Costa Rica Facts – interesting and authentic info for tourists and emigrants
Dreamed of the USA – landed in paradise
In fourteen-ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue and arrived only in 1502. But as is well known, not where he actually wanted to go. He landed on the Atlantic coast, but instead of taking a leisurely look around, it was not until 8 years later that a party was sent to explore the coast and inland.
The Spaniards then spread out to the place and declared the country their sovereign territory. From 1560 Costa Rica was then properly colonized and the capital, Carthage, was founded until 1823. But the Spaniards did not like it so much in the tropical country. There were few raw materials and strategically the small country was anything but practical. On September 15, Costa Rica finally received its independence from Spain.
Costa Rica Facts – Switzerland of Central America
In 1983 Costa Rica declared to act permanently unarmed neutral. And it almost managed to do so, only 2 times since the 19th century there were acts of violence. Once the border conflict with Panama escalated. Costa Rican troops crossed the border, Panama had no troops at that time and used the local police. But apparently nothing much happened.
The skirmish was ended shortly thereafter by the arrival of the battleship USS Pennsylvania. Costa Rica’s move, on the other hand, seems quite different, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was the first Central American country to enter World War II. However, the actions were largely limited to surveillance, German, Italian and Japanese citizens who lived here. To prevent them from fooling around, their assets were brought under state control. The country was spared from the actual acts of war.
The situation is everything – Costa Rica Facts
If the location is not right, even the most beautiful house will not sell. Every real estate agent knows that. And so it was with Costa Rica. A war with European greats seemed witless in view of the location. If you haven’t studied the country, you probably won’t be able to identify it directly on the world map. Sure, any of the small countries below Mexico and above Colombia, but where exactly?
Nestled between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east, the country lies north of Panama and south of Nicaragua. There are 5 geographical areas. In one, the volcanic Cordilleras mountain range, there are still many active and inactive volcanoes. A cool excursion possibility.
Costa Rica Facts – daily greets the small earthquake
This is due to the soil composition of the country. About 100 million years ago, the Cocos Plate (nice, catchy name) slid under the Caribbean Plate and, in interaction with other geographic peculiarities that are too complicated to explain, formed this pulsating ground. However, one never actually feels anything from the earthquakes.
The Central American country also has a lot to offer in terms of animals. About 500,000 animal and plant species live here, of which about 300,000 are insects. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but some of them look really interesting and I’m sorry to say that, but all of them are important to keep the ecosystem going here. If you want to read more about conservation in Costa Rica, you can click here.
The rich coast is a banana republic?
Maybe there are no mineral resources worth mentioning in Costa Rica, but people with brains live here. Unlike some other countries, Costa Rica has had a pension system and a free health care system since World War II. In 1984, even the army was abolished in favor of education and health programs. That was going pretty well up to that point. But in 2010, there were some difficulties, of course financial.
One of the reasons was the increase in life expectancy. In 2015, it was around 79.2 years, which is longer than the average life of U.S. citizens. By comparison, people in Germany live about 81 years. Although there are many private hospitals in Costa Rica, hardly anyone can afford them, which is why the waiting time in public hospitals is sometimes quite long.
How do the Ticos tick?
The approximately 5 million Ticos are predominantly of Christian faith, speak Spanish (with a few exceptions here and there), elected the first woman president in 2010 and get almost 100% of their electricity from renewable sources. They are considered a friendly and happy people.
Of course, it doesn’t fit that 46 U.S. warships and 7000 soldiers have settled in Costa Rica in 2010. Officially, they are fighting drug smuggling originating from Colombia… And actually they were supposed to stay only 6 months, but in the meantime their residence permit is always extended by 6 months. At the beginning this caused stress in the country, but in the meantime this situation seems to be simply tolerated. The Ticos are apparently just too nice.
Maybe you also want to emigrate to a banana republic, it is almost too late?
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