Wednesday, January 11, 2017
The ship arrived at Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera), Costa Rica at 7 AM. Puntarenas in one of the country's main ports, gateway to some of the most amazing rain forest and national parks in the world. Shortly there after I left on tour called "San Jose City Tour & a Visit to Sarchi". This was a Cruise Specialists tour. We left the port on a very modern tour bus. The bus left the port at 7:15 AM and we arrived in San Jose at 8:45AM. The road was a toll road but it was not up to the USA interstate standards. Some of the time was not divided and some of the time it was only two lanes. Our first stop was at the National Theater of Costa Rica. This was an old building and it was a very beautiful building. If opened in 1897 is considered the finest historic building in the capital and is known for its traditional Renaissance architecture and exquisite interior. Our next stop was at the National Museum. The tour began with a walk thru a indoor rain forest full of some butterflies. The museum housed pre-Columbian artifacts dating back 12,000 years. As we were leaving the Museum, one of our ladies fell and broke her wrist. This held us up for over a half an hour. We left San Jose City at 11:45 AM and headed to the town of Sarchi where we arrived at 1:06 PM. In Sarchi we had lunch. The town of Sarchi is famous for crafts and offers more than 200 stores and small family-operated woodworking factories produce many interesting items such as wooden bowls, tableware and ford-up rocking chairs of wood and leather. After lunch we had some time to observe the craftsmen work and shop for many of their hand made crafts. We left Sarchi at 2 PM and on the trip back to the ship we drove on the old Pan-American Highway and got back to the ship at about 4 PM.
Puntarenas is the capital and largest city in the Province of Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The eponymous and oddly shaped province has its largest section in the South, far from the capital.
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, in the western province of the country, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 288,054, though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population. It is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
Though few people live in the city center, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest and least violent cities in the region. In 2006, the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture.
San José is the sixth-most important destination in Latin America, according to The MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index 2012. San José ranked 15th in the world's fastest-growing destination cities by visitor cross-border spending.
Sarchí is the capital city of the canton of Valverde Vega also known as Sarchí in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica.
The district of Sarchí covers an area of 15.11 km², including the central area of the city. It has a population of 6,912. The district of Sarchí Sur covers an area of 6.51 km² (1), and has a population of 4,659.
The city lies at an elevation of 1000 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range) at the eastern edge of the Central Valley. It is 27 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital city of Alajuela, and 46 kilometers from the national capital city of San Jose.
Sarchí is Costa Rica's most famous crafts center. The town offers more than 200 stores and small family-operated woodworking factories producing wooden bowls and other tableware, fold-up rocking chairs of wood and leather, and a wide variety of kitschy items. The most popular items on sale are "carretas", elaborately painted oxcarts that traditionally carried coffee from the highlands down to the port on the Pacific coast.
This picture was taken as we left the dock an Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
This picture was taken as we left the dock.
This picture was taken on the road to San Jose.
This picture was taken just outside of San Jose. It shows one of the upscale houses outside of San Jose.
This picture was taken from the bus in San Jose.
This is a picture of the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This is one of the statues in the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This is a picture of the beautiful theater in the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This is a picture of the beautiful theater in the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This is a picture taken in the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This is a picture taken outside the of the National Theater of Costa Rica.
This picture was taken in the entrance to the The National Museum.
This picture was taken in the entrance to The National Museum.
This picture was taken in The National Museum.
This picture was taken in The National Museum.
This picture was taken in The National Museum.
This picture was taken from the bus in San Jose.
This picture was taken from the bus in San Jose.
This is a picture of Sugar Cane taken from the bus.
This is a picture of a church built of steel in the town of Sarchi.
This picture was taken from the bus of some of the housing in Sarchi
This is a picture of some of the art work at the place we ate lunch in Sarchi. It is a picture of a wheel used on a hand cart.
This picture was taken on the way back to the port from Sarchi.
This picture was taken from the ship of the town of Puntarenas.
This picture was taken of the dock looking toward the town of Puntarenas.
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