Panama Update #142
Sunday, March 8, 2009
We arrived back in Panama at about 11:00 AM today. For both of us it was the first time in Costa Rica and we liked it a lot. It was dry season there like in Panama, but there are many different micro climates so we did run into some small patches of rain. But it was definitely cooler and less humid there. It felt good to wear a light jacket there in the mornings and evenings. Stepping off the plane today in Panama we ran into the stifling heat and humidity. Costa Rica also has many more tourists, so it is set up to accommodate them much better. Even the customs at the airport is much more efficient. The taxi cabs there are on meters and the whole tourist industry is set up well. But that also means much higher prices than in Panama for taxis, hotels, etc. On Friday we paid a $9 admission fee at the Gold Museum in downtown San Jose. That seemed high for what you get. We also paid $7 to tour the Teatro Nacional, which was built around 1890 and is constantly under renovation. It is much more active than the National Theatre in Panama. We could have gone to an Oscar Wilde play there Friday night for only $5. Instead our host, Indira, took us to see Slumdog Millionaire, which all of us like a lot. We went to the VIP theatre, which means you pay $8 a ticket instead of $4 and get your own individual recliner seat with a waiter to get what you want to eat or drink.
On Friday afternoon Indira took us to what may be the largest and most famous Basilica in all of Central America. It is in a suburb of San Jose called Cartago (the old capital of CR). The church is called the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles. It was founded in 1635 when a little girl found a statue of the "Black Madonna." The statue has shown many documented qualities over the years such as mysteriously returning to the church after being stolen a couple of times. Many people have also claimed miracles in its presence and there are large Pilgrimages each year. The church as it looks now was built in 1824 but has had to undergo many restorations.
On Saturday we took a tour to the Arenal Volcano. We were told it is the only active volcano in Costa Rica. We went with a tour group and it was a long day. We left at 8:00 AM and got back at 10:30 PM. It took 3 hours to get up to see the volcano and included a very nice buffet style lunch and dinner at a fancy resort. We had 3 hours free time in the afternoon to enjoy the natural hot spring pools. They have a hush, lush, beautiful garden and about a dozen different hot springs, so you can have some privacy if you want. The minerals are not strong smelling, but are supposed to have healthy qualities. We did not see the actual volcano because of the clouds, but I guess that happens fairly often. It was still a pretty enjoyable day. The whole package for the guide, transportation, hot springs, and meals was $99 each person. The other people on the tour were very friendly and from many different places such as Quebec, Switzerland, Austria, Costa Rica, and Texas. One couple from Costa Rica runs an online casino that apparently is very profitable. She is from London and he is from the US. Another guy we met is from Texas and is a crane operator for large building projects from around the world. He travels to wherever the jobs are and has been to Dubai, Kuwait, Thailand, and the Philippines.
I plan to post pictures in the next couple of days.
