Costa Rica
The country of Costa Rica is located in Central America and a quarter of the people who live in the country call the capital city of San Jose their home. Other countries surround Costa Rica, including Nicaragua to the North, Ecuador to the South, and Panama to the Southeast. The Pacific Ocean is along the Western Coast and the Caribbean Sea is to the East.
This country has some different perspectives when it comes to how they live and that began centuries ago when the indigenous people lived there. The Spaniards ruled over the country beginning in the 16th century, followed by the First Mexican Empire, and then the United Provinces of Central America. See, there wasn’t much fighting over who was in charge and the country did not change rulers dozens of times! There was a small civil war once the country declared sovereignty back in 1847, but it was short and the government abolished their army in 1949 and everything seems to be running smoothly without it.
There are at least fourteen active volcanoes in Costa Rica and at least six of them have erupted during the last century. In addition to the volcanoes, Costa Rica is known to have an earthquake on occasion, and while these have not been horrendous, some of them have measured higher than a five on the Richter scale.
The protected areas of the country allow the flowers and animals to flourish in their surroundings. All four Costa Rican monkey species can be found in Corcovado National Park and monkeys, sloths, birds, and turtles can be found within the Tortuguero National Park.
The weather in Costa Rica is considered to be tropical throughout the year and there is a dry season from December through April and a rainy season the rest of the year. The rainy season does occur at the same time as the hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean and many places will find that it never seems to stop raining during the months when the hurricanes are most likely to form.
Here are some interesting and unique facts about the country of Costa Rica:
· The people who live in Costa Rica refer to themselves as Ticos and Ticas.
· They refer to foreigners as Gringos and Gringas.
· The national tree of Costa Rica is the Guanacaste.
· The country has more than eight hundred miles of coastline.
· The highest point in the country is Chirripo Mountain at 12,500 feet.
· The lowest point, 790 feet, in the country can be found within the caves at Barra Honda National Park.
· A small restaurant that serves traditional meals for $2-$3 a plate is known as a soda.
· A neighborhood convenient store is called a pulperia.
· There are fifty-two different species of hummingbirds in the country.
Everyone loves visiting Costa Rica, because it is a tropical lover’s paradise. The amount of wildlife that can be seen along with the warm weather is a plus for many people who love to be outdoors throughout the entire year.
