San Jose/Impressions on Costa Rica

Beyond the farm-work in Costa Rica, I was not overly impressed with the country. To be clear, it is a fantastic and beautiful place, with so many things to do and see - infact I could probably have spent my whole time in just Costa Rica. The problem is that the country is quite developed, and so quite expensive. It would be a great holiday destination, but perhaps not so appropriate for travelling. On that note, after my stint in Panama, I decided to shoot through Costa Rica and go to Nicaragua. To do that though, you need to stop over in San Jose - the capital of CR. The bus to San Jose broke down for two hours in true central american style.

I had to stay two nights in the capital while waiting for a ticket with bus company Tica bus. In retrospect, it was definitely a mistake to go with them - the coaches are air conditioned, spacious and cost a whole load too. I have vowed not to use such companies for the rest of the trip.

San Jose is like your typical central american capital city - a sprawling metropolis that is ubiquitiously described as being dangerous. Nothing much happened here of note - except two of us almost got mugged. I say almost, because upon frisking and feeling my spectacularly muscular body, the muggers decided instantly to run away. I think they were just teenagers messing about though; and we didnt have our bags or anything of value with us.

After all that, it was time to get a Tica Bus to my next destination - Nicaragua!