Tica Rain

Costa Rica to Nicaragua

The bus for Nicaragua leaves in about an hour. I am scheduled to arrive in Granada at around 9pm. I could not make it to the morning bus because last night I had my first taste of “Tico” hospitality: a bottle of Flor de Caña, some guitar tunes, and a bunch of new friends.

San José reminds me a lot of Arica, the border city with Perú in Chile. It is funny how, although this place is so far, it feels the closest to home that I’ve been in a long time.

 

Everything in San Jose has that familiar taste: narrow streets, small shops, fruit carts, colorful clothes, sweet baked goods, and cold cheap beer. Flashes of memories from the days when I was a flight attendant in Chile come to my mind. With a “slight” change of scenery (from desert to jungle), even the air smells the same.

The people here are friendly and respectful, honest and happy. It seems a little weird to me that nobody has tried to rip me off by giving me change in colones after using dollars. Although one should pay attention to the exchange rates (about 500 colones per dollar), it has been nice to not have to be suspicious every time I get the bill.

 

It is raining again. It rained all night last night. It is a nice steady rain, not too cold or hard, just a nice warm rain that washes the streets of San José and seems to purify the souls of the people with every drop.