Skip to navigation

Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

Costa Rica: Culture Shock

The McDonalds right next to our hotel in Liberia
The McDonalds right next to our hotel in Liberia

Crossing the border from Nicaragua into Costa Rica is a fascinating exercise in 'spot the difference'. This is not surprising, as Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, while Costa Rica is one of the richest; it comes out top in 'quality of life' measurements such as life expectancy, education, child mortality, crime prevention and so on, though Panama actually has a bigger economy because of the canal. As a result, the change when you head east is astounding.