It’s a killing time kind of day today to wait for our tour meet and greet at 6pm where we meet our guide and the other members of our tour.
After yet another hot shower – yay for hot water we walked into the city to get sim cards. I have put one in my phone and Peter got one for his hot spot. There was a guy in the store who spoke pretty good English so things went relatively smoothly. After we’d got the sim cards Stu and i got haircuts and beard trims – an interesting experience given our non-existent Spanish. I think they turned out pretty well.
Our afternoon consisted of a city tour which took us to the National Theatre which was built by taxing either sugar or banana exports (I can’t remember which). It is very beautiful and turns 120 years old this year.
We then piled on the bus and headed to the National Museum of Costa Rica which is housed in the old army barracks. There was a civil war after which the Government disbanded the army (Costa Rica does not have an army to this day). There are bullet holes on the outside of the barracks fired on the army by the President and his supporters. The museum is quite beautiful and even has a butterfly garden. The pre-columbian cultures here had no steel and no wheel yet they created almost perfect spheres.
We then had a late lunch and headed over to a “factory” where they recreate the treasures of the museum and you can shop. I bought a silver shaman pendant to wear next to my Inca cross.
We have now had our briefing and Stu and the others have gone out to dinner – i’m pretty tired so i have stayed back to pack. We leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning so another early start and we’ll be having breakfast on the road. There will be no wifi at Tortugero so we may be out of contact for a few days.
davstuholidays 