Costa Rica Mountain Biking - Volcano To Volcano By Mountain Bike!

Booking yourself and your friends on a Costa Rica mountain biking tour is essential, if you're ready for exciting mountain biking with a difference!

How about getting dropped off at a magnificent 10 000 feet high volcano, and biking down a 7 mile descent to the foothills of the volcano next door?

Or riding all day through lush rain forests with 800 species of birds - not to mention the primates and crocodiles!

Costa Rica mountain biking is full of these and other exciting rides. The routes feature active volcanoes, very high mountain passes, lush tropical, sub-tropical and temperate forests, waterfalls, and river crossings.

As most of Costa Rica's roads are dirt, the country easily lends itself to exploration by mountain bike. It is also extremely hilly, with many heart-stopping descents! Costa Rica mountain biking has trails suitable for riders just starting out, as well as experienced bikers looking for a challenge.

Your Costa Rica mountain biking adventure can start with a guided drive up to the top of the Irazu Volcano at 11,000 feet. Descend to 1,500 feet through miles of lush, green scenery, ending in the small town of Santa Cruz de Turrialba. If your timing is right, you may even get a taste of the Turrialba cheese fair!

The dirt road takes you through fertile dairy and farm land, cutting its way between the Irazu and Turrialba Volcano. A support van, with a driver and a guide-mechanic are available with extra bikes, food, and a first aid kit.

Alternatively, Costa Rica mountain biking can take you to the Aguila de Osa Inn from where you will be able to undertake many local rides on the bikes they provide. Most of the rides are between 1 and 3 hours in duration, and cover a wide variety of landscapes, from beach rides to river canyons (including suspension bridges!) to forests and farm areas.

The Costa Rica mountain biking experience truly is in a class of its own.

Quepos offers a number of guided biking trails. A combination bike/boat tour, will have you floating through a mangrove forest. Excellent backup is provided on the trail, as well as entertaining information about the fauna and flora.

Join an exclusive ride clinic and use your Costa Rica mountain biking travels to learn new skills, in spectacular surroundings.

Bikes are very well equipped, and safety is always taken into consideration. Romantic sunset rides are also available during high season. This is a very pleasurable way to beat the heat!

While Costa Rica mountain biking may seem more adventurous riding on your own, the conditions often make the presence of a guide preferable. You may just end up appreciating that support van after a tiring, fun-filled day...

If you want to combine Costa Rica mountain biking with other great adventures, you will find tours that include snorkeling the reefs of the Caribbean, or river rafting on the many great rivers, or just straightforward hiking with beautiful views and scenery.

A Costa Rica mountain biking tour is usually followed by delighted comments, about the fact that the places visited were not swarming with other bikers!

All of this is probably only possible with a Costa Rica mountain biking package, where over a quarter of the country was designated forever wild...

For more information visit Best-Mountain-Biking.com

Book Review of "Intrigues" - A Valdemar Novel by Mercedes Lackey

"Intrigues" is the second book in Mercedes Lackey's latest addition to her popular Valdemar series. Part of the Collegium Chronicles, it continues the story of Mags, a Herald trainee at the founding of the Collegium.

Mags is chosen to be a Herald trainee at a time in Valdemar's history when the Heralds are changing the way they train their new members. Although there's no time line in the front of this book to indicate its position in Valdemar's history, I believe it takes place not long after the Vanyel series.

In the first book of the series, Mags was rescued from slavery in a mine by a Companion, and brought to the Collegium. This book continues the story with Mags having trouble fitting in with his peers because of his childhood experiences. He has difficulty grasping the social facets that the other trainees his age know instinctively. With the help of his close friends and his Companion, Mags is finally settling in when misfortune strikes. The Foreseers have an ominous vision involving the king, and circumstances lead people to believe Mags will be at the heart of it. Racing to prevent calamity before it strikes, Mags has to prevent becoming a victim himself.

Considering that the author has jumped around the Valdemar time line in creating the series, the continuity in this novel works very well. She does well in filling in back story, and the heavy moral sermons that were in earlier novels has been toned down greatly. Ms. Lackey still seems to be as addicted to italics as a teenage girl is to exclamation points; Unofficially, I estimate an average of three italicized words a page. Over the years, I had hoped that she would realize that one's writing should offer the emphasis, not one's font. Another style point I had difficulty with was Mags' dialect. I felt bogged down trying to translate his dialogue into English.

Nevertheless, Ms. Lackey is a good storyteller, and fans of Valdemar have waited a long time for this trilogy. I highly recommend reading "Foundations," the first book in this series, before this one.

Theme Charms and Bracelets For a Unique Person

When people think of charm bracelets and charms they often see a mental picture of an assortment of designs and charms that represent important events, places or occasions in a woman's life. While these types of charms and bracelets are very common, there is another distinct option for buying charms and developing a bracelet.

A less often considered but just as meaningful type of bracelet is one that uses charms all from the same theme. In other words the complete bracelet is used to express the wearer's interest, abilities, accomplishments or special events around that one particular theme.

People that are best suited to theme styles of bracelets and theme charms are obviously those that have an area of interest or passion that is important in their life. If someone does a lot of things and has a lot of interests a theme bracelet may be a bit more challenging but still definitely worth considering. You choose or decide to limit the charms to one or two areas that are related in their overall context.

Women that have a strong aptitude or ability within a particular field such as a profession or career would value a collection of charms on a silver or gold bracelet that highlight this field. Teachers would enjoy a charm bracelet with charms of books, schools, bells, apples, children and items found in schools like desks and computers.

For those that enjoy travel and transportation a charm bracelet is also a great suggestion. Look for theme items featuring charms of vintage and modern cars, boats, airplanes and other forms of motorized and non-motorized vehicles may be a wonderful way to share their interests and get conversation started.

One very popular collection of charms that is perfect for a theme bracelet is for those women that enjoy gardening and flowers. Charms that depict various types of flowers, plants and trees are a great way to show both your knowledge of their interest and appreciation for nature's gifts and beauty.

Family theme charm bracelets are a terrific gift from the whole family. Each family member can select a charm that most represents them, plus they can also select a charm with their birthday or birthstone on the charm. These bracelets can be added to with regards to births in the family or even the arrival of grandchildren.

Giving a charm bracelet with several charms that are already set up with a particular theme really provides that personal touch. Not only will the woman receiving the gift appreciate the beauty of the bracelet and the charms, but she will know you truly understand her interests and passions and had her in mind when you selected the gift.

Acid Reflux Diet - Lifestyle Change From Greasy to Healthy

After a person has been diagnosed as having acid reflux, they will need to change their diet. This can be difficult for some, but not for others. It depends on what a person's current diet is and then finding ways to alter it to fit into their lifestyle. Once a person has been diagnosed, they should look for a few cookbooks for those who suffer from acid reflux. Filled with lists of acceptable and unacceptable food as well as recipes, a person can begin to add other food to their diet and remove ones that aggravate.

Foods that are greasy or contain too much daily should be avoided. These foods can cause the acid reflux to return. Too much red meat is also discouraged. For those who enjoy drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages, they should try to drink them in moderation as alcohol can have adverse effects on a person who has acid reflux. Fast foods, such as hamburgers, French-fries, and chicken nuggets should also be avoided. While this seems like a lot of food that one would miss, once a person discovers new recipes, they will learn how to prepare food in different ways. It is not only about avoiding certain foods; it is about how they are prepared as well.

This does not mean that all recommended foods should be avoided. This will depend on the person's stomach and the kinds of food that bother them. Experimentation is the only way to really tell. Nevertheless, for the most part, this list is a good reference guide especially when eating in a restaurant and not at home. Some food that are on the to be avoided list may be acceptable as long as they are prepared another way. Deep frying most foods will not work for someone who has acid reflux. However, baking these foods instead may be better. A person will have to experiment when preparing these foods as well.

Ask the doctor for a list of foods that are to be avoided and a list of foods that are good for those with acid reflux. Eating more vegetables and fruit that is not acidic is actually better for those who have acid reflux. Also, ask which beverages should be avoided as well. The more a person knows about the kinds of food they should be eating, they better off they will be. At first, a person will miss eating whatever they feel like. However, after a while they will begin enjoying better quality food and will no longer want greasy fast food. They may even develop a fondness for cooking like they never had before. Preparing good food will also make a person healthier in the long term. It is better to miss certain foods than have to go through an acid reflux episode. Acid reflux can always reappear. Eating a healthy diet will help keep the episodes to a minimum and help a person live a long life.