Set in Central America, with both a Pacific and Caribbean coast line, Costa Rica is the jewel of Central America. The country's beautiful natural attractions, wildlife, and knowledge of the extreme friendliness of the Ticos, as the Costa Rican's call themselves, invites tourists from all over the world to visit there land. The Ticos pride themselves on the peacefulness of the country- being located in between two turbulent countries- and having no standing army . Costa Rica was greatly influenced by Spain for its traditions and religion but largely aspire to acquire the ways of Americans. This nation has a lot to offer visitors and despite its small size, it has an outstanding amount of biodiversity, and climate and topography differences. Although the country has had various problems with deforestation and wildlife preservation, they have made a large effort to conserve and create numerous National Parks. Costa Rica is filled with many different interesting aspects and could be one of the world's best kept secrets.
Spain has been a large part in the customs that the Costa Ricans hold on to and also in the Roman Catholic beliefs . They have many festivities in their villages that equate to Spain's traditions, including the festival of The Fiesta Patronal, which is a saint's day type of tradition. This occurs once a year and is similar to many other fiestas but the difference is that in Costa Rica it's not complete without bull fights1. Costa Ricans also hold a strong sense of community and find it hard to leave their birthplace. They hold family life high in priority but now they have to move from their villages to a city in order to uphold a career and bring income to their families . Soccer is also a main element in the Ticos" lives. It's a national obsession even among the women and its importance to the culture is demonstrated through their enthrallment . .
The influence that Spain has had on Costa Rica might also explain why the main official language of the country is Spanish.