Trip Dates: 2008-03-08 – 2008-03-11
Hey there! I’m currently sitting at a hostel in Panama. I’ve just spent four days in Costa Rica, which is of course far too little. Costa Rica is Central America’s most popular travel destination, and you can definitely feel the difference—there are noticeably more tourists there, especially Americans. But the country offers incredibly beautiful nature, lovely beaches, and a flora and fauna that few other places in the world can match.
I spent the first two days in the capital, San José, which, surprisingly, turned out to be quite a charming city with cozy pedestrian streets, great shopping opportunities, interesting museums, and excellent nightlife. I also visited the zoo in San José. Since I didn’t have time to visit one of Costa Rica’s many nature reserves, I took the opportunity to see capuchin monkeys, toucans, parrots, red-green poisonous frogs, and a wide range of other colorful animals and birds right in the capital.
On Saturday evening, I checked out the bars in one of San José’s nightlife districts, El Pueblo. What stands out about San José is that the locals are slimmer, better-looking, and more fashionably dressed than in the rest of Central America. (That’s probably because Costa Rica is the wealthiest country in the region.)
On Monday, I traveled to Cahuita on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Cahuita is a tiny village with nice beaches, and I stayed in a beach hut with a German girl I had met. Unfortunately, I’ve come down with a bad cold, so I’ve been taking it pretty easy during most of my time in Cahuita.
Next stop on the journey is the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama. I’ll be back soon with an update from there.
