Our time in Puntarenas, Costa Rica was fantastic. We got off the ship and, as with most places, found some taxis and tour guide operators trying to sell their time to people as they got off the ship. We didn’t have a planned excursion for the day, so we grabbed one of the guides – Juan Carlos – and took off in his car for a lovely tour of the area. He showed us the small downtown area of Puntarenas – approximately 4 weeks by 14 blocks. He also drove us further out of town to explore the area a bit. He took us to a “monkey house” where we fed white-faced capuchin monkeys while they climbed all over us. Unfortunately for John, one of them climbed on him right after it splashed in some muddy water! Juan Carlos then took us to crocodile bridge to see some crocs lounging in the sun. We stopped in a few spots to scout out some macaws in the wild and swung into a souvenir shop. Along the drive, he shared some fun tidbits about Costa Rica and the immediate vicinity.

With that, I share with you some facts I learned about Costa Rica, many of which Juan Carlos confirmed for us. Enjoy!

1. There is a popular saying in Costa Rica, so popular in fact that it’s almost as if it’s the country’s unofficial motto. That phrase is pura vida – or pure life. Supposedly, the phrase originated from a 1956 Mexican film titled Pura Vida in which an unfortunate man repeatedly uses the phrase every time things don’t go his way – sorta like, “Oh well, it’s all good.” Nowadays, the phrase is used throughout Costa Rica to say everything from hello, goodbye, thank you, as a response to “how ya doing?,” or as an expression of admiration towards someone or something. Basically, when in doubt, just say pura vida. Pura vida!

2. What shall we call Costa Ricans? We can call them what they call themselves: Ticos and Ticas.  This nickname for Costa Ricans is a result of their tendency to add the diminutive “tico” to the end of words. For example, they might say “pequeñitico” instead of the more standard “pequeñito” or “chiquitica” instead of “chiquita.” This peculiar additional tico/tica is a clear way of identifying a Costa Rican, or, rather, a Tico or Tica.

3. In 1948, Costa Rica had a 44-day long civil war that resulted in the loss of ~2,000 people – one of the bloodiest events in the country’s history. The event was sparked by a rebel party led by Figueres Ferrer claiming the recently-elected president (Otilio Ulate) had won through fraudulent means. After Ferrer’s victory, he promptly disbanded Costa Rica’s army. Yep, as the new president, he demilitarized the country, making it one of only 23 countries around the world to not have an armed force. Of course, that’s a little misleading. It’s not as if they’re sitting ducks with no protection. They do have an armed Police Force that patrols the Panamanian and Nicaraguan borders and provides general law enforcement. There is also an Intelligence and Security Directorate and The United States Coastguard, which is quite active in Costa Rican waters, aimed at intercepting drug shipments and stopping other illegal activities in the area. But, technically speaking, the don’t have an army and if the need ever arose for them to go to war, they would need to depend the almost two dozen countries, including the U.S., that have pledged to provide military assistance if the need should arise.

4. Here’s a super-fast fact: Costa Rica loves nature. In fact, a whopping 25% of Costa Rica’s entire territory is comprised of national parks. That’s above the average for the developed world (which is around 13%) and way above the world average (which is only around 8%). It’s good they protect their land because they have a lot of goodness needing protection. Namely, Costa Rica accounts for only 0.03% of the earth’s surface yet contains nearly 6% of the world’s biodiversity. Yowzers!

5. Building off the previous fact – there are over 500,000 species of wildlife and of those, 900 of them are birds! While we were there, we saw monkeys, crocodiles, and several species of birds including macaws. Of course, we also saw dogs and cats. If you want to see crocodiles, you can go to the crocodile bridge of the Tarcoles River. The river covers over 1200 miles and empties into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge over the river is well known and there are souvenir shops and whatnot right at the bridge. You walk onto the bridge, peer over, and down below are many crocs just basking in the sun. Some consider this river to have the highest population of crocodiles in the world. They’re huge!

6. Sticking with the animals, Costa Rica has four species of monkeys – the mantled howler monkey, the white-faced capuchin monkey, the spider monkey, and the squirrel monkey. While we were there, we stopped at a local house where the family feeds the wild monkey population. So, the monkeys come down from the hills for the food, and for $3/person you can feed the monkeys and they will playfully climb all over you. One even hung from Ryan’s neck by its tail! Another monkey had a mini tantrum on top of the house, banging and clanging about. It was quite comical and a fun experience for all of us.

7. Ticos gotta show off their love of nature and biodiversity, right? And what better way to do it through something that is seen and wanted by everyone… their money! Every denomination of Costa Rican cash (paper money) features a different landscape and animal chosen from Costa Rica’s vast biodiversity, including the white-tailed deer, white-headed capuchin monkey, sloth (the national symbol of Costa Rica), and blue Morpho butterfly. The scenes include a rainforest, cloud forest, mangrove swamp, and coral reef (among others). With currency of the rainbow – red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and violet bills – the beauty of the currency really is undeniable.

8. Costa Rica is home to one of the five original Blue Zones. Blue Zones are those areas where people live longer and healthier lives than other places in the world. Here – in the city of Nicoya to be specific – people are twice as likely as people in America to live to be 90, and supposedly there are more centenarians here than anywhere else in the world. There are many reasons attributed to their longevity, including a healthy diet, smart amounts of sun, calcium-fortified water, and having a ‘plan de vida’ or a reason to live.

9. Costa Rica has a hiking trail – the Camino de Costa Rica – that cuts through the entirety of the country. It runs across the country, starting on the Atlantic Ocean before going through Tortuguero National Park up and up into the mountains. From there, the trail passes through the Barbilla National Park, past the Turrialba and Irazu Volcanoes, before descending to the Pacific Ocean. It was established by the government in 2018 as part of a program to revive the rural economy and surrounding regions. It was apparently successful, with incomes rising 30% within a year of the trail’s establishment.  As much as we’d love to help the economy, we opted to stick with the ship and use the Panama Canal as our crossing from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.

10. Final fun fact – “soda” is not interchangeable with “pop” here. Here, soda is a generic term for any hole-in-the-wall eatery that serves typical Costa Rican food. They’re all over the place. You’ll find menu options such as gallo pinto (the national dish of rice and beans), patacones (salty plantains), and casados (meat, rice, black beans, and veggies). No clue if “pop” can work for Diet Pepsi though, as it does for me.