Sunday, January 9, 2011

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

¡Hola mis amigos!

So my plane landed yesterday around 4:30 local time, and I have lived to see my first full day in San José.

The city is so much more colorful than anything I have seen in the United States, and it is surrounded by beautiful mountains and the Volcán Irazu. Everything growing is so green and beautiful, it is such a contrast to Baltimore. After a lovely breakfast of gallo pinto and fresh melon, pineapple, and papaya, we spent the morning exploring el Museo Nacional, followed by lunch at a Chinese-Costa Rican restaurant (who knew?) and an afternoon of exploring the locals markets.  I leave tomorrow morning for our tour of the area prior to our arrival in Monteverde on Friday, so I will be out of touch until then. ¡Hasta viernes! Aquí están unos fotos para ustedes.

For mi madre, a beautiful passion flower. Since we can scarcely succeed at growing them at home.

 A traditional Costa Rican coffee maker. The ground beans are placed in the cloth, and boiling water is poured over them.

The pool/patio del Apartotel El Sesteo in San Jose.

A traditional oxcart, one of the nation symbols of Costa Rica.

The view of the mountains down one of the calles of San Jose. Note the palm trees!

Baby bananas with their flowers!

The baby bananas' more mature counterparts.

The view from the Museo Nacional, which used to be the country's fortress before the army was abolished in the 1940's. There are still actual bullet holes in the walls.

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