Costa Rica is green, lush, and vibrant.  The whole country prides itself 
with ecological values... that would embarrass many in the so-called 
modern world.
 

It is the only country in Latin America that is neutral, with no military! 
Escape to a world, where the threat of  war is so abstract... that the
only standing army to ever exist, was abolished half a century ago!
 

"Pura Vida" is  the country's slogan,
which means "Pure Life".
 

The rich "cloud forests" and "rain forests" create an explosion of 
biodiversity. Where a person can walk literally, " in the clouds" amongst 
the Umbrella Leaves of prehistoric plants, that protect you from the
downpour of a tempest of rain and gusty winds.  As the Bri Bri Indio
Shamans do.

Imagine flying through the elevated ecosystem of a rainforest canopy
and coming face to face with an exotic toucan, munching on a mango!


Or peering into the leaves of a wild bromeliad orchid... to find a tiny tree 
frog, suckling a sparkling raindrop. Or chasing down a trail of gigantic,
blue Morph Butterflies.  And spotting the dangerous fer-de -lance serpent, blending in with the rich compost of the rainforest.

Imagine brushing past a wild banana tree leaf... to find the cutest albino
fruit  bats, taking their afternoon siesta, amidst the shade of the leaves of 
the banana tree.  They love munching on bananas and also help pollinate 
the magnificent orchid-like flowers of the banana tree.

Fruit bats also love to dip into hummingbird feeders at night, they pollinate
wild orchids and can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes a night!  They are 
wonderful to have around your back porch at night and fun to watch.

Botanists and Biologists are still flabbergasted, by the new strange and 
unique life forms of the Costa Rican Rain forests. Finding Animal X, is not  uncommon.
 

Ticos are very knowledgeable about the secrets of  the rainforest, they 
will point out a gnarled looking tree and explain how the dopamine is 
extracted from the trunk and used to treat patients, suffering from 
Parkinson's disease.

Or the secrets of extracting and fermenting the Noni fruit to make the
healing juice of the Noni... which is world renown.

They proceed to tell you about the phenomena of  the strangler fig trees 
and the mysteries of the "walking palms".
 

Insect Scientists here, tell a frightening story about a type of  fly, that 
plants her larvae eggs into the skin of humans... where they proceed 
to hatch and mature.  But they are quick to add, that the locals have
discovered that they can remove the larvae, which must periodically
surface for air, by  placing a raw slab of meat over the infested area.

As if  the idea of  maggots, living beneath one's skin isn't enough to scare
the  pants off you... they tell you another shocking story about a malignant
bug, called  "The Assassin".

The tiny "cockroach" like insects create a sensation... like a hypodermic  needle, when they sting their prey and then they proceed to defecate
inside the wound.  If the wound is immediately cleaned with antibacterial
soap, the  person or animal is spared. 

But if the host scratches the wound... (which is a natural impulse), a deadly  protozoan... is released in the bloodstream and remains dormant in the body,  for up to 30 years, before attacking the host's heart.

After pondering these marvels of nature, with some unease, one is 
immediately enchanted again, by observing a trail of "leaf cutter" ants. 
They can carry leaves up to 3 times their size!   Even more interesting, is
what goes on, inside their nest, deep under the ground... where the leaves
are processed and fed a mold-like fungus. 

The leaf cutter ants are dependent upon the fungus for their nutrition,
because they are unable to digest the cellulose in the leaves.
 

Let's move on to the Mountains and the Volcanoes which spur wildly 
fantastic  changes in the skies, at different altitudes.  Beautiful blue skies
with billowy,  mysterious clouds.  Coolness up high, with warmth in the
valleys below.
 

The mountains send singing, cool winds... into the valleys. And
waterfalls... with the "kind of beauty"  that hurts the eyes, stream from
the great crevices, sculpted from stone.

"Hundred-year-old" trees live here too and are loved and protected.  
There is still a fight to keep industrial, greedy nations, from coming in 
and killing them.

The Volcanoes create misty skies and rich soil... that can grow anything
and beautiful green lakes and hot springs. The water is fresh, with lots of  minerals, and has the "taste" of  the mountains.

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