„Costa Rica is a small country in Central America. The country has coastlines on both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and is home to nearly 5% of the planet’s biodiversity. Despite its small size, it is considered one of the world’s top 20 countries in terms of biodiversity. Indeed Costa Rica is known for its progressive (environmental) policies, having disbanded its army and being the only country in the world to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. It was ranked fifth in the world – and first in the Americas – in the 2012 Environmental Performance Index. It was twice ranked the best-performing country in the New Economics Foundation’s (NEF) Happy Planet Index, which measures environmental sustainability, and identified by the NEF as the greenest country in the world in 2009. In 2007, the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021. In 2012, it became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting.
When Colombus landed in Costa Rica in 1502, the first indigenous people he saw wore gold bands in their noses and ears – which later led to the name of the country – The Rich Coast – or Costa Rica. In those days, there were four main indigenous tribes, which after the arrival of the Spanish were decimated by small pox and genocide. Today a remarkable 98% of Costa Ricans are of Spanish descent.
The Golfo de Nicoya, in the northern peninsula, is a tidally driven gulf with an estuary and a high-water exchange rate. The inner gulf is shallow and fringed by mangroves and mud flats, whereas the outer gulf deepens sharply towards the mouth and is surrounded by rocky shores and sandy beaches. It supports around 2,000 small scale artisanal fishermen, which represents 7% of national landings.
Golfo Dulce, the expedition’s study site, is in the southern peninsula. It is smaller, with a fjord-like embayment and reaching a maximum depth of about 215 meters. The shallow shorelines are dominated by sandy beaches to the west and largely deforested mangroves. Important seagrass beds and coral reefs are also present in the gulf and provide critical foraging and developmental habitats for an estimated 1028 marine species. It was declared a Mission Blue hopespot in 2019. Because of its topography there is little water circulation.“ (Dr. Matthias Hammer)
Eine tolle Möglichkeit, Urlaub und Natur-und Artenschutz zu verbinden, bietet die Organisation Biosphere Expeditions. Detaillierte Informationen findet ihr hier:
https://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/volunteeringincostarica
Diese beiden Reiseführer kann ich guten Gewissens empfehlen. Außerdem gibt es auf Facebook einige Costa-Rica-Gruppen mit sehr interessanten Beiträgen.
Flüge
Da Costa Rica ein sehr beliebtes Reiseziel ist, gibt es viele Airlines, die Direktflüge anbieten. Mit Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Britisch Airways, Condor, Iberojet und Iberia kann man in 12-13 Stunden direkt nach San José fliegen. Wir haben uns für einen Flug ab Zürich mit Edelweiss Air entschieden. Es gibt natürlich noch eine Vielzahl an Anbietern, die günstige Flüge anbieten. Hier solltet ihr unbedingt „das Kleingedruckte“ lesen. Häufig kommen zu den Flugpreisen noch zusätzliche Kosten für Gepäck etc. hinzu. Wir haben ein gutes Angebot direkt über Edelweiss Air gebucht. Aufgrund der größeren Sitze und der Platzauswahl hatten wir extrem viel Platz! Die Investition hat sich gelohnt!
Tipp
Eine super Internetseite mit ausführlichen Infos zu allen Themen ist https://tropenwanderer.com/
Vor eurer Reise nach Costa Rica kann ich nur empfehlen, dort mal rein zu schauen.