April 30th, 2012 by Rachel | Country: Costa Rica | 1 Comment »
Last fall, one night, when I had to go back to London to finish up my studies, I learned that my flight was overbooked. Without any hesitation, I volunteered to be bumped because I knew that I’d be offered with a great reward – $600 voucher from Delta to use for any flight in the world! After researching to find which destination fit the best within my budget and is also exciting to visit, I picked Costa Rica!
Here I am in Costa Rica for ten days just to explore and have fun! On the very first day, I arrived in San Jose so that I can have a taste of a big city life. As soon as I looked out the window from the airplane and also taxi to the hotel, I thought to myself, “Wow! Costa Rica kind of reminds me of Peru.” It has a Latin American flare to the scenes, and even a touch of Spanish too. However, I will say that the cars do look much nicer! I can’t help it to say that because when I arrived in Peru three years ago, my first impression was that most cars, including taxis, looked like they needed to go in the garbage!
As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I didn’t miss a beat to see the city by heading straight out as soon as I dropped off my bags in my room. While many people look like typical Latin Americans, Hispanics, there were also quite a few Caucasians although it was hard to tell if they were tourists or not. As someone who loves to shop for handicrafts and international specialities, I headed straight to Mercado Central, thinking that I’d find lots of artisanal items. Ugh – I found nothing but junk souvenirs and food, which I didn’t want to take a chance to try, as I have a history of getting food poisoning. After that, I just walked and observed the city. I was honestly too tired to explore the museums. I will be back in San Jose on the last day in Costa Rica and so, if anyone know of a good place where I can find handicrafts and artisanal items, please do chime in! I heard that Plaza de la Democracia might have some things – does anyone have info about the place?
In the following morning, I headed to Monteverde to explore the rainforest. What amazes me is that Costa Rica is so small that I’d think that it would take only two hours to travel across the country. So, I thought that traveling to Monteverde from San Jose should take only 30 minutes to an hour. It actually took about six hours including one 45 minute rest stop and a few hotel pick ups and drop offs in San Jose and Monteverde. I guess that since Costa Rica is so mountainous, the roads are windier and as a result, longer distance!
Stay tuned for more adventures…
1 Comment
Bubby
May 7, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Just got into your website and pictures…fantastic. I am proud of your adventurous spirit and your inquisitive mind!! Keep it up!
Love
Bubby