The Republic of Costa Rica is a small mountainous country located almost at the narrowest point in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. It is washed by two oceans – the Pacific in the west and the Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) in the east, while not a single point in the country is more than 120 km from the sea.
The total area of the country is about 51.1 thousand square meters. km (including Isla del Coco).
Climate:
Subequatorial. On the plateau, the average temperature throughout the year is +22 C, in mountainous areas it can drop to +10 (in winter, night frosts are possible down to -5 C). In low-lying places, on the Caribbean coast and in the south of the Pacific coast, daytime temperatures range from +27 C to +33 C all year round. At night it is slightly cooler than during the day.
There is a lot of precipitation – from 1000 mm per year on the Pacific coast, to 3000-5000 mm per year on the Caribbean coast. According to the distribution of precipitation, the country’s climatic zones are distinguished. On the Caribbean coast and the South Pacific coast, rainfall is almost constant from May to November, with a maximum from September to October, with a short dry period from December to April. At the same time, there is relatively little rain from May to August.
In the central regions of the country it is much drier, and the nature of precipitation is highly dependent on the direction of the wind. Up to 5000 mm of precipitation can fall on the windward slopes of the mountains, and intermountain basins receive no more than 1500 mm of rain per year. The northern part of the Pacific coast is the driest part of the country, it rains here mainly in spring and autumn. At any time of the year, the nights are usually cloudless, and the rain, as scheduled, begins in the afternoon.
The best time to visit the country is from December to April-July.
Language:
Spanish (state), English is also used on the east coast (almost all residents of the country are well-versed in the Creole dialect of English).
Population:
About 3.9 million people. The bulk of the population are descendants of Spanish settlers – Creoles (over 80%, self-name – “ticos”). The proportion of blacks and mulattoes is about 10%, less than 1% of the population are Indians of nine different ethnic groups (this is the only country in Central America with such a low relative number of descendants of Indian tribes). A small number of naturalized Chinese, Europeans and Americans live permanently in the country, as well as about 30 thousand foreign citizens, mainly Nicaraguans and Negroes from the West Indies.
Political system:
Republican form of government. The head of state and government is the president (elected for a term of 4 years without the right to re-election). Costa Rica is considered the most stable democratic country in Latin America. Democracy has existed in it for more than a century.
Religion:
Almost 90% of the country’s population are considered Catholics, Protestants about 10% (mostly blacks of the Caribbean coast). Representatives of almost all world religions live in the capital.
Money:
Costa Rican colón (CRC) equal to 100 centimos. There are banknotes in circulation in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 columns, as well as coins of two types in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 columns. Small change coins (sentimos) have practically fallen into disuse. The colón rate against other world currencies is quite stable.
Free circulation in Costa Rica has the US dollar. In the field of tourism and hotel business, prices are usually indicated in dollars, but payment is made in columns.
Currency exchange:
Currency can be exchanged at any bank (the procedure usually takes a long time, a fee of US$3 per transaction is charged), at specialized exchange offices and at the airport. Preference is given everywhere to the US dollar, the currencies of other countries are much more difficult to exchange. Banks offer the best rates. At the airport, in hotels and restaurants, the exchange rate is less favorable, but the opening hours are much more convenient than in banks. It is not recommended to change money on the street – there is a high risk of being scammed.
Costa Rican colón (CRC) / Ruble (RUB)
1 RUB = 16.65 CRC
100 CRC = 6.01 RUB
Costa Rican colón (CRC) / Euro (EUR)
1 EUR = 691.85 CRC
1000 CRC = 1.45 EUR
Time:
9 hours behind Moscow.
