About Costa Rica

You will find Costa Rica (Spanish for "Rich Coast")(click here for map) between Panama and Nicaragua in Central America - it is a little bigger than Switzerland. Ten percent of the country's 4 million inhabitants live in San José, and more than half of the population lives in the Central Valley around the capital in less than 20% of the total territory. There are several active volcanos here: Irazú, Poás, Rincón de la Vieja and Arenal, the most active of all with eruptions every 15 minutes.

While I have heard Costa Rica referred as “the poor man’s Hawaii” and more often as “pura vida” or “the good life”, it does seem to be the ultimate paradise with its abundance of fauna (animals) and flora (plants) – not to mention: the country has no military, no nuclear power plants, almost no illiteracy, lots of culture and, my favorite, no winter. Thanks to the openness and friendliness of Ticos (the popular name given to Costa Rican locals) toward foreigners and a thousand other reasons, Costa Rica is ideal for people who want to have a relaxing and affordable vacation or, in my case, to retire. Costa Rica is the most politically stable and the richest country in Latin America.

I believe that one of the main reasons Costa Rica is called the Switzerland of Central America is its educational system. Costa Rica's high education levels - besides the absence of a military - are probably what make it the most politically stable country in Latin America.

Costa Rica is mainly an agricultural country, but compared to other Latin American nations, it boosts a much higher living standard. Forty percent of the country's territory is utilized for agriculture, chiefly coffee and bananas. Other important crops are organic vegetables, fruits, cacao, sugar cane, corn, rice, sorghum, beans, potatoes, pineapples, tobacco, cotton, and sisal hemp. Despite the great variety of mineral wealth (bauxite, copper, zinc, lead, and manganese) only gold, silver and sea salt are being exploited. Electricity is produced by hydroelectric plants and is partly exported.

Costa Rica has only two seasons: dry and wet (green). The dry season with very little rain is generally between late December and April and the green or wet season lasts the rest of the year - May through November but still offers an average of about 5 hours of daily sunshine. The Caribbean coast does not have this extended dry weather and stays wet (green) all year round and, due to the humidity tends to be a little oppressive sometimes. The Pacific coast, although very beautiful with gorgeous beaches, also tends to be very hot year round. Costa Rica's climate is considered the healthiest climate of the world (according to a NASA research study).