Luca

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This little guy, the son of the Yolanda and David Hess (owners of Las Caletas Ecolodge) had a crazy imagination.

Rainforest Beauty

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Everything looks better slowed down and put to music

Arenal Volcano

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A short monologue at the foot of active Arenal Volcano.

San Jose Zoo

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Here I offer some keen insights on the national zoo.??

Changes in views on conservation

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Johnny Cambronero is a local Costa Rican and naturalist guide.? This is a snipit of an interview I conducted with him.? Here he speaks of how the influx of tourism is changing Costa Rican culture.

Monteverde

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The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is one of Costa Rica's most popular national park.  It is located in the north central part of the country and is home to endangered species such as the Quetzal.  In recent years, the park popularity has boomed. 

It is ironic how tourism is portecting the park and is also contributing to its demise. 

Night walk thru rainforest

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Right outside of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, I went for a night walk thru the rainforest. Our guide, Bobby Maxson, is a Quaker who grew up in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and has strong feelings about evolution vs. divine creation. The forest takes on a totally new vibe at night.

Ecolodge Tour

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Bosque Del Rio Tigre (http://www.osaadventures.com/) is an ecolodge on the Osa Peninsula, near the Corcovado National Park.  Ecolodges are typically found in  environmentlally sensitive areas and are considered more "eco-friendly" then mass tourism.  They are usually smaller--housing fewer guests--and often use alternative energy.  True ecolodges in Costa Rica are owned and operated by local Costa Ricans so the profits stay in the courty and do not leak out to foreign companies.  Bosque Del Rio Tigre is owned by a married couple, a local Costa Rican and an American woman, Liz Jones. 

Unfortunately, regulations for development in Costa Rica are slackening, do to the surge of tourism and the potential to make money.

For more information on picking true ecotourist lodges, visit www.ecotourism.org 

Private Reserve in Corcovado

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This video is taken on this guys property adjacent to the Corcovado National Park.? Instead of farming and logging his land, he has opted for a more sustainable and eco-friendly livelihood.? These private reserves are an important part of conservation in Costa Rica because they help to create biological corridors, linking protected lands together.

Corcovado Rainforest Tour

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Corcovado National Park is the largest and most intact lowland pacific rainforest in all of Central America.  It is my favorite place in all of Costa Rica.  It is one of the few places left that the rainforest comes right up the the beach.  This area, which is located near Panama, on the Osa Peninsula is the most undeveloped part of the country, but in recent years has become more popular and is now in danger of over development.  Just to put things in perspective, Corcovado is roughly half the size of New York City, and is home to 2.5% of all the species known in the world and probably many more not yet known to science.

In the 1960s, this area was heavily logged and mined for gold, but in recent years has become part of Costa Ricas national park system.  Despite this protected status, outside factors (including the rapid developing tourism trade) now threaten the biological integrity of the forest.

Zip Lines Tour!

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The owners of the former farm near the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Northeastern Costa Rica) have abandoned their old way of life and started to capitalize on the new wave of ecotourism.? Instead of the destructive slash and burn agriculture, the owners have opted for a more sustainable and eco-friendly livelihood.