Sightseeing in the Mindfields
Two Coasts and No Army, 10: Manuel Antonio Park, 3 December 2023
March 07, 2024
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Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is the most popular of Costa Rica's national parks. Months in advance, HL had booked a guided tour as well as our entrance tickets. We had selected an early tour because we hoped that by doing so we might avoid the worst of the heat and the Sunday crowds.
Our guide was Josue, a wiry, middle-aged fellow who had been...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 9: The Winding Road to the Pacific, 3 December 2023
February 28, 2024
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In Costa Rica, students have their longest school break from the end of November until February. The rainy season ends by December, inspiring many Tico families to join the foreign tourists taking vacations at the beach. Ava, HL and I followed them there.
We spent much of the day on the road. Our stalwart driver, Dario, collected us late in the...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 8: Ogling the Olingos, 2 December 2023
February 17, 2024
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On our last night in the capital, we enjoyed a reunion with our friend Ava, who lives in Jerusalem. Ava’s son and his family had been residing in the prosperous suburb of Escazú for over a year. They invited us to dine with them, though I suspect that Ava had suggested strongly that they do so. The conversation flowed, the food was plentiful, and o...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 7: Rescate Wildlife Refuge, 30 November 2023
February 10, 2024
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On the way back to San José, Dario and we toured a wildlife rescue facility (Rescate Animal in Spanish). Zoos are illegal in Costa Rica, so any animals kept in captivity must be unable to survive in the wild. We chose to believe that the resident birds and beasts in the Rescate could not be rehabilitated well enough to let them fend for themselves.
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Two Coasts and No Army, 6: Tres Generaciones Café, 30 November 2023
February 02, 2024
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We were chilled and somewhat dispirited after our vain attempt to view the Poás Volcano. Our mood improved
rapidly when Dario drove us to c afé on an idyllic coffee plantation. The café's name indicated that the plantation was a family business that had been in operation for three generations: C afé Tres Generaciones. Coffee remains one of Costa R...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 5: The Virtual Volcano, 30 November 2023
January 28, 2024
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When planning our trip, HL and I had to choose between renting a car or hiring a driver. We selected the latter option. Dario, a genial Tico (the local name for a native Costa Rican), met us at the hotel on our second morning in San José. We wanted to ascend to Poás, a volcano with one of the world’s largest craters. The narrow road north had only...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 4: A Leap into the Void, 29 November 2023
January 21, 2024
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It was almost closing time for the tri-level Museos del Banco when HL and I left the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. The second, or middle, level was reserved for temporary exhibitions. The staircase was situated so that we could peer into the gallery as we ascended to the street level. A series of paintings covered the walls. All of them were the works...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 3: Mapping the Cosmos, 29 November 2023
January 14, 2024
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In 2019, the Museum of Pre-Columbian Gold in San José underwent a complete renovation. As part of it, the museum's directors commissioned a permanent multimedia installation, entitled U SuLé. It was created by an artistic collective called Pulse. The installation stood in the middle of the main gallery, behind a wall enclosing an oval space.
U S...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 2: Buried Treasure, 29 December 2023
January 08, 2024
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Though San José may lack the grandeur of many capital cities, it does possess several museums in close proximity to the Teatro Nacional. The downtown attractions that piqued my interest were clustered around the aptly named Plaza de la Cultura. HL and I found the plaza easily enough, but we had to search for the Museum of Pre-Columbian Gold/ El Mus...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 1: The Curtain Rises on Costa Rica, 29 November 2023
January 02, 2024
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Teatro Nacional, San José
Our flight landed in San J osé after dark, so we saw little more of the Costa Rican capital than the stream of tail lights on the roads from the airport to our hotel until the next morning. To the best of my knowledge, no one has described San José as a beautiful city. Its commercial thoroughfares were lined with fast foo...
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© Star Arts by Tamar