COSTA RICA

Geography

Climate

Topographically, Costa Rica can be divided into five large areas: the volcanic mountain ranges of the Cordilleras, the Valle Central with the capital San José, the alluvial plains of the Caribbean coast, the central Pacific coast and the dry Nicoya Peninsula in the northwest. In the Cordilleras there are a large number of still active and also extinct volcanoes, including Turrialba. The three most visited are Volcán Poás (2704 meters), Arenal (1633 meters) and Irazú (3432 meters). TheChirripó Grande (3820 meters) is the highest mountain in the country.

The climate of Costa Rica is characterized by two seasons: Rainy and dry season. The rainy season extends from May to November, the dry season from December to April. Due to its location between 8° and 11° northern latitude, Costa Rica is in the tropics, but precipitation varies considerably. In San José 1867 mm fall in the year, in Puerto Limón on the Caribbean coast with 3518 mm almost twice as much.

Population

Among Costa Ricans of African descent are many descendants of immigrant workers from the West Indies, who therefore mostly speak an English Creole. Costa Rica has the smallest percentage of indigenous population among the Central American countries, the majority of the population being descendants of Spanish immigrants. The majority of Costa Rican Indians today live in seclusion and in remnant groups in the Cordillera de Talamanca. Nevertheless, they are exposed to a strong pressure to assimilate.

The population is predominantly Christian (76.7% Roman Catholic, 13.7% Protestant). There are also groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, with about 1.3%. The Roman Catholic denomination is the state religion of the country.

Language

The official language is Spanish, with some Costa Rican idiosyncrasies. English and an English-based creole language similar to Jamaican patois are also widely spoken on the Atlantic coast.

The Spanish spoken in Costa Rica has some differences from standard Spanish.

No distinction between "vos", "tú" and "usted". For example, the host of the Costa Rican version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Ignacio Santos addressed contestants of child age sometimes as "usted" and sometimes as "tú"/"vos" in the September 8, 2009 broadcast. According to the majority of Costa Ricans, the form "tú" does not belong to the typical forms of the country. However, it is used unconsciously. The most common form of address is "usted", "vos" is again mainly used in the Cartago region.

Especially among men, people often address each other with the colloquial expression "mae", which can be translated as the German "Alter" or "mann". Often "mae" is also used incoherently as a gap filler (like "um"). This is one of the biggest peculiarities of Costa Rican Spanish.

"rr" ( as in "rollo" or "carretera") is almost always pronounced like a rolled English "r". This sound is also used with the normal "r", especially when followed by an "n" or "l", or preceded by a "t" ("carne", "otro", "cuatro", "pasarlo").

To indicate a point in time, the conjunction "hasta" is used in Costa Rica. Usually, however, this word is used to describe a period of time. Example: "Vuelvo de Nicoya hasta el martes" instead of "Vuelvo de Nicoya el martes".

In addition, there are many own word creations.

Health

There are about 6,800 physicians in Costa Rica, or about 1.69 per 1000 inhabitants (as of 2005). The country currently spends about US$ 689,654,600 on health care. The daily food intake per capita is about 2610 kcal. The average life expectancy in 2004 was 78.3 years.

Education

The first university was founded in 1843, but closed in 1888 because of its close ties to the Catholic Church. Today, the largest and most prestigious university is the University of Costa Rica. The country has a high level of education; the illiteracy rate of 4.2% is the lowest in Central America after Cuba (at 3%) and one of the lowest in Latin America and the developing world. There is six years of compulsory education. The first school for the disabled was opened by Fernando Centeno Güell as early as 1940.

Typical food and drinks

The main ingredients of the very diverse Costa Rican cuisine include rice, beans and often plantains. These basic ingredients are processed into a wide variety of dishes. The Caribbean coastal regions offer tasty exotic dishes that are refined by the use of coconut milk. In San José in particular, many fast food chains such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Taco Bell have established themselves in recent years.

The typical breakfast and also the national dish of Costa Rica is Gallo Pinto: a dish of fried rice with black beans and onions. It is often accompanied by fried or scrambled eggs, tortillas and sour cream. At lunch, so-called casados are usually eaten, in which rice and beans also form the basis. This is accompanied by plantains and meat or fish, as well as a little salad and steamed vegetables. In the numerous small sodas (similar to a snack bar) you can get the lunch dishes at a reasonable price.

Tamales are also considered typical for Costa Rica. These filled corn pockets, wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed, are often prepared by Costa Ricans at festivals, but also in between meals. Fresh fruit or desserts such as cakes, pies or chocolate are often served for dessert.

In addition to water, lemonade and coffee, the most popular beverages are soft drinks such as batidos (drinks made with water, milk or yogurt from fresh fruit) and pipa (coconut water drunk directly from the coconut). In terms of alcoholic beverages, beer and liquor consumption dominate; wine is generally not drunk as frequently.

For more information: Wikipedia