Shopping Malls

They are mushrooming (means they are EVERYWHERE in the metropolitan area around Jan Sosé).

They are almost a  100% american.

They are HUGE.

I don't know if this is an interesting topic but maybe it is. I have been to two different malls so far. They are both very similar in terms of their architecture, shops, food, activities and all malls have only been constructed very recently.  I should note that the majority can only be accessed by car or taxi. 

Clothing- and beautywise you would encounter American well-known brands such as GAP, QuickSilver, Forever21, Nike and Victoria's Secret to name a few. The food-court is western too with a wide variety of different fastfood to choose from. Above of that they offer activities for children and adults alike, for instance Lasertag.

Canyou recognize the guy on the segway? This is a security-person. 

He has kind of a cool job, hasn't he?

San José II

Note: these are all snapshots since I feel uncomfortable showing off my camera in the public here!

San José

What is there to say about San José? 

In fact not much. 

It serves as the country's capital ( formerly it was Cartago), counts roughly 300.000 inhabitants and sits tucked in the middle of the Central Valley at 1.150 m altitude. 

Colonial architecture is quasi non-existent, overall its downtown area is a loud, dirty, rather ugly place that is in most parts better not walked by foot. 

On almost every corner are Street-vendors shouting their best prices in the crowd of pedestrians passing by, always in fierce competition with their fellow vendors. You would find a wide variety of junkfood-snacks ( crisps, cookies, sweet pastries, ... ) but also all kinds of fruits and veggies - from A like aguacate for avocado over M for mango and over P for the palm fruit pejibaye to T for tomato ( I don't know any produce with Z as its inital ). Then there are people selling lotto coupons, newspapers, umbrellas, at the moment flags and triquots for the world cup and other random stuff.

There are streets and places in the downtown area that can be considered relatively safe to walk, but a simple turn around the corner can expose you to the reality of a whole different world - far away from the city-buzz.

 However, there is one positive aspect: a stable, consistent climate with temperatures hovering around 20.5 degrees Celsius year-round.

The national bibliothek

A statue of a politition

Oh yes, I had to look twice too. Even here in Costa Rica exists a Chinatown.

Kitschy restaurant

The national museum

How streets look like

A public park

San José seen from a northern distance

View of the Valle Central

Traditional dance at a saturday morning's cultural event for the youth

La Copa Mundial

I knew that football is THE sport of Latinamerica but only today I got to experience its significant importance firsthand. Sport is indeed powerful enough to create unique sense of community, of consent. It literally makes people either cry or cheer ( or going crazy ).

Costa Rica - more or less to everyone's surprise won its second match in a row today. Consequently, with this victory, they have qualified themselves for the next round of the world cup. The game was aired on television 10am the local time. People were glued to their TVs for 90 minutes until they were relieved by a 1:0 victory. The patriotism and joy were omni-present even hours after the game. People were celebrating proudly and loudly in the streets, accompanied by a concert of honking cars, vuvuzelas (remember 2010?) and drums.

Rio Sarapiqui

I apologize a thousand times for not making an earlier update but there has a lot been going on            ( which means consequently a LOT to talk about! ). Additionally I had some minor and major problems with my Internet connection ( I have not the slightest idea why it didn't upload my post about Braulio Carrillo).

Moving on to the interesting and informative part...

Numerous rivers determine Costa Ricas landscape ( almost no lakes ). One that runs north-south is Rio Sarapiqui which means it is one possible route to Nicaragua. 

Best starting point to explore the river's wildlife is the cozy town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. Very traditional indeed and in the middle of nowhere. For the boat trip I was sadly overcharged ( I was told it would last 2 hours, well in reality it was only one). Nonetheless I was lucky to spot a wide spectrum of animals, ranging from birds over mammals to reptiles. The river itself is like a brown muddy broth. But important for the people living on its banks who mainly make a living by growing bananas and other crops.

This furry bundle is a two-figered sloth high up in the trees

A howler monkey

Bats-asleep

A basilisk

Huh? Did you identify this mini-alligator?

Another crocodile-close-up this time

Houses 

Banana trees

Braulio Carrillo National Park

Quick facts:

- 117,842 acres of pure nature in the central valley

- 1640 ft. above sea levels

- established on April 15th, 1978

- named after the third Chief of State (1837-1842)

What to expect:

- lush green plants and trees (evergreen forests made up of 6000 species of vegetation)

- creeks, rivers

- a huge variety of birds (the Park is home to approximately 515 species)

- mammals ranging from coyotes over jaguars to howler monkeys and tapirs

But, as I have experienced it you need the greek godess of luck, Fortuna on your side to spot wildlife! I heard what sounded like hundreds of birds singing but got to see only ONE. Sadly I did not spot any mammal species either.