Archive for the ‘La Cocotera Updates’ Category

La Cocotera Eco Lodge Receives Scarlet Macaws for Reintroduction Program in El Salvador

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Great news! We have officially received two Scarlet Macaws as part of an educational component of a larger reintroduction program with SalvaNatura, El Salvador’s largest NGO. Their names are Lily and Tito. No one knows their exact age, but they came to us from a rescue center where they had spent the last 15 years of their lives in a cramped cage. The birds now reside in an aviary that we have built for them and are happily enjoying the larger space.

La Cocotera Resort El Salvador Scarlet Macaws

Lily and Tito, El Salvador Scarlet Macaws at La Cocotera Eco Resort

The Scarlet Macaw is an incredible bird, now extinct in El Salvador and most of Central America.  Hunting, poaching for the pet trade, and the destruction of habitat through deforestation have all been contributing factors in their population decline. As an environmentally active eco lodge in Central America, we are working in conjunction with SalvaNatura to sponsor a project that reintroduces macaws into the wild and establishes a self-sustaining population.

SalvaNatura is a private, nonprofit organization recognized nationally and internationally for its successful work on the issue of environmental conservation in El Salvador. For more information, visit www.salvanatura.org. You can read more about the Reintroduction of the Scarlet Macaw to El Salvador here.

macaw-photo-001

macaw-photo-002

For more information on our El Salvador all-inclusive hotel, visit us at www.lacocoteraresort.com

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in La Cocotera Updates | 2 Comments »

What Makes us an Eco Friendly Resort?

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

la-coco-restaurant

As an eco-friendly resort, we constantly strive to ensure that our hotel and practices always put the environment at high priority. But what does that entail exactly? We wanted to take the time to share with you what makes La Cocotera truly an eco friendly resort.

La Cocotera was built following the “green leaf” system utilized by the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST).   The planning of the resort involved mapping out how to carefully minimize footprints on the land and ensuring that structures were built around the natural landscape. Local natural materials such as palm fronds, sustainable teak wood, plant vines, natural stone and hand woven fabrics are used throughout. In fact, all the wood used in construction was derived from sustainable teak plantations.

Energy conservation and recycling are also important elements of our eco resort. We use solar energy, energy saving lightbulbs and kinesthetic power flashlights. We have a biological (not chemical) waste water recycling treatment plant and we utilize gray water recycling as well as black water recycling, which not many hotels do. All trash is presorted for recycling before it leaves the property.

At La Cocotera, we pride ourselves on the freshness of the food we serve. Mangoes, cashews, almonds and our own citrus trees are all grown on the property and we use them in our desserts.  We will soon be buying Tilapia fish from the local elementary school, which is raising them, and will be adding a vegetarian menu. For drinks, we use plastic cups made from corn  which are 100% compostable.

A few of our other eco friendly resort features are:

  • Environmentally safe products, shampoos and soaps
  • All cleaning products are environmentally safe
  • Ionization pool filtration, rather than chlorine and other chemicals
  • All rooms are non-smoking

Being a green hotel is more than just having environmentally friendly practices in place. We also educate our guests by offering a free Behind The Scenes Eco Tour that shows you all we are doing to be green. We educate all our staff in the same way.

As an eco friendly resort in El Salvador, we are glad to offer world-class accommodations in a beautiful and unique setting. We encourage environmentally conscious travelers, nature and luxury lovers alike to visit our green hotel in El Salvador for a different vacation experience surrounded by nature, far away from the stresses of everyday life.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Eco Travel Tips, La Cocotera Updates | 1 Comment »

Eco Vacation Experiences: La Cocotera On the Web

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Leave your mark! We talk so much about counteracting any “footprint” or environmental mark but forget to mention where you can leave a notable footprint. There have been some wonderful fan photos, reviews and videos out there and we want to highlight some of the real eco vacation experiences people have had at La Cocotera Resort.

From TripAdvisor reviewer TravelToLiveToday:

“This might have been the most well designed facility we have ever stayed at. We have stayed at many outstanding facilities around the world…So many wonderful things to talk about. The rooms are incredible. Some deep engineering makes the rooms so climate comfortable- without having to turn on the air-conditioning. I don’t care for air-conditioning but always use it. At La Cocotera the rooms have huge double french doors that capture the ocean breeze…Outside of the rooms are chase lounges. So incredibly comfortable, I thought I might want to sleep outside. Inside the bed, linens and pillows are simply perfect….The food is wonderful. The chef is a native Salvadorian who trained at culinary school for three years…The ocean is simply magnificent. Very private- yet the feeling of safety because the beach is wide open.”

From Tripadvisor reviewer Peckhamgypsy:

“The rooms are very nicely designed and decorated and give a feel of quality. Likewise, the whole hotel is well designed and because of it’s position, guests can enjoy the peace and solitude of the lagoon or walk a few metres and be sitting in front of the crashing Pacific waves. I don’t normally like the concept of “meals included” resorts but in this case there really is not much choice but to eat at the hotel and the good news is that the food was varied and tasty.”

—————-

Travelers share photos from their eco vacation to La Cocotera on SmugMug.com:

“The last week of October my friend Colette and I spent 4 days at La Cocotera Ecolodge in Barra Santiago, El Salvador. We took advantage of all the resort had to offer including taking part in a turtle release, kayaking the estuary, an afternoon on the floating ranchita, a trip by panga to the local school, and a trip to a local home to learn how to make tortillas!”

View the La Cocotera Ecolodge, El Salvador 10.08 gallery here

—————-

Check out this fun YouTube video with pictures of the resort’s gorgeous scenery:

—————-

La Cocotera on Flickr:

See even more eco vacation photos on Flickr, or cruise through a few traveler-submitted photos on Tripadvisor.

Have photos or reviews that you’d like to share? Feel free to submit them to lacocoteraresort @ yahoo.com and we would be happy to include them in our blog.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in La Cocotera Updates | 1 Comment »

El Salvador Hotels and Night Life

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Don’t forget to splash your travels with the colorful nightlife of San Salvador’s best bars and nightclubs. When you leave your El Salvador hotel for the evening, check out the Zona Rosa district, just west of the city center.  Many cafes and restaurants can be found in Paseo General Escalon, in the Zona Rosa region, while nightclubs and cinemas  (many of which show English-language films with Spanish subtitles) can often be found in shopping malls, like Metrocenter or Gran Vía. One of the area’s theaters is the beautifully restored Teatro Nacional.

Along with theaters and clubs, venues like the Feria Internacional for concerts, and Estadio Cuscatlán and Estadio Mágico Gonzalez for football (soccer) matches and concerts are great for a day out.

When you go into the restaurants remember to order the national culinary specialities:

  • Pupusa (a fried sandwich of tortillas, filled with pork, cheese, refried beans and/ or vegetables).
  • Típico salvadoreño (standard Salvadoran breakfast comprising eggs, local cheese, refried beans, fried plantains and tortillas).
  • Corn tortillas.
  • Tamal de elote (cornflour batter with meat filling, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed).

To read more about traditional and specialty cuisine, see our other post on El Salvador Food!

When you go out to the shops or clubs don’t pass up on drinking some of the local specialties:

  • Café (coffee).
  • Refrescos (natural fruit drinks).
  • Tic tac and torito (strong alcoholic beverages made from distilled sugar cane).

In El Salvador, the legal drinking age is 18. For night clubs and bars, remember that entry charges are common. For tipping in the area, give about 10% in El Salvador hotels and restaurants, and 15% is appropriate for smaller bills. Check before tipping because service charge is often included on bill.

FYI: Certain areas are best to avoid. The actual San Salvador downtown offers little to no in the way of entertainment and should be avoided for the most part at night. Outside the capital most places of entertainment (even hotels) close early.

Tags: , ,
Posted in La Cocotera Updates, Travel Guides | No Comments »

Eco Tourism: Hiking in El Imposible National Park

Monday, June 29th, 2009

610x
Photo:  Daylife.com

Did you know? El Imposible National Park is so named for the once-treacherous El Imposible Pass, where a steep and narrow gorge between two mountains blocked the route of coffee farmers transporting their coffee by mule-train. In 1968, the government constructed a bridge at El Imposible Pass, opening up transportation from Tacuba to Cara Sucia.

El Imposible National Park is part of the Apaneca–Ilamatepec range of mountains and is located 70 miles west of capital city San Salvador.  The park is a protected natural area offering the largest biological diversity in El Salvador.

The park covers 12,850 acres of tropical mountain forest. More than 1,000 species of plants are found in the park,  as are such endangered animals as the puma, crested black eagle, emerald toucan, aardvark and white-tailed deer. El Imposible is considered one of the most important natural reserves in Central America not only because of its wildlife, but because it is one of the few existing examples of the typical Mesoamerican Pacific coastal rainforests. Access is by hiking and four-wheel-drive vehicle only.

There are 3 major trails in the park: a 1km nature hike, a 6-7km loop into the valley to see a delta of two rivers, and a 8-9km hike to Cerro Leon the highest point in the park.

La Cocotera’s proximity to  El Imposible National Park, make hiking a popular eco tourism activity for our visitors. Reservations and permits for each visitor are required in advance. Call or ask us at the front desk about El Imposible Tours and we’ll be happy to help you!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Activities & Events, Eco Travel Tips, La Cocotera Updates, Travel Guides | 3 Comments »

La Cocotera Featured in Explore TACA Magazine

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

TACA (www.taca.com) , the official airline of El Salvador, featured La Cocotera Resort in their in-flight magazine, Explore. TACA flies to 39 destinations in 22 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, including daily flights to 9 major U.S. cities. TACA flies daily non-stop from Los Angeles to San Salvador.

In his article, Heeding The Call Of Nature, Ken Rivadeneira describes the picturesque scenery of Barra de Santiago, our secluded resort and the turtle release program we sponsor:

As the waves splashed and receded, I dipped my hands into the bowl that held a dozen fragile, small, hard-backed reptiles and scooped one of the creatures into my palms. It instinctively flapped its paddle-like fins, and I set it on the sepia-colored sand of El Salvador’s Barra de Santiago, watching as it slowly followed the sunset and made its way into the Pacific. The only footprints on the sand were turtle tracks.

This sea turtle and its 11 bowl-mates had been born and raised in La Cocotera Resort & Ecolodge, the first true eco resort effort in El Salvador, and one of the few in Central America that carries the idea of being environmentally conscious through every aspect of its operation. “Part of being ‘eco’ is to not leave such a big footprint on the land,” says Joseph Bruderer-Schwab, founder of the resort. “I feel really proud and good inside, that I [created the resort] that way, with the environment in mind.”

Read the full article here

Tags: , ,
Posted in La Cocotera Updates, Travel News | No Comments »

Welcome to the La Cocotera Eco Travel Blog!

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
La Cocotera Eco Resort

Welcome to the La Cocotera Eco Resort Blog! Here you will find all the latest information about our eco resort from  events and news to special offers. We will also be featuring a variety of useful and interesting articles on eco travel, things to see and do in La Barra de Santiago, and general travel info on surrounding areas. Think of this blog as your one-stop-shop for all things new and interesting about La Cocotera Resort and the wonderful world of  travel!

La Cocotera Resort is an environmentally friendly resort in  El Salvador. As a green hotel, we strive to provide guests with a pristine world-class destination, while still nurturing and supporting the local people and environment.  We encourage nature and luxury lovers alike to visit our green hotel in El Salvador for a truly unique and relaxing vacation experience.

Tags:
Posted in La Cocotera Updates | No Comments »