1. Costa Rica

2. Del tamaño (size) de West Virginia Nicaragua Panamá Costa Rica

3. Algunos datos Tiene cuatro millones y medio de habitantes (residents). 96 % de la población sabe leer y escribir. El idioma es el Español. Tiene siete provincias: San José, Alajuela Cartago, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas y Guanacaste. Costa Rica no tiene ejército (army). Moneda- colón

4. Tipos de billetes Diez mil colones=$20

5. Cinco mil colones=$10

6. Dos mil colones=$4

7. History In 1502, Columbus landed on the shores of Costa Rica and gave it the name “Rich Coast.” In 1821, the Central American provinces, including Costa Rica, declared their independence from Spain. Throughout the 19 th & 20 th centuries, Costa Rica maintained a peaceful democracy, only entering twice into war. In 1949, the country chose to abolish its standing army and has since enjoyed political stability, peace and economic progress.

8. San José es la capital San José is located in the Central Valley (el Valle Central) of Costa Rica. This region has the largest population in the country and is surrounded by volcanoes.

9. San José

10. El Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

11. Geografía 27% of the land in Costa Rica is protected wildlife and wilderness areas. Because Costa Rica is in Central America, it is has two seasons- the dry season and the rainy season. –The rainy season is from June to November and during this time, the Caribbean Coast receives almost 77 inches of water. –Because of all this rainfall, Costa Rica has a lush, green geography with a large diversity of plants and animals.

12. Playas muy bonitas El Coco

13. Tamarindo

14. Manuel Antonio

15. Muchos volcanes El Volcán Arenal is the most active volcano in Costa Rica. There are over 60 volcanoes in Costa Rica. (8 active) Volcán Arenal

16. El Volcán Poás El Volcán Poás is one of the deepest volcanoes in the world!

17. Selva (jungle) tropical

18. Muchas cataratas La Paz La Fortuna

19. Un bosque nuboso (Cloud Forest) Costa Rica is home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. A Cloud Forest (of Fog Forest) is similar to a rain forest but has an almost constant cloud cover, resulting in mossy and very green vegetation. http://www.wildnatureimages.com/CloudForestPhotos.htm http://www.pleasurebend.com/heaven-in-the-monteverde- cloud-forest-costa-rica/

20. Plantas diferentes In the Monteverde Cloud Forest, there are more than 2500 species of plants!

21. Animales There are also more than 400 species of birds, 490 butterflies, and 100 species of mammals in the Monteverde Cloud Forrest. El mono congo El quetzal La lapa roja El perezoso de tres dedos

22. El mejor café del mundo Bananas are another product of Costa Rica, one of the largest producers of bananas in the world. Banana plantations can be found on both the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts. El café or coffee is the principal crop of the Central Valley.

23. El Día del Boyero El Día del Boyero is a celebration in San Antonio de Escazú. This celebration, also know as Oxcart Driver’s Day, is home to a large parade the 2 nd Sunday in March. In the 19 th century, Oxcarts were used to transport coffee beans. San Antonio de Escazú is the center of Oxcart production and the Oxcart painters are celebrated artist. http://www.therealcostarica.com/travel_costa_rica/fairs_topes.html

24. La comida Almost all meals in Costa Rica include rice and beans. Gallo pinto (painted rooster) is the typical Costa Rican breakfast of fried rice and black beans. Casado is another popular dish usually served at lunch that consist of beans and rice with eggs, meat, vegetables, or plaintains.

25. Se dice en Costa Rica: “Pura vida” "plenty of life", "full of life", "this is living!", "going great", "real living", or "cool!"It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, to politely express indifference when describing something.

26. Ticos Tico is a colloquial term for a native of Costa Rica. The plural form is ticos. Amongst the famous Costa Ricans, there is –Juan Santamaria, the official National Hero –Jose Maria Castro Madriz President, Supreme Court justice, university founder, newspaper founder. –The current President Óscar Arias Sanchez who also won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 –Astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz –Silvia Poll Olympic silver medalist –Claudia Poll First Olympic gold medalist –Joaquín Guitiérrez a famed writer. –Clodomiro Picado Twight a Toxicologist –Chavez Vargas a Singer –Francisco Amighetti a Painter