Tropical Vacation

On this frigid day (it's cold in Ohio), I figured a tropical vacation topic might hit the spot.

My girlfriend and I have been meaning to take a vacation for quite a while now. In the last four years, we've been on several little road trips to cities like D.C., Nashville, Houston and Chicago (we live in Columbus, Ohio), but we've typically had ulterior motives (work or visiting family), and these trips haven't really scratched the serious vacation itch.

I was thinking about Hawaii, but I've read several places that Costa Rica is (1) cheaper, (2) more convenient to get around on - no need for island hopping; and (3) much more ecologically diverse (it's the most ecologically diverse nation in the world). As a result, we plan on going there in the next couple of months.

I was initially a little worried because so many Caribbean and Latin American destinations are extremely poor outside of the curated resort areas. I hate the idea of staying in a lux hotel, sealed off from the real nature and strife of the country.

However, Costa Rica seems to be different - it's not gripped by the deep poverty that has taken hold in Jamaica or Haiti, for example. It's also a very environmentally conscious country. A huge percentage of the nation's land is protected national park land. They also maintain stringent standards for any lodges that desire to use the "ecolodge" designation.

Finally, Costa Rica has lots of interesting things to do: they have great white water rafting, every imaginable sort of hiking (rain forest, cloud forest, dry forest, and volcano trails abound). Their beaches are pristine, and if you like surfing or boogie boarding, they do have big wave beaches on their pacific coast.

After the trip, I'll report back with pictures.