Sprawling smack in the middle of the
fertile Valle Central,
SAN JOSE
has a spectacular setting, ringed by
the jagged silhouettes of soaring
mountains - some of them volcanoes -
on all sides. That's where the
compliments end, however, and you'll
be hard pressed to find anyone who
has much good to say about the
city's potholed streets and
car-dealership architecture - not to
mention the choking diesel fumes,
kamikaze drivers and chaotically
unplanned expansion. In the
gridlocked centre things are
wearingly hectic, with vendors of
fruit, lottery tickets and
cigarettes jostling on street
corners, and thousands of shoestores
tumbling out onto the sidewalks.
In general travellers talk about
the city as they do about bank
line-ups and immigration offices: a
pain, but unavoidable. That said, if
you've been travelling through the
region, you'll find that compared
to, say, San Salvador or Managua,
San Jose is not only a reassuringly
safe place (though street
crime is rising) but also vibrant
and cosmopolitan, with a sprinkling
of excellent museums , some
elegant buildings and landscaped
parks, good cafés and the odd
intriguing art gallery. Which is all
to the good: most people find
themselves spending some time here -
the city is a major transportation
hub, and many journeys across the
country involve backtracking through
the capital - learning to enjoy it,
and even becoming perversely fond of
the place.
The City
Few travellers come to San Jose for
the sights. A city of nondescript
buildings, energized by an
aggressive street life -
umbrella-wielding pedestrians
pushing through narrow streets,
noisy food stalls, homicidal drivers
- San Jose is certainly not a...
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