Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
San Jose, Costa Rica
February 9-February 12, 2022
In the world of airline travel, airports are identified as 3 letter abbreviations, "SEA" for Seattle airport, "ATL "for Atlanta, "LAX" for Los Angeles, etc. So what's the difference between SJC and SJO ? Only about 3,009 air miles. SJC San Jose, California
SJO San Juan, Costa Rica.
Around 6 pm, as our flight made its final approach to SJO, the capital city of Costa Rica, we were welcomed by a spectacular sunset and warm, balmy weather. We'll be staying at the Autentico Hotel Sabana Norte until Saturday.
This morning we awoke to blue skies and a sunny 73 degrees F.
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This morning we explored the park by our hotel. We chatted with our new friend Artulio and his 5-year-old granddaughter, Valentina. We wanted to adopt her!
This afternoon we went on a 5-hour walking tour with our exceptional guide, Jason Uglade. The time flew by with Jason's extensive historical and contemporary knowledge of this exceptional country. We wanted to experience the culture and view the city through his eyes and we did. We learned a lot and had an excellent experience!
Here are some of the highlights of our afternoon and evening (from 3 pm until 8 pm) walking tour with Jason.
The ubiquitous Tabebula Rosea (Savanna Oak) trees were in full bloom. Each tree's pink and white blossoms were exploding with a vibrant hue...truly a beautiful sight to behold.
Marking the entrance to the Museum of Costa Rican Art, there's the famous "SJO !VIVE !" sculpture.
Among today's numerous highlights was Costa Rica's National Theater which according to our guide Jason, "is arguably THE most beautiful architectural masterpiece in all of Costa Rica."
The National Theater is simply stunning! While the marble statues, columns, and floors in addition to all the frescos came from Italy, the ornate ironwork from France, the intricate bronze metal roof from Belgium, it was the Costa Ricans themselves who not only paid for but also labored tirelessly for 7 years to finally complete construction on this magnificent architectural masterpiece in 1897. The European-styled intricately carved marble exterior with its bronze roof encompasses a full city block.
Perched atop the National Theater, three muses from Greek mythology grace San Jose's skyline.
Inside the National Theater's grand entryway there were more stunning marble statues depicting muses from Greek mythology. They were created by Italian masters Pietro Bulgarelli and Jiminez Deredia.
A marble sword-toting Greek warrior guards the entrance against the foyer to the interior of the theater.
But perhaps the most poignant and beautiful of all is from the world-famous Costa Rican sculpture, Juan Ramon Bonilla. It is entitled, "The Heroes of Misery".
After the National Theater was completed on October 21, 1897, the president of Costa Rica, Jose Zeledon, decided he wanted his country to create their own classical marble statues and not have them imported from Italy. Bonilla was sent by the Costa Rican government to study "marble working" in Italy where he learned from the "great masters", a select group of European artists which included Rodan. Bonilla received enthusiastic praise for his sculptures. In 1909 this young Costa Rican stunned the art world by winning the coveted European biennial award with his "The Heros of Misery". The following year Bonilla donated his masterpiece to the National Theater for all of Costa Rica and most especially the 19,000 people living in the capital city of San Jose to see.
In addition to classical marble statues, the National Theater's ceilings are elaborately painted, many depicting Greek mythology.
Perhaps the most famous painting is not of Greek mythology, but of Costa Rican history pictured below.
This one is considered Costa Rica's most beloved painting. It is an "allegory to Costa Rica's coffee and bananas".This 1897 favorite Costa Rican painting is considered good luck to own. And the way one can "own" this painting is to purchase a 5 colones bill, which is worth less than a penny. It looks like this on one side
and this is the other side of the 5 colones bill.
When one keeps it in their wallet, it is said to bring the bearer very good luck! It is a fun and inexpensive souvenir to keep, especially if what they say is true!
We continued on our walking tour seeing the numerous and memorable sights.
Morazan Park was especially lovely.
With the Holiday Inn in the background scraping the sky, one can see the juxtaposition of the old and new in San Jose's architecture.
This famous bandstand at Morazon Park was built in 1920 and is called the Temple of Music. It was inspired by the Temple of Love in Versailles, France.
Beautiful sculptures, verdant gardens, and wildlife abound in Morazan Park.
It seems as though there is always kissing going on in Morazon Park!
Adjacent to Morazon Park is the iconic elementary school building, known as the Metallic Building or Metal Building. It is located in the center of green parks and historical buildings. It is really the Buenaventura Corrales Elementary School but is more commonly referred to as Metallic Building. Why you may ask.
It is made out of 1,000 tons of metal (!) from Belgium. It was manufactured in Belgium and then assembled piece by piece by the Costa Ricans on-site in San Jose!
At 116 years old, it's still standing and being used today.
This beautiful mosaic is right in front of the school.
In fact, numerous murals line streets the area
Below is the iconic Hotel Presidente located n the heart of San Jose's downtown center. It is a mere 100 yards from the National Theater and the Plaza de la Cultura.
From downtown, we walked to Jason's historic neighborhood. He showed us restaurants that only the locals know, and what Costa Rican specialties to order when we go. We continued on our walk through his neighborhood as the sun was setting.
As we strolled back downtown, the monuments were ablaze in the Costa Rican national colors.
From the monument photos above and below, you can see how few people were on the evening streets of San Jose. Over a million work in this capital city each day, yet almost all of them live outside the city. There is a mad exodus from downtown at 5 pm each day.
We passed by the sculpture of John Lennon sitting on a park bench with his back facing the church. Lennon had famously remarked that the Beatles were more famous than the Catholic church and therefore more important than the Catholic church. 
Behind Lennon's back is the stunning Metropolitan Cathedral. It is San Jose's sacred temple. It stands superbly overlooking the capital city's Central Park, streets, and avenues. It is truly a peaceful place of worship in the middle of the bustling city. Inside worshipers and visitors will find a tabernacle, a crypt, confessionals, a pipe organ, and 42 beautiful relic stained glass windows.
The Metropolitan Cathedral was built in 1827 of adobe walls and a clay tiled roof. It has been rebuilt restored and redesigned manly due to devastating earthquakes. The last earthquake in the early 1990s rocked the church's foundations and led to the destruction and replacement of its iconic two bell towers.
Between Jason's 5-hour walking tour and our following day's "Sights and Bites" tour of the markets, we had quite an introduction and appreciation for the culture and history of Costa Rica.
HIghlight's of the "Sights and Bites" tour included the Mercado Borbon which is where the locals shop for their fruits and vegetables.
There are herbalists where one can find just about anything!
Lots of souvenir shops for the tourists.
But the highlight was tasting the Loco Mora's Helados de Sorobetera! This one flavor shop has been using its original and secret recipe since 1902. It is absolutely delicious and is only found in this location in all of San Jose.
There are stands managed by local florists
There are also florist stands on the streets.
We also vistied the Museo de Arte Constarricense.
This mural, constructed from 1939 to 1940 is made of stucco carved in bas relief and presents fragments of Costa Rica history from the pre-Columban era on the west wall
The timeline mural concludes with the representation of the original SJO airport which today's museum is situated above.
The Golden Room is an impressive artistic achievement!
Our three days in San Jose have come to an end. This evening we are to meet our Intrepid trip leader, Pedro, for our orientation meeting.
And so tomorrow we'll say goodbye to the lovely Autentico Hotel.
They had THE best fire extinguisher locator!
We enjoyed the comfort of our room at the Authentico with its beautiful furnishings. Our inlay table was stunning.
Time to pack up and get ready for tomorrow for soon we'll be on our way. Let the adventure begin!
