Day 4 (July 28, 2024): Exploration of San Jose

Please check back late Monday night for completed captions below. They are essential to understanding the sights shown, as well as the museum pieces.

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Most people who come to Costa Rica simply skip San Jose. As one of two main entry points to the country by air, the majority collect their checked bags and head out of the city Immediately.  We decided, however, to buck that trend. “A sprawling city of two million people has to hold enough gems to merit a visit,” we thought while planning the trip. The Global Affairs Canada website, however, painted a very scary picture of San Jose. So it was with fear and trepidation, especially in the wake of our mugging incident in Rome back in March, that we set out to explore the city.

After a delicious breakfast in the Sheraton Club Lounge, including the best omelettes we have had in a long time, we ordered an Uber and set out at 9:30AM.  San Jose's notoriously horrible traffic was almost nonexistent this morning, it being Sunday. By 9:45 AM, our friendly Uber driver dropped us at the National Theatre, and so began our tour of the city.

The National Theatre is considered one of the top 20 sights of Costa Rica. We were able to get space on an 11 AM tour in English, so we booked our tickets at the box office and then headed off to the Jade Museum. Making it back to the National Theatre just before 11, we enjoyed the hour-long tour very much.  Then it was off to the Pre-Colombian Gold Museum.

From there, we started walking all over the city core, taking in the architecture, churches, parks, monuments, and various sights.  Although we did see some tough characters along the way, we never felt at risk. And believe me, we stood out like sore thumbs.

The temperature was so pleasant, not hot and muggy at all. The only downside is that I seem to have picked up some intestinal bug (the first time that has happened since our trip to India in 2010), so my energy was definitely lacking.

We had originally booked a Hilton property for this stay, right in the heart of the historic downtown, next to the National Theatre. However, for logistical ease, we changed the reservation to our Sheraton choice in the West End of the city, so that we could simply park the car upon arrival in San Jose and leave it there until leaving town.  We did have lunch at the Hilton just to experience where we were supposed to have stayed.

Late afternoon, we took another Uber back to the Sheraton, where we enjoyed another lovely dinner at the Club Lounge. Skipping San Jose would have been a big mistake, as we thoroughly enjoyed the sights we saw, as well as getting to know this bustling Latin American city.

Our breakfast view from the Sheraton Club Lounge:  clouds sit on the eastern end of the valley where San Jose is situated.

About to experience the Jade Museum.  The building was designed to look like a big block of jade.

A massive piece of jade greets visitors to the Jade Museum.  This jade is not from Costa Rica.  Interestingly, most of the jade that was used by tribal craftsmen was brought to Costa Rica from Guatemala and Honduras, over trade routes that go back to 600 B,C.

The National Theatre, built between 1891-1897.

The main auditorium.

As we were sitting in the auditorium listening to our tour guide, we heard a voice in the balcony behind us:  it was the ‘ghost’ of the First Lady of Costa Rica at the time the National Theatre opened in 1897.  She took us on a tour of some parts of the building - and was hilarious!

The second-floor foyer of the National Theatre.

About to experience the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum.

A money printing press at the Gold Museum.

These are the impenetrable doors guarding the collection at the Gold Museum.

Various buidings, parks, statues and scenes from San Jose:

National Museum of Costa Rica (we were “museum’d out” and didn’t take in this one).

It’s always a comfort in the Caribbean and in Latin and South America to see Scotiabank branches.  It’s like a wee bit of home!  And believe me, they are everywhere in these countries.

A couple of examples of San Jose’s modern architecture.

San Jose’s historic main post office.

The entrance to San Jose’s small Chinatown.

Iglesia Neustra Senora de la Merced is a wooden Catholic Church in San Jose that was built in 1894. 

This cat must be a devout Catholic!

The Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jose is the largest church in Costa Rica. It was built in 1871. 

We set out to explore San Jose this morning, quite worried about the muggers, kidnappers and murderers that were lurking behind every corner - such was the impression from Global Affairs Canada’s Traveller Advice section on its website.  We were careful today, to be sure, but we never felt at risk.  As we watched the evening sky from the Sheraton Club Lounge over dinner, we concluded that it had been worth carving out some time in San Jose as part of this vacation.