Edward Stourton's Heaven On
Earth
Radio and TV presenter Edward
Stourton on the rich diversity
of Cosat Rica.
I've been through Portugal,
America and France phases but my
favourite destination at the
moment is Costa Rica, which I
visited for the first time last
year.
It boasts amazing rainforests
and highlands, and glorious
coastlines, and you can get
around the country pretty easily
- usually in funny little planes
that are initially rather
alarming but actually rather
fun.
After leaving the capital, San
José, the first thing we did was
to visit Arenal, a live volcano.
You ride up the side of it on a
horse, and swing through the
forest on a canopy tour - if you
go at night, you can see the
lava, a pretty spectacular
sight.
Despite its small size, Costa
Rica boasts an incredible
diversity of flora and fauna -
we saw the most fantastic
flowers, even in the airport
hotel's gardens - and is stuffed
with national parks.
We visited the Manuel Antonio
National Park on the coast,
which has the most marvellous
beaches right on the edge of the
jungle. At the same time, you
are within easy striking
distance of a comfortable hotel.
However, the thing I like most
about the country is that it's
so easy-going: everything works
but is quite informal, so you
can combine an exciting
adventure holiday with
European-style efficiency. The
food - in particular the seafood
- is also pretty good.
We went during rainy season,
which ought to have been a bad
time but was fantastic: we had
lovely sunny mornings punctuated
by stupendous thunderstorms, but
we were also treated to the most
fabulous sunsets. The trip
really whetted my appetite and
I'd love to visit Costa Rica
again.
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A whiteface monkey in the Corcovado National Park |
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