R.J.
My husband spent several years there, and I have a friend who was a diplomat there, I've only passed through.
DO know
- that one side has malaria and the other has leishmania (both mosquito born parasites). So you'll need to be on antimalarial drugs while you're there (try them out at home for a week to make sure you tolerate them; very little is worse than being bedbound sick your entire vacation) AND if you come home with any persistent sores (that will start to weep eventually) let your GP know you need to see a tropical disease specialist and let THEM know that you just spent time in an area with endemic leishmania (everyone on one side gets it... do NOT do the local treatment in country; it only has a 50% survival rate as cauterizing the sore often pushes the parasite into the blood, at which point it becomes lethal. The antiparaciticles in the US will make you sick as a dog, but you won't die)
- also... rebellions pop up all the time. Often whiskey rebellions as the govt tries to stamp out the local stills. Automatic weapons are par for the course
- also... CR is a "switzerland" for both pacific and atlantic pirates. It's a place 'everyone' can go to relatively safely, and look for more work. Never leave a child alone in any coastal region in case people are shipping out. (kids bring good money. They don't usually pull them from port, but it's something to know about. Kid-trade is alive an well in c. america. Esp infants and toddlers for the adoption trade)
- also... locals encourage tarantula colonies in living spaces, particularly in windows. Because they hunt and eat the deadlier insects and spiders
- DO NOT ride any busses. Ever. Period. They fall off the mountain roads all the time. Usually at least one per day. They also 'ram' the other busses and some cars (because the mountain roads only permit 1 vehicle at a time. If you're in a car and a bus is coming towards you BACK UP, as fast as you can to keep from being rammed until you can get the heck out of their way. It's the 'rule of gross tonnage' on those roads)
It's a LOVELY country, and I'm not trying to scare you off.. but these are just some of the daily hazards that don't make the brochures I like to warn people about before heading down. AKA 'good to know' stuff.