Progress Reports

There is still much to do before the resort will be ready. From signage and brochures to connecting hot-water and outfitting the Tiki Bar & Restaurant. Opening a new business is truly a learning process. All government approvals are completed which has been a major hurdle Here are some of the steps completed and underway:

1. The pools are ready to go and looking gorgeous. We are having to change a section of the waterslide into a tunnel because it was too fast in the curves, so the kids will love it.

2. The Spa is the resort entrance, change-rooms, spa gym & saunas. Currently the work in progress includes two large fountains, furniture. sauna and hot-water. You'll love the chandeliers. The gym is now outfitted with state-of-art equipment the massage rooms are ready for the first customers and the change rooms are complete.

3. The Tiki Bar and Restaurant: Curent work includes installing the kitchen equipment, The restaurant furniture and fountains look great.

4. The botanical garden is maturing. The plant species are unique and colourful. The lagoon and water ways contain lots of surprises. The covering for the butterfly gardens was recently erected enabling butterfly reproduction to commence.

5. Excursions are a whole business onto itself. Visitors are so lucky because these tremendous nature excursions are so close. Additionally we are blessed with an experienced manager.

6. The hotel: Construction on the first double cabana will commence within a couple weeks. Each guest room is 550 square feet! We'll use this experience to tweak any further changes before commencing construction on 26 cabins - the first stage.

If you are interested in learning more, please don't hesitate to be in contact with us.

December 2008

We hope you share with us in our excitement as the Blue River Resort, Hot Springs and Spa takes shape.

Once the preliminary approval was granted in December 2007, we immediately began construction. First there is all the infrastructure work, which continues, even today. We improved roads and brought electricity and water to the properties. This really helped the entire community because many homes in this area do not have electricity and we are employing many locals. Then we built an office and an adjacent, all–purpose service building, which contains a covered area, storage, a place for workers to sleep and a kitchen to feed everyone. This took until May 2008.

When government permit approval came through to build the hot pools in May 2008, we commenced work. Then in September, the building for the spa, gym, and change-rooms began. It is now the end of October 2008 and both are expect to be completed in January 2009. This will truly be a jewel for Costa Rica.

It has been a workin–progress to learn out how to fill and maintain the pools and the process is still not complete. We have spoken to just about every owner and manager of hot spring pools in Costa Rica (& visited), the USA and Canada, only to learn everyone maintains their pools differently. Each deals with unique circumstances, with different mineral content, water flows, temperature, clarity & sources. And even among those with similar water, the equipment and individual experiments, dictated very different choices. Though we use specialized engineers, there has been a great deal of experimentation. By early November one pool will be set up for us to begin a new set of trials. Assuming that will be straight forward, the rest of the pools will be connected.

Also in May, the botanical garden and landscaping got underway. We are utilizing many streams to form a lagoon that runs into a larger brook. Several kinds of plants have been chosen to attract the exotic birds, like toucans, hummingbirds, parrots an butterflies. So the tranquil sound of nature surrounds us. A horticulture expert acts as a consultant to identify different families of species and we plant them in together as a group. Locating and delivering some types remains quite a challenge. The locals are quite knowledgeable about what works and two have been appointed responsible for overseeing the gardens. One local has gathered and put together a very special orchid garden. A neighbor, who has a beautiful butterfly garden, is setting up ours. In the past four months, the grounds have been transformed into a thing of beauty.

Final approval for the zoo recently came through. An arrangement has been made with neighbors who house animals in an old zoo, which the government authorities closed. So we will take many of their animals. In fact, we are anxious to build cages out of fear for their health.

Our biggest hurdle has been government approval; principally, the master plan. Fortunately, this was just has achieved verbally (as at October 10, 2008). Upon receiving formal approval, we can commence construction of the rest of the resort; this being, the hotel cabins restaurant, pool and reception area.

Please take a look at some pictures of the progress.

It is difficult to appreciate how much work has gone into project, thus far. However, with a little imagination, it´s now possible to imagine the outcome.