COSTA RICA – SAN JOSE

March 12-16, 2024

The Lonely Planet advised to enter San Jose then to leave quickly as there is nothing to see or do here. I disagree! There was lots to see and do!

We took a bus from Monteverde to San Jose. It was pleasant enough ride, as it was a proper coach bus and not a chicken bus. We took an Uber to our Guesthouse. It looked like it might have been an office building at one time and they were converting it to Airbnb. There was construction on our floor and we had a peek into the rooms. The only window we had was to the hallway. The kitchen was ridiculously small and only had an electric frying pan and a crock pot. We made do, anyway.

The first order of business was to find groceries. We managed to find a decent supermarket not too far away, however, there was a pastry shop on every corner

and a butcher shop on the opposite corner. Seriously, EVERY corner.

In between were little green-grocers that had excellent fruits and veg for cheap. For example, I bought 3 nice big mangos for $5.00. Not each, all together. A bag of cucumbers was $2.70.

The Pan-American highway runs right through the middle of the city. When the Panama Canal was being built, the Americans needed a good road to deliver supplies. The Costa Ricans, who were still illiterate, barefoot and had no teeth, were so proud of the idea of an important major highway they put it right through the middle of their capital. However, the original highway is now a pedestrian-only street where vendors shout out their wares and what a good deal it is. Every vendor, young or old, male or female, have the most incredible voices. The cars are a block over, but still in the middle of the city.

We did a walk-about and came across the Metropolitan Church, built in 1802. The original was destroyed in an earthquake.

The Central Park, across the street. We found that there were several statues throughout the city honoring workers. Possibly a throwback to a former Head of State, Braulio Carrillo who made being lazy illegal.

As told to us by a guide we hired, President Carrillo prohibited vagrancy, vice and crime. He greatly boost the development of Costa Rica and introduced order in the Civil Service. But that sounded like work for the lazy people, so the people hired Morazan to come and take care of him, because they were too lazy to do it themselves. Morazan overthrew Carrillo, but for some reason the people then decided to get rid of Morazan. As he stood before the firing squad, he declared that he was still their leader and commanded the final shot upon himself.

It is supposed to be good luck to grab La Chola‘s ample bum. She represents the proud mothers of Costa Rica. Apparently, if the man wants to signal to his woman that his is amorous, he calls her Gordo (fat) and it is quite the compliment and a turn on for the lady. The Central American women are LARGE! They have huge behinds and jelly bellies, which they flaunt with short tops and skin-tight leggings. They jiggle all over the place, and they strut it. You go girl!!

In San Jose National Park is a dramatic statue that depicts the Central American nations driving out North American filibuster William Walker.

We always like to look in the churches. They are usually a good reference point in the layout of the old city. The main church was at the centre and four other churches were to the east, west, north and south. They had the best of craftsmen, so the architecture is always stunning. Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de La Merced has a tall red steeple and was visible from a distance. It was originally built in 1816, but like so many structures, was damaged by earthquakes.

This church had very colourful columns and a mahogany ceiling.

Cats are welcome.

Sewing must be a tradition that the women still cling to. We saw many, many fabric stores. I counted five in one afternoon. I don’t think Edmonton has 5 in total.

We also came across a sewing machine store. OMG! I have never seen that many sewing machines in one place! There were machines to do delicate embroidery to machines to sew leather. The walls were filled with antique machines. Every conceivable item you may need to sew was available for sale. They also fixed machines. I even met the owner.

We spent an afternoon in the Jade Museum. It was very informative and explained how they split and crafted the jade. It was a status item only worn by important members of the tribe and shaman.

There was lots and lots of pottery. This figure of a woman shows how they used to tattoo and paint themselves.

In most cases, they used clay rollers to paint their bodies. It was similar to a mini paint roller to gave a consistent pattern.

There were lots of these 3 legged containers. I asked a guard what they were for. He said they were used for ceremonies and held liquids and/or burned incense. The slits in the legs let the smoke out. I can only imagine the shaman drinking out of this thing and smoke coming out of the legs. It would have been quite the mystic sight.

Most of the pottery had animal faces and elaborate paintings.

These are musical instruments.

The Shaman had their beliefs in mythical powers of animals, and believed if they could mimic the animal they could take on its traits.

Sex education was as common as teaching the kids to hunt and cook. There were rules, courtships and occupations regarding sex.

The Gold Museum also had lots of pottery and jade. It is hard to believe the intricate details of the pieces. Some were very tiny, and the museum had to set up a magnifying glass to see them properly.

Some of the buildings were just pretty.

We tried to see the inside of the National Theatre three times. The first time, it was closing soon. The next day, there was a performance and tours were cancelled. The next time, it was just closed. No reason, just closed.

All over the city there were monuments of round stone balls. In the 1930’s 300 nearly perfectly round stone balls were found deep in the southern jungles of Costa Rica in an area known as Finca 6 (Farm 6). . They varied in size from a few inches in diameter, to seven feet across and weighing 16 tons. Scientists aren’t sure who made them, how old they are (estimates range between 300-1500 BC) or what purpose they might have had. The ones in the parks are originals whereas there were many that were modern and fabricated.

We happened upon a cemetery. It was huge! It had the most elaborate tombs. Many looked like mini castles or churches. All were sparkling white.

We walked down beautiful streets lined with flowering trees.

And lots of bird shit.

Our walking tour with Jason started at the Costa Rican Museum of Art. It is the old airport and the park behind it is the old runway.

Jason wanted to begin the tour there because in an upstairs room that has the history of the country covering all four walls in a stucco frieze. It begins pre-Columbian right up to the modern age. Entering the room took our breath away. Jason explained every detail of the mural and the significance of even the smallest detail.

He told us that, contrary to popular opinion, the native people embraced Christianity. When the Spanish arrived they brought diseases that the indigenous were not immune to, and they died off in droves. This also coincided with a drought. The Jesuits arrived around the same time the indigenous immune systems kicked in and the drought ended. The locals though if this new god can do this, then we convert!

Another fun fact was that the significant group to settle Central America was Jews. They were already persecuted in Europe, so when the call went out to settle a new land, they took it. As the Christians arrived, they carried on with their discriminatory European ways toward the Jews. A lot of Jews changed their names, slightly, to Spanish, but still maintaining the original root. For example: Mendel to Mendez.

The Jews passed as Catholic in public but in the privacy of their little villages they practiced Judaism. Locals would hear them pray unintelligibly and assumed they were witches. To this day the town of Escazu has the folk-lore of “city of witches.”

Outside, in the courtyard were some statues. The most interesting was one of three ladies walking. An old lady and middle aged lady walk in one direction and a younger lady walks in another. The middle aged lady is turned to the old lady, as if in conversation.

The story behind this is it is very impolite to not greet someone by saying “Beunas”. The young lady did not greet the two older ladies. The middle aged one is saying to the old lady “Can you believe she didn’t greet us” The old lady is looking straight ahead. She couldn’t be bothered with such trivialities.

The young lady walks very arrogantly in the opposite direction, with her fingers poised as if “rodando un moco” (rolling a booger) – I am young, beautiful and arrogant. I cannot say for certain this was the artist’s intent, but it makes for a good background story and great euphemism.

We wound up going to Mercado Central. We had turtle egg shots. When the turtles come ashore to lay their eggs, it is a free for all of predators digging up the eggs and having a gluttonous feast, humans included. This first night is a distraction for the second night’s laying of the eggs. The turtles know the first night’s batch will be eaten. However, the second night, after everyone has had their fill, the turtles return to lay what will eventually hatch and hopefully survive. On the second night, there are armed guards that will shoot to kill, no questions asked, anyone who disturbs the nests.

We sampled some Gesha coffee, which is supposedly the best coffee next to kopi luwak coffee. I like the kopi luwak better.

We also sampled the cashew fruit. It made our mouths go kind of numb. It had a weird effect, like the stickiest peanut butter ever. It just seemed to stick to the inside of the mouth. We had taken the peel off, but the vendor said he liked it with the peel, so I tried a bit. It made my throat go numb and hurt a bit. It felt like I was choking. I did not like it at all.

Although super crowded, the people are very friendly and courteous. We saw people politely, and patiently queueing for buses and other things.

The guide, Jason, explained that healthcare is free to everyone, legal citizen or not. This fellow begs near the Post Office and never wears a shirt. He looks like hell. Our guide said people made an outcry to the government that they should make the beggar go to the doctor to fix his open wound. Jason has known the guy for 20 years and said refuses to go because he can make better money begging this way. I asked how much money he makes. Jason replied “lots”. Where’s that vagrancy law??

While in the market, Jason wanted to buy a house warming gift for a friend. He specifically wanted la Niguenta. It is a folk icon that portrays a young naked girl sitting with one leg on her knee and picking parasites (a nigua, hence the name) out of her feet. She is considered a good luck charm but it can never be purchased for yourself, it has to be gifted to you. Choose where you place her wisely, because she can NEVER be moved. This is why some homes still have the round screen TV sitting in the corner of the living room. La Niguenta is sitting on the TV.

Niguas are parasitic fleas that dig into the skin on or between the toes (remember people walked barefoot). The skin reaction can range from minor itching to severe swelling. It was a common habit to check ones toes every night for these parasites. The ultimate insult was to tell someone that they don’t even check for niguas! Gasp!

Costa Rica has lots of little carts as souvenir items. This is because oxcarts have been used to haul coffee beans from plantations to ports since the 1800s. In fact, oxcarts have been used to haul anything and everything.

Pierre is always tricking me into looking somewhere so he can steal some of my food. I pulled the same stunt on him. He couldn’t believe that I pulled it on HIM! I was laughing so hard that I finally got him!

Part of our walking tour took us through China Town. Jason said if we spot a Chinese person he will give us $5.00. He was right, we never saw one. There was a park on the edge of China Town with a statue of John Lennon sitting on a bench, with his back to a church. This stems from his famous quip ” We are more popular than Jesus now.” and is the location of where Costa Ricans smashed Beatles records. There does not seem to be any lingering animosity, as many tourists now take their picture with the blasphemer.

Nearby is a round speed bump. It was built as a tribute to the round granite balls. However, the day they street was opened to the public, with the media on hand to hail the new speed bump. The weird pitch of the bump caused the first three cars that passed over it to lose control and crash – on live TV. The street was relegated to a pedestrian walkway, but the speed bump remains.

The Hotel Del Rey was a popular brothel, but covid proved to be its death since the girls could not work within the 2 metre distancing laws. Alas, they must have found other gainful employment, because post-covid has not seen the girls return. The hotel is now closed.

There was a lot more to see and do than we were given to believe. Once again, we learned to get lost in the environment and enjoy and learn with whatever we come across.

We decided to spend a few days at the beach in Jaco, before heading to Panama.