Costa RicaKnown for its natural beauty and kind people, it is a small country located in Central America. Situated between the countries of Nicaragua and Panama, bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, lies a true gem, the Republic of Costa Rica. Located ten degrees north of the equator, Costa Rica is in the tropics and although it is a small country, it has a very varied landscape and weather. An unusual aspect of Costa Rica is that the country does not have a military and does not have a military. of a national hero being a general, he is a young barefoot campesino (farmer). Costa Rica prides itself on the idea that it has achieved through evolution what other countries have attempted to achieve through revolution. The first Spanish settlers arrived around the 1560s and upon arrival they were shocked to find that the indigenous people were resistant to forced labor and that there was no forced labor. rich in minerals. in 1522 there were about 300,000 natives and by 1801 there were only 8,000 due to intertribal conflicts, wars with the Spanish, Old World diseases, intermarriage and the sale of natives as slaves to other countries. Because Costa Rica was such a poor and neglected piece of the Spanish Empire, poverty gave rise to simple living, with strong individualism and equality between social classes which contributed to the beginnings of democracy in Costa Rica . The government of Costa Rica is divided into three branches with a Supreme Election Tribunal in charge of elections that take place every four years. Costa Rica has great beauty, the government generates electricity, operates telephone service, the national banking system, builds houses and distills alcohol. About 14% of the population is employed by the government. Today, Costa Rica's population is 3,710,558. The main agricultural resources are bananas, coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes and timber. Costa Rica's main industries are food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizers, and plastic products. The average annual income of a Costa Rican is just $2,719, compared to $25,000 in the United States. The minimum wage is just under $1 an hour. Spanish is the language of the country and 95%...... middle of paper...... and monkeys to name a few. The country relies heavily on tourism and one type of tourism that is growing rapidly in conjunction with ecotourism is the adventure tourism industry. Hiking, camping adventures, waterfall hunting, multi-day horseback riding tours, wilderness skills classes, and whitewater rafting are some of the most popular adventures. Outward Bound even runs a school in Costa Rica. From what I can gather, the best experience of Costa Rica is traveling through a variety of locations throughout the country. Do what the locals do to experience the culture. Visit the two villages and the capital San José, go to the beach and take a trip to the cloud forest, visit national parks and take part in local celebrations. The experience in Costa Rica is what you make of it, but the opportunity is there to get a taste of traditional local culture.References1. Sheck, Ree Strange, Adventures in Nature, Costa Rica, Avalon Travel Publishing, 20012. Kussalanant, Chakris, The Tico Times, Culture and Arts, VolumeVII No. 14, April 6, 20013. Yahoo, www.infocostarica.com, accessed at