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Located in Costa Rica’s southeastern Talmanca region is the large Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge, a collection of rainforest and wetland habitat complete with a coral reef. At 23,348 total acres (9,450 ha), this vast refuge begins south of Punta Uva-3 miles south of Puerto Viejo-until it runs into the Sixaola River at the Panamanian border. Besides Cahuita, this park is the only other place in the country with a coral reef.

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An image from Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge

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The Brecon Beacons National Park is one of three national parks in Wales and is centered on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr (Great Forest) and the Brecon Beacons in the center, and the Black Mountains in the east.

The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951, and the Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952. It stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles (1,340 km²) and encompassing four main regions – the Black Mountain in the west, reaching 802 meters (2631 feet) at Fan Brycheiniog, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon Beacons in the center, including the highest summit in the park and in South Wales at Pen y Fan 886 meters (2,907 feet) and the confusingly named Black Mountains in the east, where the highest point is Waun Fach 811 meters (2,661 feet). The western half gained European and global status in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark. This includes the Black Mountain, the historic extent of Fforest Fawr, and much of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding lowlands.

The Black Mountains in the east are clearly separated from the central Beacons by the Usk valley between Brecon and Abergavenny. The other three regions form a continuous massif of high ground above 300 meters (1000′), and the divisions are less clear; the A470 road forms the approximate boundary between the central Beacons and Fforest Fawr, while a minor road from Sennybridge to Ystradgynlais divides Fforest Fawr from the Black Mountain range to the west. Wikipedia

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An image from Beacons, Wales

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Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, the northwest by Panama, the south by Ecuador and Peru, the east by Venezuela, the southeast by Brazil, and the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is composed of 32 departments and the Capital District of Bogotá, the country’s largest city. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), with a population of 50 million. Colombia’s rich cultural heritage reflects influences by various Amerindian civilizations, European settlement, African slaves, and immigration from Europe and the Middle East. Spanish is the nation’s official language, besides which over 70 languages are spoken.

Colombia has been inhabited by various indigenous peoples since at least 12,000 BCE, including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and the Tairona. The Spanish landed first in La Guajira in 1499 and by the mid-16th century colonized parts of the region, establishing the New Kingdom of Granada, with Santafé de Bogotá as its capital. Independence from the Spanish Empire was achieved in 1810, with what is now Colombia emerging as the United Provinces of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903, leading to Colombia’s present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2005, there has been significant improvement in security, stability, and rule of law, as well as unprecedented economic growth and development.

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An image from Colombia Scenery

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