Costa Rica Climate

Like many tropical countries, Costa Rica experiences two seasons, the wet and the dry, rather than the four seasons of temperature regions. The dry season, verano (summer) , lasts from about late December to April. The rest of the year tends to be wet and is called invierno (winter).

In the highlands, the dry season really is dry, with only one or two rainy days per month. It can, however, rain up to 20 days per month in the wet season. The north and central Pacific coastal regions have rain patterns similar to the highlands, while the southern Pacific coast can experience rain year-round, though less so in the dry season.

The Caribbean coastal region is rainy year-round, with September, October, February and March having the least rainfall.

The drier months are characterized by fewer rainy days and spells of fine weather sometimes lasting a week or more. Rain tends to be torrential, usually lasting a few hours rather than all day.

Temperature vary little from season to season, and the main influencing factor is altitude.

Costa Rica Religion

This can be summed up in one word: Catholicism. Depending on which statistics you red, about 70% to 90% of the population is Roman Catholic, at least in principle.
In practice, many people tend to go to church only at the time of birth, marriage and death, but the y consider themselves Catholic nevertheless. Religious processions on holy days are generally less fervent or colorful than those found in other Latin American countries. Holy Week (the week before Easter) is a national holiday; everything, including buses, stops operating at lunchtime on Monday , Thursday and doesn’t start up again until Holy Saturday.

The blacks on the Caribbean coast tend to be Protestant, though some traditional African and Caribbean beliefs persist. Most other denominations have a church in or around San José. Various fundamentalist and evangelist groups, as well as Mormons, are slowly gaining some adherents. There is a small Jewish community with a B’ Nai Israel temple and a synagogue, and a sprinkling of people hold Middle Eastern and Asian religious beliefs, including Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.

Costa Rica Language

Spanish is the official language and is the main language for the traveler. English is understood in the better hotels, airline, offices and tourist agencies, as well as along much of the Caribbean coast.

Indian languages, primarily Bribri and Cabécar are spoken in isolated areas. These languages are understood by an estimated 18.000 people living on both sides of the Cordillera de Talamanca.

If you don’t speak Spanish take heart. It is an easy language to learn.