The official language is Spanish, and it is by far the most widely spoken. However, there are a few remaining indigenous communities-- communities filled with people who inhabited the land well before the arrival of the Spanish in 1502. I actually had the chance to visit one of these communities a month ago! This community was called La Comunidad Maleku, and the members spoke both Spanish as well as their indigenous language Maleku. Instead of greeting each other with buenos días, these people say Capi-Capi!
The Costa Rican currency is called el colón (CRC). (I showed you one of the bills on our last call) I think these are some of the most beautiful bills in the world! They are extremely colorful, have images of different Costa Rican wildlife and are made of plastic, so they don’t tear! The least valuable bill that exists is the 1000 colones bill (equivalent to about $2). It’s bright red, and features a picture of an elk. The largest bill is the CRC 20,000 ($40). It’s orange, and has a photo of a hummingbird.
