Costa Rica Chat

Most people who land here did not search for «Costa Rica» — they searched for «chat tico», which is what Costa Ricans actually call themselves. Same room either way: #costa_rica, running since 2007. Inside you get the Central Valley — San José, Alajuela, Cartago and Heredia, home to most of the country — alongside people from Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limón, plus Costa Ricans who left years ago and keep an ear on home.

Costa Rica sits on UTC−6 and never moves its clocks, but Spain does, so the gap between San José and Madrid is seven hours in winter and eight in summer. In practice, Costa Rican midday is when you will find the people writing from Europe; evenings belong to this side of the Atlantic. The conversation is in Spanish throughout.

Topics run the way they do at any Costa Rican gathering: Saprissa, Alajuelense and Herediano football above all, road conditions when the rains come, and whatever paperwork someone is stuck with. Smaller rooms exist for Alajuela and Cartago; everything else is listed under Costa Rica rooms.