Nosara Podcasts with Rich Burnam

Del Mar Academy: How did one school change Nosara so much? What’s next?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Del Mar Academy founders Haley Macmillan-Ord and Jessica Sheffield to discuss updates with Del Mar Academy and their side of the story with opening and operating a school deep in the jungle.

Most people understand opening and operating any kind of school is not easy.

Opening a school deep in the jungle in a small town hours away from major civilization (via sometimes horrendous roads), zero supplies, very few students, plus so much more… Well that is even harder.

But this is exactly what the Del Mar Academy founders did back in 2007.

People new to Nosara might not be aware of what Nosara was like just a short decade or so ago… Nosara used to be a tiny little town with very challenging access, almost zero publicity, no private schools, very limited medical care, and overall was an extremely challenging place for expats to live if they had kids.

However, Nosara of today is becoming a popular, well-heeled tourist town mentioned by major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, CNN, FOX, and so many others… There are doctors, dentists, chiropractors, the supermarkets are improving, there is a wide variety of restaurants and there is a chance the main road will finally be paved.

But it was not always this way. Del Mar Academy helped bring Nosara to the forefront of options for families looking for a spot in Latin America which is a big factor why Nosara is filled with families and nature preserves instead of nightclubs and condo developments.

The success of Del Mar Academy is now helping other private schools to open and operate, plus Del Mar Academy helps the local public schools a great deal, as well as providing scholarships to local Tico’s. Now that Del Mar Academy is a foundation their goal is to drastically increase their funding so they can provide more scholarships and increase environmental awareness not in Nosara but throughout the world.

Del Mar Academy Website

Del Mar Academy Facebook

https://www.nosarascholarships.org/donate—donar.html

February 2019 Update: Ryan Bombard and Nosara’s Bomberos… Fighting fires, relocating animals, rescues, and so much more

Ryan is living a life of adventure few humans understand. His phone steadily beeps with items small and sometimes very big he needs to deal with. He has 2 small children and a warrior of a wife dealing with her own health challenges… ‘So how does he do it?’ one may ask.

Listen to this podcast and learn more about Ryan Bombard’s life as well as how Nosara really works.

Flying around Playa Guiones and Nosara with Harry from Surf Simply

Many (most) of my podcasts thus far have been pretty serious topics… But not this one. This episode is with Harry Knight from Surf Simply and we pretty much joke around from start to finish. We did a short version and a long one as well. If you want to hear the full conversation hit the bottom link.

Harry is one of my favorite people.

It took me a couple of years to realize this though. At first impression he sometimes may seem overly technical and kind of nerdy. But if you hang in there and get to know him it turns out he’s super funny and likes to joke around and is pretty sarcastic. If you give him enough time you’ll find he’s an open minded, caring person who gladly will explain where he’s coming from on most everything and overall a downright pleasant person to be around.

In this podcast Harry and I joke around a good bit bantering about all kinds of things. We talk about Surf Simply’s new resort, surfboards, flying around Guiones and Nosara, we debated whether England or the US is the bigger imperialist power, education systems, wave pools and solving peace in the Middle East and too much more to mention.

Gerardo from BarriGuiones wants to bring the forest back to the sea

BarriGuiones is an organization improving Playa Guiones and Nosara. Gerardo is the Project Director and is the ideal person to lead this project. He stopped by to speak with Rich for a 2019 update about what they’ve accomplished and where he is looking to go. Along the way there’s lots of discussion about development in Nosara and likes and dislikes or our area. 

One street in Guiones stopped getting robbed… Here’s how they did it.

Nosara has a crime issue.

This is no surprise and is not anything new. In fact, pretty much all of Costa Rica, Latin America and most every tourist town in the world has some sort of crime problem. In the Nosara area our most alarming trend is the house break-ins. They seem to be increasing in frequency and it is downright impressive how the thieves are very seldom caught in the act.

But there is a solution.

Please check out this quick discussion I had with Andrew Saxton to hear for yourself what one street in Guiones did to take action and prevent robberies.

This is about 6 minutes and I’d appreciate if you share it with anyone who owns property in, lives in, or visits Nosara.

Most of our crime is preventable and it is time for the people of Nosara to cooperate and begin to implement these strategies. Please dial into the guidance of the Nosara Security Association and join in the upcoming webinars working to unite all of the areas for strategies like the one in this video. It works and it is time to take action.

Jon Mangogna: Foundation Training, making it in Nosara as a personal trainer, surfboards and Nosara’s unique vibe

In this podcast you might notice why Jon Mangogna is quickly turning into one of the most well known personal trainers in Nosara. His unique, personalized style of training functions well whether you just want to improve your fitness levels or if you have a specific injury which you may need to rehabilitate from.

We talk a good bit about Nosara too and how Jon enjoys the ability to move freely amongst social circles and the various companies while being able to avoid the typical small town gossip scene. Along the way Jon and I each agree to each expand our horizons a bit with his being riding different surfboards and mine trying out his new health concoction he brought back from his last trip.

Hopefully you enjoy hearing about his journey to, and making a living in, Nosara along with his mental processes and his life right now.

PS – Check the end of the video podcast for Jon showing us ‘The Founder’ which is one of Foundation Training’s principal techniques.

The Guardians of Nature: How Jessica Sheffield plans to change the world

Jessica Sheffield is on the short list as one of the ‘Saints of Nosara’ as I like to say. She is an extremely hard worker and dedicated to making the world a better place while leading by example. Jessica doesn’t tolerate laziness and encourages everyone to get involved with what matters most in their communities. There are countless projects she serves with such as President of Nosara Recicla for about a decade (she is currently the vice president), a founder of Del Mar Academy, and way too many more to mention.

Her newest project, The Guardians of Nature, is what she deems as her ‘passion project’ and her goals for it are highly aggressive. This time she is not just aiming only to help Nosara and the country of Costa Rica… She is trying to change the world. And it is working!

I hope you enjoy this discussion and choose to support Jessica’s vision in becoming a reality. One way of doing so is supporting the upcoming event for Guardians of Nature at Olo Alaia in January. Please come if you can… You won’t regret it.

Learn more at: www.movimientoguardianes.org

Or on Facebook: La Guardiana de la Naturaleza

Lucca from Salagnac Architects shares his Nosara adventure and some recent builds

Lucca and his wife Evangelina are the founders of Salagnac Architects and have been working in Nosara since 2006. They have been, and still are, completely dedicated to progressing the ‘Contemporary Tropical’ style of architecture in our area and it shows in their results. I had the good fortune to sit down with Lucca to cover his story and go over some specific examples and hear how some of his projects have come to fruition. I hope you enjoy this interview and learning more about Nosara’s busiest architect.

Nosara Dirt Track: Bring the family???

Nosara just got even more interesting for people both young and old. Reason being, Nosara Dirt Track is officially open and now inviting men, women, and children to come and learn how to ride in a safe, healthy environment.

Now the idea of bringing your entire family to a dirt bike track initially seems a little strange, doesn’t it?

However, that is exactly what Mario and Monica (the owners of Nosara Dirt Track) are suggesting you do… And I am too.

Listen to this interview and hear for yourself what they are up to at Nosara Dirt Track.

I feel Nosara Dirt Track is a great spot for team building events, parties, or individuals to have a great time and stay safe doing something ‘different’ and enjoying our little town even more.

Quick testimony: My family has already been there multiple times and I can vouch for Monica and Mario’s claims. Both of our kids and my wife safely learned how to ride there and had a terrific time.

G Love talks story about Nosara, Jack Johnson, the Malloys, his style, trying to make hits

Here in Nosara we are super fortunate to meet all kinds of amazing people who love our community. Since 1998, G Love has been coming to Nosara and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. In fact, for the previous five years, G Love (Garret Dutton) has been headlining to Nosara Acoustic Roots Festival. Each year we try to have this festival the weekend after Thanksgiving and it seems to be growing. The show is to benefit the Nosara Security Association and is the biggest fundraiser of the year.

I got a chance to sit down with Garrett and talk about Nosara and hear some stories about his friends Jack Johnson, Kelly Slater, Donovan Frankenreiter, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, the Malloy brothers and more. We also had a chance to detail some of his musical influences and motivating factors and life on the road and staying motivated. G shares a story about losing a deal to Beck and much more info you’ll just have to hear in this episode.

I hope you enjoy this one getting to know G Love and appreciate you checking it out.