Tour day 1

Today we did a tour of San Jose.  The day started off with clear blue skies and the chirping of unfamiliar birds.  We had breakfast in the atrium, provided by the tour outfit.  Mark the owner gave a spiel on the various tour packages, and I signed us up for the Highlight tour.

We began the tour at noon, and headed out in the tour van, driven by Hopper and narrated by the tour guide, Juan Carlos (the regular tour guide Christian is on vacation this week).  Driving in San Jose is an experience all its own, and I was certain we would be in an accident several times.  Very often we were within inches of cars or buses or motorbikes on either side, or in front or behind us.  Traffic laws are optional, it seems.  For instance, a stop sign ("Alto") apparently means "slow down and check for a gap."

We drove past several parks, a stadium, some residences of dignitaries, some historical buildings, and other interesting sights, all the while with Juan Carlos relating bits of Costa Rican history.  We hopped out (just by pulling over to the side on a busy street, cars honking their horns behind us) and walked down a busy pedestrian-only shopping street, then toured the National Theatre, which was very impressive.

Then the infamous tropical rain set in.  It poured buckets for a good while, and streets turned into rivers.  We snapped a pic of an "urban waterfall".  But the locals take it all in stride - what else can you do?  At least it was a warm rain.  Most people walk around with umbrellas, but still wear light summer clothing.

For dinner we thought we would try a nice restaurant nearby, only to find after slogging a few blocks through the rain that it was closed for another hour.  So we settled for Denny's, which was just across the street.  Oh well.  But the meal was tasty enough.  I had Tilapia Ranchero, with a delicious apple pie for dessert.  And a delightful mango smoothie - the hightlight.

Tomorrow:  Arenal Volcano and a Canopy tour.