It was another early rising for us; we had planned to spend our final two days back in the capital of San Jose. The shuttle Dani had booked was scheduled to pick us up at 6am for the winding journey back North. Our roundtrip shuttle (from the airport to Puerto Viejo, and then from Puerto Viejo to San Jose) was $114 total through Interbus transfers. It was bittersweet leaving Lapaluna, but the adventures ahead were bound to be equally as fulfilling. Our booking for the bungalow oasis (from Thursday until Sunday) was $356.
The ride back seemed a little quicker – it only took about 4 or 5 hours. I tried to sleep most of the way, as we ventured past banana groves and through the mountains. The shuttle made one pit stop, for breakfast, along the way. We grabbed some empanadas, fried chicken and coffee, which was under ten dollars.
The city center is drastically different than the picturesque seaside landscapes one would typically envision when you think of Costa Rica. There was trash along the streets, homelessness, people pissing on the sides of buildings. The avenues were bustling, but I appreciated the change of scenery.
We checked into our second AirBnb a little early. It was the sweetest, vintage-looking second-floor apartment in the middle of Chinatown and was only $68 for the two nights we’d be staying there. Our host was an artist, and his photography was scattered throughout the place. There was an indoor hammock in another room, and crystals on the window ledges. Once again, we were visited by some resident kitties. We settled in and changed our clothes before heading out to explore.
Dani had wanted to visit the Jade Museum but we decided on checking out Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, which is housed in a fortress of old military barracks built in 1917. It contains pre-Columbian artifacts and displays relics related to Costa Rica’s geological, colonial, archaeological, religious and modern history.
We wandered the streets in our cute little sundresses.
“Okay, missy! I see everyone looking at you!” Dani said.
“Nope! That’s you,” I joked, pretending to not notice all the passerby’s eyes staring as we walked by; the men on the buses breaking their necks. “Looking all regal with that fabulous hat!”
It was $11 to get into the museum and we spent a few hours walking around the circular pathway through the museum. Jade was a huge part of the culture of the early peoples in Costa Rica, so Dani was still able to see and receive the information about that. We both love museums, and natural history ones are my absolute favorite! Archaeology and anthropology are definitely strong, but subtle interests of mine.
Fun fact, it was said that the name Costa Rica was first used in 1539 by King Charles V on a decree for a conquest. It was believed the land was rich with gold, a claim made by Christopher Columbus, but no such sources were ever found in this territory, as it was in other regions of the Americas. The same goes for jade, which suggests immense trade between the Costa Rican natives and other civilizations throughout Mesoamerica.
Near the museum, there is an area called Barrio La California that has beautiful murals lining the walls. We admired the drastic and colorful art for about 30 minutes, before our stomachs began to grumble. We had smelled and passed a pizza shop earlier, so we tried to backtrack our steps until we found the shop, and indulged in huge slices of veggie pizza.
After our early dinner, we popped into Mercado Municipal de Artesanias, a hustling cultural site with stalls upon stalls of souvenirs, coffee, jewelry, art and so much more. You will see standard items at multiple stalls, so it’s okay to haggle the price. The walked up and down the rows of makeshift shops and picked up some items for friends, family, and Dani got some goodies for her students as well.
As the tiredness set in, we tried to find a liquor store to buy more wine before it got too dark. We were a little turned around, but at some point, we found our way back to the apartment. When we had booked this place, we simultaneously had the brilliant idea to have a lingerie photoshoot, so we unpacked our new outfits and spent a few hours taking hundreds of pictures. There was a streetlight that shone into the main living area, and its yellow light cast a magnificently sensual glow into the room and brought out the radiance of our complexion. I’m pretty sure we were up well into the wee hours of the morning, sipping wine, delving into even more honest and wonderful conversation as we sat on the balcony, under the stars.
