Why a visit to Costa Rica is on my bucket list.

Why a visit to Costa Rica is on my bucket list.

I rave on about visits to the zoo or the safari park on my website. As a family we love to visit places like London Zoo, or Woburn safari park or locally to us Paradise Park. I love to learn about the animals and do our bit for conservation. To go and visit all of those tropical animals in real life would be a dream come true.

I would love to go on safari, go scuba-diving in the great barrier reef or a dream holiday of mine would be to visit Costa Rica and its rainforests. I have done much research into this beautiful country and the wildlife is some of most diverse on the entire planet. How amazing would it be to stay in a Costa Rica beach house. One day I will go to visit on of the happiest places in the world.

My best friend went there on holiday a year ago and absolutely loved it. He has shared some of his pictures to show you the beautiful world of Costa Rica. From beaches to rain forest, rivers to bustling cities, there is everything to experience.

Here are my reasons for why I want to take a visit to Costa Rica

It’s the Happiest place in the world!

Costa Rica tops the happy planet index rankings. This is worked out based on life expectancy, wellbeing, inequality of outcomes and ecological footprint. It ranks much higher than places such as USA or the UK whom you would expect to rank higher.

Costa Rica is the world leader for environmental behaviour with 99% of its electricity coming from sources such a wind or water. It aims to become carbon neutral by 2021. It has no army. instead the budgets have been moved into education and health. WOW.

The people have Costa Rice have very strong reliance on family and friends perhaps lending to the high wellbeing rankings and thus happiness. It sounds blissful.

The Life Expectancy

The average life expectancy in Costa Rica is a fabulous grand old age of 79, not far off the UK. That’s investment in health must be really working. Its higher than all their other central American neighbours. It is put some to simple living, healthy food and their happy lifestyle.

The Wildlife Experiences are simply incredible

One of the most incredible wildlife experiences has be watching sea turtles hatching and making their way down to the sea shore and can experience sea turtles hatching on the beach on the pacific beach side of the country. How amazing! A huge 25% of the country is protected habitat of rain forest or reserves. You can find around 500 different varieties of the beautiful and rare orchid. And it’s the most highly populated country in the world of hummingbirds. I have only ever seen one of these wild fluttering around the pool in a very hot Corsica last year. And one of my favourite animals lives there, the sloth! Who has seen Zootropolis the movie with the slow talking but very cute sloth? I totally want to cuddle a sloth.

There are lots of volcanos

I have always been fascinated with volcanos from a young age. The closest I have got until the age of 40 was a visit to Pompei in Italy, so we did get close to an active volcano! In Costa Rica there are loads of them, more than 12! With the biggest being Arenel, 5358 feet high.

There are beautiful beaches

You are going to have to work hard to beat the beaches of Cornwall, which are in my view some of the best beaches in the world. Porthcurnow and Sennon are difficult to beat. But they are often very busy.  Costa Rica claims to have many unspoilt beautiful beaches including Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula.

There are very few British People

Have you ever been on one of those holidays where you don’t even have to make an effort to speak Spanish or Italian because the place is full to the brim of English folk. I avoid those holidays like plague but have been on a few, Kos, Ibiza being examples of that! Very few brits go on holiday to Costa Rica, shhh lets try to keep it that way!

It has a cloud forest

Which sounds like heaven! This is home to many species of birds that are not found anywhere else in the world, including the Quetzal, so rare its feathers are said to be more valuable than gold. The Quakers who resettled in Costa Rica from USA are responsible for the development of this cloud forest. They bought land and farmed and created a sustainable and diverse life.

White water rafting and surfing

Two extreme sports that I have never tried before and 100% want to try out before I am too old is white water rafting and surfing. Costa Rica has some super impressive rapids, in particular the Turrialba which looks like so much fun. Then you can go surfing off the Nicoya peninsular.

Costa Rican’s have a beautiful language

The native language is Spanish but rather than say Hola, they say Pura Vida or Pure life. And how lovely is this, they refer to their partners as Media Naranja or the other half of the orange. And check this out the woman keeps her maiden name upon marriage. A progressive feminist country that I love the sound of.

If this has given you a taste for Costa Rica, I can’t wait to visit.

This is a collaborative post.