We ventured to the city of San José only once, and only for a couple of hours, in spite of staying nearby for two weeks. Monikers such as “neoclassical grandeur” and “cultural destination”, attributed to San José by Lonely Planet, are misplaced. As in any big city, there are some museums, a theater and a few old mansions turned into art galleries. Did I miss anything? Ah, yeah, a cathedral. Nada mas!

As for cycling, I only commuted, and even that wasn’t simple: the shortest and by far the best road was a highway with no bicycles allowed. I pretended not to see the regulatory sign a couple of times but didn’t want to try my luck for two weeks. I tried another route but halfway through it became a gravel road. To top it off, I somehow strayed into a private property, from which I was politely escorted out. After three or four tries, I finally found a fully paved road that wasn’t a highway.

San José is no match for the rest of Costa Rica’s charm.

These weeks in numbers:

155 km – distance cycled
⅓ – of Costa Rica’s population lives in San José