Suzi Travels

San Jose, Costa Rica

We flew this morning from Fort Lauderdale to San Jose, Costa Rica. A quick Taxi to Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belan. After a quick look around, we met our tour guide Osvaldo “Ozzy” Padilla and our new family for the next 7 days. Costa Rica is a land bridge between North and South America. I was formed by 3 Teutonic plates over three million years ago. It was “re-discovered” in 1502 by Christopher Columbus. The Central Volcanic range has over 200 volcanos, 10 are still active. The highest point is 14,000 feet above sea level. The volcanic range divides Costa Rica in half. The dry side is the Pacific coast, the wet side is the Caribbean rain forest. It is the most biodiverse area in the Americas, with Northern species traveling South and Southern species traveling North. The current population is about 5 million, with 65% living in the Central Valley. People who are from Costa Rica refer to themselves as “Tico”. Costa Rica declared it’s independence in 1830. Since 1948 Costa Rica has no standing military.