Yes, that really was the whole town. This toucan hangs out @ the cantina & joined us for our final meal in town on our last trip. A toucan has a barbed tongue that looks like a dry, black branch waving around in his long beak. He hissed @ Silo when she tried to push a piece of food closer to him. Toucans are like Mockingbirds and steal the nests that other birds have made. However, it totally surprised me that Toucan Sam here ate chicken.
Don't get bit by one of these. We called them alligator-iguanas. They lounge on the drift wood by the beaches. They will let you get very close which is why I consider them to be quite dangerous. I've been bit & tail-whipped by a big, green iguana... but these guys could easily tear off a tenderloin.
This is El Teatro Nacional both day & night in San Jose. This plaza is like a city block concrete park located along Avenida Central. Underneath is the Numismatic (money) and Pre-Colombian gold museum. The gold museum was AMAZING. People are always meeting, having a snack, or feeding pigeons here. It is great to eat outside @ the Gran Hotel right across from the theatre. They have an awesome cheese plate that was so good for dinner I went back and ate it for breakfast. Plus, this view...
When the Capital used to rotate between cities, one of the Capitals was Cartago, about 30 minutes from San Jose. These pictures show church ruins planted inside with a gorgeous garden. If only I could pull back and show you an aerial view. Although it looks as though these ruins stand alone, it is actually located in the middle of the city right across from panaderias, farmacias, y bancos. The garden is not open to the public or it would surely not look this lovely.
Also in Cartago is Los Angeles Basilica built in 1921. It houses the statue of La Negrita, an idol with supposed miraculous powers of the patron saint of Costa Rica. Below the church are glass cabinets full of metal charms. The cabinets are categorized. Some are full of arms and hands, others legs, eyes, various organs, entire skeletons. There is an annual pilgrimage to a spring located beside the church from which potable water pours. It is said to have healing properties. The people will either dip their body part directly through the stream or fill a bottle. If you were at my birthday dinner last year, I made the frosting on my coconut cake with water from La Negrita.
Speaking of water.... here is Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. We don't really plan on traveling around the country so much his time. Most of it, we want to just lounge around Casa Tigre. However, we fully intend on going back to Quepos for more of Dos Locos hot sauce and back to the open pit bbq restaurant built around a train car with giant wooden chairs to sit in and eat epic food and drink caipirinhas with a gander at this...
I feel the blessings of this journey already, and it hasn't even started. Travel touches upon a great joy in me.
