Costa Rica-Facts

General Facts

Population: 4.5 million      
Language: Spanish           
GDP: $29.8 billion
Currency: CRC-Costa Rican Colon                   
Capital: San Jose
Time: GMT-6 (US Central Time)
Religion: 76% of population is Roman Catholic

Reasons to visit

If you are contemplating a visit to a completely different and diverse country, you might want to consider Costa Rica. This country has been referred to as a modern Garden of Eden, and demonstrates an unparalleled effort to preserve the environment.  Here are little known facts that may intrigue you, or else give you a better understanding of this place.
-Costa Rica is Spanish for "Rich Coast."
-Costa Ricans have set aside one quarter of their land as protected areas and national parks. The country is ranked  1st among all of the countries in North, South, and Central America on the Environmental performance index.
- Costa Rica is home to 5% of the world's biodiversity even though it only takes up .03% of the planet's surface.  There over 800 species of ferns, 1,2000 varieties of orchids, 2,000 different kinds of trees, over 1,000 species of butterflies, and 200 species of mammals in this small country with new species being discovered every day. 
- A soda refers to a small, informal restaurant that serves traditional meals like chicken, rice, beans and salad for $2- $3 a plate.
-Instead of milk, many people in Costa Rica gives coffee to babies in bottles.
-Every day at seven in the morning, the country's national anthem is played on every radio station.
-When someone dies in a traffic accident, there will be a big yellow heart with a crack in it painted on the road.
-Many fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King do home deliveries in Costa Rica.

Who lives there

Volunteering abroad in Costa Rica will provide you a chance to meet people on a regular basis with different ethnic backgrounds. At the same time, Costa Rica is quite unique from other countries of Central America since a main portion of the population are descendants of Spanish immigrants. There is also a small number of the naturalized Chinese, Germans, Italians, and Americans. Almost 94% of population consists of whites and mestizos, 3% belongs to blacks and the rest 3% to Chinese and Amerindians. This diverse background will only maximize your learning experience while you volunteer abroad in Costa Rica.

A lesson in geography

Even though Costa Rica is one of the smallest countries of Central America, it attracts a great amount of tourists every year with its unquestionable beauty. Costa Rica is the second to last link in a chain of small nations that together compose the isthmus of Central America. In the southwest, the country is washed by waters of Pacific Ocean, and by the Caribbean Sea in the northeast. Northern neighbor of Costa Rica is Nicaragua, whereas in the south Costa Rica borders with Panama. Located at the nexus of two continents and two oceans, the combination of land and water makes this region's soil extremely rich in nutrients.

Most of Costa Rica is dominated by the Sierra Mandre mountains, a land mass that was created by volcanic eruptions over time. Both coastlines of Costa Rica have an abundance of beaches, although the pacific coastline is quite narrow. 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 version of the Nicoya.

What sort of clothes to pack

The climate in Costa Rica is composed of four climatic zones and you should keep that in mind when going to volunteer abroad there. Damp lowlands are present on the coast of the Caribbean and in the south of the Pacific coast. The average temperature in Costa Rica is about +23-25°C. The country primarily has only two seasons, which is a dry season that begins in December and continues through the end of April. The rainy season is marked from May until November. During the rain season it rains almost every day in the afternoon, however only for short periods of time.

If you are spending time on the beaches of Costa Rica, a swimming suit is standard and sunscreen is practically mandatory. The UV factor in Costa Rica never drops below 10, and mosquito repellent is also a smart choice. During the rainy season, an umbrella will come in handy. You should bring comfortable shoes for walking or shopping because the streets are not always in good repair. Lightweight fabrics are fine during the summer months, but pack separate long sleeved clothing for cooler nights. Regardless of what you pack, you will encounter a diverse group of people who are more interested in who you are.