San Jose

Though we have been here two days (will write out of sequence on that later), our tour officially starts tomorrow. We've been relocated to an American Hotel (Holiday Inn) in the heart of San Jose City. This hotel is somewhat better than the other (the Barcelo on the outskirts of the city, where they seemed to not like Americans...more on that later...). We just ordered Nachos, Fajitas and a few beers from room service. The delivery was very fast and the food was out of this world delicious. The best guacamole I have ever had, fresh as can be.

Our view is of mountains and part of the city, with the dense beautiful cloud cover that has been the norm each afternoon since we arrived 3 days ago now. The clouds here are the most beautiful I have ever seen, changing rapidly, and in every shade from pure white through the entire range of grays, falling short of black. Yesterday it rained so hard it was literally like a wall of water. Never in my life had I seen rain that thick or drops that big, though I have traveled through most of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Cancun.

This afternoon the city looks a little gloomy, with the cloud cover being so low, but the bright red and orange roof tops still make it seem festive. The buildings are mostly older and quaint. Wrought iron railing covers every door, window, store entrance, even every carport that we have seen, and nearly every facade is streaked with rust over the colorful paints (deep rich shades of blues, browns, and reds, no pastels here...) which add character and a sense of history for me.

Tomorrow we leave early for a dormant volcano and some time in the cloud forest and rainforest. Apparently, a cloud forest has less rain but more humidity than a rainforest. We'll get to walk to the rim of the crater of the volcano if weather permits, we've been told there will be a 30% chance at visibility of the crater (sulphur fumes and cloud cover often obscure it) so we've got our fingers crossed.

Until tomorrow, then,
Namaste