NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



611 



paratively settled state of the country 

 politically, and to the large concessions 

 of the United Fruit Company on the 

 Caribbean coast, a concern which has 

 expended considerable capital in devel- 

 opment. Its comfortable steamers ply 

 regularly to Puerto Limon, and an 

 excellent railroad runs from there to 

 San Jose, the capital, with branches 

 running to Guapiles and Alajuela. 

 San Jose is a pleasant city with several 

 excellent hotels and a delightful climate, 

 and this trip is becoming increasingly 

 popular with the tourist, who is given 

 every encouragement. The ride to the 

 capital from Puerto Limon over the 

 continental divide is a fascinating one, 

 and the scenery is magnificent. There 

 are numerous towns and way stations 

 en route, where the biologist can stop, 

 choosing the altitude he desires. The 

 stranger is always hospitably treated, 

 and can often put up at some plantation 

 or hacienda. From Cartago one can ride 

 to the summit of Irazu, and the more 

 energetic traveller can camp at any 

 desired altitude along the way, and 

 study any desired life zone or ecological 

 association. 



There is a government railroad run- 

 ning from San Jose to Puntarenas on the 

 Pacific Coast. There is a tolerable 

 hotel here also, and the steamers of the 

 Pacific Mail Steamship Company call 

 regularly on their way to Panama or 

 San Francisco. They run about every 

 three weeks, but the schedule is irregu- 

 lar, and the boats are often several daj-s 

 late. The traveller must consider sev- 

 eral things to save himself annoyance. 

 He cannot get reliable information in 

 San Jose about the arrival or departure 

 of these steamers. At Puntarenas he 

 must see the Port Officer and get per- 

 mission to leave the country. This 

 permit is telegraphed from the Minister 

 of War, and costs five dollars. At least 

 a day must be allowed to secure it. 

 Everything is dutiable in Costa Rica, 

 and your baggage is rated at so much 

 per kilo. Exactly the same thing is 

 true when leaving, the export tax cover- 



ing all personal effects, at so much per 

 kilo. The scientist, however, with 

 proper letters and credentials, can usu- 

 ally obtain a waiver of import duties, 

 but will have to pay the export duties, 

 unless he remembers to make the nec- 

 essary arrangements before leaving. 



At Puntarenas the biologist can get a 

 glimpse at least of the peculiar fauna 

 of the northwestern section. From 

 there a very fair road runs north to 

 Bagaces, Liberia, and on to Rivas in 

 Nicaragua. Bagaces is in the heart 

 of the savanna country, and a trip to 

 the summit of Miravalles, where many 

 peculiar species are found, is not par- 

 ticularly difficult or expensive. Travel 

 on this road is chiefly by mule or horse, 

 hut animals are not particularly difficult 

 to secure. 



Reaching any other section of Costa 

 Rica is increasingly expensive and 

 difficult. The T^rraba Valley and the 

 Golfo Dulce region is best reached by 

 securing some small coastwise sailing 

 vessel at Puntarenas. The price will 

 be high, the delay in securing one great, 

 and all supplies must be taken. The 

 little hamlet of Boruca has served as the 

 headquarters of the few collectors who 

 have ever gone there. The interior is 

 unexplored. The whole of northeastern 

 and southeastern Costa Rica is practi- 

 cally unexplored and unvisited. Real 

 results could only be obtained by well- 

 organized expeditions, prepared for 

 difficult conditions and an unhealthy 

 climate. 



Opportunities for research will be 

 limited only by the ignorance or in- 

 competence of the student. In the 

 higher vertebrate groups, few new 

 species remain to be discovered, but 

 many more will be found to occur in the 

 country. In every other phase of 

 biological investigation, the student will 

 have almost a virgin field, and can 

 specialize in any department he sees fit. 

 The foregoing account proves how 

 readily any desired type of climatic or 

 ecological conditions can be reached in 

 this naturalists' paradise. 



