Many of you—including President Clinton during the recent Caribbean summit (1997)—have followed Mike Thiel's lead (see Related Article, Wild and Wonderful Costa Rica) and have explored Costa Rica's breathtaking natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Your post-vacation comments have been enthusiastic and positive . . . about the country, the countryside, and the hideaways we've recommended to you. (We've yet to hear from the President, but it appeared that he, too, enjoyed this country's delights.) Hideaways Travel Services consultant Katia Lillis sums up what all of us have discovered about this still-unspoiled tropical paradise: "Everyone we send to Costa Rica loves it."

For Don and Carole Jaworski of Mukwonago, WI, their week's stay at Lapa Rios, a unique eco-resort on the remote Osa Peninsula was "the best vacation we've ever had." First-time visitors to Costa Rica, the Jaworskis were searching for a "back to nature" experience inn an unspoiled atmosphere.

Unspoiled doesn't have to mean uncomfortable, as the Jaworskis discovered. The couple enjoyed a very private Lapa Rios bungalow ("You could sunbathe nude if you wanted to," Carole said), great meals, and breezy jungle perch high above the ocean.

Summer 1997