Adventures in Central America

Chris Carter on nesting turtles, coral reefs and the tranquillity of Costa Rica, Placencia and El Salvador.

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Enjoy the "pura vida" in Costa Rica
(Image credit: Credit: adrian hepworth / Alamy Stock Photo)

Pura vida means "pure life" in Spanish, says Jenni Doggett in The Sunday Times. But depending on whom you ask in Costa Rica, it is a salutation, a toast, a philosophy and the answer to everything. It means hello, goodbye, c'est la vie and live in peace with nature. And there are plenty of places to enjoy nature in this part of Central America. The "Little Amazon of Costa Rica", as Tortuguero, a conservation area on the Caribbean coast, is known, is home to the Tortuguero National Park and the turtles that come to nest there. "The guide leads us to a grand old dame stoically dropping her eggs into a deep oval pit," says Doggett.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.