San Jose, Costa Rica

Our time in Costa Rica is almost up and I haven't posted much about it yet!  Oy.  Don't get me wrong - we've enjoyed it here.  Bex! is still drinking working on her post about the wonderful rosés she's discovered here.  We visit the store most every day for groceries.  We learned how to take the buses around town, challenging because different bus companies serve different areas.  Knowing which is which and where their stops are located means understanding the grid of calles (streets) and avenidas (avenues).  

There is an overlap with this blog and my other blog, The 50@50 Project, so you can check out the last few posts there to read about some of our experiences registering for and running a race here.  Note:  That blog is about our goal to compete in 50 events during the year between my 50th and 51st birthdays.  I'm happy to say that we ran the Moraviana Run here, which was the 5oth and final race!  Plus, we were interviewed post-race by one of the local papers and they ran our story, which was kinda fun!  You can see it here on La Teja's mobile website.  We also have three print copies of the publication.

We've had a hodgepodge of experiences here, all good.  Let's start with our walking tour.  After a week in Escazu that was spent mostly at the apartment we were renting for the month and sticking close around the neighborhood, we were feeling brave enough to venture out.  As a way to insure we explored, Bex! signed us up for a walking tour of downtown San Jose.  

So we braved the bus!  We caught the Ruta bus that runs to downtown and hoped we would know where to get off.  As it turns out, it's easy:  when you get downtown, everyone gets off.  Fair enough.  Bex! had sketched out a map, so we knew the general direction we had to go.  We ended up walking through the coolest shopping district!  It's a few blocks wide and about 2 kilometers long, right in the middle of the city.  Pedestrian only, too, so it was easy going.  Everything from regular mall-type brand name stores to street vendors selling produce and bootlegs dvds.  Sensory overload!  Since we were a little early, we killed some time by having a beer at the Gran Hotel, right next to the parque central, the national theatre and the shopping district.  

We met up with our guide, Stacey, in Parque Morazán at the Templo de la Musica.  She was easy to spot because I knew she would be blond and have a ponytail.  I don't know why I knew this; I just did.  Also in our tour group was a family of four from Canada.

Stock photo from da Wiki

Built in 1920, the Templo de la Musica is an almost exact replica of the Temple de l'Amour in Versailles, France - minus the statue of Cupid that resides in the French version.  This elegant bandstand has experienced many uses over the years.  Back in the day, it was used for political speeches and inaugurations; the symphony performs there as do many other musical acts - the acoustics are said to be 'perfect'.  It's a place to hang out, escape the rain until it blows over, meet up with friends.  We've been by there several times on our outings and there are always a group of kids there who are practicing break dancing and street performing.  And you wonder where the talent comes from for 'So You Think You Can Dance?'

Stacey explained the lay of the land, that parts of San Jose has been leveled and rebuilt many times over the centuries - earthquakes and volcanoes, you know.  She showed us many of the oldest buildings in town and explained how these have been owned by families for generations.  Taxes are cheap for those grandfathered in all those years ago, so the spaces are rented, it's virtually all profit and these families are the ones who live outside of town in the country on the huge estates.  Besides, she said, land is often not owned by an individual in a family but rather put into a 'corporation' where all the family are considered 'board members'.  Thus, it means that every member needs to sign off to sell property, and you can imagine how that goes.  So the property stays in the family.

Part of the tour took us back along some areas we had seen walking through town on our own, but that was fine.  The vibe downtown was awesome - full of energy and chaos and people.

Here are some pics from the tour:

Built to appease an Italian diva

Detail of stained glass in the cathedral: Holy soccer ball?

Street art - 'from my barrio to yours'

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There was one thing that made us feel a little uncomfortable.  The locals didn't seem to mind, no one paying any attention to it.  Maybe it's because we're from the US and have different opinions of this back home.  I'm telling ya, people just have socks everywhere!  Right there on the street and the sidewalk.  We're walking down the pedestrian shopping zone and there's a lady having socks right next to another lady who is also having socks.  A little farther down, there was a guy having more socks than anyone I'd ever seen.  Socks on the benches in the park, socks on the stairs to the municipal building.  Almost every direction we looked - socks, socks and more socks.  Some people had socks together; most had socks by themselves.  And they would yell about it!  It was all a little weird.

Socks!  Right out in public!

We think the people who sell stuff right on the street aren't really supposed to be selling stuff right on the street.  There are police who wander the pedestrian shopping district, patrolling on foot and bike.  At one point we witnessed a group of vendors pack up and scatter in a matter of seconds.  We weren't sure why but then we saw the police.  So we strolled down a couple of blocks and waited to see if it would happen again.  There was a lady selling bootleg dvds, a man selling dish towels, a women selling plastic toys and a guy selling shirts.  The latter looked up the lane then turned suddenly to his amigos.  "Policia bicicleta!" "Bicycle police!" and - boom - they were in the wind.  Funny, though:  the toy lady was in the middle of a transaction and, police be damned, she wasn't leaving until she had her money!

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We also saw this really cool produce stand.  Mike and Anne, this one's for you:

And you thought Herbie was cool!

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Toward the end of the tour we came to a very cool statue, one that has some personal meaning for me.  Sitting across from the Iglesia de la Soledad and near a monument to Carlos Gardel is a fairly new statue of John Lennon.  Designed by Cuban sculptor Jose Ramón Villa and entitled 'Imagine All the People, Living Life in Peace', the statue was dedicated on 25 November, 2011 to much fanfare.  A Tico-only Beatles cover band performed as did part of the national symphony.  It was a biggie.

Since I had him cornered, I thought we'd talk about 'I Am the Walrus'.

Okay, John - so what's up with 'goo goo ga joob'?

Okay, okay - it's starting to make sense...

It's all around us?  I'll be damned.  Where?

Behind me?  Oh, yeah... I see it!

It's beautiful!  Thanks, my friend.

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Along with figuring out the bus system, we've also become quite adept at crossing the street. Now, this may sound like no big deal - until you've tried it.  In this part of the world, cars have the right of way.  At the busiest of intersections downtown you'll see actual walk signals and the drivers honor these, mostly because when the walk signal goes on there is a huge crowd, a mob moving as a cohesive unit in each direction.  Other than that, though, if you step off the curb, you're fair game.  To cross a busy street is usually a two part process.  Typically, you wait for a gap in traffic and cross to the middle of the road.  And then you wait for another gap to cross the last part.  The 'standing in the middle of traffic' thing is pretty common down here.  Hell, even little kids stand out on the busiest of thoroughfares selling fruit, newspapers, toys, coloring books, etc.  It's the way it is here.  A couple of people standing on the yellow line while traffic flies by in either direction is no cause for alarm.  It takes a little getting used to, though.

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Although we've been cooking most meals at home, we have gone out to eat a few times.  Bex! discovered a great restaurant while poking around online - La Casona de Laly.  Again, no website for them but tons of great reviews and it's close to where we were taking our laundry, so it was convenient.  When we walked in the door (one of three, none of which is clearly marked as a main entrance) the place looked dive-y but we knew immediately we would love it.  Always busy, a fun buzz from the customers, good service and fantastic food.  The portions are large, too.  Plus you can gaze in wonder at how they've patched and extended the corrugated metal roofing over the years.  Like counting rings in a tree.

Close by, between La Casona de Laly and the lavenderia (laundry) is Bar Christian.  This place is truly a dive but in the best possible way.  We walked in one afternoon and if there would have been a vinyl record playing, the needle would have scratched across it!  Gringos!  It was great - we had beers, Bex! bought a coloring book from a vendor who was making the rounds.  We watched a guy playing some sort of gambling game on a machine.  He plunked in coins, pressed various buttons, waited, sometimes coins spit out the bottom, other times he would push more buttons after playing more coins.  It was a neat spot and we felt very welcomed in there.

So far, so good here in San Jose!

More on Costa Rica later!  

Hasta pronto!