September 04, 2005 - San Jose

Was awoken by the sounds of the USH arriving back at port at about 230am. Marviva the broken ranger patrol boat that we were towing had to be released. Sounds of deck hands bringing our boat home. Finally got up at 7am to have our final breakfast on the USH. Those pineapples are soooo sweet.

Said our goodbyes then loaded into the van that was to take us back to San Jose. That’s when we first heard about Hurricane Katrina and the disasters in New Orleans and the rest of the south – from our driver Rudy.

We stopped on the way at a souvenir shop because Paul the Swiss guy wanted to buy Macadamia crème liqueur. We bought one as well & also some Café Britt liqueur.

In San Jose that afternoon, we had lunch at Manolo’s. Tried their Black bean soup with egg. Did not really like it. Had 2 glasses of the papaya milk and a churro. Then we walked to the Mercado Centrale that unfortunately was closed. We then went to the gold museum. The antique gold ornaments were Ok, but I enjoyed the mask exhibit best.

We then went to a supermarket and bought a ton of Costa Rican coffee and some of that Lizano salsa. Then we went to an outdoor crafts market. Bought a wood chopping board- I am so glad I did because it looks great in my kitchen with all its checkered colors.

That evening, we went El Pueblo, the little Spanish styled village known for its nightlife. It was pretty dead. The bars and clubs and restaurants were empty. We were either there too early or else it was because Sunday was a bad day to visit. Had dinner in a restaurant that served Costa Rican cuisine. So tired of Costa Rican food. Can’t wait to go to Ebisu!