English translation 

 ~ Espanol Spanish translation - Traducción española ~   Translate to your Language by Clicking on Your Flag English translation German translation - Deutsche Übersetzung French translation - Traduction française Italian translation - Traduzione italiana  Portuguese translation - Tradução portuguese Chinese translation - 中国翻译 Japanese translation - 日本翻訳 Korean translation - 한국 번역 Arabic translation - الترجمه العربيه

In Costa Rica Guide to Costa Rica 

San Jose Time

 

The Fascinating Land of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a land of diversity and its flora fauna has added to the color and the beauty of this land. You will be surprised to note that the land mass is only about .1% of the world's land mass but has about 5% of the world's biodiversity.

Costa Rica lies between Panama and Nicaragua and it is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the east and the North Pacific Ocean to the west. It is comprised of 51,100 square kilometers and the territorial waters take up about 589 square kilometers. Costa Rica is a conglomeration of a number of landforms. The Cerro Chirripo is the highest point in Costa Rica, the highest volcano is the Irazu volcano and the lake is known as the Lake Arenal.

The History of Costa Rica

Costa Rica was actually a part of intermediate area between the Andean and the Mesoamerican cultural regions. Now these have been recently updated to include the Isthmo-Colombian area. Costa Rica was first visited by Christopher Columbus in 1502 and he reached the Isla Uvita. There was subsequent wars and resulting colonization in spite of the ferocious resistance of the indigenous people.

In the 16th Century Costa Rica faced a great fall in her workforce as the indigenous people fell to the diseases carried by the colonists. Costa Rica won her independence in the year 1821 from the massive empire of Spain. Several countries of Central America like Mexico and Guatemala had fought hard to achieve this status but Costa Rica did not even fire a single gunshot. This is why Costa Rica is considered to be a very peace loving country.

Economy of Costa Rica

The economy of Costa Rica is based primarily on agriculture. This includes the production of pineapples, bananas and coffee. Besides these there have been many other industries like electronics, pharmaceuticals, eco-tourism, financial outsourcing and software development have now become the major industries.

The country is strategically placed and therefore it provides an easy access to all the American markets. These places also have the same time zone and the ocean acts as a convenient route. The economy is prospering as the Government has implemented a seven-year expansion policy in the sphere of high tech industry.

Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a member of the Organization of the American states and, the United Nations and many other such organizations that propagate democracy and humanitarian rights. The foreign policy of Costa Rica fosters human rights and sustains development to secure growth and stability.

Demographics

Costa Rica has an approximate population of 4,016,173 people. Most of the people of Costa Rica have Spanish forefathers. There has been an intermixing of the indigenous with the spanish people and so they form what is called a mixed mestizo heritage. There are also people of Polish, German, Jewish and Italian originand together thety make up about 94% of the total population of Costa Rica. There are also people of African origin who make up about 3% of the population. These people are known as the Afro-Costa Ricans.

Culture

The locals call themselves Ticos and Ticas and they are basically very helpful, timid, friendly, well educated and laid back in their attitudes towards life. This is indeed quite different from their American neighbors. Costa Rican culture bears ample evidence of the Spanish influence. Costa Rica is also the merging point of the South American native cultures and the Mesoamerican cultures.

The Spanish influence had been more than the effect of the indigenous people and this had been because most of the indigenous people have perished from the diseases and the ill treatment of the Spaniards. The Atlantic Coast had a huge population of African slaves in the 17th and the 18th centuries. In the 19th century there were also Italian and Chinese immigrants who came to earn their living by working on the railroad system that was being constructed.

Costa Rica Climate

Costa Rica is situated only 8 degrees from the equator and so the country has a tropical climate throughout the year. Its climate is defined by the amount of rainfall that it receives during a certain time. A year in Costa Rica can be divided into two parts- one is known as the Verano, which is the summer and Invierno that is the winter season.

The verano is from December to May and during this time there is no rain in Costa Rica. During the Invierno that is between the months of May to November it rains constantly in many locations. The Caribbean slopes receives the maximum rainfall with over 5000 mm. The humidity is very high but it is higher on the Caribbean side. The Pacific side is less humid. The lowlands have an average temperature of around 30 degrees centigrade.

Costa Rica Cuisine

Every country has its own special cuisine. Cuisine gives a country its own unique identity and the special flavors add to the essences of the place. The cuisine of Costa Rica is famous for its special taste, mild flavors and its dependence on fresh fruits and vegetables. The staple diet of Costa Rica consists of black beans and rice taken two or three times daily.

The gallo pinto is the food that is usually preferred at the time of breakfast. It is a healthy combination of rice, onion, cilantro, red or black beans and this concoction is then lightly fried. There is a local sauce by the name of salsa lizano that is used as a flavoring agent.

Casado is eaten at lunch. Rice is served with beans but lunch will have any type of meat along with it. It might be fish, chicken or pork chops along with white cheese or fried banana. Fresh vegetables take up a major portion of their diet. Some of these are zapallo, zucchini, chayote, red pepper, potato and onion.

Coffee is the main beverage they consume. Plantain is served usually as a sweet dish, it is fried or baked and served with any sugar -based syrup or even honey is used. Besides coffee most Costa Ricans are very fond of fruit drinks diluted with milk or water.

The fruits that are used in these traditional drinks are tamarind, guanabana, passion fruit, strawberry, watermelon, melon, blackberry and cas.

The Flora and Fauna of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is well known its variety of animals and plants. The Corcovado National Park is famous for the abundance of wildlife and virgin greenery. It is also famous for its bio diversity and it has tapirs and huge cats. The Tortuguero National Park is another very famous wild life sanctuary that is the abode to the howler, spider, white-throated Capuchin monkeys, 320 species of birds, the three- toed sloth and a huge variety of reptiles. It is a home for the green turtle that is an endangered species. There are also the hawksbill, loggerhead turtles and the giant leatherback.

There are so many facets to this country that one cannot really write about it in completion. There are innumerable colors, essences and flavors associated with this country. All the more special is the attitude of the people who reside in Costa Rica. They are so warm-hearted and kind, that visitors feel the urge to visit Costa Rica over and over again. The food is excellent and healthy. Costa Rica can therefore be best described as heaven on earth.
 


 

Latest Additions to our  PictureGallery

 


 

 

** New **

 

As Promised,

is Proud to Announce...

 

Interactive Driving

and City Maps of

Costa Rica

 

 

Click Here

... for a Cost of Living Analysis of Costa Rica as compared to the Four Major Travel Contributing Areas in the US, Northeastern Boston Area, Southern Florida Region, Dallas, Texas and Greater San Francisco...

Coming Soon...

 

Browse Costa Rica By Region Quick Links and Useful Tools

 

Costa Rica Interactive Map - Click a Location and Go!

Convert your Dollars to Colones at Today's Current Currency Exchange Rates, or choose any other Conversion ...

Amount From To

Use Service

Costa Rica River Rafting

Costa Rica is a land dominated by mountains and has an abundance of water: annual rainfalls totals, reach as high as 350 inches in parts of the country and the Central Valley is considered to be "dry" area because it receives "only" seventy to ninety inches of rain per year! The significance of this fact...

Read the Rest of this Article here...

Here's a Handy Tool to Convert Fahrenheit Temperatures to Celsius and vice versa

F:

C:  

Just type the Temperature you want into either the Celsius or Fahrenheit box, then just click in the other box to see the Converted Results

**NEW**

As Promised,

 Costa Rica Road Maps and Driving Maps

is Proud to Announce...

 

Interactive Driving

and City Maps of

Costa Rica!

If you would like to advertise your business on InCostaRicaGuide, click here

This Page Last Updated

Back to Top

 

©Copyright InCostaRicaGuide.com 2006 and Beyond...

All Rights Reserved