San Jose Hotels
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Arrive in San Jose
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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.
Latest Comments (5)
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Peeled (reply)
Feb 15, 2007 14:22 EST by travelers
We'll try to call tonight. I have a meeting with big client (Digitas) tonight at 5:30.
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Adventure of a lifetime (reply)
Feb 14, 2007 20:37 EST by gretchen0
I am already looking forward to your next entry. I don't care what anyone says, it sounded like a great day of new experiences. Love, us.
We also got your voice mail today. We will keep our eyes peeled for your next call.
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Re: so you were in ...Pit'sburg... (reply)
Feb 9, 2007 17:04 EST by ticocky
*their
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In reply to:
I'd expect anybody to be disappointed somewhat if they're first acquaintance with Costa Rica were limited to what you describe as your highlights of those few hours
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so you were in ...Pit'sburg... (reply)
Feb 9, 2007 17:00 EST by ticocky
I'd expect anybody to be disappointed somewhat if they're first acquaintance with Costa Rica were limited to what you describe as your highlights of those few hours
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