Blogs from San José, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 4

Kävin aamulla kävelyllä sielläpäin jossa olimme hostellissa 1988. Ehkä löysin oikean rakennuksen. Käyttötarkoitus oli vain muuttunut. Aamupalan jälkeen kävin ostamassa huomiseksi matkalipun Liberiaan. Mennessä kävin katsomassa yhtä mahdollista hotellia loppumatkaksi. Menin kävellen ja palasin taksilla. Tapasin vielä illalla pari kaveria. Koska wifi toimi surkeasti huoneessa, istuin hotellin sisäpihalla tabletin kanssa ja join olutta.... read more

THE OLD AND THE NEW After a day of rest, recuperating from two days of touring Costa Rica, I felt revived and ready to do a little sightseeing. I had the hotel’s excellent continental breakfast and then sat by the pool for a while just enjoying some down time. Then I grabbed my camera and left the hotel to see what I could see on this, my last full day in San Jose. First stop was the dentist office just up the street. The receptionist unlocked the door. All the businesses on the streets in Costa Rica seem to lock the front door. There was a lovely lady sitting on one of the waiting room chairs checking her phone. I told the receptionist I was interesting in having my teeth cleaned. The lady behind me said, ... read more

Our excruciating early start was 6:00 a.m. to drive to San José, because none of us cared to fly. This gave us an extra hour to sleep and lots of snacks in the vehicle. Several times all day we had to assure Ollie that a four-hour car journey was not onerous for Canadians; he and Estaban considered it a major undertaking. I liked driving through the countryside because I got a better understanding of daily life. At first we retraced our route past the airport and the roadworks; Estaban fairly soon turned onto a new multilane highway, part of the Pan American Highway. I wasn’t dismayed by the highway route, because the views were good – lushly green, of course. In time the new road linked to the old highway - two lanes and lined with ... read more

After immigration and customs, our guide, Ollie, found me from amongst the crowd of greeters with signs. He introduced me to Lise and Giselle, from Sudbury, who had spent their extra night in a different Houston Hotel. With only four travellers, we will be riding in a comfortable van that can easily carry our luggage. During the drive into town, Ollie startled us with the information that San Jose has 2 million people, a third of the country’s population! The city is spread over 72 kilometres in the Central Valley, which is actually a tectonic depression caused by sequences of earthquakes. Most buildings are one or two storeys because of earthquake risks. Small businesses and shops are neighbours with medium industrial compounds. The economy’s agricultural base is gradually changing to services, particul... read more

Photos of Cementerio de Obreros...... read more