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Writer's pictureLeonardo Del Toro

Traveling to Costa Rica Gave me a Renewed Love and Hope for Nature and the World

Traveling to Costa Rica was a “pura vida” experience


A beautiful young woman holds a fern

The first step in our journey traveling to Costa Rica was to rent an Air B&B. It had a name: Casita Tucan. It was located in the hills of the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Viejo, where six other friends and I would assemble a memorial to our good friend Mike, who had passed away last year. Karen, our Haitian friend, was to carry out the prayers


Upon landing at San Jose International Airport in Costa Rica, I immediately noticed the unusual lush greenery outside the large windows, just a hint of what was coming.

But when you start driving around this small country one realizes the big contrast between where you came from and where you find yourself now. This place is different. The oxygen is the first thing that makes you realize that

Someone said Puerto Viejo was only two hours away from the airport, but when I checked on Google Maps, it was 4:37 hours away. But when I asked the lady at the car rental place, she said it was more like six to seven hours due to roads and traffic. Holy crap!


Map of Costa Rica

I feared getting there at night, which is precisely what happened. And if you go to Casita Tucan, be mindful that there is no address there. Only a GPS pin obviously wrong on what road to take. So we got lost in the forest at night with all the animals and trees, just like in a movie.


After some thrilling moments, we found our way; I was exhausted, and the gravitational pull from my bed was inescapable. I slept like an animal. I woke up with the sound and powerful screams of a local family of howler monkeys. What is this? Why do I feel so good and full of vigor?


Getting out onto the porch in the morning was a unique symphony of wild birds and animals surrounded by a massive canopy of trees, sky, heat, and heavy humidity — pure life. There was an emotional tone to it. Maybe because it was not just a local patch of life, but it was life all around, life all the way down. Oxygen makes us happy; I maintain



A pristine blue Caribbean beach was within short walking distance. We hiked through the forest and found the hidden treasure. I needed to call Mark swimming in the ocean; suddenly, I remembered how to whistle very loudly, like I used to do as a kid. I had forgotten I knew the art of whistling, which I used to be proud of. To make a powerful sound like the howler monkeys. The oxygen and pristine waters did wonders for my memory too.


That night, we gazed at the clear night, and the stars showed themselves as I had never seen. Cristal clear and bright. I saw Jupiter and three of its moons for the first time, just using a binocular.


One of the pleasures of traveling to Costa Rica is getting a perspective on the overwhelming ecological disaster guilt trip we all share these days. There, we can see what reforestation does to the environment and the skin. Why aren’t we doing this?! “How can humans be so smart yet so stupid?


Talking to my friend Rafa, who is Cuban and lives on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, I asked: Dude, what about the problems? And, of course, there are problems everywhere. But he told me a few things I never knew. Costa Rica today has the highest standard of living in Central America. The infrastructure is good, and the roads are good. Most importantly, Costa Rica has re-invented its economy, culture, and education around nature conservation. And he said there was a man behind that.


Pictures of my visit to Costa Rica

Meet Alvaro Ugalde. The environmental leader who helped establish the Costa Rican national park system. But his life work and legacy go much further.


Alvaro reached a turning point in his career early this century when he realized that conservation of the parks system was not enough and that communities must also be involved with these efforts for them to have a long-term and significant impact.

Nectandra is a pioneering project that fosters robust community empowerment while encouraging the development of strong economies.

As a result, Alvaro and his colleagues established The Nectandra Institute in 1998. Alvaro’s background and global networks allow him to design a project that works very effectively locally, is applicable, and can be replicated by any community in the world. For more information about Alvaro and the Nectandra Institute, please go to www.nectandra.org


Today, the Costa Rica National Park System has 12 different life zones, 20 national parks, 26 protected areas, nine forest reserves, eight biological reserves, and seven wildlife sanctuaries.

Another ground-breaking concept is that Costa Rica abolished its military forces in 1949 and devoted substantial resources to investment in health education and conservation.

Time to leave and go back to the world as we know. The minute you leave Costa Rica and look down at the border with Nicaragua, you notice the stark difference: dry pastures and a lifeless look. You know you’re leaving a good thing and wish the whole world could be like Costa Rica.


The prevailing argument is that we need to take out the forests to have productive agriculture, cattle, and other industries. This might be a poor statement since Costa Rica's conservation efforts obtained global attention to its natural beauty, bringing Millions of visitors who flood the country every year, ultimately making tourism the top source of foreign exchange income for the country. But beyond eco-tourism, conservation holds an even higher value that is bigger than gold.


"The preservation of our ecosystems is our most valuable asset, as it is our only hope for survival and for maintaining life for future generations. As ecosystems are destroyed around the planet, the carpet of life that Costa Rica represents becomes increasingly valuable and priceless."










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Cover photo by Alasdair Braxton

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