Most roads are filled with potholes, and parts of the road are missing completely, usually washed away from all the heavy rain. This makes traveling by vehicle tricky at times, as you must drive slowly and dodge frequent potholes.
I will also say that the fact sun rises and sets at 5:00 (5:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) can make things challenging, as there aren’t many streetlights in remote areas. You haven’t seen dark until you’ve been here in Costa Rica. With little light pollution, it can feel like you lost your sight as the darkness is so thick and black. This means that most people are usually home before it gets too dark, and workdays usually end around 4:30 p.m. so people can get home before it becomes too dark.
People here have embraced conservation, and this means that they love their land and want to protect it. With 10.27% of the entire country protected as national parks by the Costa Rican government, and an additional 17% set aside as public and private reserves, wildlife refuges and protected zones, their love for the environment shows.
Ticos have a saying that has now become the motto of the country. Do you remember what that is? In case you forgot, it's “Pura Vida!,” and they live by this motto, as they try to live sustainably with the environment as it provides for them in many ways. I wish that we would adopt this motto back in the United States, as our country has a lot of beautiful areas that need protection. Do you think you could live like a Tico? I, for one, can say that it’s a big adjustment to my lifestyle in America, but in a lot of ways, it’s a nice and simpler way of life.
