As Latin American countries go, Costa Rica can be rated a relatively carefree destination. Clean hotels are available almost everywhere, the food is generally safe to eat and sometimes of gourmet quality, and service is competent, even gracious. Transportation is well-developed and comfortable in many parts of the country. Officials generally do not expect to be bribed. Even "roughing it" can be accomplished in style and without hassle, on fully inclusive soft-adventure jungle trips, and white-water rafting and kayaking excursions arranged by experienced travel companies. There is plenty to appeal to personal interests—fishing, birding, spelunking, Spanish-language study, and much more.

Of course, it's still possible to muck things up. Though Costa Rica is eminently suited to independent travel, there are a few spots where accommodations are limited. Some places just can't be reached easily by public transportation. There are times of year when everything is full, and some hotel owners won't resist the temptation to gouge. You just might come fishing in the wrong season. Read carefully, and you'll be able to decide your own best strategy and avoid pitfalls.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Dry and "Green" Seasons

Most visitors arrive in Costa Rica during the northern winter and spring, and for obvious reasons. This is when it's best to get away from the cold, of course. But it also coincides with the dry season, from about November through April, when the western side of Costa Rica receives hardly any rain, and when temperatures are usually most pleasant.

But there are a few good words to be said for the rainy times, which promoters have taken to calling the "green season"—and not without reason. On the western side of the country, the annual drought is broken in May, and the fields turn green and exuberant. Facing the Caribbean, where the rains take no annual vacation, the downpours are heavier and last longer. For rafters, the rivers are full of water. And for wise travellers, hotel occupancy drops, and so do rates.

And, though it's the rainy season, it never (well, hardly ever), rains all day. That's because weather forms in a different way from in the temperate latitudes, where a mass of clouds could stay in one place for days. In Costa Rica, a rainstorm is usually a daily phenomenon in season, blowing up from the coast on winds that follow the warming of the day, and dispersing after a few hours.

Then there are differences in climate between the temperate zones and Costa Rica. In the United States, latitude largely determines climate—Florida is warm, Georgia is pleasant, Minnesota is frigid in winter. In Costa Rica, despite "tropical" latitudes, mountain barriers, altitude and prevailing winds create zones that vary from chilly to humid and sweltering, throughout the year. These zones are right next to each other, and you can change your climate according to your mood. If you're feeling cold and damp in Monteverde in February, hop on a bus, and in a couple of hours you can get to a dry and sun-baked beach on the Gulf of Nicoya—and pass through a continent's worth of climates in the process.

Here is a general picture of the zones of Costa Rica.

The highland climate of the major cities—San José, Cartago, Heredia and Alajuela—is often called "eternal spring," a term that is not used merely to attract tourists. Temperatures are in the low seventies Fahrenheit (about 22 Centigrade) during the day throughout the year. High mountains and volcanoes to the north of San José block the clouds that blow in from the Atlantic, and it rains only from April to November or December, when winds are from the Pacific. But a long rainy day is a rarity in the Central Valley. Mornings are generally clear, followed by a few hours of heavy downpour in the afternoon. Sometimes the rain can last into the night. Clouds hold in the heat of the day, and nights are generally warm. The rainy season is called invierno (winter), even though Costa Rica is in the northern hemisphere. In the dry times, or verano (summer), not even the thought of rain occurs. Days are uniformly warm and sunny. Nights are clear, and the temperature can sometimes drop into the fifties (about 10 Centigrade).

Down toward the Pacific coast, the climate is hotter. In Puntarenas, daytime temperatures are in the nineties (above 32 degrees Centigrade) throughout the year. But at the beaches, refreshing breezes moderate the heat. The rainy season is the same as in the Central Valley, but precipitation is heavier. The exceptions are the extreme north and extreme south. The Guanacaste plain suffers periodic droughts, which bother farmers more than visitors. And around Golfito, near Panama, peculiarities in the mountains and winds bring rains throughout the year.

On the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica, storms may blow in at any time, though rainfall is lightest from February through April and in September. Precipitation is over ten feet at Limón in most years, and even higher to the north. Storms appear suddenly and with a frightening fury, but they are usually quickly gone. Temperatures are generally as hot on the Caribbean as on the Pacific, and the humidity is more enervating.

The higher altitudes are cooler. Frosts occur above 2150 meters (7000 feet) during the dry season. And atop volcanoes and in the Talamanca mountains, temperatures can plunge from warm to below freezing in a few hours.

Costa Rica's unit of currency is the colón ("ko-LOHN"), which is named after Christopher Columbus (Colón in Spanish). In slang usage, the colón is sometimes called a peso.

Unfortunately, changing your foreign currency to colones at a bank could turn out to be your most unpleasant experience in Costa Rica. You might have to wait in line for more than an hour, travellers checks in hand, while somebody in front of you cashes in sheet upon sheet of winning lottery tickets, or has his loan payments calculated on antiquated adding machines and then transferred to record sheets by a teller with hunt-and-peck typing skills (and how they insist on using typewriters!)

And after waiting, you still might not get your money changed. I once had my travelers checks refused because I had no permanent address in Costa Rica. I was turned down at other banks because my brand of travelers checks was out of favor (they wouldn't say why). Some visitors are refused if they've left their passports in their hotels.

With a few precautions, however, you can avoid problems with the banks and their sadistic methods. Some suggestions:

• Buy colones in advance or at the airport as soon as you arrive.

• Avoid relying exclusively on travellers checks (see "How Should You Carry Your Money?").

• Change money at your hotel, if it performs this service (usually not at the best rate).

• Use a bank's specialized exchange office, when available. In downtown San José, the most convenient such facility, operated by Banco Mercantil, is opposite the tourist office, on Calle 5 just south of Avenida Central. Watch for pickpockets as you leave!

• Use street money-changers (formerly the black market, but now legal). The rate is now slightly less favorable than what you'll get at a cash machine or the bank, but it's convenient for small transactions.

Dealers generally operate near the post office in San José, and outside the arrivals area of the airport. How do you find them? Generally, you don't have to look for them; they'll find you. Try to carry out the exchange off the street (in a hotel lobby, for example). Have some familiarity with Costa Rican currency, and put your cash away immediately in a money belt or inside pocket safe from thieves.

If this is more than you want to deal with on a vacation, credit cards are a better alternative.

• Use credit cards!
Visa, Master Card, and American Express are widely accepted at middle- and upper-range hotels in Costa Rica, and at many, many sit-down restaurants. (Small, family-run hotels generally will not take plastic, even for $100 rooms.) If you have a Visa card and a Master Card, take both—sometimes the computers will turn one down for no good reason. But verify how much commission your card company charges on currency conversions.

Local contacts are: American Express, tel. 233-0044; Visa and Master Card, tel. 253-2155 (Credomatic, Avenida Central, Calles 29/33).

• Use cash machines. As of this writing, you'll get the best exchange rate by using a bank card at a cash machine (paying a commission to your bank, of course). ATMs are easy to find in San José, less so elsewhere. Some ATMs can also be used to obtain cash advances on credit cards.

The easiest way to get additional funds is to have them deposited in your home account, and to access them via a bank card. If this won't work for you, money may be received by telegraphic or Telex transfer through a bank in San José. Make sure you know through which bank it will be sent—several have similar names. International money orders may also be sent by registered mail, but safety is not assured. The U.S. State Department, tel. 202-647-5225, can assist with money transfers. Regular money orders and personal checks are nearly impossible to cash.

Sterling, Marks, Francs, Canadian Dollars. If you've ignored my advice and brought along these currencies, try the services of Compañía Financiera Londres, on Calle Central near the corner of Avenida Central (next to La Casona), third floor. Rates will most likely be less than favorable.

Business Transactions. Goods should generally be shipped to Costa Rica against advance payment or irrevocable letter of credit (says my publisher, sadly).

Re-check with your airline or a consulate of Costa Rica before you go, but as of the moment . . .

Citizens of the United States or Canada require only a passport to enter Costa Rica by air. Permits good for 90 days are issued upon arrival.

Travelers from countries of Western Europe can also enter Costa Rica with a passport only, as can citizens of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Iceland, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Japan, Panama, Romania, South Korea, Yugoslavia, and Venezuela.

Overland travellers, travellers from countries not mentioned above, and all business travellers must have a passport with a visa issued in advance. Check with your airline or a Costa Rican consulate for requirements.

Though tourist cards are available without a passport in some cases, you'll still need a passport to cash travellers checks and to return home.

All tourists may be required to demonstrate their financial resources upon arrival, as well as show a return or onward ticket.

Land borders are officially open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with breaks from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

To stay in Costa Rica beyond the period initially authorized, you must exit the privileged world of the casual visitor. Idiosyncratic and changing regulations, whim and lineups can take a heavy toll on your time and patience.

If you are even thinking about staying longer than ninety days, it would be a good idea to get in touch with a Costa Rican consulate before you leave home, and review current regulations regarding travel with children, financial means, and anything else you or they can think of. Usually, the best way to stay is to leave for a few days, then return.

If you overstay your tourist visa, you'll pay fees of up to $40 for a 30-day exit visa and assorted taxes, in addition to charges for a child-support waiver (pensiones alimenticias stamps) purchased at the airport. Some travel agencies will take care of all this paperwork. Or you can plead in person at the immigration department in La Uruca (eight blocks west of Lacsa, along the expressway—take the Alajuela bus). Be prepared to show several hundred dollars in travelers checks and your ticket home, and to pay modest fees. The extension takes several days to process.

Longer stays, student visas, residencies and special situations usually require the intervention of a lawyer, and extensive paperwork that can take months or even years to complete. Really, it's an endorsement of the country, or a demonstration of masochism, that so many hang in there.

Pets require a veterinarian's attestation that the animal is free of parasites, distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and gastroenteritis, and has had a rabies vaccination. For forms, contact the Zoonosis Department, Ministry of Health, P. O. Box 123-1000, San José. Various stamps are required. A Costa Rican consulate can provide details.

Visitors are allowed to enter Costa Rica with any used personal possessions that they will reasonably need, including sporting equipment. Items unfamiliar to customs inspectors, including medical articles, could be taxed heavily. The exemption for new merchandise is $100 of customs duty. New merchandise may include up to three liters of liquor (which you can purchase on arrival at the airport), one pound of tobacco, and six rolls of film.

U.S. Customs allows an exemption of $600 per person in goods, including one quart of liquor and 200 cigarettes. Many of the handicrafts for sale in Costa Rica (which are made in neighboring countries) are in any case exempt from U.S. customs duty. Canadian residents may use their once-yearly $400 exemption, or their $100 quarterly exemption for goods brought home, with a limit of 1.1 liters of liquor and 200 cigarettes.

Costa Rica prohibits the export of pre-Columbian artifacts. In practice, there is a black market in these items, and there is limited official concern for pieces of little artistic value. One should be careful, however, not least because many artifacts are phony. Items made from protected species, such as turtles and alligators, could also get you into hot water, or at least be confiscated, when you try to get them through customs at home.

Consider the Climate

When packing for your visit to Costa Rica, keep in mind that the climate is moderate. For San José and the Central Valley, take the kind of clothes you would wear during the spring at home. A light sweater or jacket might be required for the evening, especially during the dry season. For early-morning excursions, you'll do best to dress in layers, perhaps a sweater over a shirt and t-shirt. Remove layers as the temperature climbs, or as you descend to lower altitudes.

For visits to either coast, you'll want lightweight clothing, preferably all-cotton, or cotton blends.

In general, informal clothing is suitable. Even in San José, you may dine at your hotel in slacks and sport shirt or blouse. At the best restaurants, however, and at formal events, such as concerts at the National Theater, a dress or jacket and tie are appropriate. Costa Ricans value a neat appearance (just look at how they dress!) and regard visitors who wear patched clothing with puzzlement.

Fashionable, full-cut shorts are acceptable daytime attire in San José. Short-shorts and cutoffs are generally not worn in the capital, except for sports or around the house.

What will your trip will be like? You don't want to carry items that you'll never unpack. On the other hand, you don't want to leave behind any essentials.

If you'll be at one hotel, take as many changes of clothes as you feel you'll need (as long as it all fits in a couple of suitcases), and do the laundry when you get home.

The other extreme is incessant travel, a single change of clothes in a carry-on bag, and laundry in the hotel sink every night.

A compromise is to leave a large bag at your hotel in San José, and carry a smaller bag as you travel around the country. At the very least, this leaves you less vulnerable to having all your possessions stolen.

Here are some suggestions for what to take. Pencil in additions that suit you, and cross out irrelevancies.

Essentials include

• passport

• travellers checks

• tickets

• some U.S. cash in small-denomination bills

• money belt or neck puch (robbery is an increasing concern)

Take lightweight all-cotton clothing, or loose-fitting, easy-care cotton blends. Include:

• hat with ample brim. Cheap straw and cotton hats are widely available in Costa Rica, but the fit is often tight on gringos.

• a bathing suit

• a few shirts or blouses

• shorts

• comfortable walking shoes. Running shoes will suffice for most purposes. Boots can often be rented when really needed.

• socks, underclothes

• sandals or surf shoes.

• at least one lightweight, long-sleeved top and slacks, in case you overexpose yourself to the sun, and for evenings, when mosquitoes might lurk.

• a light sweater or jacket for cool mornings and evenings, though a heavier one or a jacket will do at higher altitudes, such as at the peaks of volcanoes.

• a raincoat or umbrella if you travel during the rainy months (May through mid-December in San José), or along the Caribbean side of the country. Taking shelter from the rain for a few hours, however, is no special inconvenience.

• a dress-up outfit, if you think you might need it—a jacket and tie, or dress, or formal blouse and skirt.

• for forest reserves, slippery jungle walks, and back-road travel, take one set of expendable lightweight clothing, preferably with long sleeves.

• reading material. Bring a moderate amount if your visit will center on San José, where you can trade your used books, or a pile of books for a beach holiday.

• a day bag for carrying purchases, sunscreen, whatever. I prefer a see-through mesh bag—it shows that you have nothing worth stealing. Fanny packs are insecure and undesirable in towns, but fine for the countryside.

• A pen or two, including a felt-tip pen (ballpoints clog up) and paper.

Bring your cosmetics, toiletries, and small personal items, including

• sunglasses

• your favorite personal kit of aspirin or substitute, sunscreen, sunburn cream, malaria pills, spare prescription glasses, mosquito repellent (most convenient in stick form), etc.

Fishing and diving equipment are available, but the selection is sometimes limited, so you're often better off with your own gear. If you have them, take

• mask, snorkel and fins

• regulator, buoyancy compensator, certification card, wet suit (opional)

• Preferred fishing equipment (unless assured of availability)

According to your habits, hobbies and vices, take your

• camera and waterproof bag, film (more than you think you'll need), batteries

• camping equipment and flashlight

• personal stereo

• duty-free cigarettes and liquor (which you can buy on arrival in San José).

If you'll be traveling by bus, a travel alarm will come in handy for early departures. Hotel wake-up calls are unreliable.

Keep your luggage as light as practical, tag your bags inside and out, and pack your indispensable items in your carry-on. And remember that if you don't take it, you might not find it, or you might not want to pay the price.

Genuine Costa Rican specialties are generally enjoyed at home, in a very rare city restaurant that advertises its comida típica (native food), in simple country eateries, and as snacks. One of the most common plates in the countryside is casado, fish, meat or chicken married ("casado") to rice, beans, and chopped cabbage. Gallo pinto, rice and beans with herbs and spices, is the staple of poor people's diets, usually served with tortillas, flat cakes made of ground, lime-soaked corn. But you don't have to be poor to enjoy the taste of black beans and tortillas, or of olla de carne (a stew of beef, yucca and plantain), chiles rellenos (stuffed peppers), maduros, or plátanos fritos (fried plantains), chilasquiles (meat-filled tortillas), pozol (corn soup), tamales (corn dough with a filling of meat, rice and raisins, steamed in a banana leaf, and served at holiday times) or tayuyas (tortillas stuffed with cheese or beans, a Guanacastecan regional specialty). You merely have to search these dishes out, if you're not part of a Costa Rican household. The Cocina de Leña is one San José restaurant that challenges the prejudice against eating Costa Rica's soul food in public.

The Dining Style

In general, middle-range travel costs about as much in Costa Rica as in the States. Car rentals and gasoline cost a bit more, as do some escorted day trips. Hotel rates are comparable, and meals slightly less.

Budget travel can cost less than in the States. Bus fares are lower, and low-cost, no-frills hotels are widely available in safe and cheery surroundings. Wholesome, nourishing food is served in simple eateries and at sidewalk stands.

Luxury travel is still in a shakeout period in Costa Rica. In general, when you're promised a top-of-the line experience, don't expect to get what you pay for—in fact, some of the rates asked for allegedly exclusive hotels are strictly for the sucker trade—though there are pleasant surprises.

Of course, everything depends on your own style of travel and what you pay for specific goods and services. So let's get down to some details.

In popular areas, such as Manuel Antonio National Park, hotel rates are rising by as much as 20 percent per year. In San José, overall rates are rising more slowly, but can vary wildly at the larger hotels according to seasonal and even daily demand. A middle-range hotel room costs about $100 double in San José in the dry season, though you can find clean, airy rooms on the outskirts, especially in bed-and-breakfasts, for $60 double. The most modest hotels in San José charge about $25 double.

Seven dollars will buy a wholesome meal in San José at a safe, basic eatery, while a gourmet-quality repast may carry a tab of $25 or more, not including wine, which is expensive. Outside the Central Valley, fine cuisine is usually not available, except at well-developed beach resorts.

Tour prices, I'm sorry to say, are in many cases way out of whack. A day's rafting excursion from San José costs about $90, or about double what you'd pay in Alaska or on the James River in Virginia. However, travel companies are proliferating like amoebas, and prices should stabilize.

While automobile ownership and maintenance are expensive, public transport is not. The bus fare from San José to any border point is less than $10. Scheduled flights in small planes cost less than $50 to the most distant towns. Hiring a taxi costs about the same as renting a car, or less.

As to longer-term stays, foreigners who live in Costa Rica find that they save considerable amounts on services and housing, and on the heavy clothing and other items that they can live without because of the mild climate.

Heating and air conditioning are unnecessary in most well-built houses in San José. Many a comfortable home has a fireplace more for esthetic than practical reasons. Lower land taxes and insurance rates further reduce fixed costs. Electric rates are no bargain, but with fewer appliances, consumption is generally much lower than in North America. Household workers are generally paid less than $200 per month, plus health insurance and other benefits.

Houses cost roughly half what they do in the United States, sometimes less. But comparisons in this respect are imperfect. The housing market has its ups and downs in Costa Rica as in other countries, and construction methods are different. Most houses come without the appliances and built-in closets and cabinets that one expects in the States, and electrical wiring and plumbing standards are lower. However, better-quality construction is available, and I have seen some condominium units in San José that would make an American apartment dweller cry in envy.

Rental housing is reasonably priced. Two-bedroom apartments with some furnishings start at about $500 per month in middle-class neighborhoods, though in exclusive areas the tab can be $1500 per month or higher.

The crunch, when it comes, is in consumer goods. Tape decks, home computers, cameras, watches, appliances, and almost every other imported, manufactured item costs double to triple what it does in the States. Clothing of local manufacture is priced slightly higher than similar American items, and variety is limited. Cosmetics, whether locally made or imported, are pricey.

At the supermarkets, many packaged and processed items cost more than in the States, while fresh foods cost the same or less. By adjusting eating patterns, one can usually end up with a lower food bill.

Will I Get Sick?

The health worries that usually accompany a trip to Latin America—mad dashes to the bathroom, general malaise as unknown microbes attack your insides, long-forgotten diseases like typhoid turning up in the best hotels—hardly apply to Costa Rica, where sanitary standards are generally high and most people are educated enough to have an idea of how disease spreads. Good sense and normal caution should be enough to see you through Costa Rica in good health.

In most cases, no special inoculations or vaccinations are required or recommended for visitors to Costa Rica. You can check current conditions by calling the Communicable Disease Center hotline in Atlanta, tel. 404-332-4555. You should, in any case, get your health affairs in order before you travel. Catch up on immunizations, such as those for tetanus and polio, and consult your doctor if any condition or suspected condition, such as an ear infection, might trouble you during air travel. Take along the medicines that you use regularly, and an extra pair of prescription glasses.

Water in San José and in most of the towns of the Central Valley is chemically treated and is probably safe to drink, though many experienced travelers avoid tap water anywhere. If you're not confident of water quality, stick to bottled sodas or beer. Suspect water is easily treated with laundry bleach (two drops per quart, let stand 30 minutes).

Limit exposure to sun if you haven't seen any for a while, and take along insect repellent for the west coast in the rainy season, and for the Caribbean at any time. Also, take it easy on alcohol until you become accustomed to the higher altitude in San José.

For extensive travel at the budget level or off the beaten track, a dose of immunoglobulin for protection against hepatitis and a typhoid booster are advisable. If you're heading to the Caribbean lowlands, where there are occasional malaria outbreaks, and will be staying in rural areas or unscreened budget accommodations, take a weekly dosage of a malaria preventative, such as Aralen.

Budget travelers should avoid fleabag hotels. Fleas and similar insects are not only unpleasant in themselves but can carry disease. If both top and bottom sheets are not clean and clean-smelling, move on.

Population 3,300,000 (approximate)

Government Constitutional, with separately elected executive (president and two vice presidents) and Legislative Assembly, appointed judiciary. Regional officials are appointed.

Languages Spanish; English in Caribbean region; Indian languages throughout

Highest point Mount Chirripó

Coastline Caribbean, 132 miles; Pacific, 635 miles

Diversity 850 bird species, 35,000 insect species, 9000 plant species, 208 mammalian species, 220 reptilian species, 160 amphibian species; habitat from steaming lowland jungle to beaches to temperate forest to frosty bare peaks.

Wise residents of Costa Rica use the local mail system only when they have to. Letters from abroad are regularly opened, delayed, or lost as postal employees look for checks and valuables.

Enclosure of money, checks, or anything other than correspondence ensures that your letter will not arrive. Even registered mail provides limited protection—a $20 maximum indemnity if the letter is sent from the United States.

The next-best choice is to use a mail drop in Miami, when available (many such addresses are given for hotels and other services in this book). These letters will be forwarded by private courier for pickup in San José.

If you have to use the mails to Costa Rica, send a post card, if your message will fit. Otherwise, use a flimsy air-mail envelope and lightweight paper, to make it obvious there's nothing inside. Good luck!

When writing to hotels, businesses or individuals in Costa Rica, use the post-office box (apartado), if known, in preference to the street address. The term "P. O. Box" (in English) is well understood."

Letters may be sent to you in Costa Rica in care of lista de correos (general delivery), Correo Central, 1000 San José (or any other city where you may be). There is a small charge for each letter picked up. Tell your correspondents to write neatly or type. Illegible foreign handwriting is responsible for many a letter going astray.

You may receive parcels at lista de correos, but, except for used books, there isn't much point in having anything sent. The customs duty usually exceeds the value of the merchandise. Tell the folks at home to send a money order instead.

Approximate postal rates are as follows: for light letters, up to 20 grams, via air mail, to the United States or Canada, 40 cents; to Europe, 50 cents. Post cards by air to the United States or Canada, 35 cents; to Europe, 45 cents.

TAXES

Costa Rica has a modern, direct-dial telephone system, with more lines per inhabitant than almost any other nation in Latin America.

Calling Costa Rica

Dial direct. From the U.S. or Canada, dial 011-506, followed by the local number in Costa Rica. There are no area codes.

Use operator assistance. For collect or person-to-person calls, dial 01-506, followed by the local number. Or call your operator.

Dial 1-800. Some of the toll-free numbers listed in this book will connect you directly to Costa Rica from the United States, and in some cases from Canada as well.

Be cautious! When you use this service, you'll be dealing with an overseas company. Complaints about service, or billings to your credit card, will be more difficult to resolve than if you deal with a company at home. Also, the costs of 800 service to Costa Rica are not inconsiderable, and the person at the other end may not be patient with a long-winded inquiry.

Dial Costa Rica Direct. 1-800-252-5114 will get you in touch with a Costa Rican operator when calling from the United States, 1-800-463-0116 from Canada. Use this service if you speak Spanish and wish to call collect or need additional local information.

Telephone exchanges and numbers are regularly changed by the phone company. In Costa Rica, dial 113 for assistance. If calling from outside Costa Rica, ask your operator to connect you with directory assistance in San José, for a fee.

Public telephones are available in most towns, most conveniently on the main square. Usually, there's a long lineup to use them, and many are out of order.

The easiest coin phones to understand are those that require you to place your coins on a rack, to be swallowed as needed. With others, you deposit a coin when signalled to do so, or insert a magnetic card (available from many stores).

Rates from public phones are quite cheap—even less than from private homes.

Many stores and hotels will allow you to use their phones for a charge of about 25 cents (U.S.) for a local call.

Service numbers in Costa Rica are:

110 Collect calls within Costa Rica, and operator assistance.

112 Time of day

113 Telephone number information

114 AT&T USA Direct (deposit coin at public phone)

122 Any emergency (similar to U.S. 911)

161 Canada Direct

162 MCI to U.S.A.

163 Sprint to U.S.A.

167 British Telecom U.K. Direct

116 International long distance (operators speak English)

117 San José police

118 Fire department (bomberos)

127 Rural police

128 Emergency Red Cross assistance

227-7150 Traffic police

Call Home!

Use your regular service. To reach an operator from your home telephone company, or use its credit card, dial 114 for AT&T, 162 for MCI, 163 for Sprint, 161 for Canada, 167 for British Telecom, from any private or public phone in Costa Rica. From a hotel, you'll have to ask for an outside line first.

Dial direct. From a private phone, dial 00-1 (for North America), followed by the area code and local number.

Operator assistance. Dial 09-1 (for North America), followed by the local number. An operator will ask for your instructions (person-to-person, collect, credit card, etc.).

Or dial 116 and give your instructions to the operator, in English, at a slightly higher charge.

Telephone credit cards from the United States, Canada, the U.K., France and Japan are accepted by the Costa Rican telephone system.

Call from the phone company's offices. In San José, go to Radiográfica Costarricense, Avenida 5, Calle_1. Visa, Master Card and American Express are accepted at this location.

Call your hotel operator. This will usually cost far more than any of the above.

TIME

Costa Rica is firmly on the metric system. Gasoline, juice and milk are sold by the liter, fabrics by the meter, tomatoes by the kilo. Gone are the days when visitors were confused by a hodgepodge of yards, varas, manzanas, fanegas, caballerías, gallons, and assorted other English and old Spanish measures.

Old usages survive mainly in giving directions. People will usually say 100 metros (meters) to indicate a city block, but you'll sometimes hear 100 varas. In fact, a block is closer to 100 varas, a vara being an old Spanish yard, equivalent to 33 inches or .835 meters.

There are many, many sites that list hotels and take bookings. The usual caveats apply: information may be biased or inaccurate or outdated; Web and e-mail addresses change even more frequently than conventional addresses; slow graphics force you to sit and wait; the information you need is somewhere on the site, but you can't find it.

The tourist board maintains a site at www.tourism-costarica.com. It's just gorgeous, full of warm fuzzy graphics, but not too useful, what with brokenlinks and such. A site maintained by the Chamber of Tourism (a private federation), www.costarica.tourism.co.cr, has some links to hotel and tour company sites. You'll find many others using search engines. But follow-up inquiries usually bring unintelligible responses.

Maps

For a detailed map, send a check for $5 (marked "for deposit only" or "unicamente para abonar en cuenta") to Jiménez y Tanzi, P.O. Box 2553-1000, San José. Ask for the mapa de carreteras de Costa Rica. A detailed map of Costa Rica published by ITMB (item 156) is available from map and travel bookstores, or may be ordered from ITMB, P. O. Box 2290, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3W5, Canada.

Special Interests

[ Unusually among embassies, this one will give you a limited amount of tourist information—probably more than you'll ever get out of the Tourist Board itself.

Costa Rican Embassy

14 Lancaster Gate

London W2 3LH

Tel. 71-723-1772.

Consulates of Costa Rica in the United States are at 8 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603; 4200 Republic Bank Tower, Dallas, TX 75201; 2616 South Loop West, Houston, TX 77054; 1343 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015; 28 West Flagler St., Miami, FL 33130; 2 Canal St., New Orleans, LA 70130; and 80 Wall St., New York, NY 10005.

Books

Costa Rica Today, an English-language weekly newspaper, is devoted to the attractions of Costa Rica. Its motto: "The beauty of it all." Each edition has numerous fresh articles, color photos, calendars of weekly events, accommodation and restaurant ads, and an extensive classified section (and also investment promotions, which you should read with caution). Costa Rica Today is distributed at no charge in Costa Rica, and can be obtained by subscription abroad from Costa Rica Today 117, P. O. Box 25216, Miami, FL 33102, carpag@sol.racsa.co.cr.

The Tico Times, published on Fridays in San José, is one of the best English-language newspapers in Latin America. Articles cover events in Costa Rica and Central America, as well as local traditions, business, fishing, and items of human interest. The "On the Town" column reports reliably on restaurants and entertainment. The letters column is a free-for-all where the problems of the world are debated and solved. Ads for lodging and services will interest many visitors and potential visitors. An annual subscription in the United States or Canada costs about $50. Write to P.O. Box 145450, Coral Gables, FL 33114-5450. A comprehensive tourist edition is published annually in October.

(One oddity of Costa Rica: with excellent English-language publications, and a number of businesses that advertise heavily, you might get the impression that there are more and better facilities out there than actually exist.)

Some Costa Rican holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, will be known to most visitors. But you can't be expected to be aware of a favorite saint's special day. Take a quick look at the list of public holidays below. If any occur while you're in Costa Rica, don't plan to get anything done on that day except relaxing.

January 1 New Year's Day

March 19 Day of St. Joseph (San José)

Moveable Holy Thursday

Moveable Good Friday

(Many businesses close all Holy Week)

On Good Friday, processions reenact the Passion of Christ, in San José and in villages throughout the country, often with scores of participants in full Roman regalia.

April 11 Battle of Rivas

May 1 Labor Day

Moveable Corpus Christi

June 29 Day of Saints Peter and Paul

July 25 Annexation of Guanacaste

August 2 Day of Our Lady of the Angels

(specially celebrated in Cartago)

August 15 Assumption Day (and Mother's Day)

September 15 Independence Day

October 12 Columbus Day (Día de la Raza)

December 8 Immaculate Conception

December 24, 25 Christmas Eve and Christmas

December 31 New Year's Eve

LOCAL CELEBRATIONS

In addition to the above, all towns celebrate the feast day of their patron saint—San Marcos (St. Mark) on April 25, Santiago (St. James the Apostle) on July 25, etc. Images of the patron saint are borne from the town church in processions, but most of the celebrants' efforts go into the parades of masked figures, raffles, bingo, dances, banquets, drinking, and benign bullfights that make these occasions breaks from the humdrum round of chores. And the Christmas-New Year season is a time of extended street celebration everywhere, especially in San José.

Dates are approximate, and vary from year to year. Regular events which are not legal holidays are also mentioned.

January 15 Alajuelita (southwestern metropolitan San José)

Santa Cruz, Guanacaste

January 17 to 24 Palmares

February 6 and 7 San Vito de Java

February 8 Boruca. Indigenous celebration.

February 11-22 Jacó

February 10-14 Liberia

February 25 San Isidro de El General. Cattle fair and bullfights)

February 28 Grecia

March Cattle show at Bonanza fair grounds.

March 15-21 Puriscal

March 19 Day of the Artisan. Craft fair, downtown San José

March 25-28 Guápiles

April 23-26 Tilarán

April 26-May 2 Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos), bullfights, cattle fair.

May 7-10 Muelle de San Carlos

May 28-30 Paraíso, Cartago

July 16 Festival of the Sea, Puntarenas

October 12 Limón Carnival

October 12 Festival of corn, Upala.

November Coffee harvest contests.