BALLENA TALES A SUCCESS STORY!

AUTHOR: Dagmar Reinhard

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In 2007, after a long journey through many countries, I came to Uvita. A friend employed me as his assistant manager at the Whales and Dolphins Hotel (today Vista Ballena). He left after a short period, and I was suddenly in charge of personnel, reception, and accounting – with quite a small team.

I labored weeks in a row without a day off and finally decided that I had not come to Costa Rica to work my “butt off” for this job. A customer offered me a position at his development company, which was a fantastic opportunity. He provided a house at the heights of Escaleras and a car, and I really liked my job. Until…, the guy suddenly disappeared with his investors´ money.

What to do now? Thanks to being a member of the Chamber of Tourism and Commerce of Costa Ballena, I had made plenty of acquaintances. In 2007, this Chamber and the then Minister of Tourism, Carlos Benavides, had baptized the area from Dominical, Uvita to Ojochal as Costa Ballena.

At this time, there were no printed means of communication between the three villages. In Ojochal, not even phone service was functioning. Advised by the president of the Chamber, I started to edit a little brochure dedicated to the area, with interviews of pioneers, business people, and tourists. From the very start, Ballena Tales was a hit. 

Everybody wanted to read about his neighbor and where visitors came from. In 2008 the repercussion of the real estate crash in the United States reached Costa Ballena, and many businesses and agencies closed down.

Never minding the Pura Dura Vida (our edition #5) and as an active chamber member, in 2009, we organized the first Expo Dominical and, a year later, the first Expo Costa Ballena. This same year the construction of the Costanera between Quepos and Dominical was concluded, opening the Costa Ballena to the “world.” More people traveled from the capital to Jaco and then along the coast to the South, and new businesses needed to be present in Ballena Tales.

Our growing editorial team was telling Tales about the business owners, a minister’s visit, traditional Costa Rican Fiestas, the new police station, the asphalting of a road, an upcoming music group, the theatre show, the Lifeguards, bike races, surf competitions, nature, tours, the Envision Festival, Borucan Indians, whales, spheres and many beautiful initiatives.

As well, we interviewed neighbors and visitors, making them famous for one edition.

Ballena Tales became the Magazine that united the people along the coast, promoting the area to the world. Suddenly Costa Ballena was becoming a hot spot. We assisted in organizing fashion shows, covered the embellishment of Bahía when a group of lady volunteers painted the village.

Ballena Tales Magazine has been collaborating with the Costa Ballena Lifeguards, Innoceana, DAWG Animal Welfare, the Animal Sanctuaries, the Chambers of Tourism and Commerce, and the Security organization. In 2012 www.ballenatales.com was registered, providing Costa Ballena with even greater visibility and connectivity to the World Wide Web.

Today the Magazine is integrated into the site, increasing its presence on the internet. (Alexa Ranking 221.000). We currently have more than 1,000 unique visitors daily traffic, more than 24,000 clicks, with an average CTR below 3. In 2020, Ballena Tales, as many other companies had to reinvent itself: we started publishing online every two months, as we had done from 2008.

The Magazine became 100% interactive and can even show videos. Independently we publish twice a year a Costa Ballena Guide. We are a small, dedicated international team, and to all those who have accompanied us on our 13 yearlong-journey, we express our heartfelt gratitude. Thanks to your trust in us,we have grown alongside you!