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A full brief about Costa Rica, its people, culture, history, nature, economy, land and more.

Costa Rica is incredibly natural diverse country with a widely diverse culture, people, history, and geography.

Also, Costa Rica has major social, economic and political factors affecting local and international visitors, residents and business owners.

Costa Rica has two coasts and with that, two main cultures.  On the Pacific Ocean, typically are the Ticos (Costa Ricans) and on the Atlantic Ocean, especially in and around Limon, is an English-speaking, Jamaican influenced African-Caribbean culture.

A high altitude change throughout the central part of the country offers all ranges of precipation levels creating hundred of mico climate zones. If the desire is to experience a warm and dry climate with seasonal changes, or a jungle to still see the autumn colors in a variety of trees, then the dry forests of the northwest Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the Guancaste province could be your choice.  Tropical climates along the coasts to highland climates occur in all altitudes throughout the mountainous country offering the greatest variety of temperature zones; one of them surely will fit your definition of "perfect climate".

Costa Ricans take great pride in their country and are very honest people. The relatively low crime rate and multitude of natural diversity within such a small space makes living there an experience filled with beauty and excitement. The country offers four types of rain forests and over 60 clearly recognizable volcanoes.

Costa Rica, meaning "Rich Coast", was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish the use of a national army. Costa Rica ranks 4th in the Human Development Index, among Latin America countries. In terms of the Environmental Performance Index, Costa Rica ranks 5th in the world and number one in the Americas. Purchasing Costa Rica Properties / Real Estate is popular especially amongst North Americans and Europeans for several reasons.

Costa Rica has a total of 51,100 sq.km (19,730 sq.mil) and possesses the greatest density and biodiversity of species in the world.

The highest point in the country is Cerro Chiripo at 3,820 metres (12,532 ft). The highest volcano in the country is the Volcan Irazu (3,431 m / 11,257 ft) and there are about 60 recognizable Volcanoes with several still active.

Country Overview

Costa Rica has two coasts and with that, two cultures; on the Pacific Ocean you will find the Ticos (Costa Ricans) and on the Atlantic Ocean, especially in and around Limon, it is an English speaking; Jamaican influenced African-Caribbean culture.

A high altitude change throughout the central part of the country offers all ranges of climates. If the desire is to experience a warm and dry climate with seasonal changes, or a jungle to still see the autumn colors in a variety of trees, then the dry forests of the northwest Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the Guancaste province could be your choice.  Tropical climates along the coasts to highland climates occur in all altitudes throughout the mountainous country offering the greatest variety of temperature zones; one of them surely will fit your definition of "perfect climate".

Costa Ricans take great pride in their country and are very honest people. The relatively low crime rate and multitude of natural diversity within such a small space makes living there an experience filled with beauty and excitement. The country offers four types of rain forests and over 60 clearly recognizable volcanoes.

Costa Rica, meaning "Rich Coast", was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish the use of a national army., Costa Rica ranks 4th in the Human Development Index, among Latin America. In terms of the Environmental Performance Index Costa Rica ranks 5th in the world, and number one in the Americas.

Costa Rica's has a total of  51,100 square kilometers (19,730 square miles) and possess the greatest density and diversity of of species in the world.

The highest point in the country is Cerro Chiripo at 3,820 metres (12,532 ft), being the fifth highest peak in all of Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Volcan Irazu (3,431 m / 11,257 ft).

Costa Rica has one of the most advanced telecommunications systems in Latin America with telephones and fax machines all over the country and an increasing number of businesses online. To call or fax Costa Rica, dial the country code 506; cell phones now start with a 8 and land lines with a 2 before the 7 digit phone number you want to call. There is also mail service and an ample selection of courier services in San Jose. Most large hotels have cable television with U.S. and European stations. Newspapers and magazines from North America and several European nations are sold in many shops and hotels in and around the capital. It is easy to get around Costa Rica, and if you stick with public transportation, traveling within the country can be quite inexpensive. There are bus services to just about every town and city. Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive, and in San Jose, they are required to use meters for most trips. The quickest way to get around is to fly, and several domestic airlines offer daily flights to most of the popular tourist destinations. Sansa and Nature Air are two from which to choose. There are also plenty of car rental agencies spread throughout the tourist concentrated regions of the country most of which rent four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Geography: Costa Rica has a total land mass of 50,660 square kilometers with a total of 639 kilometers of border line shared by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to its south. Costa Rica has a tropical and subtropical environment with four different types of forests and a proportional large area of coast line for its size with a total of 1290 km. The climate varies greatly depending on location-dry in the northwest, hot and humid on either coast line and cooler in highlands. The elevation extremes are enormous for such a small country. Central America was created volcanic eruptions which created the bridge between North and South America making it possible for animal migration. Through the last Ice-Age the largest biodiversity survived in and around Costa Rica. Of this historic volcanic activity, at least sixty volcanoes are found in Costa Rica. The highest mountain peak is Cerro Chirripo with an altitude of 3810 meters (app.11,500ft). Costa Rica has overall a very stable temperature despite its seasonal changes, with the dry season lasting from December through April and the rainy season from May through November

Environmental overview: Some international agreements Costa Rica is party to are: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, and Marine Life Conservation

Article courtesy of CostaRica-Information.com

What is Expotur?

EXPOTUR is the travel trade-mart of Costa Rica and the region, this year from May 8th to 10th for the industry visitors and a second part on 11 and 12 of May open to public.
It offers all participants an excellent opportunity for finding new travel products and know a lot more about all regions of Costa Rica.

With 28 uninterrupted years, it represents the best platform for those who want to put together a travel package containing excellent value, and at the same time receive a good return on their investment.

This event, organized by the Costa Rican Association of Professionals in Tourism -ACOPROT - gathers more than 300 representatives of tourism  companies in Costa Rica and the region.
The variety and quality of tourism products and services is one of the major attractions for those who come looking for new products and programs for their clients.
The participation of sellers of products and services, focused in different segments of the tourist trade, allows buyers to select the companies which will offer them the best selection of products for their needs. Thus, the supply of services to choose from include, airlines, hotels, car rentals as well as  specific products such as sports  activities, weddings and honeymoons, sun and beach activities, eco-tourism, adventure, medical tourism, holistic tourism, and many others.
Much emphasis has been placed on meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions as well as corporate travel, educational tourism, senior tourism and cultural tourism.
The sellers represent all the tourist regions of Costa Rica and Central American countries.
The  buyers consist of  international wholesalers of three continents and  in addition, some wholesale companies have been honouring  us with their presence since the first edition of our event in 1985. This is without a doubt a sample of loyalty, effectiveness and the seriousness of EXPOTUR.
Also, to get familiar with the innovations and the new tourism offers of the country, Post Tours are available to buyers, so that they may experience the variety and quality of products offered in the Travel-mart. The consolidation of the event, plus a professional organization guarantees effective and quality negotiations.
Do not miss this opportunity to discover why EXPOTUR creates the perfect climate for you to connect with the best businesses of the tourism industry of the region.

During this fair, different companies from all industrial activities will showcase their products and share the opportunity to do business with other companies, nationally and internationally.

• Industrial companies engaged in: Food and Beverage, Metalworking, Wood Products & Furniture, Non-metallic Mineral Products, Packaging, Textiles, Printing Industry, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, and other manufacturing industries.
• Suppliers of machinery and equipment, supplies and services for the industry.
• National and international buyers.
• Exhibit Area (stands) and Metalworking Sector Showroom: will have 200 stands where companies can showcase their products to customers and potential buyers. In addition, we will Metalmecánico Showroom, a specially equipped hall for industries of this specific sector can exhibit their machinery in a comfortable and suits your needs.

• Conference Program: to strengthen the four major themes for the Chamber of Industry and for industry in general, we decided to focus our conference program on the following topics: innovation, energy efficiency, and Human Resource Eco-efficiency.
• Center for Creating Business Roundtable and Chains: The business conference aims to enable networking through business agendas between the participating companies and visitors buyers, both local and international. Through the program by creating chains, small and medium enterprises have the opportunity to generate business linkages with large national and transnational entities.

Tico Glossary : The essentials for visitors and newcomers.

One of the tasks that await us when we visit a new country is familiarizing ourselves with the expressions and nuances of the particular language of the area and Costa Rica is no exception.
The “Tico” Spanish is rich in variations and unique expressions well worth learning.

Pura Vida! (Pura = Pure  /  Vida = Life).

Together, these two words represent Costa Rica worldwide. 
They are joined as an expression of the pleasure and satisfaction about life that is characteristic of Costa Rican citizens. It is equivalent to saying “Everything is great!” or “Life is so good!”.
Pura Vida is used to show appreciation for life but is also used to describe positive people and nice situations. When locals are asked, “How are you?”, the most common answer will be “Puuuura Vida!”

In the process of fully speaking and understanding the “Pura Vida language”  these are other basic words that you will frequently hear:

Tico / Tica: Costa Rican. 
Chunche: Any object with a difficult or unknown name.

Macho / Macha: Light skinned person.

Brete: Work.

Varas: Excuses, pretexts.

Vacilón: Something fun or curious.

Pachuco: Vulgar language or person.

Pinche: Cheap, stingy.

Chingo: Naked, nude.

Pelón: Bald.

Asking directions

Directions in Costa Rica are pretty hard, since most of the streets are not named and most houses not numbered.   Due to this, directions are usually given using distance in meters from one point of reference to another.

For instance, typical Tico directions sound something like this:  
“From the ex-Toyota Building, 150 meters South and 80 meters East, on the two floors house with  black fence in front of the mango tree. Office number 3.”
Funny, isn’t it?

A German friend always practicing his Spanish, was continually confused each time he asked for directions, because he always heard a word that he thought was “Cigarretto”. He could not understand how this “Italian cigar” could help him find his destination. He laughed for a long time when I explained that people were actually saying, “Siga Recto”, the classical way Tico’s express,  “continue straight”.

“

Ahorita”…. 
A magical word:

This diminutive of “ahora” (in English “now”) is a key word used in everyday life in Costa Rica. Curiously, it could mean “right now” or it could mean “in a moment” which could range from a few minutes to several hours later.

This is a measure of time that does not represent a strict nor quantified commitment, and in turn places no limitation on the freedom of action (or inaction) for whoever promises “to do it ahorita”.  For this reason, when you are told “I’ll get there ahorita” or “I’ll send it ahorita”, it’s always prudent to clarify: Ahorita…right now?  Or…ahorita later?

Some very common expressions:

Upeehh: Expression used to call when you arrive to a place (if no one has noticed yet) or when you are outside someone’s house.

Por dicha: Luckily.

¿Al chile?: Really?

¿Le cuadra?: Do you like it?

¡Sóquele!: Hurry up!

¡Jue'puña!: Similar to “Good grief!”

No sia tonto mae!: No way! That’s incredible

Andar salado: Without any luck.

Hablar pajas: Only making trite remarks.

Ser care'barro: Being shameless, barefaced.

Ponerse chiva: To get angry.

Jugar de vivo: To act arrogant, to show off.

Hacerse el maje: To avoid responsibility.

Tico Verbs

There are several “new verbs” to be learned in Costa Rica even by those who are already fluent in Spanish.

Socar : Could mean ‘to tighten up’ or ‘to hurry up’, depending on context.

Estrilar: To complain, to yell.

Chinear: To spoil someone, to treat lovingly or well.

Estripar: To squeeze, press or compress.

Pringar: To splash, sprinkle or stain something.

Rulear: To sleep
Jamar : To eat

Trolear: To walk

Bretear: To work

Chanear: To fix or improve the appearance of something.

Talking about drinks.

Guaro: Name of the national distilled liquor. Guaro is also used to talk about any other beverage containing alcohol.

Una fría: A cold beer.

Estar tapis: To be drunk.

Goma: Hangover.


Talking about food.

Casado: Typical Costa Rican dish consisting 
of rice, beans, meat, salad and fried plantain.

Gallito: Light meal made with tortilla, salad and meat.

Bocas: Hors d’oeuvres that accompany alcoholic drinks.

Olla de carne: Traditional meat and vegetable soup.

Soda: A humble restaurant

You know… for a fact you have heard it. Everyone says that Costa Rica is a Pura Vida country! When visiting the country or living here for a while, the vast majority of people are fortunate enough to confirm it. This is truly a country where it’s easy to enjoy life. But…is it so for everyone?

When we talk about Pura Vida we are in essence referring to a feeling that lives in the heart and flows through the veins of each Costa Rican and that is spontaneously transmitted to the visitors who set foot in this land. The philosophy of Pura Vida is in the genes of all Costa Ricans and is easily transmitted by oral and physical contact. That is, one can acquire it through conversations and smiles, and then little by little, it starts permeating through each of our pores.

Pura Vida is a special outlook on life. It is a philosophy that states that happiness is found in the simple things, in the manner in which one perceives life, how one relates to the world and values the details on a day-to-day basis.

When we use PURA VIDA to define the country, we are basically saying that this is a country that lives in peace and harmony. A country without stress. A friendly, loving, and hospitable country. A country with few prejudices. A country without trauma and with no army. A clean, solidary, noble, respectful of the Earth country, and a country that has learned to take it easy in life but still attaining outstanding international records of pacifism, social justice, stability, citizens happyness, a Nobel Price for Peace, the widest Blue Zone area in the world, more than 94% of the energy coming from renewable sources, and some very uncommon but brave desicions like disolve the army 60 years ago and put the formerly military budget into the education system, or that desicion of preserve for the future generations more than 25% of the country territory.

All these virtues add to the beauty of its exuberant nature and make Costa Rica as a whole a good place to live…. a very good place.

These are the reasons why Costa Ricans love their country so much and so many foreigners choose it for a vacation or as a place to start a new life.

But enough compliments! Every coin has two sides and the truth is that all those specific conditions in which we have found so many positive things, are, for a few suffering newcomers, the beginning of a total nightmare! There aren’t many such instances, but they are there.

It isn’t rare in Costa Rica to see a foreigner furious because the way of doing things here is very different from how they would be done in their country of origin. It isn’t rare either to see another individual highly upset because an order they placed several days prior is not ready or because things do not move as quickly or in the manner in which they are accustomed.

Costa Rica has achieved all the good conditions previously mentioned, by opting for a unique set of priorities and in turn has chosen to minimize the importance of other factors. One could say that the major priority of Costa Rica is the degree of happiness achieved each day and the satisfaction that each citizen feels about his or her life.

While in most of developed countries, professionalism, efficiency and business image can be extremely relevant and play a huge social rol, for a good number of Costa Ricans might not be the most relevant priority.

It's good to understand early that here the concept of success could be different.  It has much more to do with the personal and family happiness than with money, projects or work-related issues.

The Pura Vida citizen (could be CR born or inmigrant converted) will always take care of having enough time to dedicate to the family and the enjoyment of life. They will make sure to side step stress and evade suffering for things not worth of suffering for.

This does not mean that in the country problems are not resolved...sometimes could take extra time but always get done. What is very likely is that when doing each thing, people here will try to enjoy the process and suffer less stress...

The route to Pura Vida

Mental peace is a fundamental requirement to feeling completely satisfied and fulfilled in one’s life. To attain mental peace, the first major requirement is…. not to live stressed, which is quite the opposite to mental armony. Stress is a bad guy expert in steal our intellectual and emotional peace.

In Costa Rica, this is something that has always been known.

The CR recipe: Take it easy in life. 

The cost: Once in a while, someone who i s in a hurry will get upset.

Costa Rica with a European mentality would no longer be Costa Rica and perhaps it would not be a country so Pura Vida anymore.

The best thing that new residents can do is to read about Costa Rica's history (extremely helpful!), read the news, learn the language, make tico friends...

Much sooner than later, you will be loving and deeply respecting this unique culture.

Other suggestions that can help you to better embrace the Pura Vida way.

Dealing with complacency:

-When you need something in a hurry, the best thing is to request it with humility and to explain the situation. Don’t forget, you are the one in a bind. In Costa Rica people are much more responsive when you speak from your heart. You will get a much greater commitment and better results appealing to their solidarity than by being arrogant.

-Be more open in your expectations about deadlines and always allow for a margin of delay and the 'unexpected'.

-To prevent misunderstandings when placing an order or assigning a duty, always explain in full detail what do you want and how do you want. Most uncomfortable situations are a result of an error at initial communication. If you do not speak Spanish yet, it is wise to take someone with you to translate your instructions. This will help you avoid misunderstandings and will also assist you in a better negotiation.

-If things don’t go as you expect, take a deep breath and then think of a solution. Skip the getting angry part. It's useless here and actually can make the things worse, closing you the door for a solution.

To live... Pura Vida:

* Appreciate your surroundings. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the breeze on your face, the endearments of your children, that juicy mango, a walk on the beach, the sunset, the night, the day, your friends…Feel more deeply the sounds, the aromas, the colors, the textures, the smiles….

* Re-prioritize what is truly important for your happiness and what is not. Concentrate much more on the first.

* Complain less about what you don’t have and appreciate more what you do have.

* Celebrate and be grateful for the good things, from the smallest details to the largest achievements.

* Send out good vibes and they will multiply.

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A Catholic festival that is celebrated also in other coastal towns of Costa Rica. The celebrations include a parade of fishing boats and yachts decorated colorfully. One boat carries an image of the vigin of Puntarenas, La Virgen del Monte Carmelo, religious celebrations, parades, concerts, dances, sports competitions and fireworks.