Interesting facts about Costa Rica

We're back from our trip -- a very busy, jam-packed, hectic vacation in Costa Rica.  This was my first time to visit the country, and as I always say when arriving in a new place, visiting in person is the best way to pick up interesting facts, so here are some of the tidbits I discovered:

• Biggest employer is Intel, which makes nearly all of its server chips there.
• Has never had a military, and is proud of its strong constitution and stable democracy.
• 23% of the country is protected forests and reserves
• They don't trill their r's, like other Spanish speakers
• Home to more unique species of birds (over 850) and insects (over 35,000) than the rest of North America or Europe. More than 10% of the world's butterflies live here.

I had expected it to be poor and run-down like other developing countries, but I was pleasantly surprised. For a tourist, even traveling in the countryside, I found it not much different than Hawaii, only cheaper.  Everyone takes US dollars and is friendly to Americans, and you won't have trouble speaking English anywhere.  Plus, it's only a 3 1/2 hour flight from Dallas, and you're on basically the same time zone when you arrive--no jet lag!

I felt safe and clean the whole time, no nasty mosquitoes or other annoyances.  Definitely recommended, even if you are traveling like we were with small children.