The Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve, Costa Rica

This reserve on the Nicoya Peninsula was the first park of Costa Rica, founded originally by Swedish couple Nicolas Wessburg and Karen Mogensen, who had a vision of a completely protected area.  Jumping now to 2012, Costa Rica now has around 27% of the country’s nature protected within parks or protected areas to maintain the 6% of the worlds’ biodiversity it holds.  The Cabo Blanco reserve is still in, more or less, the same state it was however it now also encompasses 1 km of coastal ocean that is for the vast majority completely protected from the cruel action of man.  A great website for general and wildlife information can be found at here

This park is made up of two sectors.  On the East side of the Nicoya Peninsula is Cabuya, which has a couple of trails open to the public most days of the week due to pressure from local hotels.  On the West side near Malpais and Santa Teresa is the other sector or station called San Miguel which is completely closed to the public.  Access here is by invitation only, and only a few select groups of students enter each year.

Now, as a tourist I might think “Why is this?” and the answer is simple.  50 years ago 85% of this peninsula was farmland, and since the park was formed in 1963 a large expanse of secondary forest has re-grown providing a refuge for numerous species and as you will see from reading this the nature it holds is worth protecting.

If we were to open up a few trails, as tourists have suggested before, eventually the natural beauty protected within the park will be ruined for everyone as more and more people enter the park.  Therefore, to preserve the ongoing research and protect the species of the park I would kindly ask any tourists to leave the park should they have any respect for nature, or else why would they want to enter the park? 

Image created by artist Deirdre Hyde

Anyway, I have leapt forward a bit in order to set the scene.  I hope you find my 31 weeks worth of entries interesting, enjoy my many ups, few downs and shenanigans during my 7 month adventure.