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Tour Central Library
Discover the many wonders of Central Library designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert. Join us and learn fascinating facts, marvel at the brilliance of the stained glass windows, admire the beauty of hand stenciled ceilings and step into a piece of living history.

To schedule a tour, call the Volunteer Office at 539-0345.

Beautiful Costa Rica
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Wild Costa Rica : the wildlife & landscapes of Costa Rica
Adrian Hepworth.
Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, c2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 172) and index.
     
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Wishbones
Carolyn Haines.
New York : St. Martin's Minotaur, 2008.
     
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100 butterflies and moths : portraits from the tropical forests of Costa Rica
Jeffrey C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, Winifred Hallwachs.
Cambridge, Mass. ; London : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007.
understanding of Costa Rica's Lepidoptera and has brought about advances in restoration ecology of tropical habitats, biodiversity prospecting, biotechnology, and ecotourism development.
     
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Costa Rica : [a quick guide to customs & etiquette]
Jane Koutnik.
London : Kuperard ; New York, NY : Distributed in the United States by Random House Distribution Services, 2006.
  1. Subtitle from cover.
  2. Includes bibliographical references (p. 165) and index.
  3. Land and people -- Values and attitudes -- Customs and traditions -- Making friends -- Costa Ricans at home -- Time out -- Traveling -- Business briefing -- Communicating.
     
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Costa Rican Spanish
Thomas Kohnstamm.
Footscray, Vic. ; London : Lonely Planet, 2006.
A special eco-tourism section, extensive two-way dictionary, easy-to-use pronunciation guide, suggestions for health needs, emergencies, and useful phrases for finding accommodations and hitting the town make this book an asset to traveling in Costa Rica.
     

Costa Rica is a small but spectacular country in Central America. About half the size of Virginia, it fits between Nicaragua and Panama, and has coastlines on both the Pacific and the Caribbean.

Nobel Prize Winner

In 1987 Oscar Arias Sanchez, then president of Costa Rica, won the Nobel Peace Prize, honored for his peace-making efforts in Central America.

(more about President Sanchez)

Costa Rican side trips

Volcano visit: Climb, photograph, or eat while you watch lava stream by you.

Canopy tours: See the rain forest where the action is--at tree-top level.

Many things set Costa Rica apart from its neighbors.  It became a democratic republic in 1848 and (except for a 12-year 19th century dictatorship) has remained democratic and relatively stable ever since. It has no standing army; it has a literacy rate approaching that of the United States.

Costa Rica is blessed with an astonishing sampling of biological and ecological diversity. Without spending a lot of travel time within the country, a tourist can experience

  • the lush growth of mountain rain forest
  • the mangrove tangles of the Caribbean coast
  • the urban pleasures of San José, the capital
  • the warm, white sand beaches of the Pacific coast
  • the scorched-earth sterility of active volcanoes.

With a rare recognition of its natural treasures, Costa Rica has set aside better than a quarter of its land area as national parks and ecological buffer zones. The country has become a mecca for eco-tourism, from slow-paced bird-watching to white water rafting. Tourism has become Costa Rica's primary producer of income.

Costa Rica appeals not just to the active traveler, but to the retiree. The government actively recruits those whose working years are behind them. Retirees find they can live comfortably--even luxuriously--for far less than they would spend in the U.S.

Traveler or retiree--both find lots to like about Costa Rica.

Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff