Destination Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a Central American Country situated between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. It has been dubbed many things such as “The Switzerland of Central America,” “Hawaii, only cheaper!,” “The Second Oldest Democracy in the Western Hemisphere” or “The Greatest Weather on Earth,” and so on.

To say that Costa Rica has been blessed would be an understatement. Still, Costa Rica, like every other country in the world, has its problems.

What we would like to do is give you a real and honest overview of what we believe is one of the most unique and diverse countries around.

CLIMATE
National Geographic once proclaimed that the Central Valley of Costa Rica had the best climate on earth. This is due to two main factors: Costa Rica is inside the tropical belt and has an elevation of over 3,200 feet. These two factors combine to give the area tempratures in the low 70s year round. The only problem is it rains for eight months of the year. During the summer, December through April, it literally stops raining. In the rainy season during the rest of the months, the mornings are almost always sunny with clouds rolling in around noon and showers in the afternoon. Once you come down from the Central Plateau the weather definitely becomes more tropical. During the summer the daytime tempratures are usually in the mid 80s with humidity. In the rainy season it is not as predictable. It can go days with a great deal of rain and then a week with none. The region that gets the most rain is the northern Limon area of Tortuguero.

GEOGRAPHY
Costa Rica is situated to the south on the Central American land bridge between Nicaragua and Panama. It is roughly the size of the state of West Virginia, or roughly a bit larger than the county of Los Angeles. At its widest point it is not quite 170 miles and at its narrowest just under 80 miles.

The country contains a mountain range that stretches from the northwest border of Nicaragua all the way down the center and on into Panama. At its highest point, Mount Chirripo, it reaches up to nearly 13,000 feet. The Central Plateau sits right in the middle of the country at a height of about 3,200 feet. On the Pacific side there are two prominent peninsulas. The larger and northern of the two is Nicoya with a large gulf of the same name. The Osa Peninsula is south, almost on the border of Panama, and also has a gulf but its name is Dulce. An interesting geographical feature of the Gulfo Dulce is that at its farthest point from the ocean it drops straight down over 750 feet. It is one of the few places on earth that you find the really jumbo shrimp. On the Carribean side, the northern area of Tortuguero is basically a big, lowland jungle with canals and waterways snaking their way throughout.