Monkey Quads ATV Tours

Monkey Quads is a professional, reputable company that has been providing ATV tours in Nosara for years. Each ATV tour departs at 7:30 am from the Monkey Quad office in Playa Pelada. Over the next four to five hours, enjoy taking in spectacular views of the Costa Rica jungles, waterfalls, rivers and beaches from atop a brand new fleet of Honda 250’s Quads with electric shift. Since the ATV does all the work and is much faster than hiking, it’s an ideal way to explore all the natural beauty that Nosara has to offer.

For a 360 degree Costa Rica adventure we recommend taking the Grand Tour, which includes an ATV excursion through the monkey forest, Rio Nosara, the turtle nesting grounds, Ostional Beach and a blissful snorkel at San Juanillo with lunch. Surf fanatics can also enjoy an ATV tour that takes them to all the best hidden surf spots near Nosara for an unforgettable surfing experience in the Pacific Ocean. Every Monkey Quad ATV tour also includes a professional tour guide with fifteen years experience, helmets, eye protection and dust masks. It’s the perfect way to indulge in your inner adventurer without sacrificing safety, and is one of the best ways to see Nosara.

The Nosara Yoga & Wellness Center

Formerly known as the Costa Rica Yoga Spa, the Nosara Yoga & Wellness Center is founded with the belief that the good life begins with a balanced life. To achieve that ultimate inner balance, the Nosara Yoga & Wellness Center offers retreats, classes, spa treatments and wildlife explorations that enable guests to get in touch with their inner self. The location alone is enough to relax the body and spirit, the Center is set on a private ranch atop a peaceful mountain that overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean on Costa Rica’s gold coast.

Visitors to the Nosara Yoga & Wellness Center can enjoy both the Yoga Pavilion and the Wellness Center during their stay. At the Yoga Pavilion, crafted from native Costa Rica teak and pachote wood, practitioners can hone their flexibility and relax while watching the sun rise and set over the Pacific Ocean. The Wellness Center offers private spa rooms for exclusive massages and signature body treatments that will rejuvenate even the weariest traveler. After your mind, body and spirit are in sync and light as a feather, guests can continue their enjoyment of the Center at the private beach, the infinity pool, the Center’s gourmet organic eatery, or by exploring the nearby Ostional National Park.

MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini Phone

The latest luxury buzz on our radar this week involves finding the perfect present. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about choosing that special gift for your loved ones.  This week’s interesting reading has two unique picks that are sure to satisfy the picky luxury-lover in your life: TAG Heuer’s Lamborghini-inspired mobile phone and Sony’s new PRS-600 Reader Edition.

TAG Heuer Lamborghini-Inspired Phone

Sleek styling and a 60 carat scratch-resistant sapphire display make the TAG Heuer limited edition MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini phone a sight for sore eyes. The phone not only looks impressive, but also boasts a battery that is good for seven hours of talk time and twenty eight days of standby power. Top if off with a media player and 2 mega pixel camera, and you can see why the MERIDIIST would make the perfect luxury gift for the guy who has it all.

Sony PRS-600 Reader

Sony PRS-600 Reader

For a stylish holiday present that is both luxurious and eco-friendly, consider Sony’s new reader, the PRS-600. Download and carry around over 300 books, all in the small, lightweight reader that can be taken anywhere. It’s perfect for all those long trips around the world, and allows quick book downloading on-the-go just like the Amazon Kindle. It also has access to over 1 million free public-domain books available online, which lets you download and read all the classics for free. Imagine the paper you can save with this hot little gadget, all while satisfying your thirst for literature.

Horseback Riding in Costa Rica – Beach Tours and Jungle

Beate and Hans of Boca Nosara Tours

Riding a horse through crystal clear surf is a dream for many people – and understandably so. The allure of sitting astride a powerful animal while experiencing the best that nature has to offer is the perfect way to let all the stress of everyday life roll off you while you embrace the moment. Nosara’s gorgeous beaches along Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast are dotted with a number of different horseback riding tour companies who let you experience just that.

For guided beach horseback riding tours, try Boca Nosara. Each guided tour is provided by company owners Beate and Hans, who are fluent in English, Spanish and German. Typical beach rides last from two and a half to three and a half hours, though private tours and custom tours are also available. Importantly, all horses are healthy, well taken care of and very easy to ride; making their beach rides a great experience for novice and riding pro alike.

Horse Riding Tours Are Also Available Through Costa Rica Travel

Another company offering well-organized horseback riding tours through Nosara’s jungles and beaches is Costa Rica Travel. Costa Rica Travel offers horseback riding tours throughout Costa Rica with a few different tour options within Nosara. Adventurers can choose from a jungle tour, sunset and beach tour or a Mala Noche waterfall tour, each guided by a professional naturalist for three to four hours.

Lush Model in Kalia's Emerald Woods Village

For a gorgeously appointed, luxurious yet ecological home in Costa Rica, look no further than Kalia. Nestled against the Costa Rica jungle with views of the Pacific Ocean, Kalia is comprised of four villages with nine different model homes to choose from. Each home is chosen specifically for each residential lot to minimize the development’s impact on Costa Rica’s natural terrain. We have already shared details about the Breeze and Mist model homes, and this time we would like to introduce you to the Lush.

The Lush

The aptly named Lush is enclosed by floor to ceiling glass windows for 360 degree views of the surrounding natural beauty. The Lush boasts nearly 5,500 square feet of living space with over 2,500 square feet of indoor living space and nearly 2,900 square feet of outdoor living space. The home has three spacious bedrooms with the option of a fourth bedroom from the current family room. Water mirrors surround the home, giving each bedroom a serene aquatic view. A large pool just off the living room and dining room is the perfect spot to take an afternoon dip in the pool, or the ideal place for hosting weekend barbeques and pool parties.

Beautiful Panoramic Views From the Interior

The Lush is one of the few Kalia homes that is all on one level, making it easy to reside in for families with younger children or senior citizens. The single level also means that Lush is an entertainer’s dream vacation home, especially since the home is built around a courtyard for an intimate, welcoming feel. And of course, as with all Kalia homes, the Lush home has convenient access to all the planned amenities the Kalia community will offer including world class spas, workout centers, restaurants and walking trails. For more about the Lush home, please visit Kalia’s website.

Kevan Hall Collection at the Universal Studios Backlot

Paris, New York and Milan get the lion’s share of Fashion Week designers, media and attention, but Los Angeles Fashion Week still shows off a great range of West Coast talent. This year, the Spring / Summer 2010 LA Fashion Week has oddly been turned into nearly a month of scattered fashion shows spanning the city’s urban sprawl. From Culver City’s Smashbox Studios (traditional home of LA Fashion Week) to mid-city’s Peterson Automotive Museum to the Universal Studios backlot, Los Angeles designers are showing off next year’s creations all over the city. Here are some from LA’s 2010 Spring Fashion Week so far:

Kevan Hall – 60s Inspired Silhouettes in a Bright Palette

Kevan Hall is traditionally one of the strongest LA Fashion Week shows, so it’s no surprise that he showed off another beautiful collection for Spring and Summer. Sherbert colored dresses were graceful, feminine and impeccably tailored, cutting striking silhouettes that flatter a woman’s curves.

Custo Barcelona – Vibrant Tropics

Custo Barcelona Collection

The Custo Barcelona label is known for their emphasis on wild color, and their Spring 2010 collection did not disappoint. Bold prints, beading, fringe and embellishments might be over the top for some, but Custo Barcelona’s die-hard fans came out in droves to support the brand at LA Fashion Week, making it one of the most packed events so far.

Lauren Elaine Black Collection -  Summer Goddess

Soft, flowing dresses dyed by hand are signature of the Lauren Elaine Black Collection. Peach and turquoise, two of Spring’s most in-demand hues, played a prevalent role in the collection, as did leopard print fabric, another key trend come Spring 2010.

The Fisker Karma

The Fisker Karma

The Fisker Karma is an $88,000 hybrid electric roadster designed by Henrik Fisker, legendary car designer whose artwork has been realized in the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage as well as the Tramonto and Latigo CS. Tired of the bland design evident in the hybrid cars that were on the market, Fisker set out to ‘deliver a beautiful car that makes environmental sense.’ The result was the Karma, with the height of a Porsche 911, length of a Mercedes CLS and the width of a BMW 7 series. A sleek design paired with the Karma’s sustainably sourced luxury interior (wood trim from fallen trees, naturally recycled sand that creates faceted EcoGlass, bamboo viscose and sustainable hand-wrapped leather) make the zippy electric sports car simply irresistible.

The Tesla Roadster

Like the Karma, Tesla’s version of electric-chic shatters stereotypes with sleek European styling and power to match. The sexy little car is an engineering delight with its rechargeable lithium ion laptop batteries that power the car 220 miles on a single charge. Not to mention its carbon-fiber body originally based on a Lotus Elise, or its specially designed comfort seats. The Tesla Roadster is much like the stealth bomber of sports cars; it flies silently, accelerating from 0 to 60 in a mere 3.9 seconds.

The Tesla Roadster

Last year the first batch of in-demand $98,000 roadsters were been delivered to their owners, many of whom are household names: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr. and Kelsey Grammer. Still awaiting the delivery of their Teslas are hundreds more electric car aficionados who have deposited $50,000 or more for a spot on the 2009 waiting list. Want to get in on the action? Just add your name to the bottom of the list.

The Belgrave Trust

A new carbon offset consultant, The Belgrave Trust was founded by Nick Baily and Jeff Stuart, friends and environmentalists. The Trust works rather like a hedge fund; wealthy individuals who care about offsetting their carbon emissions fill out a questionnaire about their lifestyle, and buy a monthly membership that offsets the amount of carbon they produce. Belgrave Trust then uses this money to manage a portfolio of investments in different types of carbon offsets and projects that minimize human carbon footprints.

Joining Belgrave Trust is by invitation only, you can also join through this link for a limited time.

The Wattson software tracks energy data and transmits your own household’s usage to other Wattson users online so you can compare energy usage to other greenies in your area. Who’s down for a game of “out-green” the neighbors? Rather gives a new green slant on the term “keeping up with the Joneses.” Part of what makes the Wattson so popular is its usability. Tracking your household’s energy consumption is easy with Wattson’s color changing system. The unit emits a constant glow that changes colors depending on your current energy use. A blue glow is for low energy use, red for high energy use and purple for average.

Going green comes with a price – $185 for the sleek little device, with a luxury limited edition version that goes for $647. Depending on your home’s annual energy usage, however, it could potentially pay for itself in the first year alone – a sweet benefit to having the latest eco-gadget.

Thanks to its cutting edge design, WHY requires less power at cruising speed than other boats of equal size, and is propelled by the most efficient diesel-electric motor available. Most impressively, a majority of the yacht is powered by nearly 900 square meters of photovoltaic panels, which also function as a sleek black design feature. Not content to stop there, the designers are still exploring further methods of sustainable energy to incorporate into WHY’s design, including a telescopic wind-turbine system and a retractable mast with computer-operated sail that will provide a third of the energy needed to power the yacht. WHY is the epitome of a design with no excess or superfluity – artistic craftsmanship that has created a luxury island with minimal impact on the sea.

To see more WHY in action, check out this video online at Just Luxe.