Back from Costa Rica!

Hi everybody! Ok so things are finally falling into place and I am going to be doing an internship this summer working with kids in children's homes in one of these countries. Does anybody have opinions on these countries??
I really know very little about Latin America so any help would be great. Ideas on where to look for cheap airfares to Latin America would also help!
Kelly

I just returned from Costa Rica and found it to be wonderful. You need to be careful in any of these countries but Bolivia is particularly dangerous. Please take it off your list!!!

EXito travel, www.exitotravel.com, typically has good airfares to Latin America.

Good luck.

Thanks Sel, ive been hearing lots of good things about Costa Rica. Just curious, why is Boliva so dangerous? Ive already turned down Colombia...my gut feeling just told me that was not a good place to be. My first choice was Mexico, but I cant seem to find anything there.
Kelly

The government goes in and out of a stable situation on a regular basis. OSU waited until the last minute to decide to do a course based on Bolivian literature because of this questionable stability. The course included a one week trip to Bolivia with a Bolivian professor and they did not want to get into a dangerous situation with the students. Native Bolivians have shared bits and pieces about the country. I hope someday to visit Bolivia, but its stability continues to be an issue. Costa Rica is the most stable of your three choices. It does not even have an military force. Ecuador continues to have uprising, although they are not extremely large or bloody.

I went to Ecuador for the summer of 1995 while I was in high school and in general had a really good time. I had already been to Spain and the differences between European/American lifestyle and what I found in Ecuador caused some culture shock. However, I absolutely loved the natural beauty of the country. Coastline, mountains and rainforest, all within a few hundred miles of each other and all of it spectacular! The native market at Otavalo was amazing!
As for flights, I found a cheap flight from Miami to Quito on the national airline of Ecuador, Saeta. Then I flew from Iowa to Miami on American. I had some adventures in the Quito airport trying to get my return flight, but in the end it was all worked out. If you do fly on a South American airline, make sure you call to reconfirm your reservation a few days before your flight, or they may give your seat away! Anyway, hope you find something interesting and if you do decide on Ecuador, feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Suerte.

Kelly, I was in various parts of Costa Rica for 10 days last month and would also recommend it as a first choice. I would have no qualms whatsoever going there. I met many Americans living and working there in all kinds of positions and they were very positive - if not downright enthusiastic - about it.

You may already have done this, but you should read the US Dept. of State travel warnings at http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html

I check them regularly and although Bolivia is not on the current list of warnings, I'm pretty sure it was a few months ago. Anyway, it's a good site to check regularly.

Hi. I used to live and work in Costa Rica as an English teacher. I would definitely recommend going to Costa Rica. It is the "Switzerland" of Latin America. The country is extremely beautiful and the people are amazing. They are very open and generous and at least a few years ago, there was a general liking of Americans. I don't think this has really changed much, but many Costa Ricans were against the war in Iraq and were unhappy when their president sided with Bush. Anyway, it is a wonderful, wonderful place to live.

I have also lived in Mexico and although I have a great love for the country, I still would recommend Costa Rica over Mexico. I believe it's safer for a single woman (which is my assumption).

Anyway good luck!!!
Jennita

Jennita, do you have recomendations as to what time of year would be best for a visit to Costa Rica? They have a rainy season in the summer, don't they?

Correct. They pretty much have the rainy season.. and the not so rainy season. The rainy season is generally from July through November more or less. However I lived in San Jose during this time and it rained for about two hours every evening at 4:30pm on the dot. I'm from Colorado, and although we get great snow storms, we don't get much rain. So I was completely amazed at the rain there! But the nice part about that time, is that there aren't tourists all over the place. So personally I would say any time is a good time in Costa Rica. Just prepared for a siesta during the rainy hours.

Good luck!!

Things are finally set up. Im going to be in Costa Rica, in Cartago, doing an internship with an agency that works with children with speech or hearing impairments. Perfect for me because my major is bilingual speech language pathology Thanks for all the input everybody! I'd love to hear more about Costa Rica!!!
Kelly

Well, I just went to Costa Rica in February. Here are my pictures, I rigged them so you don't have to sign in, you can just click on "view photos" hopefully it will work. Beautiful country, lots of crime - my friend had her passport and money stolen on a bus but that's another story. It all worked out allright. We went to Montezuma (loved it!) and Manuel Antonio. (not crazy about the town but loved the national park)

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=135iryi7.92lh6lyn&x=0&y=9s0f9s

Another question: What is the electrical adaptor situation there? I was told by a friend who spent a week there that it was the same currency as in the USA and that I wouldnt need to bring adaptors...is this true??

Yup, it's true! It was the first trip I've been on in a long time in which I could use my own hairdryer everywhere we went!

whats the best way to handle money, use the ATMs like in Spain? Any opinions, on must sees while in the country? Il be working mondays-friday, so what kinds of things can i do in just a weekend?

I found the money situation an interesting one. The local currency is the colon, but US dollars are accepted in many places that cater to tourism. They just give you your change in colones. For people who visit Costa Rica as tourists, I actually think it's possible to not exchange dollars, pay with them, and use the colones received as change for small purchases. As for ATMs, you can find them in the cities and larger towns, but not out in the country. Also, not all the ATMs are connected to the same network as American banks. Again, your best bet is to use an ATM in one of the major banks in a city. Interestingly, some ATM machines will ask you if you want to withdraw your money in colones or in dollars! I haven't been to Cartago, but I would imagine you can find an ATM that will work for you there.

There are loads of things to do in Costa Rica on weekends. The best thing to do would be to ask the people you'll be with. Beyond that, I can recommend some of the things we did: visit Monteverde - it's worth 2 days at least. Visit an active volcano. Visit the national parks- they're all a bit different. Go to the Manuel Antonio park to swim and see the monkeys. Fly through the forest on a zip line - an absolute must! Go rafting or kayaking, and go horseback riding. See the giant sea turtles come ashore and lay eggs (we didn't do this but would love to - you'll be there at the right time.) Relax in the hot springs at Tabacon, by La Fortuna (we went at night and it was magical.)

I think you'll love it!

The ziplining was so much fun that we had to do it twice. I could do it every day!

And that's right, no ATMs in the small towns. Even a tourist town like Manuel Antonio had ONE ATM a few kms away from town up the road! No ATM in Montezuma either. They are hard to find. As far as colones vs dollars, I used both.

I'm back!! Way too much to expalin in a single post, so if anyone wants more details, or info on how to do something similar let me know! In sum, I had the most amazing summer of my life. I worked at an orphanage in Paraiso, Costa Rica, a small town outside of Cartago. I learned sooo much from those kids. Lots of them have absolutely nothing, come from nothing, yet somehow they were some of the happiest, and most positive kids Ive ever had the joy of working with. While I hope that they learned something from me, I will forever carry them in my heart and never forget what they shared with me and taught me. Im already trying to start raising the money to go back next summer. Woa ok, now I need to get off my soapbox.

Aside from the kids and the work I did, Costa Rica was an amazing country in general. Thanks to everybody who pointed me in that direction.
The ticos were amazing and some of the kindest and most generous people ive ever met. As far as traveling, I didnt get around to as much of the country as i would have liked because I had to work weekends a lot. But I did get to MonteVerde and Manuel Antonio. Both of which were amazingly beautiful.
Paz!
Kelly

Welcome home!!

I'm SO happy to know you had a wonderful experience in Costa Rica. Sounds just great. My ladyfriend (in Madrid) and I are toying with the idea of spending 2 weeks over the Christmas holiday in Costa Rica - to rival our two weeks in Perú over the same holiday 2000/2001.

Certainly this time you spent in Costa Rica was a life-changing experience. Good for you. You no doubt have a wider horizon of consciousness which comes with traveling the world.

Saludos, MadridMan

Definitely check out Costa Rica if you get the chance MM. If you went around christmas time, that would also be one of the best times of the year weather wise to visit. I was there in the rainy season...and they aren't kidding when they say its RAINY! But the locals I talked to all said that the dry season has just absolutely beautiful weather. Wouldnt that be a treat from those snowy and freezing cold midwest winters!

Glad you had a good time, Kelly. MM, for me the election is clear. Although there is nothing bad against Perú, there is only (in my modest opinion) one big point of special interest there, which is the Inca ruins, and several others connotations some positive, some negative. I have been there.

I have not been to Costa Rica, but everybody I speak with, who has been there, say the same: incredible sceneries, the nicest people, safe.