Why Costa Rica?

Even though Costa Rica is a small country, it has a great biological and habitat diversity due to the convergence of two hemispheres, two oceans, and its varying geography. This creates wonderful changing views for travelers. There is a chain of mountains that forms a back- bone down the length of Costa Rica.

They start in the north with the Guanacaste "Cordillera" (mountain range), continues with the Tilaran Cordillera (location of Monteverde and Arenal), the Central Cordillera (Irazu, Poas, Braulio Carrillo), and finishes with the southern Talamanca Cordillera (which is the highest in the country).

While the Pacific coastline is almost 780 miles (1,254 km), the Caribbean is only 132 miles (212 km). Hilly peninsulas are settled in the Pacific coast. There are two large gulfs, and many small coves and bays. Two major commercial ports are located in the Pacific: Puntarenas and Puerto Caldera. On the Caribbean, there is a natural harbor in the Moin - Limon area. It is the largest area of lowland plains (about one-fifth of Costa Rica), which stretches back from the northern coastline almost to Limon.

Costa Rica lies in the tropics between 8 and 11 degrees north of the equator. You might expect moderate temperatures, but the rugged mountain chain's effect on factors such as wind, and rain, creating many microclimates. Most people are surprised to learn that frost and ice can occur on some of the loftier peaks, such as Chirripo. Temperatures are somewhat higher on the Pacific side than on the Caribbean at the same elevation because there are more clouds on the Caribbean watershed year-round than on the Pacific. At sea level on either side, the annual average is always above 75°F (24°C). Some of the highest peaks average 54°F (12°C), though temperatures there can fall below freezing.

There is not spring, or fall times in Costa Rica. The seasons are called verano (summer) and invierno (winter).They are just a dry season (since December until April) and a rainy season (since May until November). Temperature has more variation from night to day than from verano to invierno. Difference in daily temperatures averages 14°F to 18°F (8°C to 10°C). From November to January, cold breezes from the north funnel through the mountains of North America causing a little down in temperature. This is one of the few countries in the world in which polar air gets this close to the equator. The warmest months are March, April, and May, and the wettest months are September and October. Rainfall amounts vary from less than 59 inches (1500mm) to more than 190 inches (4800mm) during these months. The country's average rainfall pattern is in the range of 79 to 158 inches (2,000 to 4,000 mm). Precipitation can come in the form of a tropical downpour with impressive lightning and thunder (aguacero), steady rain, or the less common, a continuous light rain for several days (temporal).

Even in the rainy season, rain will not fall during the all day, every day. It usually begins in early afternoon in the Central Valley and other highland areas, but later in the afternoon in the Pacific lowlands. Each season has its own beauty and unique characteristics. In wetter times the flora is profuse, with a vibrant life that gets into the soul. In the dry season the background is perfect for orchids, bougainvilleas, reina de la noche (queen of the night), as well as for colorful trees that flower only then.

Costa Rica can boast that it is the country with the highest percentage (25%) of its territory designated as protected areas: Forest Reserves, Biological Reserves, Nature Shelters, and of course, National Parks. These is another of the good reasons why many Europeans and North Americans, further than coming to travel, have made this land their home being nowadays around 1% of the Costa Rican population.

Location

Costa Rica is located within the following geographic coordinate system geographical: 8° 03' - 11 ° 13' north latitude and 82” 32' - 85° 57’ west longitude. Including its insular area has an extension of 51,100 km2. Costa Rica next to Belize and El Salvador is one of the smallest republics of Central America. It limits in the north with Nicaragua, in the south with Panama, in the east with the Caribbean Sea and the west with the Pacific Ocean.

The length of the seaboard comprises 1,228 km, of which 1,016 are in the Pacific coast and 212 km in the Caribbean side. The pacific coast presents series of irregularities like peninsulas, gulfs and bays. This circumstance facilitates the establishment of harbor zones and the tourist development. On the other side, the coast of the Caribbean is regular, but inappropriate for this type of facilities.

Since its origins like an isthmus territory, it has been biological bridge where coexist species of flora and fauna. They belong to the NeArctic, the Neotropic and some of the West Indies region. Due to this biodiversity some life zones have existed, they include coastal landscapes at the sea level and also some desert landscapes on the 3,000 altitude meters.

The biodiversity allows the country to have an internal study of reptiles and amphibious around 360 species (150 amphibians and 210 reptiles), birds for approximately 850 species (625 nest and 225 are migratory), one mammals for almost 205 species, between which we found bats and non- flying mammals.

Area

Geographic Division

Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces (States) which are: Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, & San José (Capital City).

Here, geography constricts a breathtaking amount of plant and animal life within a modest 19,563 square miles (50,900 sq. km), an area comparable in size to Denmark or West Virginia. Within this diminutive nation is found an astonishing five percent of the world's biodiversity, including more than 800 species of ferns, 1,000 of orchids, 2,000 kinds of trees, and 200 species of mammals.

Both coastlines of Costa Rica have an abundance of beaches, though the Pacific strands are generally both less developed and less spacious. Between the coasts, the interior of the country is shaped by four cordilleras, or mountain ranges, which run from North to South. The capital, San Jose, rests roughly in the nation's center, settled within a highland valley. Cascading down to the Caribbean from the central mountains are Costa Rica's many great rivers, including the Reventazon. The Pacific side is marked by two broad peninsulas that hook out into the Pacific, the Nicoya and the Osa. It is a geographic curiosity that their shapes are almost identical, the Osa being a smaller rendition of the Nicoya.

Climate

Costa Rica's climate is renowned as an atmospheric treat. Mild subtropical conditions prevail year-round, and discomforting temperature extremes and prolonged periods of gray are practically nonexistent. Temperature varies mainly according to elevation, the higher the cooler. The brunt of the rainy season lasts from May through November, while a brief dry spell pays a visit from February to April. Costa Rica's rain falls mainly on the Caribbean coast, giving the Pacific a much more arid climate.

Language

The most widely spoken language in Costa Rica is Spanish (97% of the population); although there are other native languages used mostly within the indigenous reserves. Many businesses, in and around San Jose, and resorts throughout the country have employees who also speak English.

Electricity

It is 110 volts. Plugs are two pronged without the grounding prong.

Currency & Exchange Rate

The Colon (¢1.00) is the national currency of Costa Rica. The exchange rate against the US dollar can vary day by day, but as of june 10 2009, it was ¢556.86 colones per dollar.However we will suggest to exchange money at the National Banking System.

Credit Cards

Automated Teller Machines (ATM's) can be easily found in most populated areas of Costa Rica. Most international credit cards are accepted throughout the country: Visa, Master Card and American Express.

Tipping

Most restaurants will include a 10% service charge at the bill. Taxi drivers generally do not receive a tip. If you are satisfied with the service you receive, hotel maids, tour guides and drivers would appreciate a tip.

The Central Market

The Central Market is probable a known place by all Costa Rica and many of the foreigners that visit our country. This market together with the church, the headquarters, the plaza and the theatre are the most representative places where the history of the old San Jose.
San Jose was called La Boca del Monte by our ancestors.
La Boca del Monte was the main entrance for the central part of the country and a place where the old farmers lived together with the families.

The Central Market is more than a common sale place. It is a congregation place and privileged in which city life passes day by day.
They all think that our country is wonderful and people are friendly. However represent all the layers of Costa Rica, living together in a warm, movable space, full of surprises, and according to many thoughts, all Costa Ricans are eternal.

Founded in 1882, it was next to the old National Palace, seat of the Presidency and the Legislative Assembly. It has been remodeled several times through the years, but it still has kept its labyrinth-structure where one may enter and loose itself inside. The Central Market has several doors that flow out into main streets and avenues that are the environment of the capital city, so it makes it easier to loose yourself.

For an assiduous visitor and foreigners that live in Costa Rica became regulars, the Central Market mirrors are a perfect way of life in Costa Rican, that you can clearly see it in this market.

First of all in this famous place the native food restaurants are very important, steaming and delicious. The food here goes from a huge pot into your mouth. The secret is that all food is made with old recipes that the ingenuity of cooks turns into new recipes day by day. This is because of the seasoning and the ingredients selections. It is important to mention that each time people cook use inventiveness and creativeness.

Tourists and public employees from the surrounding area say that this is fast food and cheap. Travelers from provinces who visit the Central Market in order to taste delicacies as legendary Lolo Mora´s ice cream, tamales and chocolate from Soda Tapia. Both restaurants have more than 50 years serving.

All of their menus have been varied so that we can see them as cosmopolitan places nowadays, without losing the native taste of the seasoning and the Costa Rican style of the “casado” (national plate with rice, beans, salad, meat, chicken or fish, cheese and tortillas)or “gallo pinto”(rice with beans) with a good glass of “agua dulce”.(water with special national sugar candy)

The Central Market is warm and everyone feels submerged in the tenderness of daily life.
In the Central Market you are looked upon as a person; in a world that outside seems to us inhuman. You can smell the aroma of the delicious tortillas, made by charming girls, with a bit of fresh cheese to give them the definite flavor of an exquisite delicacy, only seen in Costa Rica. For those who like and love tidbits there are guava marmalade, figs in syrup mangoes, special desserts: rice and milk, sugary bananas and the delicious fried plantains which have been a part of the traditional food for almost a century in the whole country, obviously in some regions more than in others.

The Central market has its own life. From dawn till sunset it has a bustle that attracts more than twenty thousand people, all of them looking for things to buy, window shopping or just visiting to greet friends, which is a Costa Rican custom that is known as social gathering.

Fifty years ago, you could see such important figures as former president of the Republic, taking care of the flower shops. There was also the current president of the Supreme Court who still visits the place.
The Central Market of San Jose is proud of its history. Many of the shops have been selling the same things for almost a century, from sophisticated imported spices and porcelains to the modern plastic items that show the kitsch that taste of the shoppers.
 
Specially important are the shops that sell medicinal plants, you can find magic herbs to fight of all illnesses, from gastric cancer to migraine, so say the convincing salesmen and people who have taste them. Traditional botany, a mirror of the popular culture, is an important part of the market and has produced specialist in plants. The “yerberos” come from different parts of the country are an important part of the people that you find there and the only ones who really know what are you looking for.

The Central Market of San Jose would not be complete without the flowers shops that offer many kinds, you can find shops that offer from the most humble and wild ones to the most beautiful ones that are product of the mix of foreign seeds and the national climate. The flowers give a special touch as well as whirlwind of visitors with their delicate odors and attractive colors.

For the good smoker, the Central Market also has several shops that offer national tobacco, the habanos, as well as the finest tobaccos imported form Europe and the Caribbean.

In the lively space of the Central Market you can approach the diverse social classes, native and imported products, the wealth of our natural resources  as the usage of a popular language, where you can see the idiosyncrasies and expressiveness of the Costa Rican thorough the years.

As a gathering place to search for communications it is unchangeable, together with its personalities and shops where visitors arrive to talk, discuss national affairs and to set the world in order in a particularly expressive phrase of the national language heard everywhere.

Worked in the Central Market of San Jose is a part of the lineage of many citizens who are proud of their labor. Untouched by time, respected by everybody, included every respectable tourists guide, the space created by Costa Rican history is always the same and always different.

It is a symbol and a reality of the daily life of a modern Costa Rica, a life you can feel and live, enjoying the admirable heritage of a civil period that is a heritage of our ancestors, farmers and simple peasants that build the democracy of which we are so proud.