TravelStream™ news feed for member travelers on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/travelers en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:21:05 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170950400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170950400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170950400/tpod.html Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:21:05 -0500 Cecilia and Kevin explore beautiful Costa Rica, celebrate the VanBael wedding and dive into the local Tico life.

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San Jose, Costa Rica

After two nights downtown, we were both ready to spread our wings and leave Segundo Avenue. We thumbed through Lonely Planet and basically let their suggestions guide us. Hostel Bekuo was one of the top affordable suggestions, and again, we couldn't be happier.

Off the beaten path in a beautiful neighborhood lies Hostel Bekuo - www.hostelbekuo.com. We were greeted by Hieme, a twenty something Colombian studying Business Management. He showed us around the commons, and finally to our room with private bath. I can't express how thrilled we were to be at a place that felt like home - clean, cozy, friendly, unobtrusive.

To celebrate, we bought some wine and kicked back in the garden lounge and listened to Latin music. Soon we had a small gathering, and Heime asked Cassandra, the girl from Canada, for a quick dance. It was great to be there and practically inspire a backyard salsa soiree. All the rumors are true, the Latin world is full of life.

Later in the evening, Storm, the owner of the hostel returned and I had the chance to talk to him about possibly a work for room and board exchange. Being the lucky SOB that I am, he said, "What are you psychic? I totally need new T-Shirts."

Yes!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170820800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170820800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelers/latin_america/1170820800/tpod.html Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:52:41 -0500 Cecilia and Kevin explore beautiful Costa Rica, celebrate the VanBael wedding and dive into the local Tico life.

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San Jose, Costa Rica

There was a certain intimacy on the flight to Costa Rica. All of us, some traveling alone, some in groups, on the air bus seeking what is known as Pura Vida. By the looks of the fellow travelers Pura Vida would be found by surfing the waves, exploring the rain forest and mingling with the friendly Ticos.

After landing, immigration quickly expedited us and we were greeted by an old coworker and new friend Carlos Lopez, a young techy working for a multi-national. Leaving the airport we were off into the unknown, the night dark, the mountain horizon even darker. We speedily winded down into the valley and were passed by what seemed like UFOs but were just the crazy locals screeching around corners as if there 4-door Nissan was a Formula One race car.

"Are you serious?" I said to Carlos referring to the car leaning almost on two wheels in front of us.

"Oh, yah" Carlos answered without batting an eye or cracking a smile.

He took us to a local expat watering hole halfway up the mountains where we ran into more people I worked with at Sans Locus. It was nice to put a face to a name and finally taste the national Tico beer, Imperial. A perfect welcome and ending to our day of travels.

Carlos had made reservations at Hotel Talamanca right in the heart of downtown San José. He was proud to put us on the busiest street in the city! Wow-wa-wee-Wa, was it busy! Latinas on the sidewalk runway, Enduro bikes snaking there way through traffic, the continuous sounds of taxi horns, and curbside salesmen peddling everything from leather belts to batteries to jewelry, sometimes with all the items in one hand! Basic markup economy, just a bit more rustic at best.

For our first meal we decided on a Colombian restaurant nearby. We practically had the entire house cum restaurant to ourselves so we sat back enjoyed fresh Pineapple juice and dug into man-size salads with enough avocado to keep four dieters happy!









After lunch we desired to take a tour of the city so we could feel acclamated and also get a glimpse of this new country. We had to be the luckiest tourists in the city because when we left the restaurant a Taxi was waiting with driver Rafael who had to be the nicest and most thorough guide in the city.

From Segundo Avenue (2nd Avenue) we traveled through the paved markets where we saw huge coffee sacks which were straight out of national geographic, thick canvas, pungent smells; they were grinding the coffee as we traveled by. Rafael continued to commentate throughout the market and the city centre.
We double-parked in front of many landmarks where Rafeal explained the significance and history of the locations to Cecilia and I crawled out to snap a few photos.From the Children's Musuem, which is the highest elevation in San José proper, we could see the surrounding mountains, where at that point, Rafael said, "Let's go up into the mountains and look down on the city."

Who could argue with that?

On the way up we took several diversions one being through the area where "the police don't even go" which of course was a bit unnerving. However soon after that we paused halfway up at Rafael's favorite streetside vendor where we enjoyed fresh pear juice and a sweet corn bread that seemed like a healthy treat. There we learned that the higher you go into the mountains the more expensive the property, and the richest Ticos are those exporting coffee. So after about 2 hours in the taxi we made it to Hotel Blanco, a luxurious small resort overlooking San José. All of us got out of the taxi, stretched and humbley took in the beautiful view.
Rafael explained how great it is to be in the mountains at night to view all of the stars and the city lights.

Our first day was quite a treat.
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