An afternoon in San José

Today a small group of us from the school took an afternoon trip to downtown San José to see the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica and the Museo de Oro. The round trip was only 750 colones ($1.50). We rode one bus line into the city and another one back. It seems private enterprise thrives here when it comes to public transit, thank you very much.

The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theatre of Costa Rica) is an exquisite building constructed in the neo-classical style, displaying many fine examples of late-19th century Italian and French sculpture. The TNCR features frequent dance and classical music performances (ten this month) that top out at a mere 10,000 colones ($20). The main atrium is adorned overhead with Costa Rica's most famous mural, Allegory of Coffee and Bananas, which is also featured on the old five-colón banknote (no longer in circulation since its face value is now equivalent to one U.S. penny). The painting, as our tour guide José explained, takes artistic license in the fact that coffee doesn't grow at sea level, and that the banana bunch as pictured would make one banana nearly the length of a man's forearm.

The Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) features a plethora of indigenous artifacts. The goldsmiths in pre-Colombian Central America were highly skilled and made jewelry and religious articles of great intricacy. The museum also features an exhibit on the history of Costa Rican currency, which hasn't always been easy. Costa Rica has at times recognized foreign coins and even coffee beans as legal currency. Of course, these days many places take American dollars, especially in the tourist areas. One thing I didn't know: Costa Rican coins have Braille on them.

All it all, it was an enjoyable trip. The only disappointing thing was the lack of local food downtown. Subway, Wendy's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut – they were all there. A sure sign the tourist industry is alive and well.