The main language used in Costa Rica is Spanish, but English is commonly known and used by the Ticos when they meet gringos (non-Hispanic visitors).
The currency used in Costa Rica is called the colón (plural: colones) and is named after Christopher Columbus. You may remember him as the brave Italian explorer who sailed the ocean blue under the Spanish flag, discovered the New World (which he believed to be the Far East) and began colonization as we know it. Columbus, known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, was the first known European to reach Costa Rica and is honored for it.
The current exchange rate is 604.63 colones to one U.S. dollar. This means that basic items like a soccer ball sell for 6,000 CRC, which sounds daunting, but is really less than 10 USD! To ease the confusion of exchange rate math, I just think of the rate as 500CRC to one USD; this allows me to just double the first digit of the price and have a basic idea of the U.S. equivalent! It also really helps me budget, as I assume I am spending more money on items and try to buy less.
