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Costa Rica has become quite a popular destination not only for tourists, but for those seeking to learn Spanish in Costa Rica as a second language as well.  Due to the country’s climate and peaceful environment, more and more North Americans and Europeans have chosen Costa Rica to learn Spanish.

The Costa Rican language sector has shown its creativity in attracting students by combining Spanish lessons with traditional practices and spectacular surroundings.  An institution that has successfully done so for over 17 years is the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) with its headquarters in the quaint town of San Joaquin de Flores in Heredia.

CPI is currently the only Spanish school in Costa Rica that offers its students three different campuses in three completely distinct regions.  Its first campus located in San Joaquin de Flores in the Central Valley, offer students a true rural Costa Rican environment surrounded by the lush mountains of the nearby cloud forest.  At just half an hour from downtown San Jose, the San Joaquin campus is ideal for those who wish to have quick access to San Jose.

CPI’s second campus is located in the evergreen town of Monteverde in the Central Pacific highlands.  Monteverde is a very popular destination thanks to its pristine cloud forest and diverse flora and fauna.  In addition to learning Spanish, students are able to explore the Montever Reserve, zip line over the lush canopy or take an exiting walk across the popular hanging bridges.

As to CPI’s third campus, it is located in the popular North Pacific Flamingo Beach in the province of Guanacaste.  Surrounded by the warm ocean breeze and the soothing sound of the waves, CPI students can combine their Spanish lessons with a great beach vacation.

The institution not only offers an awesome variety in campuses, but also in Spanish classes as well.  CPI currently offers a total of 10 difficulty levels that can cater to all Spanish students regardless their current level.

Programs are offered in weekly courses and students may choose from one or all three locations for a complete and rich experience.

As holiday seasons gets closer, the financial crisis is a strong reality and the weather gets colder, travelers are left with the tough decision of balancing their destination options with their budgets.

In a Yahoo! Travel’s recent article named “Take an Extended Vacation – On a Budget”, the author suggests Costa Rica as an appropriate destination for budget conscious travelers.

The author also mentions other countries such as Asia, Australia and South America among others as a cheap alternative for extended New Year’s vacations.  What the author fails to mention, is that when compared to the above mentioned countries, a trip to Costa Rica is far more attractive due to its proximity to the United States and low airfares.

At just a couple of hours away from major U.S airports, Costa Rica offers spectacular sun bathed beaches, smoking volcanoes and 4% of the entire earth’s biodiversity in just a 0.03% of the planet’s surface…so your chances of viewing Costa Rican wildlife is practically guaranteed.  And, a wide variety of accommodations are available to suit the whole spectrum of travelers.

As the article did mention, another great alternative for vacationing can be combining volunteer work in Costa Rica.  There are several non profit organizations that will charge basic fees and expenses to accommodate volunteers as they engage in a one of a kind experience such as protecting and looking after turtles during their nesting season.

Other volunteer programs include reforesting land, building homes for communities in need, elderly care and many more.

The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated each year on September 16th as set forth by the United Nations.  This year, Costa Rica received a special mention due to its contribution within the refrigeration field.

Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of environmentally conscious people and organizations, the Ozone Layer’s hole diameter has gone back to the size it had back in September of the year 2000 in just 2 years of labor.

Over 193 countries, including Costa Rica, have committed in contributing to reverting the ozone layer’s hole diameter which is currently over 28 million kilometers wide.  The size of the gap can roughly be pictures as three times the European continent.

A representative for the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) mentioned that Costa Rica received a special mention for its special project due to its intervention in the reduction of CFC and methyl bromide which are the Ozone Layer’s number one cause of destruction.

In just 5 years, Costa Rica has launched several programs within its private and public sector in order to reduce gas emission which have had not only a great acceptance by the people, but great results as well.

Costa Rica’s goal is to bring down its gas emission level down to 0% by 2010.