Spending a few weeks in Costa Rica - Days 1-2 - San Jose

in travelfeed •  5 years ago  (edited)

I arrived here yesterday, quite tired from the flight. I'm staying at Hostel Urbano. It's a beautiful place with an amazing backyard view. It's in Los Yoses, which isn't that exciting an area. Well I guess it's busy enough. There is certainly a lot of traffic, but I'm kind of at a loss to find anything fun to do that isn't quite a walk from here. That's fine though. I got some food and beer at a restaurant and just hung out on the hammock in the backyard of the hostel and called it a night.

I got up early this morning for a free breakfast provided by the hostel. I could tell just looking at someone that he at least spoke the same language as me, so we struck up a conversation. He was from Australia. He was returning to a conservation job after Christmas break. Two other people he worked with then joined us. They were both from England.

After that I went for a walk to downtown San Jose. I found a park with some cool statues.

I walked further downtown to the market area, which is completely insane. It's not just blocks of storefronts. There are also whole blocks of indoor markets, closer to being flea markets with retail shops, restaurants and food vendors.

It was interesting, but I'm not looking to buy anything much on this trip. I really just wanted a bathroom and a beer. I wanted a dive bar and I found one. I don't recall the name, but it had a nostalgia theme. The bar was covered with pictures from old TV shows. They were playing Bee Gees videos on YouTube.

A woman gave me her phone number. She walked in with a guy she called her friend. She spoke English. He didn't. She invited me to stay at her place, maybe when I come back through to catch my plane home. Then she asked to maybe go with me to Monteverde. She said if I stayed with her she would send her friend to the beach. He clearly didn't understand what she was saying. Did I mention her friend is a cop? This was just too weird. I'm not calling her, but I'm certainly flattered.

After this I walked back to the hostel to get lunch, which was probably also dinner.
Yoguis is an amazing deal. I was hesitant at first as I really had no idea what to order. Their menus had no pictures and no details or description other than a basic name of the item.

My Spanish is not great so I got the arroz con pollo because I knew I would like anything with chicken and rice. I still had trouble ordering because she asked what side I wanted. I could tell a salad was one of the options so I went with that. For only 3000 colones, this was an amazing deal. That's only $5.25 USD! I'm definitely going back tomorrow.

I'm back at the hostel. I might go out for drink. Here are some more random photos from today. The first is the National Museum of Costa Rica. This is the capitol city after all.

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Have a safe trip & thanks for the input on Costa Rica!

Thanks! I will try to post updates every couple days.

I have never gone in Costa Rica. But thru your post and your photographs I have now little conception in your city life. And Your smile is beautiful.

Why thank you! The consensus from other travelers at the hostel is that I need to get out of the city to really see Costa Rica, and fast!

Strange about being asked out!!! Seems a little dodgy. It's been so long since I ordered a meal in another country. Yum.

Yeah, it was kind of weird. But that it happened on my first day exploring makes me feel flattered at least. There are many more places to visit still.

Wow! You are on holiday on your own!! Don’t call that strange lady! She’s weird and with the cop!

The city looks like a mixture of old and new culture or two different time zones!
You’ve got a nice hotel to stay. It seems you are having a good time exploring!

Have a wonderful holiday!

Next time you should come to Thailand!

Cheers.

Hell no I'm not calling her. It does feel nice when someone just writes her number down without me even asking for it. Doesn't happen often. But I'm not calling a cop's girlfriend in a foreign country. Thailand would be great but I'd have trouble eating because of a peanut allergy.

Oh! That is not a problem really! Lots of people with this allergy can have a nice holiday here!

Just avoid Padthai and Massamun curry, and some Tom-yum noodles: these have peanut added to the dishes.

But you could still have Padthai without peanut too; just tell the cook.

Chinese, Japanese and typical Thai food would be okay!

Some local Thais are also allergic to peanuts and all kinds of seafood too!!

Beautiful pics from what looks like a lovely spot, @robmolecule. Sometimes it's nice to be off the beaten track. I look forward to seeing more :)

I'm going to the rain forest next. There's so much more to see in this country.

Oh, nice! I can't wait to see the posts, @robmolecule. I'm in a rain forest here in Malaysia but in the city, so I do not really see it - except for the afternoon storms :)

Congratulations @robmolecule! Your post brought a smile to the TravelFeed team so we have sent you a smiley. Keep up the good job. 🙂

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Hey! How are you enjoying your holiday?!

No new report from you?!

Hope you are having a good time and eating yummy food!