One rule of vacation– no alarm unless we need it (i.e. catching a bus or plane, or ensuring we arrive on time to scheduled activities or tours). That being said, we didn’t realize the sun rises at 5:30 AM here! Or, for that matter, that it goes down at 6:30 PM– the reason it’s so early is a mystery to me. We were still able to sleep in somewhat though, considering, and got a solid 9 or so hours in. Traveling yesterday allowed us to sleep well, but I’m not expecting to sleep past 7 on any given day from here on out! We took our time showering, made some oatmeal for breakfast, and eventually headed out to grab some coffee.
A lot of cafeterias here don’t open until mid-afternoon, so we thought we’d walk towards downtown to the Teatro Nacional‘s cafe to get a cafe con leche and read for a bit while the morning unfolds because the doors open at 9. When we reached the steps of the theater it was packed with people and it was obvious an event was going on. I asked a police officer what was going on in Spanglish and was simply ushered off to someone standing nearby who actually understood what I was asking. He told me the president had an event there and, sure enough, shortly afterwards we saw Laura Chinchilla emerge from the crowd. Jason and I mentioned to each other how that would absolutely never happen in the US, as the security brigade was minute in comparison to our president’s. We later observed the absolute pride this country has, which I think is so admirable. I tried taking a picture, but only caught the top of her head– darn.
Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica
We wandered through the crowds, searching for plan B, until we came upon an open cafe. We sat down for a long while and read, consumed our caffeine, and wrote down thoughts from the last 24 hours. We meandered down the streets after a while, watching out for cars that see stop signs as simply optional, and checked out the different markets.
We eventually came upon the Cenrto Nacional de la Cultura, where inside is a contemporary art exhibit. We spent time examining films of performance art, strolled through an exhibit of photographs of Mexican wrestlers, and other interesting pieces.
Centro Nacional de la Cultura
We eventually made it to another cafe, Cafe-té-ría, for a late afternoon cortado and lunch of another panini (seems to be an easy option around here) and an empanada pollo.
Mmm– cortado
The rest of the afternoon/evening has been lazily spent reading, snoozing (I’m getting used to this afternoon siesta), and reading more about Puerto Viejo– our next stop. Looking forward to one more day in San Jose tomorrow wandering through more museums, cafes, and markets!
Awesome experiences.