The people here speak Spanish. A common Spanish phrase used by Ticos is pura vida. The direct translation is “pure life,” but people use this as a way to greet one another.
The Costa Rica colón is the currency here. There are both paper bills and coins. The paper bills are very colorful and have pictures of different animals on them.
Depending on where you go, a bottle of water typically costs between 800 and 1000 colones. This is between about $1.40 and $1.70.
For dinner one night, I had grilled chicken with rice and steamed vegetables. All of the ingredients tasted extremely fresh. It was a very healthy meal.
I listened to pop music from the 80s. This is what was playing in the buseta when we were traveling to Sarapiquí. All of the songs were top hits in the United States, and they were all in English.
