A home for my words.

I saw some nomads say they were disappointed by their experience in San Jose, so I tried to go in with adjusted expectations. The city offers a fairly safe center point for short trips into other areas of the country, but it certainly isn’t a place pulsing with innumerous things to do. The lack of events on San Jose’s NomadTable map was my first clue into that. One thing I hadn’t properly prepared myself for, however, were the prices. Holy moly the groceries and dining options are often more expensive than even the US! That was really my biggest hurdle. Otherwise, it was a great place to get work done and to get back into healthier routines like the gym and cooking at home. I also fulfilled a dream of seeing sloths!

So here’s a look into what you can do inside and outside of San Jose, Costa Rica:

Museums

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

I imagine this is one of the most popular museums to visit while in San Jose and the adjacent plaza sometimes has things like fun public dance classes going on. You can enter for free on a few days of the month, which is what I did on one Sunday afternoon. I was delighted to find that there was also a free orchestral performance taking place! The museum has a “railroad” style, where you walk in a U-shape from one room to the next learning about different aspects of Costa Rican history. At the center is a wonderful garden. You can also walk downstairs into a dungeon where prisoners were held during the times of civil war. While you cannot walk into the actual holding cells, you can peer through the bars at the scribbles on the wall. I wonder if those detainees could have imagined that one day the world would see into a slice of what they experienced.

Museo Dr. Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia

This museum is dedicated to a former president and entry is free. It is housed in a residence of the former president and is a great stop for history buffs. You learn about his medical impacts before becoming president, how he was beloved by the working class for establishing things like a social security system that granted access to healthcare for all, and how social polarization from conservative elites led to civil war and his being exiled. It was fascinating. There are also a few rooms with art galleries that are worth the visit.

Centro Cultural de España

Despite the name, this center does more than house cultural information about Spain. There was an exhibit focused on Guatemala when I visited as well as a tiny library spanning children’s books to materials in English. They also host a number of cultural events every month and it’s completely free to visit.

CENAC

Central Market

There are two central markets in San Jose, one that was pitched to me as marketed towards tourists and another that is more local. That said, a friend and I ate at Soda Tala (“Soda” is the Costa Rican name for restaurants with traditional food) in the more touristy market and it was absolutely packed with locals on quick lunch breaks. It was also the most affordable place I ate at during my time in the city. The restaurant has too much commotion to give you your own table, so you end up rubbing shoulders with regulars. We chatted with the various people that came and went.

Besides the trip to the market with my friend, I’d also done a central market tour group and got to eat a ton of fruits at the more local market. I was surprised to find guinep, one of my favorites and a fruit I hadn’t eaten since my childhood days (my mouth is literally watering as I type about it right now)! We ended the day with a delicious mushroom coffee blend and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it paired with an empanada handmade out of plantain, sharp cheese, and brown sugar.

Manuel Antonio National Park

This is the most popular place to visit in Costa Rica and for good reason. In the same day, I was able to relax on a gorgeous beach and forest bathe mid-hike. It costs to enter the national park and many people enter with guides to point out animals. Rest assured that even if you don’t have a guide, seeing hordes of people crowd around a telescope or point upward will surely alert you to wildlife. It’s also kind of tough to miss a gang of monkeys. On just a few hours in the park, I saw a massive family of white-faced monkeys, a crocodile, lizards, super colorful crabs, birds, insects, and an agouti (think giant rat lol). There was also a sloth that I couldn’t spot for the life of me, even with the help of someone’s binoculars. It’s funny because I adore sloths — making Costa Rica a wonderful place for me — but I learned I am not at all skilled at scoping them out.

The surrounding town is super touristy and is known for stunning sunsets. I also saw a monkey literally duck down beneath the tire of a car and run up to the second story of hotel while room service had doors open to clean. All this to say that if you stay there, do secure your items both indoors and outdoors lest the monkeys steal them.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve

Zip up your raincoat and wear your sturdiest shoes! This location is misty, if not rainy, most of the year. It was incredible to drive from San Jose through the coast, which was awash with sun, and inch closer to the Cloud Forest. When you near its climate, it’s as if you drive through a vortex. There was moisture that clung to the area, but disappears just a few minutes drive away.

If you’re going to eat in the nearby town, I suggest The Jungle Monteverde. Their red curry was absolutely delectable and it warmed me up nicely as I saw next to an open window where the weather slipped between sunny, cloudy, and rainy, then right back to sunny multiple times during my meal.

Other Destinations

Poás is a volcano not too far away from San Jose. On weekends, there are public buses that will take you there although it’s a long journey. You can also visit with an established tour company that will likely combine it with a waterfall and a coffee tasting excursion. Just keep in mind that it can be cloud to the point of not being able to see the Poás crater at all.

Limón is a city on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. I am personally endeared to it because there are Jamaican descendants that have lived there for over a century after moving for work in the railroad and banana industries. Many of their descendants still call the city home and there is even a push to make sure the youth keep up with speaking Patois in addition to English and Spanish.

Cahuita is less than an hour away from Limón and boasts a beautiful beach and national park with more opportunities to spot wildlife.

Toucan Rescue Ranch

This rescue ranch isn’t just about toucans; they also care for animals such as birds, sloths, and other mammals. There was even a sneaky squirrel who entered the giant macaw enclosure. While it wasn’t there for the purposes of rescue, the macaws left it in total piece despite it eating from their lunch.

Focused on conservation, the rescue ranch becomes a sanctuary for animals that are deemed unable to survive in the wild. The main causes for animals that don’t get released back into the wild are:

• Human imprinting
  This is when the animals form such a strong reliance on humans that they wouldn’t be able to fend for themselves in the wild. These are often animals who were kept illegally as pets by humans that were no longer able to care for them and end up at the ranch. These animals often lose their hunting instinct and rely on human care to stay alive.
  
• Illness
  Some of the animals were born with conditions that make it impossible for them to survive in the wild. Their families often abandon them and they quickly become prey. One sloth was found to have a neurological condition that impeded it’s ability to cling to trees. Since sloths spend 95% of their life in the trees, this animal would not have been able to survive on its own. It had already fallen from its mother twice before being housed at the Rescue Ranch.

I looked at it like this: the ranch’s goal is to release animals back into the wild. For those that would have perished otherwise, the ranch houses the animal for the duration of its life. Apparently the sloths that stay at the ranch end up living a few years longer than their wild counterparts. I imagine handmade meals, bars that block predators, and veterinarians have a lot to do with this.

TimeLeft

I often do an update on my TimeLeft experience in various cities. I’ll put it simply: San Jose was the worst TimeLeft location I have experienced. It seems they don’t have many people using it in Costa Rica, so you can end up with the same people week after week. Much worse, TimeLeft still might send you to the same exact restaurant location each time. I don’t know the next time I’ll even be in a city with TimeLeft, so I have officially canceled my subscription.

Speaking of Food

In Conclusion

I don’t regret my stay in San Jose. It’s a pleasant enough place to regroup and it offers many activities and sightseeing opportunities out in nature. I even got to see a play, one of my favorite pastimes. You just need to go knowing what to expect.

A Heads Up

It may be a while before you hear from me here on the blog again. My work is going to pick up a lot through the end of the year, and I’m toying with the idea of staying in one place and applying for a visa extension to max out my allowed time there. We’ll see!