To describe Costa Rica, I must first start with the country's slogan pura vida. pure life. It is a greeting, a response, a compliment, an expression, and an attitude. The ticos (Costa Ricans) were savvy about tourism and rainforest conservation. The entire country, from citizens to NGO employees to government officials to foreign investors were all committed to protecting the environment. It was an attitude very different from wasteful Americans or poverty-burdened Salvadorans. (much of our visit included speculating how the conservation was a priority throughout all of Costa Rica.)
Costa Rica is rightfully called one of the most beautiful places in Latin America. The whole country is beautiful - mostly because there are so many trees, and so many birds and animals around {I sight I have missed back in D.C.} Exotic flowers and tall trees grow in the rainforest preservations, large rolling fields of green line the highways, and beaches back up to forests. But the country seems exceptionally beautiful because there are limited views of poverty and human suffering. Costa Rica has officially been classified as a "developed" country, with the majority of the population earning $10/day. Not many people greet you on the sidewalk, dirty and asking for money. There is not a lot of trash on the ground. Buses are clean and sleek. It were these missing views that threw me off the most, having traveled to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. In general, the ticos were friendly, but they were also very arrogant. I had heard this complaint from my Salvadoran friends, that Costa Ricans are arrogant, and look down upon other Latinos. Costa Rica is a developed country, with lots of foreign support and no need for an army, with sanitation plans and environmental conservation programs. Costa Rica is miles ahead of all other Central American countries, and the ticos are very proud. Our Costa Rican tour guide, Giuliano, was very nice, very invested in our education, and very passionate about all things of nature. He showed us many good things about Costa Rica, and encouraged my Spanish. One of the best things about heading back to Central America, in addition to beans and rice (pinto gallo) was speaking and hearing Spanish. Speaking the language of the country I'm visiting makes the whole experience more enriching - feeling comfortable communicating, impressing the locals, bartering for jewelry, and having the opportunity to ask questions and start discussions. Ticos are very used to American tourists, but it is more fulfilling to speak to the taxi driver, the nature guide, and the speaker.
We also spent three days in Granada, Nicaragua, which was starkly different from developed Costa Rica. I felt both more comfortable and less comfortable. Much of the views - of the countryside, of people in their fincas, of poor people on the streets - reminded of El Salvador. These views reminded me of El Salvador, a place I love and miss. These views were what I was used to when traveling (social justice trips), but it doesn't make them acceptable. One of the worst things I witnessed in Granada was a street fight among street kids high on glue. I was so helpless, so unable to act. So not American. I don't ever feel voiceless in the United States, but there was nothing I could do or say for those two minutes in Nicaragua. But also in Granada was a café run by deaf and mute citizens, who also went to school and made hammocks to sell. There is a lot of good in Nicaragua, but an outdated negative opinion disguises it.
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