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The Diversity of Amazing Costa Rica

Until you actually arrive at a location, you don't really know if what you've seen or heard are true. Unfortunately, they often are mostly fluff and the trip can be disappointing. Costa Rica, however, defies this trend.

If you like to do different things on your vacations, you are going to love Costa Rica. The most obvious thing to do is enjoy the coasts on both sides of the country. You can pick a beach totally empty or one with a more festive atmosphere.

The beauty of Costa Rica is there is so much more than just beaches. Eco-tourism is hot with some of the most accessible rain forests in the world. Like rafting? The rivers around Lake Arenal in the center of the country are thrill rides.

All and all, words are cheap. If you are considering a trip to the country, you need some hard information. Here are few tidbits to wet your appetite.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus made the first European landfall in the area. It was his fourth trip the Americas. That being said, it took the Spanish another twenty years to actually settle the country.

Given the name of the country, you probably will not be surprised to learn the people are known as "Costa Ricans." That is a mouthful, so most of the citizens just call themselves "Ticos"

Costa Rica is not particularly large, covering 19,730 square miles. Of this, over a quarter are protected lands.

Costa Rica had a basic agricultural based economy like much of Central America. Think bananas. It has converted into a tourism based economy, which allows it to maintain a more stable economy.

Costa Rica has four mountain ranges. Also known as cordilleras, they are Guanacaste and Tilaran in the north of the country and Central and Talamanca in the south. Many of the mountains are dormant volcanoes as Costa Rica is part of the Pacific "Rim of Fire".

The country has a relatively small population at 4 million, but is now growing at 1.5 percent. Roman Catholic is the dominant religion, although a surprising 15 percent claim a Protestant faith.

Despite having only roughly one tenth of one percent of the world's landmass, it contains a whopping five percent of the biodiversity in the world.

The Terrain is amazing with arid areas to the north contrasting with rain forest in the south. Beaches line the coasts to the east and south. The central area of the country is mountainous with dormant volcanoes.

Calypso music makes hip hop sound boring. Costa Ricans love the calypso and you'll find it as the major sound in the country. Fortunately, the country seems to disdain most American pop, so little Michael Jackson will be heard.

Many countries could learn a thing or two about education systems from Costa Rica. Elementary and high schools are everywhere. Since there is no funding needed for a military, education gets a lot of focus and the literacy rate in Costa Rica is of 96%.

There are interesting and exotic locations around the world. None of them, however, have everything to offer that you'll find in Costa Rica. If you have the opportunity to visit this slice of heaven on earth, do it.

Article Source: http://www.inpop.net

Find Costa Rica Travel Information/a> at CostaRicaVacationTravelInformation.com.

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