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Archive for the ‘Amazing Countries’ Category

Iceland is the cleanest country in the world. This may be hard to believe right now, what with the clouds of volcanic ash grounding flights across northern Europe, but according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, the Nordic island ranks first out of 163 countries on their Environmental Performance Index.

Researchers ranked countries based on 25 indicators, including water and air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of the environment on the health of the population. (For more detail on the methodology, click here.) A score of 100 is excellent. Sierra Leone ranks at the bottom of the list with a score of 32. The U.S. ranks in the middle of the pack with 63.5. Iceland took top honors with a score of 93.5 thanks to ample clean water, lots of protected nature areas, good national health care and a plenitude of usually clean geothermal power.

Will Eyjafjallajokull wreck Iceland’s rating the next time the academics run the numbers in 2012? The answer is no. “We do not score natural disasters,” says Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law at Yale who heads up the EPI and wrote the acclaimed book Green to Gold. The index is weighted to metrics that track how governments are performing relative to environmental policy goals, such as access to adequate sanitation and water, habitat protection and industrial emissions. The amount of sulfur dioxide released from fuel usage counts, not what’s put out by volcanoes.

There are two paths that can take a country to the top of the EPI rankings. First, a country could be gifted with a rich endowment of clean water, diverse biology and not have sullied it with rampant industrialism. That’s how Cuba, Colombia and Costa Rica placed so high.

Alternatively, a country could have industrialized and polluted its environment, but eventually gotten rich enough to start cleaning it up. That’s the case with the European countries that make up more than half of the top 30.

Costa Rica is one of the few safe, democratic countries in Central America and is a perfect spot for guided tours.  Much of the country is designated as a national park area and visitors on guided tours can experience the unspoiled and pristine  natural sited the country has to offer.

Most guided tours of Costa Rica begin in San Jose, the largest city in Costa Rica.  From there, you can enjoy several guided tours of your own choosing.  Costa Rica is Spanish-speaking but many tourist areas have those who understand English and the accommodations are generally first-rate. Some guided tours will take you to the Heredia Highlands, the perfect spot to view the huge Poas Volcano and its nearly one mile wide steaming crater—the largest volcanic crater in the world.  Then you’ll spend some time on a naturalist-guided tour of the La Paz Waterfall Gardens with five waterfalls, an aviary and a butterfly garden. 

After an overnight stay in Arena, most guided tours of the area will take you on a hike over the beautiful Arenal Hanging Bridges.  Some visitors may instead elect to take a spa treatment or go on a canopy zipline tour—an adventurous way to spend the morning.  You can also take a walk around the town of La Fortuna and spend the afternoon relaxing at the Tabacon Hot Springs—and, yes, they’re really hot!  If you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of the smoldering lava flow of the Arenal Volcano at night. 

Next, you may wish to catch some waves at one of Costa Rica’s beaches.  Many guided tours of the area will allow you the opportunity to stop along the way at the Las Pumas Refuge, a hospital of sorts for injured large cats, monkeys and birds.  Another favorite spot on Costa Rica’s guided tours is the Tamarindo Wildlife Refuge.  This is the natural habitat of many species of birds, waterfowl and the howler monkey.  This is a tour done by boat and you’ll want to have your camera ready. As the refuge is near the beach, you can also schedule a fishing lesson, a surfing lesson or just hang out at the beach, soaking up the Costa Rican sunshine.

From the beach back to San Jose, many guided tours will take you to Guaitil, an artist’s colony of sorts, in which you can watch how the artisans make their distinctive pottery just like their ancestors did a thousand years ago.

 Another fun place is called Sarchi.  This little village is considered the craft capital of Costa Rica.  In Costa Rica, there are guided tours for everyone—not just for the nature minded.  You can take a cooking and spa guided tour that includes a visit to the hacienda of the Ortuno family where you can learn about growing sugar cane, coffee and macadamia nuts.  You can also learn about the medicinal uses for foods in the Latino culture. There are even guided tours of Costa Rica that involve those things related to black history and black heritage. Visitors will learn about their African roots and how Africans first came to Costa Rica in the 1800s to build the railways and to work on banana plantations.

There are truly guided tours for every taste and style in this beautiful country.  Explore the choices on the internet until you find one that fits your interests and fitness level.