by Marina Stein

Created on: July 10, 2009   Last Updated: July 12, 2009

Costa Rica is a little country which is often called the "Switzerland of Central America". It is situated between Nicaragua and Panama and between Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The area of the country is a little less than 20 thousand square miles (19,652), population - 4 million, with 1 million living in San Jose, the capital of the country.

In 2009 Costa Rica was named the happiest country among all Americas (Northern, Central, and Southern). Life expectancy is 74 years for men, 79 years for women. Literacy rate is 96.2% and Social Security Service covers 90 percent of the population with the rest of the people being covered by federal government. Costa Rica does not have a regular army.

Costa Rica is considered to be a heaven for ecotourism with almost 25% of the land protected as national parks and preserves. There are rainforests, volcanoes (both active and sleeping), swamps, beaches, and mountains to explore and enjoy. While Costa Rica covers only 0.03% of the planet, it has more than 5% of biological species found in the world. It has 850 species of birds with 52 different hummingbird species, 1,000 species of butterflies, 220 species of reptiles, 9,000 species of plants, and 34,000 species of insects, the majority of which are spiders (20,000)!

Ecotourism provides the second biggest input in country's economy, with the first being manufacturing of chips by Intel. The profits from ecotourism are more than from export of coffee and bananas combined.

Instead of saying "She gave birth" Ticos and Ticas (that is the name Costa Rican people call themselves) say "Ella dio a luz" ("She gave light"). While referring to a spouse, Tico will say "media naranja" which means "half of an orange". "Soda" is the name for a small local restaurant. There are not a lot of street names, and addresses are usually determined as a proximity to a well-known building or church. Some addresses are referring to a structure which was destroyed as long as 20 years ago!

At 7:00 am in the morning every radio station forecast a national anthem and then the most important news and announcements for the day. If somebody dies, they are usually buried the same day (no embalming). The obituaries are run on TV several times a day so everyone can learn if they lost any relatives and make it to the funeral on time.

Driving is a challenging undertaking in Costa Rica. Bridges are usually one way, there are no signs and not a lot of street lights. Even if there is a light and it is red, don't assume that every driver will obey and stop. If somebody dies in a traffic accident, there will be a big yellow heart with a crack in it painted on the road. If you see too many of those designs while driving be more careful and drive very cautiously.

In general, Costa Rica is a friendly, safe and fun country to visit. However, it will be beneficial to be prepared and learn as much as possible about its cultural and natural environments before you leave your home.

Sources:

http://www.therealcostarica.com/other/oddsandends.ht ml

http://www.vivacostarica.com/costa-rica-information/ costa-rica-facts.html

http://www.costarica.com/about-costa-rica/useful-information/fun-facts/

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