My November 2002 trip to Costa Rica was a combination of work and play. The work portion involved meeting researchers doing important work at the Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) at the Universidad Nacional in Heredia. I will link to their Web site as soon as we have it up - building a Web site was part of why I was there.
Costa Rica has done a remarkable job of preserving its habitat. Organizations such as the Nature Conservancy have helped. So have
governmental priorities in this country that celebrates the anniversary of the 1949 constitution that abolished its military. Twelve percent of the country has been preserved as national parks.
I recommend visiting the Selva Verde lodge and its community-based Sarapiqui learning center, Carara Biological Reserve, and the La Paz waterfall gardens with its hummingbird gardens and butterfly nursery. The birding is wonderful. I recommend the Gone Birding Web site, but I warn you that it has pop-up ads.
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