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Costa Rica

Oh the Places You’ll Go (Should Go, Anyway) in Costa Rica!

Situated between the Central American countries of Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica is usually associated with sunny, white beaches, parrots with brilliant plumage and warm vacations. All of that is true, since there are 800 miles of beaches to explore and beautiful tropical weather to go along, but that barely scratches the surface of this beautiful Central American country.

Parrot in Costa RicaAlmost 25% of the land is park and preserves, which is good because Costa Rica hosts more than 5% of the world’s biodiversity, even though it only takes up .03% of the planet surface. That list includes 1200 varieties of orchids, 24,000 species of insects and 850 species of birds. That’s quite a bit considering it’s only 51,100 square kilometers (almost 20,000 square miles). To put that into perspective, New Brunswick is almost a third larger and Kentucky is twice as large.

This biodiversity and preservation leads to some of the most beautiful scenes on earth. And if you’re adventurous, you’ll get to see them all, through zip lines, whitewater rafting, hiking and biking. This is truly a nature lover’s paradise.

Animals in Costa RicaCosta Rica is also an ecotourism paradise. With the goal of imparting environmental awareness as you go to natural areas, this Central American country has made it a priority to balance the booming tourism trade with the preservation of nature. Along with caps for daily visitors, Costa Rica offers a Certificate For Sustainable Tourism, a program that evaluates businesses for sustainable practices (source). These control measures have paid off – the Environmental Performance Index ranked Costa Rica as the 5th Greenest Country. In fact, the country hopes to go completely carbon neutral by 2021 (source).

Arenal Volcano and LakeYou can start by seeing nature, mixed with a little adventure, if that’s your idea of fun. On a clear day, you can hike to Arenal Volcano, one of the top sights to visit, with its rumbling and near perfect conical shape. Next is Manuel Antonio National Park where you can hike along with the monkeys, parrots and sloths, do some whitewater rafting or kayaking along the many waterways and coastlines, zipline over forests, canyons and waterfalls or walk along the fantastic beaches with their clear blue water.

postman-butterfly-smIf you like a little education with your sight-seeing, stop by the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, where you can see a collection of gold artifacts, some dating back to AD 500. You can also swing by the National Museum of Costa Rica in San Jose, located in a fortress built in 1917, complete with bullet holes still in the walls! On your way back, don’t forget to check out the Butterfly Conservatory in El Castillo, a place that is “dedicated to the preservation, growth and study of the rainforest, with focus on butterflies and other tropical rainforest species of the Arenal region of Costa Rica.”

Costa Rica is a beautiful and unique country, one of those places where heaven and nature meet to show you what beauty really is. And Oxford Seminars can help get you there!

10 Comments

    • Maria Stevens
    • April 22, 2015

    Although I am not a native English speaker, I love the English language and teach it at a public school in the US. I’d love to teach English in Costa Rica! What do I need to do?

    • Rebecca Rees
    • April 25, 2015

    I am an English teacher, and I am very interested in teaching in Costa Rica.

    • Helen
    • April 25, 2015

    I want to learn to see how I can help teach English in other countries :-)

    • karen jones
    • April 27, 2015

    If you are over 40 forget about this. Agesim starts at that age and you will have to move heaven and hell to get a job teaching English in a foreign country if you are over 40. these companies that certify people don’t bother telling you that.

    • Karen,
      There is no age limit to take our course. Some employers abroad will give preference to younger applicants but there are also opportunities for mature individuals to teach ESL. Having an open mind about teaching in different countries will make your job search as a mature candidate easier. Our graduate placement service has helped place many older graduates. Have you thought about where you would like to teach?

  1. c101Hey I just wanted to say that I hosntley enjoyed reading your weblog. You have wonderful views, Maintain up the fantastic informative information Smile Just a quick question though. Are you making enough money from blogging?b4

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