At this point we had a think about
our plans for Costa Rica, we had another volunteering opportunity lined
up with a school but in the end we decided we were not sure we were
going to get what we expected or desired from our time here so changed
plans. We decided we would just travel and see all we wanted to see, cutting our time to a total of 6 weeks, heading back to Connecticut for
Amy to be around for the birth of her first nephew and for us to work
and earn back some of the money we had spent in the not so cheap Costa
Rica.
We firstly used our time to fix ourselves up, getting some meds for my ear and for Amy's bites or whatever she had. Making things worse a few spots popped up on me the following night. We worried they were bed bugs, or ants because there were plenty about our room and amongst our stuff but after a bit of Dr Google research discover they were most likely a heat rash, from the hot sticky climate, our lack of proper hygiene and clothe cleaning. Taking no chances we had all our clothes washed in the following town, the most expensive laundry experience I've had but I can't complain about the 2 hour turnaround of our 9kgs of clothes perfectly pressed and folded. Still wasn't stoked to have to part with $29 for the service.
But back to San Jose, we were surprised to not be raped, mugged or murdered while on town. We checked with our hostel owner where to not go in town, which was around to red light district which is to be avoided at all costs. Despite many bus terminals being located there, in which case you must just take a taxi, and once at the terminal its all good, with security and police presence. But to be honest we could have been in any city in the world. We walked the main street of town and the walking mall. It was all full if chain stores and American fast food joints, the streets were busy with folks in business ware, students and regular folks. most of the city was unmemorable in design and planning but we did stumble upon a few beautiful buildings of colonial Spanish design. The most fantastic and maybe one of the most beautiful buildings I can remember was the national theater. A stunning building preserved to its original character and beauty and still used for it's original purpose of concerts and performances. That afternoon we bought some food from a local supermarket including the biggest mango I have ever seen. It resembled an American football and was an absolute experience to eat. We left San Jose optimist of our travels ahead and pleasantly surprised to have not had a bad experience.
We firstly used our time to fix ourselves up, getting some meds for my ear and for Amy's bites or whatever she had. Making things worse a few spots popped up on me the following night. We worried they were bed bugs, or ants because there were plenty about our room and amongst our stuff but after a bit of Dr Google research discover they were most likely a heat rash, from the hot sticky climate, our lack of proper hygiene and clothe cleaning. Taking no chances we had all our clothes washed in the following town, the most expensive laundry experience I've had but I can't complain about the 2 hour turnaround of our 9kgs of clothes perfectly pressed and folded. Still wasn't stoked to have to part with $29 for the service.
But back to San Jose, we were surprised to not be raped, mugged or murdered while on town. We checked with our hostel owner where to not go in town, which was around to red light district which is to be avoided at all costs. Despite many bus terminals being located there, in which case you must just take a taxi, and once at the terminal its all good, with security and police presence. But to be honest we could have been in any city in the world. We walked the main street of town and the walking mall. It was all full if chain stores and American fast food joints, the streets were busy with folks in business ware, students and regular folks. most of the city was unmemorable in design and planning but we did stumble upon a few beautiful buildings of colonial Spanish design. The most fantastic and maybe one of the most beautiful buildings I can remember was the national theater. A stunning building preserved to its original character and beauty and still used for it's original purpose of concerts and performances. That afternoon we bought some food from a local supermarket including the biggest mango I have ever seen. It resembled an American football and was an absolute experience to eat. We left San Jose optimist of our travels ahead and pleasantly surprised to have not had a bad experience.
You may have been surprised not to be raped, mugged or murdered but I was eternally grateful that you didnt experience any of these!
ReplyDeleteI would have done your washing for free if you'd asked!
Heat rash is horrible. I had it when we were camping in the Northern Territory.
Glad you survived yet another adventure.
Love Mum