COSTA RICA
COSTA RICA
Eco-friendly Costa Rica (CR) is a land of breadth and depth in terms of culture, nature, and diversity. CR is known not for too many novel things but at least where it counts such as the rendered first in the Happy Planet Index, which takes a country’s sustainability into account, and at the same time, the “greenest country” in the world. Costa Rica a developing country that is the essence of peace and tranquility in South America ever since, void of any conflict with other countries and abounding in pride. Travelling to Costa Rica is paradoxical of its green campaign, but CR is essentially the place in the world to travel and cut down on the carbon. For the eco-traveller, Costa Rica ought to be your next destination.
GEOGRAPHY
Costa Rica (10 00 N, 84 00 W) in Central America borders both the North Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. The country, with a total area of 51,100 km2, lies between Nicaragua and Panama. With a long coastline of 1,290 km, CR is mostly coastal plains divided by mountains and over 100 volcanic cones. This is cause to the occasional earthquakes and landslides, and in turn, frequent flooding of lowlands. The highest point thereof is the Cerro Chirripo, 3,810 m above sea level.
CLIMATE
That the small country of Costa Rica is diverse is an understatement, although the climate generally ranges from tropical to subtropical. The dry season happens between December and April while the wet (rainy) season from May to November, roundabouts. The land in itself delights in a multeity of weathers such as sweltering in the coasts and warm in the Central Valley and in San Jose. Of course, it is colder in the highlands.Hurricanes assail its coast to the Atlantic while floods frequent the lowlands.
PEOPLE
Based on the latest population estimate (July 2012), Costa Ricans have reached the population of 4,636,348 of mostly white, both castizo (pure Spanish) and mestizo which comprise around 94% of the demographic. The white population is mostly of Spanish decent while also of other European ancestry including Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Lebanese, Polish, and Portuguese. Blacks and Afro-Caribbeans constitute 3% of the population while Native Americans, less than 1%. Immigrant populations account the Chinese and others.
LANGUAGE
The primary and official language of the Republic of Costa Rica is SPANISH (with 3.3 million speakers) out of the 10 languages of the country (all living languages). Native languages like BRIBRI and CABECAR each have about 10,000 speakers, and others, less than a thousand. ENGLISH is also widely used in particular Limón Creole English with around 55,000 speakers. Foreign languages spoken in the islands include BASQUE, YUE CHINESE, and EASTERN YIDDISH.
RELIGION
Roman Catholicism is Costa Rica’s official state religion with roots traced to the 1949 Constitution. Costa Rica as a whole is predominantly Christian as the remaining population being Protestants, including Evangelical, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others. Chinese immigrants on the other hand have brought Buddhism to the country and has now grown, as well as Judaism, Hinduism, Bahai, and Islam.
ATTRACTIONS
Costa Rica prides on a variety of landscapes, microclimates, and wildlife, but one thing remains constant – the traveller always enjoys its diversity. Costa Rica is peaceful characterized by a general absence of conflict with other countries. In the world of tourism, CR exudes good repute for “clean and green” and adventure-packed travel. In short, nature is adventure. Everyone that goes to Costa Rica jumps at the zipline tours in many locations including that in Rincón de la Vieja National Park for an in-your-face experience of rare birds and monkeys and the forest in general, at the world’s greenest country.
Talk about wildlife, the quetzal in the Monteverde Cloud Forests is the Holy Grail of Costa Rica’s tropical birds, turtles in Tortuguero Park, while dogs are just everywhere. CR has got plenty of staggering structures like the parks like the Parque Nacional, Parque Central, and Parque Morazán. Finding cold waterfalls like they are secret gems are worth a hot, long hike. Costa Rica is a great tourist destination for all exploits.
Helicopter tours are also an astonishing option in off-the-beaten path Nosara where you can river raft. Surfing is kicking at Playas Tamarindo, Jacó, and the undiscovered playas in Nicoya Peninsula at the northern coast such as Montezuma and Mal País(Santa Teresa). And of course, good times or bad times, San Jose, the capital is brimming with its own adventure kicks and Liberia, of colonial history. Of course, with coffee as one of the main produces, a tranquil day at a coffee plantation will make for a fine day as in the sustainable coffee plantation of Finca Rosa Blanca outside of San Jose.
FOOD
Costa Rica is the “greenest” country, and you bet can eat right out of the ground its organic produces that exemplifies the Costa Ricans’ principle of “Pura Vida” which means pure life - a phrase they substitute for “hello” or as response to “how are you”. The Costa Rican cuisine is as rich as the land, its offers varying from Western such as Italian, French, and American to Oriental cuisine like Japanese and Chinese.
Costa Rican gastronomy is rich, flavoursome, and wholesome, while at times spicy due to Mexican influences. Ham sandwich is standard breakfast, as is the rice-and-bean dish called gallo pinto. But lunch, typically a dish of beans, rice, salad, fried plantain, and stewed fish, chicken, or beef called casado is never ought to be missed. Costa Rica prides on fresh, organic, and healthy produce, that enhances an already exemplary cuisine. The gastronomy leans towards hearty including stews and soups like picadillo, olla de carne, and sopa negra. Finally, drink a perfect cup of coffee, or even learn how to prepare it.
Josh Boorman
Editor-in-chief
Backpacking Addictz
Twitter: @backpackaddictz
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