San Jose, Costa Rica

Day 76 - Puntarenas, for San Jose, Costa Rica

Puntarenas is a port city, where many cruise ships dock every year. The population of Costa Rica is 4.5 million and Puntarenas has a population of 4,000. Costa Rica is located in the Central American Isthmus, with Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the south. It is flanked by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. San Jose is the Capital of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is famous for its ecofriendly Volcanoes National Parks and Rainforests. It is also famous for it's coffee.

For the first time in 76 days we were the very first passengers off the ship. We were on a mission. We had dental appointments in San Jose at 9 am. We walked to the end of the dock and talked with Antonio, a taxi driver and arranged for him to take us to San Jose to the Dentist and he told us no problem, he could get us to the dentist on time. The Drs. Office was about 90 miles away. We arranged to have him with us all day. I had bit down on something hard and cracked a tooth a few weeks ago and Randy lost a filling while flossing. I had contacted one of my sisters, Cynthia (Thank you Cynthia!) and she emailed her Dentist in San Jose. Well the visit was a success. No more pain when we eat anything hot or cold. Everyone was great and friendly in the Dentist Office. I highly recommend Dr. Castro and his staff.

It was amazing as the dr. prepared the tooth for the crown, filled Randy's tooth and sent us to see the sites in San Jose by 11:30 am and we were back in his office at 2 pm and my crown was ready.

Antonio took us on a tour of downtown San Jose, he took us to a super market and we bought some Costa Rican coffee and then we headed to the National Theater, which is very old and ornate and is still in use today. We ate lunch in the theater café. We had a traditional soup, called Crema de Pejibaye. It was very yummy! We enjoyed looking at the colonial buildings. The old Post office, the National Museum, Children's Museum, along with the National Theater. Then it was time to head back to the Dentist office. After the denist office, we ran out of time and had to head right back to the ship. We had hoped to get to Sachi an area which is known for its brightly colored crafts. If we ever get back to Costa Rica we would like to visit there and the National Parks areas. The drive to San Jose and the drive back took us through beautiful green country side. Next Port is San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.