these animals back to the area, which is a monumental task. Our first hurdle is to get MINAE approval. Contrary to what one might initially think, it's illegal in Costa Rica to reintroduce species that have become extinct back into the national parks. This is because many biologists fear that these animals, which would be from other areas, may have diseases or parasites that could affect the animals still surviving in the park. However, in theory we can obtain MINAE approval to release extinct animals onto privately owned land, if we can prove that they'll be relatively safe there, and that the species is native to that particular area. Proving this last part is more difficult than one might imagine.

2. Reforestation Project

The nursery has been up and running for over a decade in Cabuya. Mary and Simon's collection of plant species has been compared with that of the University in San Jose. The nursery is generally half the price of other nurseries in the area, and specializes in rare and endangered hardwood seedlings, including several species that are nearly extinct. If you have land in Costa Rica, your help is needed. Please plant some of these endangered hardwoods to save them from extinction

3. Wildlife Rescue Centre

MINAE has given us permission to begin construction of a hospital and recovery center for wild animals in Cabuya, which is the village closest to Cabo Blanco National Park.

Our volunteers have been helping to clear the area where the hospital will be built, on Mary and Simon's land. Until now, sick or injured animals found in the area have had nowhere to go. A local veterinarian, named German Orlando Cifuentes, has graciously volunteered to help with animals that need medical attention.

4.  Community Wildlife Sanctuary

The Penjamo Community Wildlife Sanctuary is a project unique to the western hemisphere. As opposed to a private reserve or a government park, we are creating a park made up of a community of individual property owners. The idea is simple, but very powerful. We have distributed petitions, asking property owners to commit in writing to a set of three simple conservationist principles:

   1. We will not hunt, poison, or kill any wild animals on our land.
   2. To the best of our ability, we will attempt to keep poachers and hunters from using our land to hunt or kill animals.
   3. Report hunters or poachers using our land to the proper authorities.

Despite Costa Rica's reputation as the eco-tourism capital of the world, there is still a large amount of hunting of wild animals.Hunters/poachers often trespass on private property or federal parkland, hunting at night with a flashlight. When an animal's eyes reflect back, they will shoot it without knowning the species. Many animals, including horses, cows, and housecats are being killed this way. In fact, Mary and Simon's favorite Stallion was killed by poachers several months ago. This animal was not only a great friend, but essential for their business giving jungle horse-tours to tourists.

Raingson is also creating the Penjamo Community Wildlife Sanctuary also so that they can prove to MINAE (the government organization in Costa Rica that's responsible for approving and regulating wildlife projects) that there is enough protected land for released animals to survive on.

5. Searching for the last Sloths

In order to re-introduce the sloth to our area of Costa Rica,Raingsong must first prove to MINAE, the government organization in charge of regulating wild animal projects, that sloths were once a native species.

This is much more difficult than it might seem. Although sloths are common in some areas of Costa Rica, they have all but disappeared here, and proving they once lived here, or still live here, is much like searching for bigfoot! We have asked hundreds of people who have lived here for decades, and although many people claim to have seen them, especially old-timers who have been here since before the area was logged, we have been unable to turn up definitive proof, such as a photo or video.

There are two types of sloths living in Costa Rica. The three-toed sloth is native to our area. it is well documented to frequent similar habitat (tropical dry forest) in Panama, where it can be super-abundant (up to eight sloths per hectare!)

Sloths can live up to 30 years, and do not travel out of their small home territories. Also, each sloth has a favorite tree that it generally spends up to a quarter of its life in.

So, we are looking for recent eyewitness accounts, so we can search for the three-toed sloth by day, in which is is sometimes active, and by night, at which time it can be found by shining a flashlight and looking for its eyes to reflect.

 

 

The Surf

Malpais

Mal País, located on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, is another rising, yet still fairly untouched, surf destination in Costa Rica. Mal Pais/Santa Teresa is a very small community scattered along the pale, gold beaches with a beautiful backdrop of green vegetation.

Santa Teresa

Good lefts and rights at this hollow beach break. Tends to pick up more swell than nearby breaks and holds shape better at low tide. Take a right at the crossroads and continue 3km. Best conditions on west/southwest swell.

Playa Manzanillo

An offshore reef break at the north end of the beach with the same name. When the swell is big, it works, fickle otherwise.

Playa Carmen

A beach break that peaks with some rock reef. This wave offers a long right wall and a shorter left breaking over a sloping sand bottom. When these breaks get big, try the nearby reef breaks in Manzanillo or to the south of Carmen. Best conditions on west/southwest swell.

Los Suecos

A long lefthander wraps round the point turning into a great hot dog wave as it moves through the inside. Needs a lot of swell to work properly. Not for beginners.

Punta Barrigona

A long lefthander wraps round the point turning into a great hot dog wave as it moves through the inside. Needs a lot of swell to work properly. Not for beginners.lefthander with a fast take off followed by a long workable wall. Gets hollow with size and offshore winds. Needs a good swell. Not for beginners.

 

For more information regarding the dates/prices and availability contact us on mail@swaptravel.org