Correos de Costa Rica produces vivid reminder of Isla del Coco
Where can you get a great Costa Rican souvenir for 1,800 colons, a bit more than $3?
The post office, Correos de Costa Rica, is the place. The latest set of stamps to be put on sale honors Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, and it is part of the national parks series.
Each of the 10 1809-colon stamps on each sheet features a bird, fish, dolphin or turtle found at the Pacific island.
The stamp carries the Latin name of the creature but postal authorities have printed nearby the common Spanish name.
Each animal is the work of English artist Deirdre Hyde, who spent six months on the island in 1979, the post office said.
The United Nationals proclaimed the Isla del Coco a world heritage site in 1997, and postal officials said they were making a statement in favor of conservation.
“We want the beauty, the vivacity and the color of this new collection of postal stamps to be the beginning of a campaign of consciousness toward the conservation of our national parks, conservation areas and refuges that are the future of the next generations, said Ãlvaro Coghi, the general manager of the postal system.
Some 200,000 stamps were printed. The post office maintains a center for stamp collectors on the main floor of the downtown central office.
