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Costa Rica

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Poás Volcano Crater

A pioneer of ecotourism, Costa Rica draws many tourists to its extensive series of national parks and other protected areas. In the 2011 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica ranked 44th in the world and second among Latin American countries after Mexico in 2011. By the time of the 2017 report, the country had reached 38th place, slightly behind Panama. The Ethical Traveler group’s ten countries on their 2017 list of The World’s Ten Best Ethical Destinations includes Costa Rica. The country scored highest in environmental protection among the winners. Costa Rica began reversing deforestation in the 1990s, and they are moving towards using only renewable energy.

Transportation:

There are many modes of transport in Costa Rica but the country’s infrastructure has suffered from a lack of maintenance and new investment. There is an extensive road system of more than 30,000 kilometers, although much of it is in disrepair; this also applies to ports and railways.

Most parts of the country are accessible by road. The main highland cities in the country’s Central Valley are connected by paved all-weather roads with the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and by the Pan American Highway with Nicaragua and Panama, the neighboring countries to the North and the South. Costa Rica’s ports are struggling to keep pace with growing trade.

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Aeropuerto Juan Santamaria

Previously useful rail routes are in disrepair and no longer utilized.

There are two main international airports in Costa Rica, one in San Jose and one in Liberia.

Flag of Costa Rica:

The national flag of Costa Rica is based on a design created in 1848.

The flag was officially adopted on 27 November 1906, including a slight modification to the placement and design of the entrenched coat of arms. The flag was updated to reflect concurrent modifications to the national coat of arms in 1964 and 1998. Along with Haiti, Afghanistan, and Bolivia, it is one of four national flags in the world which has a depiction of its flag within the flag itself.

The blue, white and red horizontal design was created in 1848 by Pacífica Fernández, wife of then president José María Castro Madriz. Fernández was inspired by France’s 1848 Revolution, and the creation of the French Second Republic. The new design to the Costa Rican flag adopted the colors of the French tricolor.

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Flag of Costa Rica

The blue color stands for the sky, opportunities, idealism, and perseverance. The white color stands for peace, wisdom and happiness. The red color stands for the blood spilt by martyrs in defense of the country, as well as the warmth and generosity of the people.

The coat of arms of Costa Rica was also revised in 1848 and placed in the center of the flag. In 1906, when the coat of arms was modified, the update was placed in a white disk on the flag’s red stripe, and later on an oval, set toward the hoist.

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