Christopher P. Baker was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. He received a B.A. (Honors) in Geography at University College, London. In 1980 he received a Scripps-Howard Foundation Scholarship in Journalism to attend the University of California, Berkeley. His love affair with Costa Rica began in 1986, when he participated in a spa program that left him 10 years younger. He has been enraptured with the Central American nation ever since, and finds himself drawn back frequently to commune with toucans and howler monkeys, his favorite wildlife.

Christopher's stories and photography have appeared in publications as diverse as National Wildlife, National Geographic Traveler, and Newsweek. He is also the author of Moon Handbooks Cuba and Havana, Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba, winner of both the 2002 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Book and the North American Travel Journalist Association's Grand Prize. Christopher appears frequently on radio and television talk shows and as a guest-lecturer aboard cruise ships throughout the Caribbean and farther afield. He has been honored with numerous awards for outstanding writing, including the Benjamin Franklin Best Travel Guide award for Moon Handbooks Costa Rica. He promotes himself through his website, www.christopherbaker.com.