Three weeks in San José

I was a bit underwhelmed by the capital of Costa Rica. It looks very unsophisticated (especially when compared with the neighboring capital of Panama), the architecture has little aesthetic appeal, and the streets are not particularly clean. Downtown San José, where you can find many museums and government buildings, is crammed with low quality little shops, peddlers, beggars, and homeless people. I believe all those stories about Costa Rica being a marvelous place come from people who spent two or three days in an exclusive beach resort and didn't see much of the capital.

The good news is that I rented a nice little apartment in a much better area, Barrio Escalante, mostly residential but with quite a few restaurants around. The building has many amenities, including a swimming pool, a gym, a garden, and several areas for relaxing or working on the top floor (the 29th), among them a library and a bar.

I visited the main museums, of course. The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica was my favorite. The building was originally a military fort, and was turned into a museum a couple of years after the Costa Rican Civil War of 1948. The first thing we see when we enter is a butterfly garden, home to two dozens of species, including the famous Morpho helenor (with cobalt blue wings) and Heliconius hecale (black and orange wings). After that, it's all about the history of Costa Rica, from prehistoric stone sculptures (the best part) to modern artifacts (like early telephones and microscopes).

Costa Rica had so much gold and jade that each of them now has its own museum. The Museo del Oro Precolombino shows over 500 objects made of gold (so many frog and alligator figurines!), and also ceramic pieces and historic coins and banknotes (their banknotes are still beautiful). The Museo del Jade shows over 2,500 objects made of jade, plus a large collection of ceramic and stone pieces. I also went to the Museo de Arte Costarricense, but that was not very interesting, with perhaps the exception of a couple of outdoor sculptures.

What about the food?

The main dish here seems to be the traditional casado (literally "coupled" or "wedded"), which is rice, black beans, and fried banana, often served with some sort of meat. Another very popular dish is arroz con pollo (chicken risotto). For breakfast, they eat gallo pinto, which is also rice and black beans, mixed with some sort of vinaigrette sauce and accompanied by an egg, or avocado, or sausage.

One surprise is that food in Costa Rica is very expensive. Just as an example, the cheapest burger I saw anywhere around here (and didn't buy) cost 20 dollars, and I also saw one for 39 dollars (I didn't buy that one either). There are cheaper alternatives, if you eat at street food trucks or at the messy and crowded Mercado Central (Central Market), two options that don't entice me. Fortunately, my apartment here is well-equipped, and I was able to prepare my own meals at home often.