A Costa Rican Recce Sunday and Monday 13/14 January

Over the next two days we will explore San Jose. I will combine the days together to create a single blog. There's a bus stop just down the road from our hotel. The route runs down past the stadium round it and back up to the centre of the city on the other side the park. The city centre stop is dead opposite the National Theatre which is our first port of call. It is the only building with any real pretension of architectural importance and was constructed at the end of the 19th century. There must be a dearth of Spanish composers because a statue of Beethoven has pride of place on the facade of the building.

The composer of European national anthem is standing second window in from the left. They run guided tours in English each hour and it was great fun.

The floor under the stalls can be raised to create one large room which can be used for state celebrations when important visitors are entertained.

Dead centre of the stage and one tier up is the Presidential box. We were not allowed in,  but could view from the box next door and the chair that's roped off in gold is his. I don't think there have ever been any "apart from that, how did you enjoy the opera Mrs Lincoln?" incidents here.
The magnificent foyer is above the grand entrance and has a couple of interesting features. Firstly there are male and female withdrawing rooms where the men can talk about business, politics, religion and sex and the woman can talk about sex and everything else. Secondly there's a figure painted on the foyer ceiling in the panel representing day that appears to follow you as you move around the room. I don't mean just the eyes (Mona Lisa style) but the whole pose. Try it yourself. If it doesn't work for you, you will just have to go there or take my word for it.

The National Museum is located in the old fortress of the city which saw action up to the end of the 1948 civil war. It was here that Jose Figueres Ferrer, the leader of the coup signed the new constitution and declared the end of the national army in 1949.

Not a lot is known of the Pre-Columbian indigenous people. They didn't construct large temples or create cities like the Aztecs or the Mayans. They did however make balls. The Diquis people created these stone spheres which are seen as the icons of Costa Rican culture. Nobody quite knows how or why, but here is one, in its own atrium in front of the museum.

 Not far from the museum we got the chance to meet up with an old friend. I am sure that you will recognise him, though why he is trying to dip Helen's handbag  I haven't a clue. I can't imagine what he is doing here in Costa Rica.

In the late C19 railways played a major role in the economic development of Costa Rican agricultural. Getting a railhead to the Caribbean port of Limon was of crucial importance for the export of coffee and bananas. It was completed at considerable cost in lives and money. The whole network has now almost completely disappeared apart from some suburban commuting and a few freight trains. Below is the original Caribbean station. We enjoyed a coffee there but not a train ride.

The National park is a large shadey sylvan space which contains some interesting statuary. Foremost amongst these is the memorial to the battle of Santa Rosa. In the middle of the C19, post Spanish colonial rule, there was a significant movement to create a United States of Central America. At the same time a small number of Americans were engaging in filibustering, that is trying to establish slave states in the existing Central American states. One such was William Walker who had inveigled himself into becoming the President of Nicaragua. The three other countries along with Costa Rica booted him out. The Hondurans executed him. So that is what this statue is all about. 

Most of the larger new buildings in the centre are banks. This one is clearly projecting its image at the common man (and woman).

This is its older headquarters in a rather splendid art deco edifice. 

Looking further down the street we can see the French baroque revival building but it could equally have been a corrugated iron single storey shed. Such is the nature of this city. 

This is the somewhat scruffy Central Park, more of a square really. The Lonely Planet guide book describes the bandstand as looking like it was designed by Mussolini. I see what they mean.

A much better bandstand this time at the centre of the Park Morazin. He was the Central American general who attempted to unite the separate states under one flag. The bandstand is the cultural symbol of San Hose.

The religious symbol of the city is the Metropolitan Cathedral as you can see below. Roman Catholicism is the major religious force in the country as you would expect given its Spanish heritage.