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On Feb 27th, Karen and I adjusted our latitude
about 30 degrees closer to the Equator... we left Reston
at 3:30 am (I didn't bother sleeping that night)
to catch an early flight out of National Airport--special
thanks to my friend Sarosh for driving! We had
a great time staying in Northern Virginia and New York
while between trips, but were looking forward
to trading our shoes and jackets for sandals
and t-shirts and exploring the beauty and culture
of Costa Rica.
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Our flights down here went off without a hitch, and we stepped
out of the airport to breezy 80-degree weather and
a taxi driver provided by our language school, COSI.
He was a friendly retired gentleman by the name of
Victor (it seems he
drove a taxi to earn a few extra "colones"), and we
chatted in Spanish on the way to our hotel in San Jose.
We took a quick siesta to help recharge from our
sleep-deprived night before travel, then spoiled
ourselves with a nice dinner
that night (a tradition we started in Europe) and
ambled around the city a little bit. Still tired,
we turned in early for a nice long sleep to fully
recover from our lack of sleep.
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The next day, we decided that our first hotel, "La Amistad," was comfortable but
overpriced, so we hit the street in search of a
downgrade in price without sacrificing comfort. We
found it at Kap's Guesthouse, just a
couple blocks away. It's a cozy place with a small
courtyard adorned with flowers (see above) and hammocks
(see below), and really feels like a "home away
from home"--we have a spacious room with a large
bed, huge window (not much of a view, though--we are
in the city, after all), private bathroom with a sunlight,
and use of a common area living room and kitchen.
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We also hooked up with a friend-of-a-friend for
lunch, getting plenty of recommendations on what to
do while in Costa Rica. Even though we do have ten
weeks planned here, there's so much to see that I'm
sure we'll be back someday!
As far as stuff to do in San Jose, the capital city,
we're mostly just explored it on foot. So far we've
seen the hustle and bustle of downtown, both day and
night, with it's crazed drivers, street vendors, shops,
and lively, friendly crowds. We've also relaxed in
La Sabana, a former airport that was converted into
a huge park with ponds, trees, and soccer fields when
a new airport was built in the suburbs.
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Today, we checked
out the museum of Natural Science, which had an enormous
collection of historical specimens and preserved butterflies,
birds, and mammals on display, making our best attempt to
decipher the captions that were loaded with technical terms.
We then foraged for food in
the Mercado Central, a maze-like market with small corridors
weaving through dozens of stalls, selling everything from
seafood to handbags to plastic trinkets.
In between explorations into San Jose, we've found plenty
of time to relax and read our tour books to start planning
what to do after COSI (we'll be in class until March 22nd),
and start reading some of the several books we brought along
(Me--"Biophilia" by Edward O. Wilson, Karen--"Spiritual But
Not Religious" by Robert C. Fuller). We've also enjoyed
meeting fellow travelers here at Kap's. One of them, a
guy named Marco, is a musician who just released a CD two
months ago--I bought a copy tonight--as well as a food lover
who is preparing banana french toast with mango syrup tomorrow
morning for all of us to enjoy!
Love & laughter--
--Scott.
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