April 23. 2017- Exploring San Jose

I woke up crazy early (they'd kept us on Panama time on the ship, which was an hour ahead of Costa Rica time).  The breakfast buffet was wonderful, as they usually are at the Hilton..

The McDonald's alternative.  Wish I could get the bean version at home.

After a gym workout I took the bus into town.  They were very easy to use- the driver actually gave change from a tray already organized into little bunches of coins so he could just hand you the right bunch depending on what size coin you gave him.  I realized again how honest people in Costa Rica must be.  In most countries drivers don't carry cash at all, and a tray like that would be cleaned out by a thief in minutes.  

I wandered, people-watched, and decided to go to the first major museum I found.  That was  the Jade Museum.    

When I’d gotten off the bus I’d carefully looked for the bus stop in the opposite direction- except that we were on a one-way street.  Oops.  Bus stops were just marked as “Parada Autobus” with no indication of which buses stopped there.  I decided to walk back to hotel, with a little trepidation- Rough Guides, which I usually found reliable, referred to kamikaze drivers, open drains in the sidewalks and people selling merchandise such as chickens.   There were lots of street peddlers selling jewelry, toys, DVDs, clothes and lottery tickets but no chickens.  McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway were all over.  There was a long line at McDonald’s for “postres” (desserts-mostly ice cream). 

I walked through park on the way back; huge fair sponsored by Bomberos (the Fire Department) with bouncy house, inflatable slide, games, and fire trucks to check out. 

 After a stop at Starbucks (where I couldn't pay with my smartphone app!), I went for a short swim- the storm that had been threatening all afternoon started just about the time I decided I was tired.