This past weekend, while I was driving towards San Jose and back, I realized how different Costa Rica is from other countries. It is amazing how many different types of weather, towns and people you can see just by driving from Guanacaste to San Jose, in 4 hours you can actually witness the places change and be the opposite from each other.
When leaving the Guanacaste area it is common to see dry sceneries where the cattle wanders around under the sun looking for something to calm their thirst, the people have dark skin, since they spend so much time under the sun and the kids run around in sandals. When you are getting closer to the ferry, Costa Rica tourism is widely seen all over, so the people in these areas are more talkative and dress a little bit nicer, mostly because they work with travel agencies or sell souvenirs.
After getting off the Puntarenas Ferry the view doesn’t change that much, yet the place is full of vendors and restaurants. Costa Rica has plenty of crafts and it is really easy to find cheap souvenirs on the street. Someone on the ferry told us we should stop and have a “pescado entero” in Puntarenas, Costa Rica traditions have this “delicacy” on its list but it was too early to have lunch.
Arriving towards Atenas I noticed a sign that read: Welcome to Atenas, the best weather in the world. It is true: the sky was sunny and there was very refreshing breeze in the air. I have to make sure I do some research about this place when I am on my Costa Rica real estate search mode. The best thing about the place is that is close to both beaches and mountains as it is close to San Jose and the airport!
When we were finally arriving to San Jose, Costa Rica became a whole other country: not only was it raining a bit, but also all the peace of the road was left behind. People just don’t know how to drive, although they were very nice when giving directions. We arrived at our hotel at noon and some of the concerts had already started, so we had a quick lunch and went ahead to look for the best spot to enjoy Costa Rica music.