9 Issues That Make Costa Rica Special

1.Costa Rica is a small country from Central America having 4 million inhabitants and is slightly larger than Switzerland. The land was discovered in 1502 by Columbus, who was taken by surprise with his whole fleet by a storm in the waters off the neighboring Honduras. Columbus navigated along the shores of present-day Nicaragua and disembarked in an Indian village called Cariari. He was impressed by the golden adornments carried by some locals.

Avid for gold, the Spaniards believed the place was rich in precious metal ore and named it Costa Rica ("Rich Coast" in Spanish). Later, they would give up hope.

2.Costa Rica got its independence from Spain in 1821 and in 1949, after a short civil strife, the temporary president Jose Figueres abolished the army. Costa Rica is a rare place of peace in the world of Central America characterized by war and violence. This measure encouraged some American quakers to move to the Costa Rican city of Santa Elena.

3.Twenty seven percent of the territory of Costa Rica is protected, the largest proportion amongst all countries of the world.

4.Even if Costa Rica represents just 0.03 % of the land mass, it harbors 5 % of the total number of known plant and animal species.

There are over 830 bird species (including parrots, toucans, vultures, hummingbirds), over 35,000 described insect species, 9,000 species of flowering plants, over 208 species of mammals (including jaguars), over 220 reptile species (including large iguanas), more than 160 amphibian species (including many vividly colored poison dart frogs) and over 130 species of freshwater fish (more than in Europe).

5.There are more butterfly species in Costa Rica than in the whole US and in Costa Rica there are many butterfly farms.

6.There are 112 active or inactive volcanoes in Costa Rica. The most active is Arenal, 1,500 m (5,000 ft) tall. Irazu has a height of 3,400 m (11,330 ft) and irrupted from 1963 to 1965. Poas, 2,700 m (9,000 ft) tall, has two craters: a white active one, while the other is filled with a lake surrounded by a lush jungle.

7.Costa Ricans are called "ticos" because of the overuse in the local Spanish speech of the suffix "-ico". For example, chiquitico means boy (from "chico"), bonitico means pretty (from "bonito"), and jovencitico means young (from "jovencito").

8.Artisans from the city of Sarchi are famous for their carretas (ox-driven chariots) painted manually, each one being a different artwork.

9.A famous national dish in Costa Rica are the yucca flowers! These flowers have an acid taste, slightly spicy. They can be included in salads or cooked with eggs and potatoes. The yucca flowers are rich in vitamins (especially vitamin B1 and B2) and minerals (like calcium, phosphorus and iron).