Costa Rica April 2007 - Final Thoughts
I thought it might be nice to put down some of my thoughts and impressions of Costa Rica as well as provide some information regarding some of the things we learned while we were there regarding the language, food, animals and more.
There are evidently other minor differences and sayings unique to Costa Rican spanish but I noticed very little. I noticed two things worth mentioning, first is their use of the word entonces which they used a lot, in almost a similar fashion as some people might use the words "like" or "you know." It sort of seemed to be a substitute for "um." (It means "and then.")
The other difference is the way they say "you're welcome." In spanish classes I learned to say "you're welcome" as either de nada, por nada or no aye de que. And it seems that I recall de nada being used in Cancun when we were there. The Costa Ricans use con mucho gusto or just mucho gusto which I don't recall hearing before. Maybe it's a general change in the spanish language and it's more pervasive than just Costa Rica, maybe I wasn't really paying attention in Cancun or maybe it really is specific to Costa Rica. I'm unsure.
There are also several expressions or sayings unique to Costa Rica. The most common of these is "Pura Vida!" Literally it means "pure life" but a more apt translation is "life is good." They shout it to each other or say it as a greeting. I now own a t-shirt with toucans on it with the phrase.
Finally, in the area of language, I spoke a lot more spanish than on my trip to Cancun and I actually found myself becoming quite proficient quickly and I picked up a lot. In fact, I surprised myself quite a bit. They often asked if we spoke spanish and if I told them I spoke a little, they would really rattle it off, but I found I understood quite a bit (much more than I could say). There's something to be said for immersion in a language. There were also a lot more non-English speaking people than we encountered in Cancun (and even, I feel like, than we encountered in Italy). Also, I found that the people in Cancun and the Italians were rather uninterested in conversing with me in my broken Spanish, whereas the Costa Ricans seemed to welcome it. Often we would have hybrid conversations in half English and half Spanish.
Their principle crops are bananas and coffee. They also grow coconuts, papaya, plantains (bigger, starchy cousins to the banana), mangos, pineapples and a variety of other tropical fruits. There may be some tobacco in there somewhere, but I'm not certain.
We also saw one type of snake (a poisonous variety called a Fer de Lance) but they have loads of snakes there and many poisonous varieties. We also saw caiman (a small crocodile) and they have regular crocodiles too, but we didn't see any. We also saw a basilisk lizard and several iguanas. They have some other types of lizards too. There are a number of amphibians including poison dart frogs. We didn't see any in the while, however there were some at our hotel in a cage.
There are more birds than I can list (and we saw a number of them). I really wanted to see a toucan in the wild, but we never saw one (we heard them a lot and each time we did, the guides ears would perk up). There was one in our hotel, but it was not wild. We saw numerous wading and shore birds on our trip to Caño Negro. We also saw hummingbirds, including a baby one in a nest.
Today there are two cones to the volcano. An active and an inactive cone. The lava from the active cone actually originates in the inactive cone (and comes up and then goes sideways since the main passage in the active cone is blocked). In fact, the inactive cone used to be taller than the active cone (now, the one that the lava comes from is taller). I'm not sure if I got any good photos of both cones since we weren't usually in a prime viewing position to see both cones at the same time.
There have been some larger eruptions since 1968. Once in 1992 (we walked on flow from 1992) and once from 2000 or 2002 (I'm not sure which - possibly both). The volcano is constantly monitored from a monitoring station and there is an evacuation plan (although one of our guides questioned how many people who evacuate given how long they've lived under the volcano). The fact that there is constant low-level activity, however, bodes well for the people of La Fortuna (the closest town) and surrounding areas. It means that everything doesn't get totally bottled up and erupt in a massive and destructive flow.
I have to say that one of my favorite meals was the casado (generally rice and beans) I had at the small soda (sort of like a diner). The rice was full of spices and flavor, the beans were well-cooked, the veggies were fresh and the fried plantain was delicious.
Language
I already mentioned that the Costa Ricans are often referred to as ticos. Evidently this stems from some language differences in Costa Rican spanish. They are said to frequently use a diminutive ending of ito (as in poquito - the word for small) on some words, as a term of endearment. I only heard this used once (but my spanish isn't very good so it might have happened more often and I wasn't aware of it). One of the guides for our canyoning group called another one seniorito which isn't really a word in spanish (there is of course seniorita which is a young woman).There are evidently other minor differences and sayings unique to Costa Rican spanish but I noticed very little. I noticed two things worth mentioning, first is their use of the word entonces which they used a lot, in almost a similar fashion as some people might use the words "like" or "you know." It sort of seemed to be a substitute for "um." (It means "and then.")
The other difference is the way they say "you're welcome." In spanish classes I learned to say "you're welcome" as either de nada, por nada or no aye de que. And it seems that I recall de nada being used in Cancun when we were there. The Costa Ricans use con mucho gusto or just mucho gusto which I don't recall hearing before. Maybe it's a general change in the spanish language and it's more pervasive than just Costa Rica, maybe I wasn't really paying attention in Cancun or maybe it really is specific to Costa Rica. I'm unsure.
There are also several expressions or sayings unique to Costa Rica. The most common of these is "Pura Vida!" Literally it means "pure life" but a more apt translation is "life is good." They shout it to each other or say it as a greeting. I now own a t-shirt with toucans on it with the phrase.
Finally, in the area of language, I spoke a lot more spanish than on my trip to Cancun and I actually found myself becoming quite proficient quickly and I picked up a lot. In fact, I surprised myself quite a bit. They often asked if we spoke spanish and if I told them I spoke a little, they would really rattle it off, but I found I understood quite a bit (much more than I could say). There's something to be said for immersion in a language. There were also a lot more non-English speaking people than we encountered in Cancun (and even, I feel like, than we encountered in Italy). Also, I found that the people in Cancun and the Italians were rather uninterested in conversing with me in my broken Spanish, whereas the Costa Ricans seemed to welcome it. Often we would have hybrid conversations in half English and half Spanish.
The Forests and the Farmland
Tourism has surpassed export of crops as the number one revenue generator in the country. The Costa Ricans used to see the forest as impeding their agriculture, but when they recognized that it brought tourists (and the tourists brought money), they began setting aside preserves. Men whose fathers were farmers find themselves tour guides instead.Their principle crops are bananas and coffee. They also grow coconuts, papaya, plantains (bigger, starchy cousins to the banana), mangos, pineapples and a variety of other tropical fruits. There may be some tobacco in there somewhere, but I'm not certain.
Animals
There are a variety of mammals, birds and reptiles (and a huge number of plants and trees I'm not even going to go into). They have a number of big cats such as pumas and ocelots. We also saw a coatimundi (related to a raccoon), a three-toed sloth (they also have two-toes varieties), and two types of monkeys - howler and spider (they also have capuchins which we didn't see).We also saw one type of snake (a poisonous variety called a Fer de Lance) but they have loads of snakes there and many poisonous varieties. We also saw caiman (a small crocodile) and they have regular crocodiles too, but we didn't see any. We also saw a basilisk lizard and several iguanas. They have some other types of lizards too. There are a number of amphibians including poison dart frogs. We didn't see any in the while, however there were some at our hotel in a cage.
There are more birds than I can list (and we saw a number of them). I really wanted to see a toucan in the wild, but we never saw one (we heard them a lot and each time we did, the guides ears would perk up). There was one in our hotel, but it was not wild. We saw numerous wading and shore birds on our trip to Caño Negro. We also saw hummingbirds, including a baby one in a nest.
The Volcano
Arenal Volcano is just one of several active volcanos in Costa Rica (however, it is the only one we saw while there). The history of the volcano begins in 1968, when it suddenly erupted decimating 2 villages and killing 87 (and possibly more) people. Prior to this, the most recent activity was dated to the 16th century. In 1968, nobody was prepared for Cerro Arenal (Mount Arenal) to erupt.Today there are two cones to the volcano. An active and an inactive cone. The lava from the active cone actually originates in the inactive cone (and comes up and then goes sideways since the main passage in the active cone is blocked). In fact, the inactive cone used to be taller than the active cone (now, the one that the lava comes from is taller). I'm not sure if I got any good photos of both cones since we weren't usually in a prime viewing position to see both cones at the same time.
There have been some larger eruptions since 1968. Once in 1992 (we walked on flow from 1992) and once from 2000 or 2002 (I'm not sure which - possibly both). The volcano is constantly monitored from a monitoring station and there is an evacuation plan (although one of our guides questioned how many people who evacuate given how long they've lived under the volcano). The fact that there is constant low-level activity, however, bodes well for the people of La Fortuna (the closest town) and surrounding areas. It means that everything doesn't get totally bottled up and erupt in a massive and destructive flow.
Food
Everything I read about Costa Rican food says that their cuisine is rather lacking. I find that to be true in the number of choices available, but in terms of flavor, they can cook quite a flavorful dish. As long as you like rice and beans, Costa Rican food is great. They eat rice and beans with pretty much every meal (or rice and beans is the meal). Otherwise, they seem to like Italian food quite a lot.I have to say that one of my favorite meals was the casado (generally rice and beans) I had at the small soda (sort of like a diner). The rice was full of spices and flavor, the beans were well-cooked, the veggies were fresh and the fried plantain was delicious.
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