Tell me about Costa Rica! San Jose & Escazu

[5StringBlues]

Specifically San Jose and Escazu.

I am going there this weekend and know almost nothing about this part of the world.

Any Costa Rican TB'rs out there that can give me a clue?


5SB

[mike_v_s]

OK. Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]) is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world’s 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index, and ranked 54th in the world in 2007. The country is ranked 3rd in the world, and 1st among the Americas, in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.

In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral country by 2021.According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the "greenest" country in the world.

Mike

[5StringBlues]

Thank you Mr. Wiki.

[ADbassman]

They have volcanoes and pretty beaches.

[deaf pea]

Originally Posted by ADbassman

They have volcanoes and pretty beaches.

There are also many beautiful women . . .

[MakiSupaStar]

San Jose sucks. Costa Rica really starts shining outside of San Jose. It's a beautiful country, with beautiful people, and beautiful waves. If I had the means to live there I would live there in a heartbeat.

[Relic]

Yeah San Jose has it's good parts but like any other big city, it also has some very crappy places that are best to avoid. Limon is nice, (has some bad parts too though) that's where my wife's family mostly is from. Great Caribbean city with a very diverse ethnic and cultural make-up. It's like they took every culture and ethnic group on the planet and crammed it into one city.
No matter where you end up, you have to do some sort of nature hike-type deal and also make it to the beach at least once. I'm not too sure about Escazu. Unfortunately the wife is off to work this morning but I'll ask her for some tips and info this afternoon.

Edit - I just remembered something about Escazu - apparently it's a place that has a long tradition of witch/shaman-type stuff, lots of local legend and folklore.

[bassrique]

Yeah San Jose has it's good parts but like any other big city, it also has some very crappy places that are best to avoid.

+1

Don't go wandering around without a local that knows what's what, or at least can tell where to avoid beforehand. This is true of most cities though.

[5StringBlues]

Originally Posted by bassrique

+1

Don't go wandering around without a local that knows what's what, or at least can tell where to avoid beforehand. This is true of most cities though.

Yeah,the festival organizer is a guy that used to live here in Houston,so I'll have someone I already know over there to show us around.



I'm just trying to get a feel for the culture,food,etc.,and maybe some cool non-touristy things to do.I'm sure the organizer probably has that figured out for us,I'm just the curious type who likes to know a little about where I'm going before I get there.

Thanks for all the answers guys!

[rosanne]

Maki has it right.

I found Costa Rica to be gorgeous except for San Jose which is ugly. I only spent two weeks in C. R. but wished I could have spent two years. For what it's worth I was told that Escazu was a hotbed of witchcraft. Have no idea if that is still true.

It's as very small country though and if you have a few days you can take in a lot.