Costa Rica has become a Mecca
for travelers seeking to escape the stress and tedium of the modern world and
the monotony of a more conventional vacation destination. Here they can slow
down, immerse themselves in beauty and establish a link with nature.
Located in the tropical latitudes, between the giant biological influences
of North and South America and bordered by two oceans, mountainous Costa Rica
enjoys an immense diversity of climates and ecosystems.
Twelve major life zones harbor an astounding amount of plant and animal
wildlife. No other country in the world has so much actively protected area per
capita. Costa Rica is often cited as a model for conservation in harmony with
community development and economic growth.
The Climate is idyllic. In the lowlands -
which are dry in the Pacific northwest and humid elsewhere - daytime
temperatures range in the eighties to nineties Fš (high twenties to mid-thirties
Cš). Usually in the seventies Fš (low to mid-twenties Cš) at middles elevations,
the mercury can fall as low as the forties and fifties Fš (five to mid-teens Cš)
at the top of the mountains.
Rainfall, on the other hand is subject to annual and regional patterns. The
northwest has dry season from November to April. The dry season is a month or
two shorter along the southern Pacific coast. July also tends to be a dry month
on the Pacific slope. Welcome rains during the balance of the year bring about a
general greening and refreshing of the countryside. Rainfall on the Caribbean
Slope is more evenly distributed throughout the year, with marked dry periods in
February-June and again September-October. Rainfalls at the Northern Caribbean
coastline (Barra del Colorado, Samay Lagoon, Tortuguero) tend to be at night
time and in the early morning hours.
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