Costa Rica has a reputation for having long, beautiful beaches, mountains, volcanos, and incredible beauty. It is for sure a very engaging country and I am thankful for our chance to see this wonderful place ourselves. While I’ve shared many of our experiences, I feel it’s important to touch on some incredible characteristics to which I may not have given enough attention.
First and foremost Costa Rica is one of the cleanest countries we’ve ever visited. Sure, the city of San Jose is a little tired and not as clean as it could be, but there is not a lot of litter and much of the dirt on streets and walkways is from heavy pedestrian and automobile traffic. The countryside, however, and we saw a lot of it, is pristine. To see a plastic bottle or soda can lying on the roadside is a rarity. Their national parks are perfectly clean as well. You’ll see no leftover wrappers or bottles there. Leaving trash is just not done in Costa Rica.
Second, Latin American countries sometimes get a bad rap, especially in movies and on TV. Some are indeed dangerous, but Coast Rica is a safe country. We felt secure everywhere we went but as in every large city all over the world there are always some areas where intuition warns: Beware. In all our travels, when we accidentally find ourselves in what might be a sketchy area, we make haste out of there pronto. One unusual locale for caution was Monteverde. Generally a very safe place for visitors and backpackers, we were warned to be cautious there in Monteverde. Because this area frequently has more tourists than residents in town, dangerous people sometimes move in to take advantage of novice travelers. “If your car has a flat, keep driving until a public place can be reached. Do not accept ‘help’ from a stranger. Do not go out at night unless in a group.” This is probably good advice that fits well anywhere.
There once was a time when travelers to Costa Rica spoke of it as a cheap place to live and visit. While that may be true pre-Covid, it is not true any longer. The costs for food, gasoline, and housing rivals costs in Europe. And the high prices are not targeted at tourists. Food in supermercados, restaurants and even mom-and-pop “sodas” (traditionally places for typical and cheap Costa Rican dishes) are much more expensive than before. Prices posted are always in Costa Rican colones. Because the number is so large, posted prices can deceive a person accustomed to seeing prices in US dollars. For example, when an item on the menu costs ₡10.000. That looks a little like $10 but in USD that’s $18.00. Even a bottle of water can cost ₡2200 and a Diet Coke or other soda will cost ₡2676 or $5.00. Meat prices are exorbitant. Pollo costs about $8.00 per pound. A loaf of very plain bread costs $3.00. Everyone pays these prices, not just tourists. The very best buy we found was lobster tails sold from a casa at Playa Lagarto. We got ten medium tails for ₡12,000 or $21. I could have died they were so good. They were worth every penny and more!
There is no typical Costa Rican weather except for rainy and dry seasons. Still, the various land elevations create great differences in Costa Rican climates. Mountain regions and even mountain valleys are cool, breezy, and green, green, green. Coastal areas are usually dry, windy, and hot just about all the time. In the time we spent in San Jose, La Fortuna, and Monteverde, the weather was ideal – warm in the daytime and pleasantly cool at night. On the Pacific Coast, however, the weather was hot, hot, hot, windy, and as parched as the Serengeti.
Since we virtually lived on the Caribbean coast a few hundred miles down the road in Panama, we did not visit the Caribbean side of the country. We chose to spend our time in areas new to us. We found that Costa Rican culture in Central and Western areas has an obvious Spanish influence, of course, but its vibrant blend of indigenous heritage and other immigrant cultures creates a culture that is purely and uniquely Costa Rican. It’s easy to like! We were told though that there’s a completely different vibe on the Caribbean side. The Caribbean coast, people told us, is more like Jamaica in that the food has a Caribbean flair and the music is Reggae. I’m a little sorry we missed it.
I can’t say enough about the nice people we met. Many spoke a little or a lot of English and they relished getting to practice the language with us while we liked to try our Spanish with them. We did not meet one person who was not welcoming, friendly, and interested in getting to know something about us. There’s a saying that friendly Costa Ricans shared with us often especially when we were saying goodbye. It’s a little like thank you but has more to do with the uncomplicated, worry-free life and mindset they enjoy and their wish to share it with everyone . . . Pura Vida! Simple life!
So my friends, as we say farewell to Costa Rica, let me share with you, peace and pura vida!
