Costa Rica Adventure

Costa Rica is a small country, about 20% smaller than the state of West Virginia in the U.S. It is located in Central America, and on a world map it is the size of a thumbtack, with Panama to its south, Nicaragua to its north, and with oceans on east and west. Its size will fool you, because there is so much to see and do there. The country is so much larger once you're there.

My teen-aged son and I recently spent a week in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, going, going, going, to all the places we could cram into a week. I don't know how many kilometers we drove because the odometer was not working in the rental car, but we were out every morning at 0630, driving, taking pictures, and enjoying the sights. Jacob is 15 and likes to sleep late, as all teens do, but he was a good sport and a good navigator. We still were lost a lot, but being lost in Costa Rica is fun because of all the beautiful places to see. One exception was being lost in the capital, San José. Not fun. Don't do it.

The Central Valley is where about 40% of the population lives and is also where the coffee grows. We saw coffee everywhere and I stopped many times just to take pictures. The Costa Ricans (Ticos) probably think we tourists are nuts, stopping on the side of the road to take a picture of coffee trees. Probably what North Americans would think of someone stopping for a picture of a pasture or a corn field.

We were in Costa Rica during the rainy season, but the rain was not a problem. It rained every day, but not for long, and after, it was beautiful again. Even the rain was beautiful. The weather in the Central Valley is spring-like year around. The temperature averages 72 Fahrenheit (22 Celsius), and seldom exceeds 82 for a high and 60 for a low. It's about 10 degrees north of the Equator, so there are two seasons, rainy and dry. Rainy season lasts from May to November.

The weather changes as you move around the country. Want cooler? Go up. We went from jackets with chattering teeth in the mountains to humid, hot and sweaty on the Pacific coast.

As you can tell, I am hooked on Costa Rica. The people are courteous and friendly. The scenery is awesome. The weather is ideal, and the coffee is some of the best on the planet. Feel free to contact me for more details. I have another website with lots of info on Costa Rica: Costa Rica Links.

The photo on the right is solid coffee. If you can enlarge the photo in your browser you will see the little green cherries. The photo on the left shows a hillside with rows of coffee at the top and sugar cane at the bottom. Good combination.

More Costa Rica photos may be seen here: Photo Album

Robert