This morning we woke up and finished our delicious donuts for breakfast! It’s always a bittersweet feeling at the end of a big adventure. We’re a little sad to be ending an amazing adventure…but where one ends, another begins! We have a late flight tonight, so we still have a few things on our must-see/do list for the beautiful city of San José.
First on our list is the historic Teatro National (National Theater) of Costa Rica, which is conveniently located right next to our hotel (The Gran Hotel). The building’s façade is absolutely mesmerizing and the entry fee even includes a tour guide. You can almost always walk around a cultural institution unaided, but we always seem to learn so much from local guides when we travel. In this case, we were educated on everything from the historic architecture to the theater’s funding through coffee taxation.
When we entered the theater, we were immediately taken back in time due to the incredibly ornate architecture. It was created with the Paris Opera House in mind and has a really interesting Baroque design. Not only were we seemingly taken back in time, but it also felt like we were transported to Italy! We came to find out from our tour guide that almost every sculpture and painting was imported from Italy…it’s no wonder why we felt so enraptured in Italian design from the moment we stepped inside.
She explained how everything that we saw inside had to be transported by boats and trains in the late 1800s…all the way from Italy! It was really hard to even imagine just how lengthy and difficult that process must have been.
When she took us into the theater, the centerpiece chandelier was actually lowered to the ground so that bulbs could be changed. Our guide explained that this was a unique moment to see the century-old mechanism that brings the chandelier up and down…it’s something they’ve used since the theater’s inception!
What was even MORE unique about this theater is that the floors can be moved up to stage-level in order to be transformed into an extravagant ballroom for socialite parties. The floor can be raised up by a mechanism found in the basement (imagine catacomb tunnels) which requires 6 people to work in unison turning the massive wheel by hand! The stage is still raised in the same way, but nowadays it is used only for presidential events and galas.
Our guide then brought us to the second floor where the balcony seats were. Right in the middle she pointed out grand doors that she said were always kept locked. We we’re allowed in this area, but she told us that she could let us enter the adjacent balcony. Once inside, she explained that the locked balcony was exclusively for the president of Costa Rica (appropriately named the “presidential balcony”). It is only opened when the president of the country is in attendance!
After sitting in our own balcony and feeling a bit like royalty, we made our way to the third floor to see the grand ballroom. As we walked in, we imagined all the parties that were held here over the last century. The architecture and art were absolutely stunning! The ceilings were separated into three sections that showcased murals by an artist that painted a morning, day, and night scene.
At each end of this grand room were two very similar rooms, but for different groups of people. At one end was the gentleman’s room where the prominent men would meet to discuss important matters. At the other end is where their wives would sit because they could not be in the same room as men, nor were they permitted to socialize in the ballroom with other men. The rooms were similar in size, but not in design. The women’s room was much less ornate than the men’s, which was likely intentional.
Our guide ended the tour just outside the ballroom steps where she had us look across at the eye-level wall painting and up at the celling. There were beautiful pieces of art that depicted Costa Rican culture, but interestingly enough, the mural had some flaws. We learned that many of the artists attempted to depict Costa Rican culture without stepping foot in Costa Rica. Beaches were in close proximity of forests and the beautiful Allegory of Coffee and Bananas showed banana bunches being held the wrong way (this painting is also represented on the five colónes bill).
After taking in all the beautiful architecture and artwork in this theater, we made our way to the city market to see if the oldest soda (Soda Tapia) would be open this time around. When we got there, we saw it was and sat down for our last typical Costa Rican meal. We ordered a pineapple shake and shared a casado con pollo…which were very delicioso!
We started to make our way back to our hotel to check-out, but before we did we knew we had to stop at a Pops…a local Costa Rican ice cream chain. Throughout our time here, we’ve seen a ton of them all around the country, and kept telling each other that we would stop. We shared a guanabana ice cream cup, and it was beyond refreshing!
After enjoying our Pops, we checked-out of our hotel and hopped into our car for our final adventure before heading to the airport. We drove over to the Children’s Museum to snap a few pictures. We didn’t have much interest in going to this museum…mostly because we’re not children…but as we were doing research on local museum in the area, we learned that this building used to be the city’s prison!
We then drove over to The Museum of Costa Rican Art on the east edge of the sprawling Parque Metropolitano La Sabana. This was actually a free museum, but they do accept donations along with federal funding. We walked around the museum and admired all the different pieces by local artists. They even have a really awesome (and interactive) outdoor sculpture garden that we enjoyed the most.
The building itself has its own historical significance as it used to be the city’s international airport. There is an amazing preserved section upstairs (Salón Dorado, or the Golden Room) that served as the old airports diplomatic lounge and was designed by the French artist, Louis Féron. The entire wall was made of stucco and depicted different eras of Costa Rican history on each wall, from pre-Columbian to post-Columbian. Just outside this grand room are works of gold by the same artists, who at one time worked for major luxury firms, including Cartier and Tiffany & Company, among others.
After the museum, we drove to Helados de Sorbetera Don Juan, which is a small ice cream shop that is over 100 years old! We got a cup of strawberry and cream, and a cup of pineapple with passion fruit. After tasting both, it was clear why they haven’t gone out of business in over a century.
After enjoying our final Costa Rican treats, we made our way to the airport to take our COVID-19 rapid antigen tests. This is a requirement from the US government to re-enter the country. Prior to coming to Costa Rica, we scheduled (and paid for) our rapid antigen tests with Lab Enchandi, which is conveniently located nearby the SJO airport. The results of these tests are estimated within an hour of administration, so we would get our tests before our flights. There really wasn’t any wait time when we arrived, and everything went smoothly, which was great.
You have the option to wait for your results, or they can be emailed to you. We still had to return the rental car, so we opted for the email receipt. It was bittersweet returning Suzie the Suzuki back to her home at Adobe Rental, but after a month with her, we can highly recommend the Suzuki Jimny for travel ALL around Costa Rica. It also helps to have the BEST driver ever (Joey)!
As we were going through the car rental return process, we received our COVID-19 test results via email and it wasn’t quite what we expected. Unfortunately, Keeshia tested positive and Joey tested negative. This puzzled us. Was this correct? Was it a false positive? How could only one of us be infected with the virus? We were both asymptomatic…we were both incredibly careful about distancing and mask usage…we were vaccinated…we both spent nearly every moment with each other…yet somehow one of us tested positive. It was truly an unexpected outcome, but it just goes to show just how vulnerable everyone is.
Needless to say, we were both pretty devastated to get this result back. We knew that it meant Keeshia had to go into immediate 10-day (minimum) quarantine, while Joey had to return back to the US…and our scheduled flight was in three hours. We made some quick changes, and though it was an unfortunate way to end our honeymoon in Costa Rica, we didn’t let it overshadow the absolutely incredible adventure we had.
If you do want to know more about our trip…from highlights and recommendations to the quarantining process…please don’t hesitate to reach out to us in our “Contact Us” page.
Thank you to our family, friends, and travelers alike for following along our adventure through Costa Rica. When Keeshia makes it back to the US after her 10-day quarantine, we have another adventure planned…so stay posted!