Was I wrong about San Jose! I quickly discovered that it is one of the ugliest cities I have ever seen. and the people throw their litter on the ground. There is no attempt to discard anything in a trash can and I am not sure I ever saw one. Except for the magnificent Teatro Nacional(I went in and heard a wonderful Bach concert) the architecture of downtown San Jose can only be described as "butt ugly"--is that a style? I don't know but the little neighborhood I was in was even worse. Shabby and forlorn. When I arrived around 6pm I was told that only a small Chinese restaurant was open in the neighborhood. Chinese? are you kidding?-- but off I went and it was not memorable. The only other place in the neighborhood was a little "comida economica"---"cheap eats" but it closed at 6. On top of this it was raining like hell --I mean really raining and chilly for two straight days.
The apartment was ok--the place was still being "renovated" but there was TV, internet, a library, laundry and it was clean. The owner was very nice but I quickly realized that security must be a major issue. The compound had many locks,security guards, barbed wire all around the walls and lots of warnings about being careful on the streets. There were a number of ex-pats there about my age and they sat around a lot, smoked , drank and talked. They seemed to never leave the place. I just didn't want to get into that mix.
The apartment was ok--the place was still being "renovated" but there was TV, internet, a library, laundry and it was clean. The owner was very nice but I quickly realized that security must be a major issue. The compound had many locks,security guards, barbed wire all around the walls and lots of warnings about being careful on the streets. There were a number of ex-pats there about my age and they sat around a lot, smoked , drank and talked. They seemed to never leave the place. I just didn't want to get into that mix.
The next day it was off to downtown by bus and more disappointment. Coming from Alexandria with all its charm and Washington D.C. which I consider to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world gives one a real sense of the character of a city and no matter where I looked in San Jose I found nothing but bare functionality at best. I love cities and could easily live in New York, London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Chicago, San Francisco. Part of the joy of cities to me is just walking around and the pleasure that is derived from the neighborhoods: the shops, cafes and theatres and of course the people. The face of the city and it's buildings--has any attempt been made to truly blend the old with the new? Does it beckon you to stay? Could I live here? All of this is a reflection of the people and how much they care about where they live and their built environment. Don't get me wrong. Every city has problems and neighborhoods that are ugly and uncared for but all of the cities that I mentioned above try to be as livable as possible. I have walked for hours through all of them and always felt like I could live there. San Jose was just one big disappointment.You will notice from my photo website bcmayimages.shutterfly.com that I did not take one picture in Costa Rica??? I don't remember one meal. Downtown is always full of people in a hurry--there is a constant buzz and lots of shopping. The venerable Grand Hotel still reflects some of its former elegance but it has gone for the tourist--any tourist. There are small shops throughout the center city mostly selling cheap goods. Also I kept getting the sense that it was not safe: lots of barbed wire and broken glass imbeded in walls and heavily armed police everywhere. And the litter!
I took a bus trip to Jaco Beach and of course found the countryside of Costa Rica to be stunningly beautiful as is the beach at Jaco. However, the little town is like so many beach towns in the world today-- just bars, t-shirt shops and condos. I am sure that living in the countryside of Costa Rica can be wonderful particularly if you are into ecology. For anyone not familiar with Costa Rica just take a look at any of the "Jurassic Park" films all shot in Costa Rica with its incredible beauty. But I wanted to be in a city. Now I know many of you have visited Costa Rica and gone to American style hotels or rented beautiful condos and loved the golf, the surfing, the beach. My impressions here are just of the capital and I found it sorely lacking in charm and just about everything else. I was not on a vacation but looking for a place to live in a city. I never tried to find the English speaking theatre. I just knew that San Jose was not the place for me.
On a trip to Escazu, an upscale suburb of San Jose, I boarded a bus but did not know there was an electronic passenger counter. Each time I tried to pay I was counted again and again. and again...The bus driver was screaming at me. The other passengers were laughing loudly when a voice in English said "may I help you?" This lovely young woman who spoke perfect English corrected the situation with great calm. She was a medical student about to start her residency. She told me that medicine in Latin America was not lucrative but very personally rewarding. I commented on how beautiful Costa Rica was and how disturbing it was to see so much litter. She agreed but said" it is a matter of education and we are not doing well at it" As John Cheever might have said, this "angel on a bus "was the highlight of my visit to Costa Rica.
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When I was standing in the immigration line at the San Jose airport I started talking with a man from Miami. He asked me where I might go if San Jose did not work. I told him that I had a short list that included Merida, Mexico but I knew very little about it. He knew it well. " It is beautiful and affordable." When I realized that San Jose was not for me I sat down and tried to figure out how to get to Merida. Flying was crazy. I had to go back to the states , change planes and the fares were insane. I decided to take a bus and again with the help of the internet I found Tika Bus. It goes from San Jose to Tapachula, Mexico and then you switch to ADO Bus for the trip up the Yucatan to Merida. I thought I was crazy to try a bus trip that lasted four days and covered 2000 miles and me without very much usable Spanish! Maybe bus travel is in my blood. I got my ticket. A cab came at 2AM and by 3AM I was off...again.
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