Nosara Podcasts with Rich Burnam

NCA apologizes for announcing Nosara's new temporary zoning plan poorly and explain the situation

“I’m a little upset with you guys right now… Quite frankly you should be upset with yourselves as well, because this could have been handled in a much better manner.” – Rich Burnam speaking with NCA President Ethel ‘Kuki’ Araya and Vice President Nice Alterman

The Nosara Civic Association has been fighting to protect Nosara for over 40 years. Everyone in the community owes a debt of gratitude to them for protecting the parklands and Refuge which are crucial in making Nosara the amazing place it is today.

However, this doesn’t mean they are perfect nor without controversy. In fact, the NCA is arguably the most controversial organization in Nosara. Over the past several years the NCA has been working hard to increase membership and regain the complete trust of the community. The great news is their efforts have been working and communication has been at an all time high between businesses and residents for the NCA.

Unfortunately, the recent announcement by the NCA of the temporary zoning plan did not help their cause. In fact, it created a significant amount of confusion and frustration and some fear amongst many different segments of the community. The main complaints seem to be the manner of announcement, the timelines involved, lack of public inclusion, as well as the details included in the plan.

In this episode Kuki and Nice stop by for a conversation with Rich to explain where the NCA was coming from, where we are at now in the process, and what options are available.

 

Page Sieffert: The story behind Pilates Nosara, No Plastic Nosara, and being a crusader for Nosara’s environment

I’ve known Page for a long time now and have enjoyed watching her business grow as well as her family. She is a ‘go getter’ by everyone’s definition and I remain impressed by her drive and work ethic.

This mother of 2 maintains her home, her business (Pilates Nosara), and a couple of different environmental crusades including No Plastic Nosara which she started and is an avid supporter of Nosara Recicla and the Nosara Civic Association.

She vehemently defends Nosara’s wildlife and foliage and isn’t scared to speak her mind.

She and I have a solid history of arguing about the best ways to address our shared concerns and how to go about getting things done in our small, gossipy little town. I really enjoyed having her in and I hope you benefit from learning more about Page.

PS – Page is a TOP NOTCH Pilates instructor who has an amazing staff and location. I’ve been recovering from a back injury and she and her team have helped me a tremendous amount. I highly recommend them.

Jeff Grosshandler and the ‘new’ Gilded Iguana

‘Nosara has changed me… And quite dramatically. I think this place changes everyone.’ – Jeff Grosshandler.

Jeff Grosshandler is unlike anyone I’ve ever met before and historically one of my biggest adversaries in Nosara. In some ways he and I are about as different as people can be, and there have been some rough edges over the years. In fact, seeing him on a podcast with me is going to surprise many people.

However, Jeff is up to some great things and one of them is leading the remodel and transformation of the ‘new’ Gilded Iguana hotel. After learning how much care and attention went into the environmental concerns and many other items, I’ve pretty much come full circle on the project. Initially I was super bummed to lose one of Nosara’s treasured locales… However, it turned out better than I expected. The Surf Club in particular is something very interesting to me.

So I invited Jeff in to discuss the ‘new’ Gilded Iguana and many things Nosara. Fortunately, he agreed and over 3+ hours we covered a ton of information. This version is only 18 minutes and I’m extremely grateful to Jeff for coming in. I’m also proud to say our relationship is changing and I’m really happy about this.

In this podcast we talked about honoring the Gilded Iguana of the past, the environmental care and concern which went into the new hotel, the vision of the ‘new’ Gilded Iguana and the new Gilded Iguana Surf Club project, as well as discussing Jeff’s likes and dislikes about Nosara along with his personal changes since moving here full time and having a family.

Jeff is someone I’m definitely bringing back for more podcasts as we have a ton of things to talk about.

As you will hear in the podcast, Jeff and team chose to work with Benjamin Garcia Saxe for this project. I hope you enjoy the pictures during the video version of this episode showing what Gilded Iguana 2.0 looks like.

 

Diego Cruz: Owner of Guiones Brew Co. and Olivia’s, describes his transition into a kinder surfer and how opening a brewery and restaurant in Nosara, Costa Rica has made him a new man

Growth brings pain but pleasure all at the same time. As you will hear in this podcast, Diego Cruz knows this well.

Diego is an entrepreneur from San Jose who made Nosara his home 11 years ago. He claims to suffer from a self described affliction called ‘little guy syndrome’ and believes you reap what you sow while describing karma as a motivating force in his overall, highly pleasant demeanor.

In years past, Diego used to be fiery and argue frequently. He still does sometimes, but now as a business owner and constant local at main break Guiones he’s decidedly more generous with smiles and wave-sharing capacity.

In this podcast Diego explains how this happened and why. He candidly explains how both Guiones Brew Co. and his restaurant Olivia’s came about as well and it is an interesting story.

As you will hear, he states living in Guiones has changed him from a boy into a man and he is forever grateful for his current life and surroundings. However, it was not always this way.

Check out the podcast and give his businesses a try. He’s a good man and I’m happy to call him a friend!

Nelson Acosta launches Living Stoked Nosara and shares his story and his thoughts on surf etiquette and Nosara

If you have ever surfed in Playa Guiones you’ve probably seen Nelson Acosta surfing somewhere around the main break. He’s known for his backside attack and overall good vibes in the water. He is a legend around these parts and deserves to be treated with respect.

Often Nelson is one of the guys policing the lineup and making sure people are being kind to both foreigners and Ticos alike. He recently launched his first business venture, Living Stoked Nosara, and stopped by to share his personal story and explain what he’s up to these days. This man has a lot going on in life between a new business, car, getting married, plus more and is worth getting to know.

We discuss the crowds in Guiones, surf etiquette, Nosara likes and dislikes and much more in this episode.

Denisse Lashley: Author of Clean Food For Clean People

The best way to describe Denisse Lashley is simply to call her a ‘winner’ by most every standard. She is someone who succeeds at everything she sets her mind to and is pretty much a force of nature. She has a high level education, an amazing family, multiple successful business enterprises, is in incredible shape and is now a published author as well.

She stopped by to share her story in this episode and we hope you enjoy it.

Giulio from Raspa Design

If you’ve been to Nosara in the past year or 2, then you have seen Giulio’s handiwork on any number of your favorite Nosara establishments. He’s been designing signs for heaps of different businesses and he’s very busy these days. Thankfully, he took time from his busy schedule to stop by and share his story with me.

I had barely spoken to Giulio prior to this conversation… However, it was great fun getting to know him and I’m pretty we are going to be friends.

He’s intense and passionate, but also one of those people who can take a very serious conversation and make it funny instantly with just a couple of words.

Hopefully you enjoy getting know Giulio as much as I did in this episode.

Cristian Zumbado from Nosara Recicla

Nosara FINALLY has municipality service for our trash!

This is a historic occurrence and we all owe a massive debt of gratitude to the many individuals who helped make it happen.

The bad news is we are not guaranteed to have trash service.

In Cristian’s words: ‘Nosara has to prove to the municipality this service can sustain itself.’ This is a 12 month contract and if Nosara residents do not pay for this service, we will lose it. SO PLEASE PAY YOUR TRASH BILL. It is affordable, and all of the details are included in this conversation with Cristian. In addition, Nosara Recicla is offering pick up of recyclables (details in this podcast) at a highly affordable price.

In this podcast Cristian shares Nosara’s exciting updates in addition to his personal story. Along the way he covers instructions for trash, what is actually recyclable, payment details, pickup dates, etc. are all included in this episode.

I hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as I did. He has a servant’s heart and is trying to make a difference with his life and be a good role model for his child.

Please give this episode a listen and share it with anyone else you may know involved in Nosara. If possible I recommend stopping by the recycling center to get to know Cristian personally. He’s a very kind, sweet man who is doing a job most nobody else is willing to.

Fabian from Modus Operandi

Fabian is a very interesting man. He had a highly successful career in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, leading commercial development projects. However, he dropped everything and moved to Nosara to basically retire and focus on his passion for yoga. Then along the way fell back in love with architecture.

Now he spends his days surfing, practicing and sharing what he feels is ‘true’ yoga and taking on residential architecture projects he is interested in.

I hope you enjoy hearing his story in this episode.

Andrew Saxton: Nosara Design and Build

In this podcast you can hear for yourself Andrew’s personal story, how he manages his business, and many of his likes and dislikes about our community.

Andrew Saxton is an interesting man. He does not suffer fools, and he really does not care if people like him or not. He says what he feels, and he is more than willing to back up his position in a healthy debate. His morals and his integrity mean more to him than any amount of money. He is quite disciplined in his personal life and extremely disciplined in his professional life.

I feel these traits are what make Andrew successful and why he is currently Nosara’s leading project manager.

Andrew’s clients satisfaction and proven results speak for themselves. His system is working well and his pipeline is almost always full. He is the first person to admit in a perfect world his job is unnecessary. However, the world is not perfect and people are often scared to build in a foreign country… This is one of the reasons Nosara Design and Build exists.

Hopefully you enjoy this episode and I appreciate you checking it out. If you have any questions about Andrew’s work feel free to check out his website:

http://www.nosaradesignandbuild.com