Costa Rica in Spanish
The literal translation from Spanish to English is
Costa is coast and Rica is rich, meaning rich coast.
Some say that Columbus gave the country its name upon discovery in 1502, believing it to have precious metals such as gold.
Others credit the name to Gil Gonzalez Davila, a conquistador, who arrived in the same year as Columbus and to the same conclusion.
Both left without seeing much of their assumed riches. Gold was eventually discovered on the Osa Peninsula along the south Pacific coast – too bad it was long past their lifetimes.
If the men mentioned above had looked past their materialistic greed, they would have noticed that Costa Rica is indeed a rich coast – the climate and landscapes, the fauna and the flora, the indigenous and their culture.
These things are merely some of the aspects of Costa Rica that prove it has more value than its percentage in gold – and so the country more than merits its name.
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