The Flag of Costa Rica
So this is a flag of Costa Rica. As you can see, it has three solid colors and seal. The white stands for peace, the red for bloodshed for freedom, and the blue represents perseverance. It was originally designed by Pacifica Fernandez, the wife of former Costa Rican president Jose Maria Castro Madriz, in 1848.
Geography
Costa Rica is located and Central America. It lies between two bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. It’s also at that south of Nicaragua and Northwest of Panama. Costa Rica is about the size of West Virginia.
There are five mountain ranges that run through this country and they are the central, the Tilaran, Escazu Hills, Guanacaste, and the Talamanca. These mountains are
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home to about 60 volcanoes. And out of those 60 known volcanoes, 5 have been active in the last 100 years. Since Costa Rica is a popular tourist site, it’s not uncommon for people to want to fly over these magnificent volcanoes.
Here a video of a fly over the Irazu volcanoes.
The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose and it’s in the central valley. It’s known as the headquarters of Costa Rica’s government and major businesses. More than 288 thousand people live in this city alone!
Costa Rica has also known for it beautiful cloud forests, islands, and reserves. Cerro Chirripo is the highest point in Costa Rica, measuring 12,533 feet, and it is the 5th highest in Central America. It was once a very sacred place to the natives. Cerro Chirripo is located in the Talamanca Mountains. Here’s a fun fact: on a good clear day, it is possible to see the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea from the summit.
Costa Rica has many islands for touring. Some of the major islands are the Chira, the Uvita, and the Cocos. The Cocos Island is a popular site for hiking, snorkeling, and scuba diving with hammerhead sharks! To get around the island, you have to bike or walk.
Ok, so the Monteverde Cloud Forest is a great sightseeing reserve if you want to feel in tune with nature. It’s located in the Tilaran Mountains. Thousands of flowers, mammals, and birds live in this foggy damp forest. This is a picture of one of the bridges you would have to cross to explore this
reserve. Cartago Ruin In 1563, Juan Vasquez de Coronado founded the city of Cartago and it was one of the first Spanish settlements in Costa Rica. The city is located at the foothill of the Irazu volcano and it was once the country’s capital. Unfortunately, Cartago was hit with a volcanic eruption in 1732. Today, the Cartago ruin is a very popular tourist site. Indigenous Tribes Long before foreigners arrived in Costa Rica, indigenous tribes ruled over the land. They didn’t develop large empires like the Mayans or Incas so we don’t know that much about them. They lived in small communities by the volcanoes and mountains. Each community was ruled by a chieftain. Historians believe they lived in Costa Rica since 10,000 B.C.! The tribes have been identified as the Diquis, Chorotegas, Chibchas, and the Borucas. The Diquis and Chibchas were nomadic hunters and fishermen. They also developed successful slave systems and were great goldsmiths. Most of these tribes were influenced by other Mesoamerican tribes, which explains why they were all heavily involved in pottery-making, agriculture, fishing, hunting, and elaborate gold crafts. But some tribes are not from Costa Rica. For example, the Chorotegas fled from Mexico in 500 AD to escaped slavery. Fascinating fact: their name means “the Fleeing people”, but don’t let that fool you. They were once known for being an organized military that fought against the Spanish Conquistadors. Today, there are about 64,000 people living in the 24 tribes in Costa Rica. 40% of these people live in Limon. All of these tribes have a way of remembering history. For instance, the Boruca tribe celebrates its legends through crafts and traditional dancing. During the “Fiesta De Los Diablitos” which starts on December 31st, they wear wooden masks and dance to express the fight between the natives which are the devils and the Spanish conquistadors which are the bulls. Stone Spheres The natives left many ruins and interesting artifacts. The most intriguing artifacts are the stone spheres. It is possible that they were created by the Diquis but their purpose is still unknown. Due to how many there are, we know they were of great importance. These stones were carved out of granite and can weigh up 30,000 pounds! The Guayabo Ruins Ok, so this is the Guayabo ruins. It was once a community that may have been home to more than 2,000 people! Due to evidence of stone structures and roads, archeologists say that these ruins were made between 400 and 1,400 AD. Columbian Era So after the Pre-Columbian era comes the Columbian era. On September 18th, 1502, the first European to step foot on Costa Rican land was Christopher Columbus. He discovered Costa Rica on his 4th and final journey across the Atlantic. It is said that Columbus named the land the “rich Coast” after expecting to find tons of gold. After Columbus came the fearsome Spanish conquistadors. During the Spanish conquest, Spain took over Costa Rica and built the first colony, Villa Brusela in 1524. Unfortunately, many natives were wiped out by the foreign diseases the Spaniards carried. Some tribes retreated up the mountains to escape taxation and slavery. But on September 15th, 1821, Costa Rica declared its independence from Spain. Later, it became a royal-vice of Guatemala. For those of you who don’t know, a vice-royalty is a territory governed by an official who represents a ruler. In 1822, Costa Rica became part of the 1st Mexican Empire. Alas, the empire soon collapsed after a year. So, Costa Rica teamed up with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to form the United Provinces of Central America. But in 1838, Costa Rica broke away from the UPCA to become its own nation. For awhile, everything was peaceful, until tension increased as a result of World War 2. March 12th, 1948, marks the beginning of The Costa Rican Civil War, which lasted for 40 days. It is said that the war began over 1 “unfair’ vote that would allow pro-government representatives to with the election. As a result, Jose Figueres, a former coffee farmer, led the National Liberation Army and marched them into several cities before seizing control of the government. Sadly, about 2,000 people died in this war. But many great things came from this civil war. For example, Jose gave women and blacks the right to vote. He also abolished the military to prevent future problems. Foods Ok, so most Costa Rican meals contain rice, beans, bread, meat, poultry, potatoes, and plantains. For breakfast, most people eat Gallo Pinto. It is a dish of beans and rice mixed together. It can also be served with fried eggs and sour cream. Then they have Casado for lunch. Casado is a dish that serves rice and beans separately. It often comes with corn tortillas. The most popular beverage in the country is coffee. Next comes, refrescos, which are basically smoothies, and horchatas, which are refreshments made of milk, rice flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Government Costa Rica is split into these 7 provinces and they are governed by different mayors. Those 7 provinces are divided into 81 districts. Since the government is a Democratic Republic government, it has 3 branches of power—Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The country has 2 vice presidents and 1 president. The current president is Louis Guillermo Solis and he is the 47th president of Costa Rica. What sets Costa Rica apart is the fact that it doesn’t have an active military. But just like any other country, Costa Rica faces debts, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration.
The physical science of the two countries is completely different. According to the main speaker, Costa Rica is much smaller than the United States. It could actually fit in the state of Oklahoma about two and a half times (Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 2010). The population is a little different too. Costa Rica’s population is around 4.5 million, compared to Oklahoma which has approximately 3.4 million.
The climate in Costa Rica and Washington are close to each other. Both of the places get a lot of rain and small amount of rain. Both have a desert Washington has a desert in the east over the mountains and Costa Rica has a desert in the middle of the country where the rain can not reached. Both of the deserts
Costa Rica is covered in huge jungles. Reminding me of the movie Tarzan, the jungles are full of monkeys, macaws, and many other curious creatures. Another interesting thing about Costa Rica was the beach. On the pacific side of the country, the sand is muddy and black. Even though the dark sand made the ocean look dirty, it made the white sea shells shine exceedingly bright. One of the scariest parts about Costa Rica was the reptiles. It seems that every river was full of enormous crocodiles. Although the lush, green jungle was a beautiful sight to see, Bonaire had even prettier views. Since it is located in the Caribbean, the island of Bonaire is surrounded by the most gorgeous turquoise water. The ocean was definitely the prettiest part of the island. The main terrain of Bonaire is desert. Unlike Costa Rica, there are hardly any trees. The island is covered in rocks and cactus. Because of the lack of vegetation, there were very few animals that thrive. For example, donkeys and finches were some of the only animals I saw on the island. Just like Costa Rica, Bonaire has a reptile problem. Thankfully, the reptiles in Bonaire were much nicer. Iguanas ruled the island. They were everywhere. After vacationing in Costa Rica and Bonaire, I realized that both have extraordinary
Once named the friendliest city in the world, Puerto Vallarta in my eyes continues to carry that reputation. The people who live there are what make this place so special; it is my most desired place to travel to. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico sits along the coast of Banderas Bay in the Pacific Ocean. Along with having exotic scenery, they are known for having an exceptional variety of food. With the dark frigid winter creeping up on us, my head wanders to memories of missed friends and 90 degree temperatures.
The country’s two coastlines are referred to as the Caribbean and Pacific, rather than the north and south coasts. To the east is Colombia and to the west Costa Rica. Pacific. Dominant features of their landform is highlands forming the continental divide. The higher elevations near borders with Costa Rica and Colombia. The highest point in the country is the Volcán Barú which rises to almost 3,500 meters. The lowest elevation is in the middle of the country where it is crossed by the Panama Canal.
In the west is a great basin, or depression, containing two lakes, Nicaragua, the largest in Central America, and Managua. The two are connected by the Tipitapa River. A chain of volcanoes, which are a contributory cause of local earthquakes, rise between the lakes and the Pacific coast. In the east, the Caribbean coastal plain known as the Costa de mosquitoes (Mosquito Coast) extends some 45 mi. inland and is partly overgrown with rain forest.
Ecuador is located in the western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between the border countries of Colombia and Peru. Ecuador’s capital is Quito. This country counts with a population of 15,492,000 habitants. The total area is 283,560 sq. km including the Galapagos Island which is very famous in the world. The highest elevation is the Chimborazo Mountain with an altitude of 6,267 m. The Cotopaxi Mountain in The Andes is the highest active volcano in the world. The country’s climate is tropical along the coast; with some low temperature is high elevations and tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands. The natural resources of the Ecuador are petroleum, fish, timber and hydropower. This country counts with a population of 15,492,000 habitants. The country’s official language is Spanish but they have some Amerindian languages such as Quechua spoken by some Indian tribes (Geography, 2005)
I learned more than I ever imagined on my summer study abroad trip to Costa Rica. I learned that Costa Rica is a country like no other. The country is much different than what the United States of America is like. The lifestyles, customs, and practices of Costa Rica are very different than those that I am accustomed to. As an outsider looking into the country, I saw a country that is very poor financially but very rich in spirit. They do not appreciate wealth as United States citizens do, but instead appreciate love and gratitude. I noticed that Costa Ricans have very strong family values and cultural roots.
On our American flag, the white signifies purity and innocence. The red color means hardiness and bravery. Blue expresses courage, vigilance (alertness), perseverance (never giving up), and justice.
The Isla Río Cualeis an island located in the middle of Puerto Vallarta. It is off-set from the rest of the city and exists on an inlet of the Banderas Bay. Although it shares many of the same activities and cultural activities of Puerto Vallarta, it offers its own array of things to do.
Only a three-hour flight From the United States, Panama or the land of many fish is 25,590 square miles or roughly the size of North Carolina. Located at the southern tip of Central America it is the bridge connecting Central and South America. You could even drive all the way from the United States to Panama via the Pan-American Highway. The country has a natural upside down S shape from east to west that connects Columbia to the east and Costa Rica to the west. The country is divided into nine provinces and five preserves for the indigenous Indian tribes. With the construction of the Panama Canal from Panama City to Colon, the vast distances required traveling between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans shortened to a stretch of only fifty miles. With such a close proximity to the United States and the Panama Canal controlling transshipping across the oceans Panama is of vital importance to United States trade.
Guanacaste has a dry climate because it is located in the lowlands, providing a warm and dry climate
Barbados’s flag was chosen with much meaning and significance. The flag represents freedom and the breakaway from a colonized past. The flag holds three equal bands, blue, gold, and blue respectively. The middle band being gold, holds a trident head, this head is what represents independence, freedom and past disconnection.
My place of choice for Ecotourism is Costa Rica. Located on PROSPERO FERNANDEZ HWY. San Jose, 1000 Costa Rica. Costa Rica consist of nebulous cloud forests, ebony sand beaches, thick rain forests and rushing river rapids offer alfresco activities for active peregrinators and nature enthusiasts. A dazzling array of creatures, including monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, jaguars, sea turtles and poison dart frogs, live in Costa Rica’s with many national parks. Costa Rica is prominent for its proliferation of wildlife refuges and the diversity of its animals and plants.