There's No Way This Bus Will Fit There...

So after our recent trip to Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio, I have finally been able to really get a glimpse of the ecotourism in this country. Costa Rica rakes in about $1.92 billion per year just from ecotourism. This money was supplied by the 1.9 million visitors in 2007, over half of which were from the United States. Due to the large number of people visiting Costa Rica, it is ranked numero uno among Latin American countries in tourism, and second if you throw in the Carribean. This is quite the feat seeing as Costa Rica is much smaller than many Latin American Countries, but they are able to thrive due to their many protected national parks and natural attractions. There are, however, some complaints among tourists. The two main complaints are road transportation (at 113th in the world) and safety/security (pulling in at 128th in the world).

When it comes to problems I've witnessed first hand, I'd have to start off with tourist litter. In Arenal and Monteverde, litter wasn't a problem, but I feel that people were more closely watched over on tours and such by their guides. In Manuel Antonio, where there are not many guided tours, people are more free to move from their hotels to a restaraunt to the beach as often as they want. As stated, the typical touist can be assumed to be American, and sadly, Americans seem to have no remorse when littering. I remember seeing random bottles, cups, paper, etc. laying on the side of the road or next to the sidewalk, and it really took away from my experience (as if the rain didn't enough). I'm just not used to seeing those types of things in the more natural areas of Costa Rica. San Jose, on the other hand, litter is decently common on account of this rotten city being a... rotten city. Although I ran into some slight trouble at Arenal, I'm usually not worried about being robbed outside of the city. Here however, when it gets dark, I never travel alone. Finally, when it comes to the transportation aspect, I must say that if a tourist comes to this country and rents a car, you're an idiot. Cab drivers know their way around to most general landmarks in San Jose, and although the bus rides are very long for such short distances (relevant to how long it'd take in the U.S.), it's usually easy to sleep or lounge on the bus while waiting 5 hours to drive 150 miles.