Another new development in the last 20 years has been Costa Rica's pursuit of eco-tourism. Costa Rica contains many of the world's ecological "hotspots"--places with the highest biodiversity on the planet. They're trying to pay to keep these places intact by promoting their tourism value.

I decided to visit the the Parque Nacional Volcan Barva one day, which is just two hours, or so, from San Jose. The last few kilometers on the approach to the park entrance was, er, um, more exciting than any other road I'd ever driven.