A Day in San Jose - Cultured Chaos

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March 16th 2010

Published: March 20th 2010

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National Theater

National Theater in San Jose.

It's our final day in Costa Rica and we want to make the most of it... We got up early because the next day's flight requires the alarm to go off at 3:15 a.m. Knowing this, we start off early at 7 with breakfast at the hotel. We converted more money and hit the streets.

This time we had the guide book with us and headed out... Turns out that San Jose is not only the Capitol, but the cultural and political hub of this amazing country.

We started off at the Museo del Jade... yes, a Jade Museum that is devoted to the Meso-American and native Costa Rican artifacts uncovered in Central America. It's impressive and didn't allow for camera, so there are no inside shots... bottom line, the $8 to get in is a bargain for the treasures inside. It's a self-guided tour with English descriptions on most displays.

Next we took a stroll up to the Central Park and along the way we saw the Embassy for Argentina and the Embassy for Mexico. The Central Park is right across from the Library and it's super clean for being a major city park.

We then made our way

Museo Del Jade

Yes, lots of jade!

down to the Museo Nacional. This is a very cool place that documents the various history, both cultural and political, of Costa Rica. There have been several revolutions and it describes the reasons for the 1948 abolition of the Army and the many different political parties that have governed Costa Rica. In fact, there are even bullet holes in the side of the building (which used to be the Captains Quarters).

After the museum we found a great bookstore called 7th Street Books... they had a large selection of used books as well as new books in English. Since I'd polished off "The New Earth" again I was excited to find the new Malcom Gladwell book, which I ended up devouring on the plane.

We then got some lunch in town and headed back to the hotel in anticipation for a super early morning.

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