Costa Rica, a tiny country that forms part of the land bridge between North and South America, is almost too good to believe. It has more species of mammals and birds than the continental United States and Canada combined, unmatched flora that includes over 3,000 species of wild orchids alone and a world famous national park system.

It is a land of natural treasures: lush green jungles and forests, steaming volcanoes, mountains, Caribbean beaches, and Pacific surf. You can explore miles of nature trails that access a variety of unique natural habitats, drive to the edge of a volcanic crater or through the deep, rich mountain jungle, or soak up the rays on a magnificent tree-lined beach.

Costa Rica is a paradise for orchids, butterflies and hummingbirds. Near San Ramón you can visit a beautiful Orchid garden full of the national orchid – La Guaria. On Sunday you observe the families hanging around and playing with their children. San Ramón and its surroundings offer a lot of fun and entertainment with adventure, beautiful nature and also culture.

Where are we talking about? Costa Rica's Central Valley is noted for its eternal spring like weather. The district San Ramón de Alajuela is the biggest district of Costa Rica and is situated on the end of the Central Valley just in the heart of Costa Rica. San Ramón is a pleasant small town about halfway between the capital San José and Puntarenas, just off the Carretera Interamericana that joins San José with the Pacific coast. When you leave the airport and take the autoroute to Puntarenas the first sign you see is the sign to San Ramón and takes about 45 minutes.

San Ramón is situated on the tenth degree of latitude and 3,280 feet above sea level. This provides one of the best climates in the world with all year long average temperature of 77 º F (25 º C). The perfect climate to promote or maintain your health and to relax.

San Ramón is known locally as the city of presidents and poets because several of them were born or lived here. It is a clear, green and safe area and offers a lot of activities like sightseeing to the museum and to the beautiful church. The museum has interesting exhibits of local history and culture. The church looks very similar to European churches and is a combination of gothic and roman styles. It was designed by a German architect and construction started in 1925. The altar was built in Italy, the tiles from Germany and the bells from France. Artisans from around the world and many Costa Rican artists contributed to its creation. The construction was finished in 1954.

So, where to eat? A new restaurant has opened which is excellent by any standards. The owner of Alirass is a native of San Ramon who has also travelled. Her fusion Costa Rican food is a must. Try the fish with avocado and cheese and save room for the excellent home-made desserts. The owner/chef Ligia has contributed a gem to her hometown.

What to do? Life runs slowly in this part of the world and you can relax and enjoy. Visit the central market, the weekly market, the park in the centre of San Ramón and watch the people talking in the street and hear the loudspeakers from a passing car announcing good shopping offers or activities for the next weekend. There is no hurry.

You find around San Ramón big waterfalls, bungee jumping, canopy tours, hot air ballooning, hiking in rainforest, bird watching, and horseback riding, tours with mountain bikes and a beautiful Spa. From this central position you can travel very easily to most of the volcanoes or beaches. Near San Ramón you can visit the “Reservado Alberto Manuel Brenes”, a large area with an incredible variety of fauna and flora.

Getting around: it is best that you don't expect perfect roads but you will see this as a part of the adventure. You drive slowly and have time to look around. Of course you always need more time than you expected. But there is no reason to hurry. You will be rewarded with unforgettable occurrences. You will see animals and plants you never have seen before in your life. Guides are always available to take you around and to explain the nature of the area that is new and eye opening.

Come join us in what is still a relatively undiscovered part of Costa Rica, a very special country in these turbulent times.

Where to stay to chill out: I run the Hotel and Spa Casaelena that is 6 miles from town at 3000 ft. altitude with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. We have 24 acres of landscaped grounds with a large pool with a steam room and solar heated jacuzzi. Spa services such as massage and pedicures are available. It’s a great place for peace and quiet, for couples who want a romantic get away or for groups who want a real spa experience: yoga, meditation, nutrition advice, massage, beauty treatments, acupuncture and chiropractor services. For more information, contact me, Helene on: casaelena@racsa.co.cr or visit our website:

www.costaricarelax.com

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Writing this sat at my university desk I can’t help frequently glancing up at the picture painted in Mikindani and the various photos of my gap year experience.

Having gone over the whole experience with true friend back home, I can’t say that I was overly enthused about the prospect of having to talk through the whole ‘year out’ thing to several strangers in fake bids to find new friendships. But even after thinking over what the visits to Mikindani have done for me, it wasn’t until I chatted about everyone else’s gap years that I realised just how valuable they were. Past volunteers will have all contemplated the commercial organisations and weighed up what volunteers are gaining but I’d like everyone to think about these again.

When I talked to people about my gap year, it was hard to sum up just how much I went through with George and Emily. The work we partook covered everything from teaching in the primary schools, running a tree nursery and planting program, teaching sports to the locals, improving vocational training in the hotel, and researching and writing for a guide book. Our cultural experiences were, for me, highlights of the stay; the learning of a new language, staying with a host family, going through Ramadan, Christmas abroad. The learning of a Swahili is something, which is pushed at Trade Aid, and rightly so, it is after all a key in developing our work and provides a great deal more scope in possibilities for volunteer input. But the thing that stuck out the most was purely being a little part of the village. In such a scale a project as this, your input is very direct and results or improvements are clear and achievable. At the end of the six month stay I could regard many locals as friends, not just people who had provided me with an experience. With huge mountains, natural wonders of the world, and exotic islands ahead, it was hell having to say goodbye to these people I had spent so much of every day with for some time. Not one person here at university has seemed to show as much sorrow as our group did when leaving and they all are impressed at how personal my experience seemed. It has sparked a true interest in Africa and the situation in developing countries, I would now definitely consider it as an option when working in healthcare once my physiotherapy degree allows me to.

Others tales tended to take two main routes. First were the ‘round the world’ people. An air ticket bought several thousand miles and covered a path generally following China, Australia, New Zealand, Los Angeles, and home again. All very well for getting lots of stamps in your passport but I often question how much these people got to know a place. In addition to getting off the plane, completing a quick tourist tour, and maybe eating a local dish, I heard little else of what they gained. Any past volunteer will know exactly how much of an opportunity is granted to get involved and mix with Mikindani’s people. The second lot arranged experiences through commercial companies, set up to provide students with trips and work in developing countries. Much of their work and goals were similar to those I aimed towards with Trade Aid and the satisfaction of doing something active to help others out was obvious in most. The contrast seemed to be in the socialising once the working day had finished. Those in bigger groups told of many nights together and parties in foreign beauty spots, fun but not on the same level as sitting on Bomani street joking and chatting to the locals during the evening hours, and not going down to Doa’s bar on a moonlight night with the Boma staff.

Of course although my opinion on things has been favoured towards what I found, having only experienced a year with Trade Aid, I realise also that every single person has had a ‘time of their life’ and each and every one is much the wiser because of it. Since returning home to study I have kept very much in touch with the charity and look forwards to revisiting in December to carry on with some work and maintain my interest.

For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and their work, please visit their website www.mikindani.com or e-mail Sherie on tradeaid@netcomuk.co.uk

Wandering amongst Pisa’s famed sights, I found myself eased culturally back into Italy and following the big, rounded taste of the evenings Rosso Di Montepulciano I felt readied (or should be that steadied?) for the imminent return. The year that had passed seemed all too long to be away from such a good friend as Firenze…

No alarm call was needed to wake me from the darkened Sunday slumber of Pensione Rinascente – the bright, cool morning had already been disturbed by medieval equivalents! Whilst masses filed through splendid church facades, my own calling came from Pisa Centrale and as I found myself being drawn across the Arno a thought occurred – would the famed Italian trains be on time? My answer was forthcoming as the 9.18 was only a couple of minutes late and was already busy transporting people going about their Sunday lives. Moving away from the platform a certain sensation I had felt when travelling on warm, early morning trains across India flitted through my consciousness once again – a good omen for the journey I smiled!

Stops such as Pontedera disappeared behind the train as a hazy sun opened up a landscape of smallholdings, allotments and vine trails. Surrounded by the languid Italian chatter of our fellow passengers, I felt suitably drawn away from everything of the previous working week – a fleeting travel moment to be cherished. Further along the journey, the archetypal Italian station of Empoli and the ever changing faces of fellow passengers also reminded me of previous travels – this time of Inter-rail journeys. Playing that old game of guessing people’s destinations, I wondered whether the young Scandinavians were heading south or and whether the Africans were heading business like to northern destinations. Our route to Firenze narrowed through a rising valley as it progressed and as in many photos and films, I glimpsed some of the traditional Tuscan imagery – hill top villages connected by winding roads that twisted through lush green countryside and trees stretching skywards. Almost as the quickly as the track had risen did we descend down through the last few suburban stops and onto the final destination…Firenze!

I hadn’t thought what I’d wanted to see of my old friend again, but first thoughts were drawn along a slow loop through the heart of the city, across the Arno and up to the panorama of Piazzale Michelangelo. Familiar sites greeted me as Kate and I sped across the expanse of the rather unvisited Piazza Dell’ Unita Italia– the still petitioning HIV charity, the market where I purchased a most expensive wallet and then onto a renewing glimpse of the Duomo’s bell tower and Battistero. What struck me this time about the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (to give the Duomo its consecrated name) was not the beautiful façade but how the turret like bastions sat atop, allowing all comers to be seen. Being a Sunday we couldn’t undertake the winding climb to dome’s top (thankfully appreciated by my apprehension of heights) and the slower start to the day allowed us more space and time to enjoy the walk across Piazza del Duomo and onwards.

For those that cherish Firenze, Via De’ Calzaiuoli’s opening up on to

Piazza della Signora grandly displays much of what should be seen – the splendid Palazzo Vecchio with its dominating tower, the near perfectly copied statues of David or the beheading of Medusa by Perseus and the Uffizi’s columned walk ways sheltering its snaking queues! Though much of this grandeur owes its origins to the power of the Medici and their egos, its subsequent evolution into a marvel of civic planning underscores what the renaissance is depicted as representing. Even the mounted police seemed proud to be part of this elegant cityscape. We had little desire to enjoy the Uffizi’s always crowded galleries and somewhat cramped displays and instead Kate diverted us off to the quiet of Santa Croce. Previously I had strolled around this intriguing church with its incomplete facade and had found that many of two hundred plus monuments commemorated famous past lives – Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante I believe are of the many. The adjoining convent turned museum and its cloisters echo this silence and is a relatively unknown yet worthy destination for its visitors.

As the climb upwards began, I noticed another of those travelling oddities that catch my imagination – certain cities feature a building or place that my wandering always seems to take me through or past! In London it is the Embankment underground station, with Dublin it is O’Connell Bridge and with Firenze it is the Biblioteca Nazionale! Whatever view or late night revelry I have been party to, these buildings always seem found themselves within view and I have no idea why! As we swiftly crossed the modern Ponte Santa Niccolo we again had to pass this squared jawed building before moving over to the quieter side of the Arno.

The steep route up through the steps and gardens of Guiseppe Poggi lifts the walker onto a supreme vantage point! This perspective offers an unbeatable right to left panorama – the view sweeps back across the trail I’ve just described, over the Arno hunched Ponte Vecchio and through to the old Forte Di Belvedere. From here I could imagine no better way to present the city to visitors. Like many I sat awhile, allowing the warm breezes to brush across my face and savour my return to this wonderful city. Somewhat later our thirsts were indulgently quenched before moving on by visiting one of the hilltop gelateria and selecting a double-portioned cone. Here less cream and more ice is definitely better, with my favourite being strawberry overlain with pistachio! Whether any sports dietician would approve of such recharging remains to be seen but we were certainly ready to move on…

If you’d like to contact Matthew about his time in Firenze or any of his other travels, please e-mail him on: matthewdoughty@totalise.co.uk