I had breakfast -- rice and beans, of course, the national dish of Costa Rica -- outside on the terrace of our hotel, which is right in the heart of the city on the Plaza de la Cultura. The view of the city below and the mountains beyond was gorgeous and the city looked so peaceful. Little did I know...
Armed with a little map of downtown, we ventured forth on foot, in search of the public market, public parks, and a store selling rain ponchos so Miss O'B could buy one. Mostly we just wanted to get a feel for the city and the people. We found the market, which was amazing, a haphazard but beautiful smorgasbord of every type of produce, meat and cheese imaginable, full of vendors and buyers of all ages. Miss O'B bought some papaya and I worked on mentally figuring out the exchange rate between Costa Rican colones and dollars. (FYI it's 500 to 1)
We saw the Parque Central, with a huge orange gazebo of sorts and many people walking and sitting. We walked through an artisans market with crafts and made a mental note to return to buy a few things when we are back in the city before we leave. We even found the Costa Rican WalMart! But alas, despite many tries we could not find a rain poncho despite being in the tropics in the rainy season. This seemed ironic until we realized that the locals don't need ponchos because they don't mind getting wet.
We got a bit lost despite our map on the way back because there are no street signs! Fortunately a quick cab ride got us back "home" where we rested and waited to meet up with our Earthwatch team.
The streets have no name there, huh? Wonder if Bono was singing about San Jose?
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