Correcting Misconceptions about Costa Rica

Probably most of your questions about Costa Rica will be answered here. Just like any other country in the world, it also has a lot of ‘mistaken identities’ to correct. What’s important is not just to judge the place with what you hear, but with what you see. 

Now, take a look on some false ideas about Costa Rica:

First and foremost, Costa Rica is NOT an island. You might read several articles about the ‘island of Costa Rica’, well, that’s wrong. What’s hard is that writers and bloggers continue to use the term without even verifying it. There are lots of articles describing it to be an island in the Caribbean, but Costa Rica is a part of a landmass called Central America that serves as a bridge to the North and Central America. In fact, Costa Rica separates two countries—the Nicaragua on the north and Panama on the south. 

Costa Rica is commonly confused to be Costa Rico. Pertaining to another familiar country of Puerto Rico, the both have no connection. They might sound nearly the same, but the two are different. As a tip, never mention this ‘nickname’ to the Ticos, (natives of Costa Rica) for sure they’ll not like it.

Living in Costa Rica will require a higher budget. Among all other North American countries, the cost of living in Costa Rica is definitely cheaper, but among Central America, this counts one of the most expensive. On a brighter note, you will not be spending for nothing, because you’ll be assured of a higher standard of living—safety, stability of the government and social system improvements. Don’t worry; there are bargains that will make you able to save some part of your money. After all, your personal cost of living will be determined by how well you manage your finances.

Costa Rica is not a third world country. When we talk of third world countries, we mean the least developed ones, and those with widespread poverty. However, Costa Rica is a developing nation, and as a sign of a progressive country, the government is stable for 60 years now; not to mention, the healthcare system that is considered one of the world’s greatest. 

You will be safe in Costa Rica. No armies and guerillas will meet you as you go there. Violent crimes are rarely heard, and the people are definitely sweet and caring. Another thing is that, drinking water in Costa Rica is definitely safe except for some remote municipalities and parks. But when you approach those areas, surely there’s signage telling you not to drink the water. Last thing is the road, theirs may not be that overdeveloped but they are being maintained by the government. Where there are damages to roads, surely they’ll fix it ahead of time. 

Image credit: http://asktheduplex.blogspot.com/

Sunken City; The Atlantis of Costa Rica

Who will not get interested about the lost world of Atlantis? It is a legendary island first introduced by Plato in his writings. Atlantis was described to have great architectural works and amazing buildings. The city was described by Plato to be found just behind the “Pillars of Hercules” in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, this magical city tragically sank into the ocean in just a day and a night. 

At present, historians and archeologists are still finding evidences about the real existence of Atlantis, or is it just a legend. But what remains true is that the story of the lost city of Atlantis has inspired and still inspiring the world’s literature from fiction novels to movies.

On a brighter note, if you’re looking for a real Atlantis in the present time without even searching the corners of the world to find it, there’s a better way. In Costa Rica there is a real and existing sunken city. Unlike Atlantis, this is believed to be sunken down not because of earthquake and flood, but because of an enlargement of a lake. 

Sunken Towns of Costa Rica

In 1978, the Costa Rican Electrical Company began constructed a hydroelectric plant in order to provide electricity of course to towns of Guanacaste, Limon and Puntarenas. This construction is to extend the area of Lake Arenal and doing this will require sinking of neighboring towns of Arenal, Pueblo Nuevo, La Tronadora, and La Argentina. These towns were flooded and soon became a part of the lake. The residents of the said town were relocated to near areas. The construction of the dam lasted for more than a year and then became the largest man-made lake in Central America. 

At present, the lake’s depth extends up to 200 feet during the wet season. When the season turns dry, the water level of the lake drops down and the remnants of the sunken towns are revealed. There you can see cemetery, a church and series of houses. 

The lake currently provides for the necessity of electricity for the majority of the country, aside from its energy and agricultural importance, the lake is also a great place for fishing and windsurfers. This place is also considered to be a great retiring area for some who wants to relax and enjoy the remaining years of their life. The Lake Arenal is located near the Arenal Volcano and Monteverde Cloud Forest wherein you can enjoy not just water activities but canopy tours and bird watching as well.

Rainforest Facts You Need to Know

Thinking of a rainforest, other than the trees and all the wildlife animals found in it, there’s so much more to just than that. As we look upon it, probably you can’t help but think about the mystery beyond the peace and solemnity it offers. Here we’ve listed some facts about the rainforest that might be the first time for you to know. 

Useful Funny Facts 

It takes 10 minutes before rainwater can touch the ground. This is due to the reason that trees in a forest canopy are so packed that rainwater takes too long before it reaches the forest floor. Imagine yourself in the forest that you cannot even feel the sunlight because of lots of broad leaves protecting you.

Sloths serve as habitat for algae. This is probably because of their very slow movements that even algae are able to breed on their fur. This is proved by the fact that some sloths have fur that appears to be greenish because of the presence of green algae in them.

Rainforests are subcategorized into two. These are temperate and tropical rainforest. Want to know the difference between the two? Just look at the names. Tropical rainforests are found in the tropics, or those near the equator like rainforests of Africa, Asia and the Pacific. On the other hand, temperate rainforests are found on the temperate zones – those between the tropical and the Polar Regions. Examples are the rainforests found on Eastern Australia and New Zealand.

14% of the portion of the Earth is covered by rainforests. That was then. At present, as we all know, our natural rainforests have been continually destroyed and cleared off for building plantations and for industrialization.

Alarming Facts

About the size of a football field is the area of rainforests destroyed each second. Can you imagine that? This can be the wake-up call for us to be fully aware and participative in saving our remaining rainforests.

There are about 2,000 rainforest trees cut down every second. This accounts for the production of human necessities like paper, gum, lumber and raw or processed foods. This condition is responsible for great human loss. We might not know but aside from the products we get from rainforests, they also serve as the world’s pharmacy, for a great number of medicines are from rainforests; they also acts as the world’s thermostat and respirator that’s why we should take considerable efforts in conserving our rainforests.

Photo credits: http://www.centralamericasecondhomes.com

Four Different Types of Monkeys found on Costa Rica Rainforest

Costa Rica is indeed blessed with a variety of wildlife creatures accenting their rainforests. In fact, a rainforest tour on a holiday will never be complete without encountering any of the country’s amazing animals. There’s one type that you can’t get your eyes off on – monkeys.

Monkeys are definitely interesting, isn’t it? With all their intelligence and human-like behaviors, no wonder we are once categorized under this order. There are old world monkeys and new world monkeys, to which monkeys found all over Costa Rica belong to the New World ones. Distinguishing characteristics of these species are flat noses, unfurred faces and long, prehensile tails. In Costa Rica, four types of monkeys can be found – Spider monkeys, Squirrel monkeys, White-faced Capuchin monkeys and Howler monkeys. All of them are considered endangered. 

Howler Monkeys

Once in a protected monkey sanctuary, probably you will hear loud roars from a distance; do not worry about lions or tigers, because those loud sounds are coming from howler monkeys. Get it from their name, these growls they make in the morning are sign of their presence and mark their territories. Howler monkeys are considered to be the largest monkey species and the loudest land mammal in the world. They are easily distinguished by dark fur all over the body. They spend almost their entire life on tree canopies and feed on leaves and fruits.

Spider Monkeys

Spider monkeys have long and slender arms which help them cling and glide through trees easily. They also have a long, prehensile tail that is used as their fifth arm. Also, this kind of monkey is considered to be the most intelligent type in Costa Rica. They communicate through body gestures. In case when they are threatened with unwanted human presence, they throw off tree branches to scare them. 

White-throated Capuchin Monkeys

The Capuchin monkeys, also known as White-faced monkeys are the most occurring species of monkeys in Costa Rica. These monkeys live in groups from 5 up to 24 and are common at some national parks like in Corcovado and Manuel Antonio Park. They are known to be good snatchers of anything edible and sparkling objects. They are also very anxious when it comes to defending their territories shown by shaking trees.

Squirrel Monkeys

This monkey can be found only on Costa Rican lowlands. They are tiny monkeys feeding on small plants and insects. One interesting thing to know about squirrel monkeys is that, they do not use their long tails for climbing but for balancing, similar to cats.


Photo credits to: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/

Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River

The Pacuare Rapids

The Pacuare River in Costa Rica offers the world’s best whitewater rafting experience in the world. Besides from being the most scenic and easily accessible river in Costa Rica, Pacuare is also the only river in the country that offers such amenities as having lush rainforest surrounding it that house ocelots, jaguars and bird life and having one of the best whitewater in the world.

Photo credits to: nytimes.com

The National Geographic considered the Pacuare River whitewater rafting as one of the world’s top ten river trips in the world; primarily not just with the rapids, but because of the wonderful scenery of virgin rainforest beside it. The river rapids goes up to class V difficulty, that’s why it is especially intended for trained and experienced  water rafters. There are tour packages along the area that provides multiple day trips, commonly two to three days for you to fully grasp the wonders of Pacuare River including hiking trails, waterfalls, and natural springs bound to make your trip real exciting.

From the Talamanca Mountain, Pacuare River Class II, III and IV rapids extend 67 miles passing through valleys and mountains covered with rainforest trees and wildlife. The river can be quite calm and steady flowing; making the rafters enjoy the rainforest on the coast for a moment, then the rapids can be made of large waves able to bring your inflatable boat crash from side to side.

How many paddlers can there be in a boat?

Rafter teams have no uniform number, but most of the time, there are 6 to 7 people setting off the boat. There are 6 paddlers in a raft; working hand in hand to angle the raft along the rocks and cliffs commanded by a trained guide. Frequently, there can be trained kayakers to accompany a raft to provide assistance in case of emergencies.

After traversing through the rapids of Pacuare River, your guide will let you enjoy the waters with the absence of the boat; you can float through the emerald green waters while taking a deep breath internalizing the comfort nature gives you. Along with the overhead vegetation and mosses surrounding the waters, you can travel through the canyon and approach a waterfall that runs into the river.

The adventure of whitewater rafting in Pacuare started more or less thirty years ago. This culture is preserved up to now due to collaboration of efforts of tour package companies around the area. This guys make sure that every adventure along the river will not cause any disturbance to the natural flow and existence of the environment.

Why Choose to Travel at Costa Rica?

Costa Rica never failed to be on the list of travelers’ most preferred travel destinations every year. In fact, it goes well with France, China and Egypt. It is one of the most developed countries in the world, and its natural environment as well as diverse wildlife just proves its supremacy when it comes to travelers’ haven.

Aside from foreign travelers for the sake of vacation, Costa Rica is also a perfect place for retirees. In this article, we’ve listed some of the important reasons why you should consider Costa Rica as a perfect place for vacation.

Vacation-friendly Climate. Most people say that you can enjoy the most comfortable seasons in Central America. In Costa Rica specifically, you can experience different seasons while you travel; feel the tropical climate along the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts, then get cool and breezy at the Central Valley. In general, the country of Costa Rica enjoys a year-round tropical climate suited for nature tripping and excursions.

It is a nature-lover's dream. It is no doubt that Costa Rica has it all when it comes to natural setting. It is surrounded with beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, and mystic mountains. Nature-packed amenities come with a great number of activities that will definitely make you love nature more. Here you can have beach galore, surfing, and rainforest trips along with other tourists. This country enchanted a huge number of visitors every year also because of its persistent conservation efforts that made wildlife species easily seen by those who want it.

It is a visitor-friendly place. No wonder it is once considered to be the happiest place on Earth in 2009. Once you get here, you’ll know more about the Ticos’ banner, “Pura Vida” or pure life. This attitude can be easily seen on Costa Rican’s lives. For them, living pure is indeed more important than a busy life and getting ahead. Another reason is that, English language is their second language that’s why it is never hard to live in here. Further, Costa Rica has one of the world’s highest life expectancy at birth.

Costa Rica offers low cost of living. A lot of things are inexpensive here; that’s why Costa Rica is giving everyone the freedom to spend with only a little as he has. On the average, expats should spend only $1500 or less each month. That budget would include bus or taxi fares, and restaurant meals. Probably one of the reason sfor this is Costa Rica’s improved infrastructures. One way or another, your cost of living will of course depend on your lifestyle.

Popular National Parks in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s National Parks are places wherein you can experience the goodness of nature at its best. Here you can get up close with steamy hot volcanoes, stunning waterfalls, and some of the remaining tropical rainforests. 

At present, there are more or less 26 National Parks in Costa Rica managed by SINAC (Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion), a department under their environmental ministry. The country’s efforts on environmental conservation and sustainable ecotourism are really impressive. This makes them produce protected areas more than 25% of the total land mass of the country. Not to mention, most of these protected areas are national parks. These national parks offer easier access to Costa Rica’s natural wonders. 

Here we have listed some of the most popular national parks in Costa Rica that you should visit:

Manuel Antonio National Park. Not depending on its relative small land area, this is the most popular national park. Best known for its wondrous beaches, its lowlands are rainforests home to a large monkey population especially the endangered squirrel monkey. It provides easy trails that will take you to the deepest face of the forest where you can find sloths, raccoons, and hummingbirds. To avoid large crowds, avoid going on early mornings. 

Corcovado National Park. This park is sometime named the most biologically intense place on Earth. It is a lowland rainforest in Central America that receives 508 cm of rain per year. It’s just so ironic that despite its popularity, it remains very remote as of the day. It has no developed roads, only dirt tracks. Anyway, the hassles it will cause you along the way will definitely vanish off as you see the 13 types of forest, stunned scarlet macaws on treetops, hawksbill, green and leatherback turtles, and the extinct Baird’s Tapirs. Other nature activities that you can try are snorkeling, camping and hiking. 

Poas Volcano National Park. Cool air, cloud forest mist, and aquamarine lagoon characterize the Poas Volcano National Park. Here you can step at the second largest crater in the world. There is a hiking trail that will bring you to Botos Lagoon exactly at the volcano’s crater. There are picnic grounds and giant ferns that will add beauty to your vacation.

Santa Rosa National Park. This national park closely resembles the African savannah. It has the largest area of tropical forest popularized by its wildlife, the Olive Ridley turtles, which considers the park an important turtle nestling site. It also has pristine beaches famous for world-class surfing.

Arenal Volcano Park. Here you can find Costa Rica’s most active volcano, the Arenal Volcano. The park offers hiking trails where you can find old lava flows, and a scenic view of the Arenal Lake. Your trip can be stunned by an overhear of the rumbling magma within the volcano’s center.