Costa  Rica –  A Country Worth Visiting





Costa Rica is located in Central America, between Nicaragua to the North and 
Panama to the South.  It is becoming a Mecca for ecotourism, loosely defined 
as "come, look, see, experience, but don't touch". Respect us , so we can 
preserve the rewards of ecoology for future generations of tourists and 
Costa Ricans to enjoy.

The national motto: Pura Vida- pure life says it all. The tour guide was 
well informed, explained a lot to us with a passion that exudes the pride he 
takes in talking about his country. He was proud of their ecological practices 
and the results. They do not just preach  ecology- they practise it. This is
evident by the lush countryside, the preserved rainforests , the rich flora 
and fauna. 


Earthquake Fault Lines and Volcanoes
On the way to Manuel Antonio Park, the guide showed us the fault lines where the 
tectonic plates come into contact with one another, the mantle can be cracked 
or there is a fissure. Fault lines create quakes, the ground is constantly in 
a state of  slow motion. The guide mentioned that there is  frequent earthquake 
activity during the day, but of very low magnitude that it is hardly felt.
There are 112 volcanic formation in Costa Rica called Pacific Rim of Fire. 
Seven of them are considered  active. Their activity is connected with fertile 
soils, which cover the majority of Costa Rica territory. The terrain around 
each Costa Rican volcanoes are under protection-  many of them are within the 
national parks.

Rain Forest
One can apppreciate the lush vegetation along the highway to the rainforest. 
Palm tree plantations dot the highway to Manuel Antonio National Park. There are 
extensive mangroves- very helpful roots that act as filter for debris thereby 
protecting the flora  and roots of other trees nearby. Our tour guide stopped 
along the way for a leaf from a teak tree- rub the leaf  between your fingers 
and you get a red stain coming out of the leaf. This is used to make ink. 

Along this highway, branches are cut off from a tree and planted as fence- in 
time this branch grows to a tree. Once we reached the rainforest, it was a treat 
to be close to a sandy beach . Walking along the trail of the rainforest,  the 
lush vegetation, fauna and flora are amazing. Among the trees are a variety of 
monkey species, birds- I saw a beautiful ibis, a small iguana and more. It was 
interesting to see a sloth- an animal that hangs on to the branch and is too 
lazy to move. Ferns abound,  bamboo trees along the trail and there was a big tree 
where ferns and other lilly- like plants are growing out of the branches- fascinating.

Exotic blooms abound in our garden tour- a wide variey of orchids, including the 
world's smallest orchid, bromelia, birds of paradise and many, many other flowers.
There is some degree of deforestation to make room for housing development and 
agriculture. The  few days I spent in this country was most refreshing and makes me 
believe that we  can save our world if live by that credo and not just pay lip 
service to saving this earth.