Costa Rica - San Jose

September 2, 2005

At seven o’clock in the morning, we busily scurried to the airport and merely two and a half hours later, we were landing in the capital of Costa Rica - San Jose. Actually, the airport is located in Alajuela, a short 15 minute bus ride from San Jose. And yes, we did fight our way through the hundred taxi cab drivers offering rides to find the bus stop where we took a public bus downtown.

From downtown San Jose, we nabbed a taxi and headed straight for our hostel. The ride was quite… interesting; insane drivers honking their horns, clogged, unmarked streets, overly crowded sodas (casual diners that serve flavorful, home-style cooking at inexpensive prices) with scary-looking people overflowing onto the street, and the stench of diesel fumes in the air. Note to other travelers: this greasy city isn’t too welcoming but don't worry, the vibrant beauty beyond city limits is amazing!

We checked in at the youth hostel ($25), dropped off our bags, and headed out to discover the city by foot. The city isn’t full of tourist destinations, but we did visit the cathedrals, the theater, government center, outdoor plazas, and such. We ate at a local pizza place which offered a slice of pizza and a cup of fresh fruit juice (cas or tamarind) for $1. I was particularly fond of the cas juice, which is a fruit that I had never heard of before and still don’t know what it looks like! Our walking around and getting a feel of the city was rudely interrupted by an abrupt thunderstorm which lasted for several hours. We fled to the hostel where we crashed, exhausted from our day’s travel.


We woke up early the next day and headed off into town by foot. For fifty cents ($0.50), David bought freshly squeezed fruit juice (type unknown but absolutely delicious) from a little boy which he drank from a plastic bag. We came to realize that a lot of things come in plastic bags: milk, juices, pizza slices, etc! We jumped on a public bus that would take us to the Poas Volcano (actually, Parque Nacional Volcán Poás) and enjoyed the scenery getting there. Along the way, we stopped at a local store where we bought fresh fruits (strawberries and lychees). Lychees are the neatest fruit to eat because they come in such a strange red, spiny package with a soft, rose-flavored succulent fruit inside. Why aren't these more popular in the States? We arrived and made the short hike up to the rim of the active volcano where we saw the steam-belching crater filled with an almost translucent grayish/turquoise acid pool and fumaroles, or vents in the earth’s crust, that audibly released bursts of volcanic steam. The area around the pool looks like melted Neapolitan ice cream. It’s quite an impressive sight and when we returned later, the spectacular view was completely obscured by clouds.

A short uphill hike on a trail shrouded with moss, palms, orchids, and dangling bromeliads revealed Laguna Botos, the collapsed cone of another volcano set against a backdrop of lush rainforest. From there we hiked on a meandering path through the tropical forest where we observed many beautiful birds - dark blue and bright iridescent green humming birds, grey birds with yellow bellies, and countless fluttering butterflies ranging from ordinary to exotic! I found myself preoccupied with the gianormous (giant + enormous) leaves of plants in the area. Some were wider than my body, surely leading to the nickname of "poor man’s umbrella" (we were told that sometimes people literally cut them and use them for umbrellas!).

Then it was back to San Jose via bus. We dined out again, this time trying dinner at a local típico (typical) restaurant down the street from our hostel where we enjoyed a typical Costa Rican dinner, or casados as they call it: beef, rice with beans, and fried plantains. Yummy! Casado literally means married man and it refers to the big, hearty combination plates that wives traditionally prepared for their husbands to take to work in the fields. After dinner, back to the hostel for sleep!

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