"COSTA RICA - con Mucho Gusto" a Costa Rica Travel Page by peggydaly

I admit i had reservations about my trip to Costa Rica. It seemed so "done" (or over-done). I was so pleasantly surprised to find many beautiful, wide-open places not over-run by tourists.

Sure there are the places where tour buses abound, but it's just as easy to find where they are not. And yes, it's nice that it's got a tourism infrastructure that makes getting to both kind of places equally easy - like Interbus. So we opted for an interior ranchero town trip, a river-rafting trip and a beach (Nicoya Peninsula) trip.

Will I go back? Now that i've discovered Panama, maybe not. But i am glad i went.

The countryside is stunning, green and friendly. Lots of little typico restaurants along the roadsides, many with fantastic vistas, make travelling along fun.

It was fairly easy to get by on my scant Spanish. Many Ticos speak at least some English and those that are exposed to tourists usually speak it quite well.

Get out to some of the more out of the way little towns and you'll get a glimpse of local color. I found the living conditions here better thank in many other Latin American countries.