"Paradise for Naturalists" Costa Rica by no1birdlady

Costa Rica Travel Guide: 5,590 reviews and 11,898 photos

Paradise for a "Nature Nut".

If you are a "nature nut", Costa Rica is one of the best places to visit. I came here on a 2 week birding trip with Wings INC. which was wonderful. It's a small mountainous country in Central America. There are volcanoes, mountains, jungles, rolling savannas, Pacific beaches with rocky headlands and palm-fringed Caribbean beaches. I have a friend who comes here every year to bird while her husband surfs.

Great Birding Location

Map showing location of Costa Rica and some locati

Costa Rica is tropical and has an immense diversity. But one of the things that amazes me is that so much of the country has been set aside for wildlife conservation. The country only covers .03% of the planet's surface but it has 25% of it's land conserved in Conservation Areas. No other country is the world has so much actively protected area per capita. The United States certainly doesn't do that and in our BLM land, our country allows a lot of non-conservation activities such as oil drilling, and grazing. At last count, there were 850 species of birds found in Costa Rica. While here for 2 weeks, I was able to see 460 species of them as well as a lot of mammals, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. In order to do this, we got up early and hiked long distances some days but it was wonderful.

Sketches rather than photos.

Crowned Wood Nymph sketch

When I went to Costa Rica, I took slides because I was doing slide presentatons to organizations at that time. These do not transfer well to the computer. While there I made sketches of some of the wildlife for my journal of the trip. Some are quite small, some quite rough and others more detailed. All were done in pen or pencil and then during any spare or rest time, I colored them in with colored pencils using notes taken. When you do a sketch of something, it makes you really look at it. So I decided to use some of these sketches in my Costa Rica accounts. In some cases I have also used photos from pamphlets, especially for hotels we stayed in.

Pros and Cons

Pros:A wonderful area for naturalists.
Cons:Thieves sometimes prey on tourists so it's better to go in a group.
In a nutshell:If you are a nature nut, this is the place to go.

Last visit to Costa Rica: Mar 1996
Intro Written Dec 5, 2005
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Reviews (21)

Marpesia petreus at Carara Biological Reserve. - Costa Rica

Beware of Robbery Warnings and Dangers (3)

In 1996, robbery of tour groups had become a problem. There were trails that we did not hike in some parks because of... more travel advice

Rainy Season and Mud Warnings and Dangers (3)

We went to Costa Rica in March. I thought that was the "dry season" but it seems that it is a lot more complicated than... more travel advice

Veranda at Selva Verde Lodge. - Costa Rica

Rest in a hammock at Selva Verde Hotels (6)

This place is more primitive with thatched roofed buildings on raised platforms. The dining hall building is 2 stories... more travel advice

View of front of Hotel Las Espuelas - Costa Rica

Meet the Guanacaste trees Hotels (6)

It's quite hot here so it's good that there is air conditioning here. There is also a nice pool. In front of the hotel... more travel advice

Local Customs (1)
Food in Costa Rica

Things to Do (11)
See All Visit La Selva Biological Station

Comments (6)

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Sininen Apr 13, 2006 at 9:19 PM

Loved your adventure through Costa Rica! Sounds like great fun. CR is such a beautiful country and I enjoyed my stay there very much. Happy birthday from Finland!
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sprdak11 Apr 9, 2006 at 5:06 AM

Interesting travel page. Greetings!
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chewy3326 Feb 9, 2006 at 8:13 PM

Monte Verde Cloud Forest looks very interesting. You have really great sketches, Costa Rica looks like a wonderful place. And blacking out your lodge? That sounds like something I'd do...
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kyoub Jan 5, 2006 at 3:22 AM

Aafter reading your CR pages I am getting this urge to return there for another visit. Loved your sketches. Very interesting page.
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807Wheaton Dec 30, 2005 at 10:29 AM

Hi Anne. I was quite amazed by your sketches. How great you got to meet Dr. Skutch - sounds like a lot of adventures packed into your trip! It was wonderful reading. Your journals are amazing too! Marcia
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grandmaR Dec 7, 2005 at 3:15 PM

I have my slides digitized and some of them turn out pretty well. But your sketches are better than any pictures I've taken.