Recently, I made a short stop at San Jose, Costa Rica and I thought, it is definitely worth writing about. Though I have traveled a lot, every time I visit a new place, there is something about it that amazes me. Even if it is the same mountains and beaches that I have seen so many times and at so many places before, it is still a different and a unique experience for me! Maybe that’s the reason, people say, Mother nature has the power to nurture every soul!
Costa Rica, if one looks at the world map, is a tiny place somewhere down the North American continent. If you are living in the American regions, you would probably have heard about this place many times before. But, for me, it wasn’t a name that was so popular. Apart from when, they had reached the semi-finals in the FIFA World cup last year. Hence, definitely not in my bucket list of places that I have made for myself. So, when I had to make a stop at this place during a business trip, I hadn’t planned for much time here. But, luckily, for the few hours that I was here, I met a lovely couple from this place, whom I had befriended at my office. They took me around and tried to show me everything that they could in the little time that we had. Thanks to them, I got to know so many things about this country and also, made me realize that the whole experience of seeing a new place with locals is entirely mesmerizing. The reason being, it makes you appreciate the little things that you see and the stories behind it. And trust me, there is always a story behind everything that meets the eye!
While, there are many places that one can see in this beautiful country – volcanoes and caldera view, beaches, mountains, forests etc., there were some interesting facts that caught my attention.
- Costa Rica is a country surrounded by active Volcanoes, which had erupted as recent as last week and is a seismic zone as well, with earthquake tremors felt almost every week. The climate can play a spoilsport at any time, with flash floods and heavy storms being a common phenomenon. But still, the people here are kind of immune to these natural calamities! There is hardly any destruction that has happened ever or can be seen in this place. Isn’t it amazing! Why can’t other countries learn something from them?
- The population is quite limited in this country but you can still find long series of traffic jams everywhere! Partly owing to narrow roads and hilly roads 🙂
- Teaching is the most common profession here and has been so, since generations now. Maybe, the world needs to borrow some teachers from here to fulfill the scarcity of teachers across the globe!
- Hortencia plant, known for its balloon of flowers look, is quite common here, as this plant can be mainly seen in volcanic regions and they can be used to treat kidney stones!
- Costa Rica is surrounded by water all over, two oceans, Pacific and Atlantic but still the people here are not a fan of sea food! In fact, rice and beans (Gallo pinto) is the most famous national dish and a typical breakfast for the people here.
Few pics from my visit to this country, for others to see, are attached with this post. Definitely not everything but a few glimpses of all there is to see.
Soulful travelling 
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