My flight to San Jose, while early in the day, was smooth! My Uber situation to get the hotel was kind of complicated, but I had a good conversation with my driver on the way in. After a nice short shakeout run with Santiago, I learned that it’s not normal to run without a shirt in public or really to run on the streets in general. That’ll make for an interesting summer of training, but I look forward to it! I have found a few parks since then that will work well including La Sabana Park (see later in the post and the Strava route). We got gym memberships too at a gym that is a 15 minute walk from the hostel, which I will be able to use to supplement my strength training and cross training routines. The outdoor covered area on the second floor of the hostel is super nice for rehab exercises, and I tried out the yoga class there on Sunday morning, which is great! I have a long ways to go to get good at it, but that will definitely be a Saturday and Sunday routine after my training runs (classes and work will unfortunately make the 9 am start of the everyday class during the week difficult).
It was good to go to Lolita with the group on Friday night and explore some other good food court options on Saturday night with the group! While I am planning not to drink while training and rehabbing over the Summer, I really like the community atmosphere of the Welcome Drink that happens every Friday at 5 pm and hope to engage in discussion there when possible! I really respect Steven (a Tico and yoga instructor) and Andre (a native of Trinidad and Tobago now living in Costa Rica as a working nomad at a security company), and I hope to get to know them better through welcome drinks and yoga classes!
The view of the mountains down the street from where we ate on saturday night.
On Saturday afternoon, we checked out the farmers market, which is much more expansive than what we have in the USA, but definitely not more expensive! We got some mangoes, bananas, and some berry juice that they had there that is soooo good! Michael also somehow got a free coconut. We will definitely be going back!
After running around Parque La Sabana (which will definitely be my go to spot for running workouts as the loops there are straightforward and have no stops) from the Hostel and doing yoga on Sunday, we went to a Starbucks coffee plantation and got a tour of the coffee making process as well as some great views! I hadn’t realized the breadth of work that goes into the coffee making process and the variables involved. It takes 5 years just to get a bean from sapling to table! Even though we got somewhat stranded on the way back (no rideshares would pick us up as a bridge was flooded and closed) and were unable to go to to the Poás Volcano due to a heavy thunderstorm, the views with the rain were beautiful and it was good to chill with the group and get “close” as we crammed 5 people into a pretty small car to get back when we finally did get a ride.
The plantation and view without and with the rain:
THE close ride:
I am looking forward to the rest of the trip with this awesome group. I hope to get fit, stay healthy, improve my Spanish, meet new people, and immerse myself in Costa Rican culture!