Costa Rica Information

Costa Rica has more fruits, sugar, nuts, and coffee than I can name. The top three products here are, (in order), bananas, pineapples, and then coffee. Besides those, beef, sugar, and nuts are also very important to the economy. Wherever you go, there is always something growing or grazing. Top American fruit companies such as Chiquita Banana and Ananas Pineapples grow their fruits in Costa Rica. Coffee is sold all around the world, and Costa Ricans claim that their coffee is the best out of every top coffee producer. They are very proud of their home, and should be. Costa Rica is officially the safest country in Central America, and don't even have a military. In the city of San José, there is only one police station because Costa Rica is so safe, but things are starting to change. Columbia, which produces 86% of the world's cocain, traffics most of the drug to Mexico, therefor having to travel through the rest of Central America, including Costa Rica. Because there is only one police station for a couple hundred miles, in is near to impossible to stop millions of dollars and pounds of cocain being sent from Columbia to Mexico. Another problem with little police in Costa Rica is fire. Because it is dry for about half the year, Costa Rica experiences many uncontrolled fires. Cattle Farmers need the best grass for their cows, and to do that they burn the grass without a permit, which is illegal. Because it is so dry, those fires catch easy and spread for hundreds of miles. Though it seems pretty dangerous, farmers have been doing it for centuries, so it is normal for the people living here. When mom and I were out kayaking today, we saw a huge fire across the bay. Our guide said that it was probably farmers burning their sugar cane crops. Because sugar cane is so thick and wet, it doesn't burn when it's wet. Farmers use controller fires to burn away harmful animals in the crops and also prepare the ground for the next year's crops. The next day they have to quickly harvest all of the sugar cane before pests come back. Tonight is our last night at this hotel. Tomorrow at 7:30, we are leaving for the small beach town of Samara. It is a small beach town farther down the coast of the Nicoya peninsula. A big swell of waves is expected, so we can't wait to surf and see all the new fish located on a new beach.