Costa Rica - Part 2

San José is the heart of Costa Rica and represents nearly 30% of the country's population live in the city or the nearby suburbs that are home to about 900,000 people. San José became the capital of Costa Rica when it gained independence from Spain in 1823. San José offers many interesting attractions and excellent museums, fine restaurants, good nightlife, and an eternal spring-like climate. When visiting in San José, keep in mind that the city is a hub of transportation in the country and all public transit and road systems radiate from the city. Therefore, San José can be a noisy bustling place with traffic jams and congestion as the norm.


Downtown is San José's busiest area where most of the city's museums are located. Interesting buildings and museums are found in the Plaza de la Cultura. Street vendors are often found wandering the western end of the plaza and it is a good place to watch the comings and goings of Costa Ricans. Beneath the Plaza de la Cultura is the underground Gold Museum (Museo de Oro). This museum houses one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian gold in the Americas. On display are more than 20,000 troy ounces of gold in more than 2,000 objects Stroll up Avenida Central to the National Museum (Museo Nacional). Housed in former army barracks used during the civil war of 1948, you can still see hundreds of bullet holes on the turrets at the corners of the building. Inside are displays on Costa Rican history and culture from pre-Columbian times to the present including metates, or grinding stones, ornately decorated and believed to have been part of funeral rites; and pre-Columbian gold jewelry and figurines.

As you may have noticed, for several blocks west of the Plaza de la Cultura, Avenida Central is a pedestrian-only street mall where store after store of inexpensive clothes for men, women, and children can be found. The largest market is the Mercado Central located between avenidas Central and 1 and calles 6 and 8. Here you'll find a maze of stalls of food vendors, Costa Rican souvenirs, crude leather goods, and musical instruments. There is also a daily street market on the west side of the Plaza de la Democracia with two long rows of open-air stalls selling T-shirts, Guatemalan and Ecuadorian handicrafts and clothing, small ceramic ocarins, and handmade jewelry. In either places and throughout San José , BEWARE of skilled pickpocketers.

Conclude the evening with tickets for a performance at the National Theatre (Teatro Nacional). The National Theater is considered to be the most impressive building in San José. In the 1890's, the ruling coffee barons voted for a tax on coffee exports in order to fund the construction of the theater, and European artisans were imported to design the building. Completed in 1897, the building features a classical Renaissance columned façade topped by statues symbolizing Dance, Music, and Fame. Inside, the pink marble foyer features allegorical figures of Comedy and Tragedy, and painted murals depicting themes in Costa Rican life. The most famous of the paintings is one showing coffee harvesting and export painted by Arturo Fontana in Milan in 1897. The mural highlights the three-story horseshoe-shaped auditorium that seats 1,040 people. There are regular performances in the theater, and a gallery featuring changing art shows by local artists. The theater's marble staircases, gilded ceilings, parquet floors, bronze chandeliers and gold-leaf mahogany furniture were damaged in a 1991 earthquake but have since been restored.


Northwest of San José are many interesting cities and towns that can be combined as a long day trip. Nestled in the countryside of Costa Rica's Alajuela province is Sarchi, Costa Rica's main artisan town. Sarchi is best known for the vibrant and pretty oxcarts that are handcrafted here and sold all over the country. Available for a reasonable price, these oxcarts are a must buy for any tourist. A national symbol of Costa Rica, the oxcart plays a key role in the country’s history, as they were used to transport coffee beans to nearby and faraway markets. Highly ornate, these oxcarts are elegantly craved and are usually painted with bright colors. The largest and oldest oxcart factory is also found in Sarchi. The Joaquin Chaverri Oxcart Factory was built in 1902, and is considered to be the birthplace of oxcart handicrafts in Costa Rica.

Besides the beautiful handicrafts, another reason to visit this charming town is for its unusual church that is painted pink with aquamarine trim and looks strangely like a child's birthday cake. Built between 1950 and 1958, this two-towered church sits on a hill overlooking the town.