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When I landed in Costa Rica back in 2003, I was pretty underprepared. This was my wife’s trip. She planned it and sweated the details. I packed my backpack (and actually remembered my underwear, for once), got on the plane and went along for the ride.
Unfortunately, this means I had little concept of the awesome soccer culture of Costa Rica. We woke up the day after our flight to a soccer mania that, we learned, would literally sweep the nation. We had little idea of this until we boarded a shuttle from San Jose to La Fortuna. As I got on the bus, I noticed that the driver, one of three employees on the bus, was decked out in purple: some sort of purple jersey, purplish jeans and even purple mirrored sunglasses.
As we drove off, I asked the older employee, who seemed to be the boss, what the deal was.
“Is for Saprissa, the football team. We are playing today against Alajuela, our rival. It is very big game,” he explained.
And wouldn’t you know it! Our route would take us straight through the heart of Alajuela, where fans of La Liga Alajuelense were parading up and down the streets in their striped jerseys. Our driver, apparently not one to let a sleeping dog lie, leered at, wagged his tongue at, gesticulated at and honked his horn at roving mobs of Alajuelense supporters. Everywhere we went, La Liga fans were boring holes in our bus with our eyes. And mind you, the [...]
So I’m a bit curious about you, the readers! What is your favorite travel souvenir, aside from photos?
I go for jerseys/shirts from local sports teams. It started off as soccer, when I snagged a Deportivo Saprissa shirt down in Costa Rica. Then, I got skunked in Belize … couldn’t find any local soccer shirts there, though they have a league and a national team.
Down in Australia, I switched to rugby since that was their thing. In Canada, I wanted to find a Vancouver Whitecaps shirt, but no luck there … and I will never, ever where a Vancouver Canucks jersey unless it is the only clothing and I’m shivering naked on a glacier.
I’d say my uber-cool Wallabies shirts shown below is my all-time favorite. It says Qantas on it as a bonus, and it even looks cool when being worn while rockin’ out!
I promised everyone some short posts with lots of pictures and a few tips about where to go. Let’s start with our first trip to Central America – Costa Rica!
This is a great country, even if you’re on a budget (which we were). We’re talking about genuinely nice people, beautiful scenery and lots of fun stuff to do. Winter is a perfect time to visit, which is when we were there. It’s warm, but sometimes the night would get chilly. Bring a medium jacket for those occasions, along with a sturdy rain poncho. We never got eaten by bugs, which was really nice.
Even if you don’t speak Spanish, at least master the phrase “pura vida!” It means “pure life,” and is the Costa Rican equivalent of “g’day.” I thought it might be something that those in the tourist industry say to tourists, kind of like tour guides in Arizona saying “howdy, parnder” to Germans. But no … I heard them use it on each other, and even on us when we were far from the touristy bits.
A quick breakdown:
San Jose area – We stayed at a place called Hotel Aranjuez the first night. They have community bathrooms, but it’s still a nice place. And the breakfast … awesome! We also spent a few nights at a bed and breakfast called Villa Escazu. It’s one of the most beautiful houses I’ve ever seen, and the food is fantastic. Very personal service, too. If you want to get out of the city [...]
Dont want to go to the cinema? Watch Movies.
