Expat Community > Costa Rica

CruzinCostarica
Joined 2009
Posts: 181

Varios "dangers" of Costa Rica, Myth or Fact to be worried about

12 years ago

Hi all, hope you are enjoying you day, I am :-)

I think sometimes people take a small item of information and focus on it.

Puriscal is a large and well know community, and I think the thousands of residents and families that have lived there for over 50 years would be surprised to the point of laughing by hearing "Puriscal is prone to mudslides" as something referenced as an issue for living in the area.

Folks, ALL OF Costa Rica is a volcanic ad very mountainous county with tons of rain (porous soil) and very steep topography in many places, very similar to Hawaii, and sits on a multi tectonic plate zone with earthquake potential, just like California. Combine those things and you can get mudslides and flood potential, and yearly in different areas of the country we DO get those. We are NOT subject to Hurricanes directly hitting us, though we sometimes get heavy rain from the affects of the Hurricanes in the gulf of mexico, and again, with the rapid changes in elevation that can and does cause flooding in some areas annually.

Crocs and Alligators are an Apex predator, and the ones in Florida are just as dangerous as the ones here. Grizzlys are an Apex predator, so you have that threat in the mountains of Canada.

Now go do research on how many actualy attacks on humans there are, and you are in more danger of falling in the tub or getting struck by lightning.

Fer de Lance (Terciapelo) are NOT an aggressive species that will choose to attack versus escape any more then a Texas Rattlesnake of a Florida or Louisiana Cottonmouth. Humans are not something they would hunt for food, so Venomous snake bites are a snake defending himself from humans in his habitat.

I happen to not be afraid of venomous snakes, went on "Rattlesnake roundups" in US many times, and handling a large and angry Rattlesnake is not different then a Fer de Lance. I have spent hundred of hours deep in the jungles and forests of Costa Rica for over 30 years, LOVE hiking the wild places, and personally have only seen probably 5 or 6 Fer de Lance, 2 cascabells (rattlesnake CR style) and 3 coral and some sea snakes,, and a few yellow palm vipers, and one Mata Buey.

That Mata Buey did scare me (heaviest venomous snake in the Americas, HUGE, like a Venoumous Python, the Fer de lanc'e big brother) but I only saw him because I went LOOKING for him on a night hike in the Corcovado.

Crime exists just like all places, so potential danger there.

So, we have discussed the reality of Dangers in Costa Rica.

But no different then the US, your highest risk BY FAR is getting killed on the highway. More dangerous then Floods, Landslides, Earthquakes, drownings, snakes, crocs, and crime and all the other things combined.

Pura Vida :-)

Raymond

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