LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK INFORMATION
Travel Literature
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There are surprisingly few travelogues specifically about Costa Rica. Dr Alexander Skutch – who lived for years near San Isidro de El General – wrote
A Naturalist in Costa Rica, which is part natural history, part memoir. An icon among birders, Dr Skutch weaves his philosophies into his beautiful descriptions of flora and fauna.
Green Phoenix, by science journalist William Allen, is an absorbing and inspiring account of his efforts, alongside American and Costa Rican scientists and activists, to conserve and restore the rainforest in Guanacaste.
In
Walk These Stones, by Leslie Hawthorne Klingler, this Mennonite service worker writes about her experiences living, working, praying and sharing in the small village of Cuatro Cruces. Her account of village life is poignant, but if you are not into spiritual questions it is not for you.
Many more books are accounts of journeys through Central America by various means.
Ninety-Nine Days to Panama, by John and Harriet Halkyard, is a retired couple’s detailed and entertaining account of driving an RV (complete with pet dog Brindle) from Texas to Panama. Peter Ford’s
Around the Edge is the story of the author’s travels along the Caribbean coast from Belize to Panama, on foot and by boat.
The Old Patagonian Express:
By Train Through the Americas, by Paul Theroux, details the author’s journey by train from a suburb of Boston all the way to Patagonia. Sadly, many of the train routes he took are no longer in operation, but it’s still a great book.
In Lonely Planet’s
Green Dreams:
Travels in Central America by Stephen Benz, the author astutely analyzes and questions the impact visitors are having on a region and its people.
Traveler’s Tales Central America, edited by Larry Habegger and Natanya Pearlman, is a collection of striking travel essays on the region from renowned writers such as Paul Theroux and Tim Cahill.
So Far from God: A Journey to Central America, by Patrick Marnham, was the winner of the 1985 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. It’s an insightful and often amusing account of a leisurely meander from Texas down to Mexico City and on into Central America.
Though not specifically about Costa Rica, bird-watchers will enjoy
Birders:
Birds of Tribe by Mark Cocker, a true celebration of the bird enthusiast’s determination to endure hours of boredom and terrible weather – all to catch a glimpse of some rare and spectacular avian species.
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