Puntarenas - Costa Rica

"Why is the ocean so loud?"

That's about the only complaint Terry Conroy says he has ever heard in the years he's been running the eight-room Lookout Inn. The tough customer (a New Yorker) was staying in one of the inn's tiki huts, the tented tree houses exposed to eye-level views of the abundant wildlife and sparkling Pacific below.

The pounding surf does come in loud and clear, but giant waves are a main attraction for most visitors. "People do their homework, so they know what to expect," Conroy says. Or rather what not to expect -- TVs, telephones, air conditioning or private bathrooms. But with hardwood floors, tasteful furnishings and fresh flowers, the "tents" are hardly roughing it, and private cabins are available for the less adventurous.

What savvy travelers do expect is the perfect jump-off point to Corcovado National Park, which National Geographic describes as "the most biologically intense place on Earth."

The peninsula is the last undeveloped frontier in a country increasingly overrun with condominiums, hotel chains and fast-food joints. Preservation efforts have made the area home to many endangered species -- and the country's largest population of the threatened scarlet macaw, a bright red bird. A sign offers a free night at the inn if you don't see one during your stay (a deal Conroy's never had to make good on), and bananas are set out for the monkeys' breakfasts to ensure their regular appearances, too. The area is also crawling with crocodiles, jaguars, tapirs and those red-eyed, green tree frogs that are practically a national symbol.

It wasn't as mosquito-infested as I'd expected, but the insects are just as plentiful and impressive as the rest of the critters. The beds are sufficiently netted, but while the outdoor bathrooms are a fun idea -- and the toilet view is spectacular -- expect to get swarmed when you flick on the lights at night and to find some little bodies stuck in your toothbrush in the morning. As squeamish as I am, I couldn't help but marvel at how big and bizarre some of the insects were. The giant moths, in particular, are stunning.

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